Understanding the Essay

What’s to understand, man?

Essay means “homeboy” in

Spanish.

Paragraph One…

• is called the introduction.

• is where your claim appears.

• Your claim tells the reader what you will prove in your essay.

• You cannot write an essay until the claim is known.

I will prove to you that peanut butter without

jelly is not a sin!

What is a Claim?

• It is a sentence, rarely two, that contains a subject and one specific opinion.

• It has an opinion that is specific, so that it is easier to prove.

• It is your central argument and every word you write should be one that is helping to prove your claim.

Examples of Claims• [Subject] Elie Wiesel, the author of and

main character in the novel Night, survives the Holocaust and informs others through his book of the dangers of genocide. [Opinion] Because of this, he must be considered a true hero.

• [Subject] “The Legend of Buddha” is a short story [Opinion] that demonstrates the importance of honoring one’s inner voice or intuition so that one can have a happy and meaningful life.

• Note: Keep “I think,” “I feel,” and “I believe” statements out of your essay.

More Claim Examples

• [Subject] The Odyssey [Opinion] is an epic poem which symbolizes the journeys – both inner and outer – that one must undertake to achieve true and lasting happiness.

• Note: Keep “I think,” “I feel,” and “I believe” statements out of your essay.

• Now, you write a claim.• When finished, call me over so I

can check it.• Remember, it’s an opinion about

a specific subject.• Subject + Opinion = Claim

Claim Time

Doctors say that 4 out of 5 people occasionally suffer from diarrhea. Does this mean that 1 out of 5 occasionally enjoys it?

Body Paragraph Needs

• Supporting facts or proof that help prove your claim

• Explanations regarding the meaning of each piece of supporting evidence

• A minimum of three pieces of evidence.

• Each detail is a new and unique fact that supports – helps prove – your claim.

Reason(ing)

Evidence!

Claim[Subject] The novel Night, written by Elie Wiesel, [Opinion] is a story that demonstrates how people can lose their humanity during times of war.

Your mission? Come up with one piece ofEvidence – one fact – that supports thisclaim. I’ll come around and check.

Evidence

Reason(ing)(Explaining the Evidence)

• Once you’ve written your evidence, you have to explain its significance. In other words, why is this detail important; what does it show in relationship to what you are trying to prove?

• After each piece of evidence, there should be at least two or three reasoning sentences to adequately explain the detail’s meaning; you know, break down each detail’s importance.

One Piece of Evidence Typically Requires Two Reasoning Sentences

• I. First half of sentence explaining what the evidence shows.“This shows that…”

• II. Second half of sentence explains why evidence shows what you say it shows. “This shows that… because…”

• III. Second sentence is usually used to further explain why evidence shows what you say

it shows and to clarify your reasoning from your first sentence more specifically.

[Evidence] For example, Goodenow’s mother allowed him to sleep in the same bed as her until he was twelve-years old.

[Subject] The novel Bless the Beasts and Children, written by Glendon Swarthout, [Opinion] is a story that illustrates the dangers of poor parenting.

[Reasoning] This is an excellent example of poor parenting because when a mother allows a son to do this beyond the age of a toddler, she is unknowingly creating an overly dependent child, a child that will have difficulty separating himself from his mother. Further, such a dependency – as psychologists will tell you – causes the child to have great difficulty functioning in the world without the presence of his mother, thus crippling him when he tries to make it on his own.

Transitions

• are the first part of your Concrete Detail• help you to go smoothly from Topic

Sentence, or previous sentence,to Concrete Detail

• examples of Transition starters:Though, Consequently, Even so, In fact, Furthermore, In addition, For example, Therefore, Still, On the other hand, Of

course, Moreover, Further, Likewise, etc.

The Introduction[An Outline]

• Attention-Getter [AG] (See Handout)

• Response To Attention-GetterAnswer QuestionComment On Attention-GetterExplain Meaning Of AG

• Transition From AG To Thesis• Thesis Statement

Pre-Writing Outline &Body Paragraph Extras

III. Pre - Writing

A. Select TopicB. Write ThesisC. Write IntroD. CD Selection E. CD CommentaryF. Outline

IV. Body Paragraph ExtrasA. Topic SentenceB. TransitionsC. Concluding SentenceD.Body Paragraph Visual

IV - A. Topic Sentence

• is the first sentence of a body paragraph• provides bridge from previous

paragraph to next paragraph, makes change smooth

• is the sentence that you organize your entire paragraph around

Example: [Bridge] Though the Finch Familyprovides excellent examples of courage, [TS] there are others from the novel whogive us a splendid depiction of courage.

IV - C. Concluding Sentence

• is(are) the last sentence(s) in a body paragraph

• briefly summarizes your key pieces of evidence

• gives the paragraph that finished feeling

Example: Both Atticus and Jem respondedwith courage despite the fear-inducingobstacles that confronted them. In theirhearts, they wanted only to right what tothem was an obvious wrong.

IV - D. Body Paragraph Visual

1. Topic Sentence2. Transition3. Concrete Detail4. Two Sentences of Commentary5. Transition6. Concrete Detail7. Two Sentences of Commentary8. Concluding Sentence(s)

Beginning the Body Paragraphs

1. Write down the three (3) concrete

details you will use to help prove

your thesis statement. Skip a few lines between each one.

2. Now, below each concrete detail,write two sentences that explainthe importance of the concretedetail and how it relates to yourthesis.

V. The Conclusion Paragraph

The Resolution to the Essay• Starts off with a Topic Sentence that

somehow connects back to the Introduction• Follow TS by briefly summarizing your

evidence (each Concrete Detail and the Commentary used to explain CDs relevance).

• After brief summary, quickly explain again how your evidence proves what you said you’d prove in your Thesis.

• Near the paragraph’s end, restate your Thesis. But, word it somewhat different from original.

VI. Reminders & Helpful Hints

• For each CD, your Commentary must explain how the CD helps prove your Thesis. For example, if you’re trying to prove that a character is courageous, start your CM sentence by saying, “This shows that the character is courageous because …” Or, for “TTT” essays: “This symbolizes childhood because …”

VI. Reminders & Hints(continued)

• Typically, you want to organize your CDs to make the most powerful piece of evidence occur last so it’s fresh in the readers mind at the essay’s end. Or…

• Organize CDs chronologically so they are in the order that they occurred in the text.

• What’s the most important thing to do after you’ve completed your essay? Read it out loud, at least twice. In this manner you will catch many errors, both grammatical/technical errors and errors in logic.

VI. Reminders & Hints(continued)

Reminders & Hints(continued)

• Finally, as you’re reading through your essay, ask yourself repeatedly if your CDs and CMs are connecting back to your Thesis. Are they helping to prove what you said you were going to prove in your Thesis?

• One More: Keep CDs short and specific, Write a TS that is broad in its scope.