everything you need to know when writing an essay
TRANSCRIPT
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW WHEN WRITING AN ESSAY
WHAT IS AN ESSAY?
An organized piece of writing that focuses on a single topic
ORGANIZATION
Organized around a thesis
Begins with an introduction
Ends with a concluding paragraph
REASONS FOR WRITING AN ESSAY
Helps you to express ideas more clearly and effectively
It is a required part of almost all colleges courses
DIFFERENT ELEMENTS:PARAGRAPH VS ESSAY
Organized around a main idea
Introductory sentence Developed by
supporting details
Concluding sentence
Organized around a thesis
Introductory paragraph Developed by
supporting body paragraphs
Concluding paragraph
THESIS It has to do with what you are writing about
THESIS STATEMENT
Sentence in the essay that states the thesis
Expressed in the first paragraph
Key step in developing an effective essay
TIPS FOR WRITING YOUR THESIS STATEMENT
Determined the kind of paper you are writing. An Analytical paper (breaks down an issue or idea into its
component parts) An Expository paper (explains something to the audience) An Argumentative paper (makes a claim about a topic and
justifies this claim with specify evidence)
Should be specific.
Appears at the end of the first paragraph of a paper.
Should reflect exactly what you have discussed in the paper.
INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH
First part of an essay which has a major influence on the reader´s desire to keep reading.
Includes different strategies to get the readers´attention that should be connected with the thesis statement
It should conclude with the most important idea of the essay.
BODY OF AN ESSAY Set of paragraphs that develop the idea
expressed in the thesis statement
BODY PARAGRAPHS Provide the content of the essay
Each one should be unique, be unified around a main idea and arranged coherently
CONCLUSION OF AN ESSAY
Purpose: To leave the reader with a positive impression, a sense of completeness and the inclination to think about the topic
Should not give more information about the topic
Restates your thesis statement in other words
THE REVISION AND EDITING PROCESS
Process of reviewing and rewriting to make your ideas more logical
Aspects:
I. revision through reading
II. revision through collaboration
TYPES OF ESSAYS Analyse/analysis
Argumentative
Persuasive
Cause and effect
Comparison and contrast
Definition
Narrative
Descriptive
Division
Classification
Mixed pattern
ANALYZE/ANALYSIS
To write an analysis, you need to think about how each part of something contributes to the success of the whole.
Describe HOW and WHY its elements function.
ARGUMENT/ARGUMENTATIVE An argument paper presents a stronger claim to
a more resistant audience.
To write an argument essay, you’ll need to gather evidence and present a well-reasoned argument on a debatable issue.
You must base your paper on a strong position.
You must choose one side or the other when you write an argument paper!
DO…
…use passionate language …cite experts who agree with you …provide facts, evidence, and statistics to
support your position …provide reasons to support your claim …address the opposing side’s argument and
refute their claims
DON’T…
…use weak qualifiers like “I believe,” “I feel,” or “I think”—just tell us!
…claim to be an expert if you’re not one …use strictly moral or religious claims as
support for your argument …assume the audience will agree with you
about any aspect of your argument …attempt to make others look bad
PERSUASIVE/PERSUADE To write a persuasive paper, you’ll need to
use evidence and good reasons to convince others to agree with your point of view on a particular subject.
Conduct the effective research by obtaining facts and evidence to support your ideas.
It doesn't simply report information (like a typical research paper would)--it uses that information to make an argument or prove a point.
PERSUASIVE THESIS STATEMENT
It is a one-sentence description of your topic and the argument that you plan to make
Not only tell us what the essay will be about, but also where the author stands on that issue (his or her opinion) and briefly explain why.
CAUSE & EFFECT
First, determine a scenario in which one action or event caused certain effects to occur.
Second, explain what took place and why
This essay allows us to identify patterns and
explain why things turned out the way that they did
NARROWING A LARGE TOPIC
Ask yourself…
What's the main (most important) cause? Can I break the different types of effects
down into categories? Which category interests me the most?
COMPARE/CONTRAST
You should…
Make new connections or express new differences between two things. You can compare, contrast or compare and contrast.
Choose 2 things that could go in the same category, but are also quite different
ORGANIZING YOUR COMPARE AND CONTRAST PAPER
Chunking: placing all of the information for each individual subject in one place (chunk), and then using similarities as transitions.
Piecing: giving pieces of the information for each individual subject in each paragraph, arranging the information by topic rather than by subject.
DEFINITION/DEFINE
To write a definition essay, you’ll need to define a word that:
has a complex meaning
is disputable (could mean different things to different people)
NARRATIVE/DESCRIPTIVE Narrative essay tells a story,
relates events that had happened.
Descriptive essay describes a person, object, or event.
TIPS FOR WRITING EFFECTIVE NARRATIVE AND DESCRIPTIVE ESSAYS:
Tell a story about a moment or event that means a lot to you
Avoid long introductions and lengthy descriptions.
Make sure your story has a point. Describe what you learned from this experience.
Describe the setting, characters, the plot, conflicts and resolution of your story.
USING CONCRETE DETAILS FOR NARRATIVES
Concrete Language …makes the story or
image seem clearer and more real to us.
…gives us information that we can easily grasp and perhaps empathize with.
Abstract Language… ...makes the story or
image difficult to visualize.
…leaves your reader feeling empty, disconnected, and possibly confused.
DIVISION & CLASSIFICATION
Division Essay:
Choose something that the majority of people might not know much about and therefore can't understand how complex that topic is. You will break your topic down into meaningful and important categories.
Classification Essay: Type of analysis in which you classify information, organize or sort it into appropriate categories.
How to classify the topic: These categories will be
the basis for the details you will include.
Make sure you create useful and meaningful categories.
It is useful to create a chart to plan out your categories.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Types of papers & students samples by the Roane State Community College. Retrieved from http://www.roanestate.edu/owl/Types.html Accessed on: September 5, 2013
Tips and Examples for Writing Thesis Statements. Retrieved from http://owl.english.purdue.edu Accessed on: September 6, 2013