ELEMENTS OF THE ESSAY Mrs. Laffin’s

Contents

1. Inductive vs. Deductive arguments 2. Essay outline 3. Introductions/Conclusions 4. Thesis statements 5. Topic sentences 6. Body paragraphs 7. Coherence 8. Unity 9. Organization 10. Documentation and formatting 11. Turnitin.com 12. The writing process

Overview

This Power Point is designed to review elements of an essay. Hopefully you have seen this information before.

My expectation is that you have a working mastery of the content of this presentation so we can polish and refine your writing.

If you have any questions about the content of this presentation, see me. I am happy to help you catch up if you feel behind.

Inductive vs. Deductive

Deductive reasoning General to specific (thesis, then evidence) You are probably used to writing in a deductive

style: present your thesis (in your introduction), and then provide evidence and reasoning to support it

Inductive reasoning Specific to general (evidence, then thesis) Present the question to be explored, and then

work through the possibilities and evidence to arrive at your thesis (in your conclusion)

5 Paragraph Essay Outline Note: This is a rather formulaic outline. As you will see through examples I provide in class, the idea of this outline is valid (introduction, a body with evidence and explanation that is divided into paragraphs, and a conclusion), the exact division of paragraphs is not necessarily set in stone.

Title (one you made up, not the name of the assignment)

Introduction Body paragraph 1 Body paragraph 2 Body paragraph 3 (may be optional) Conclusion

Introduction

The opening of your paper Sets the tone for the essay Gives your reader the first impression of the

quality of writing they can expect. An introduction that lacks finesse can give the reader a poor first impression.

Introductions

SHOULD SHOULD NOT

Begin with an effective attention getter (see next slide)

Have a bridge that ties the attention getter in with the thesis

End with thesis Set the tone for the essay and/or

give context for the situation Engage the reader and make

him/her want to read your paper When appropriate, present title

and author of work to be discussed

Present the thesis statement before the end of the introduction (this is confusing for the reader)

Present evidence or arguments to support the thesis (this belongs in the body of your paper)

Contain any undocumented information from sources or information from sketchy sources

Introduction

Attention getter/Hook: The opening of your introduction Should be engaging (draw your reader in and make him/her

want to keep reading) May use one of these techniques:

Pertinent quotation (cited from a reliable source) Anecdote (may be personal OR cited from a reliable source) Startling statistic (cited from a reliable source) Statement of opposing view (what people who would disagree with your thesis might say;

this requires an effective bridge) Analogy/comparison Cause/problem (if your thesis is about the effect/solution) or effect/solution (if your thesis is

about the cause/problem)– in other words, give context for your paper Rhetorical question (NOT a yes/no question; this should make your audience ponder

something– “What does a werewolf have in common with an ice cream cone?” NOT the assigned topic.)

Definition (must be either a definition your reader is unlikely to know OR a common word defined in a new way)

Illustration (an example you COULD have used in your essay but use in your introduction instead)

Introduction

After your attention getter, your introduction will have a bridge Connects ideas in attention getter to thesis Should use effective transition words/phrases/techniques to shift from

one idea to another Example: Attention getter: (Comparison between “The Raven” and Lord of the Flies)

In the famous poem, “The Raven,” Edgar Allen Poe’s repetition creates an eerie if nonsensical refrain.

Bridge: Similarly, references to the beast throughout Lord of the Flies are just one way William Golding establishes the menacing presence of this mysterious being.

Thesis: This seemingly omnipresent antagonist conveys Golding’s theme that what people should fear most is what we, ourselves, are capable of.

Conclusion

A lot like an introduction! The closing of your paper Transitions your reader out of “evidence +

argument” mode and back into “big idea” mode

Your last chance to make a good impression on the reader

Conclusion

SHOULD SHOULD NOT

Consider “echoing” the technique your introduction used to bring essay full circle

Go from specific (thesis) back out to general (attention getter type send-off)

Consider ending on something open-ended to give your reader space to think (a question can work, but it has to be gooood)

Simply provide a summary of main points of the paper

Introduce new ideas/ arguments to support thesis not discussed already in the essay

Downplay the quality of your argument by saying things like “These are just a few of the reasons why…” (This implies you can’t be bothered to tell your reader all of the reasons.)

Thesis Statement

I’ve mentioned it– it ends your intro and could start your conclusion.

This is the most important, most central idea of your essay– it’s the idea ALL of the other ideas need to support

Key words from this statement and/or their synonyms should appear throughout your topic sentences and commentary

If you have a prompt for your essay (like on the SAT or an AP test), this states your clear answer to/position on the prompt

Thesis Statement

MUST be a subjective statement* that you can argue and provide evidence to support

Since you can’t argue and provide evidence to support a fact (after all, why would you need to do that for a fact?), your thesis should not be factual

* A subjective statement is a statement that can be debated/argued. It is the opposite of an objective statement, which is factual and can not be debated/argued (unless you have spare time and like to argue just to argue).

Thesis Statement

It can be tempting to list ideas in your thesis (e.g. “Golding develops his theme through symbolism, characters’ actions, and plot twists.”). There are several reasons not to do this: 1. Your thesis needs to be the central idea developed in your

essay. You don’t want paragraphs that are more specific than your thesis. With the above thesis, your paragraph about symbolism wouldn’t address the other two things listed in your thesis. Sad trombone.

2. If you are in a timed situation and you make a list in your thesis, if you don’t have time to get to everything OR change your mind as you are writing, this can result in a compromise of the unity of your paper.

3. It sounds so elementary. Like you think you or your reader won’t be able to follow the essay unless there is a list of what you are going to talk about somewhere. You are ready to write in a more sophisticated way.

Body Paragraphs

These are the paragraphs in your paper that develop your argument

They begin with topic sentences and contain evidence and explanation. Evidence is facts and/or ideas directly from sources Explanation is YOUR ideas, analysis, and commentary

about how your evidence supports your thesis

They generally end with either a summary sentence or transition sentence

Body Paragraphs

Topic sentences Begin the paragraph Are subjective (like the thesis) Present a specific reason thesis statement is true Starting point can be thesis + because + reason for

this paragraph to develop

Should most likely NOT contain cited information (because you don’t want to base your paragraph on someone else’s idea)

Body Paragraphs

Evidence Can come from: Common knowledge Doesn’t require citation– things like “Abraham Lincoln was

assassinated,” or “College Station has several elementary schools.”

Your research / sources / literature Ususally requires citation – things like “Abraham Lincoln died on

April 15, 1865 after being assassinated” (Smith 10). Or “College Station has twelve elementary schools” (CSISD). If you have parenthetical documentation, you must ALSO have a works cited.

However, on the AP exam, you only need citations for the synthesis essay. Since the passage is your only source, you don’t need citations, but you do still need specific examples like direct quotations or paraphrased ideas to support your analysis.

Body Paragraphs

Explanation Draws connections between evidence and ideas

presented in topic sentence/thesis Is YOUR explanation of how they are connected Is NOT a summary of a source– that is called

paraphrasing and requires a citation. Paraphrasing is evidence, not explanation.

Is where your argument/explanation takes place– this is the key part of your paper that solidifies your argument and includes key words from and direct references to thesis / topic sentence ideas

Body Paragraphs

Summary/transition sentence You can add one or the other to conclude your

paragraph Summary sentence = paraphrases the key ideas of

the paragraph it concludes Transition sentence = kind of like the bridge of

your introduction– segues reader from the idea of the sentence it concludes to the idea of the subsequent topic sentence

Body Paragraphs Note: “Chunk” writing as described below is an option when it comes to organization. It is an effective option because it ensures that you are presenting both evidence and explanation; however, more sophisticated writers may go beyond the formula of these chunks while still applying the principle of presenting evidence and explanation in an organized way that the reader can understand.

Organization Generally, paragraphs should have a topic sentence, at least two

“chunks” of information, and a summary sentence Options for “chunks” : Eight sentence “chunks” “Chunk” = concrete detail (fact) + two sentences of commentary

(explanation) Majors-minors “chunks” “Chunk” = major (your opinion) + two sentences of minors (facts to

support your opinion) Quotation sandwich “chunks” Sentence 1: Intro to quote and what it’s going to convey Sentence 2: Evidence/quote Sentence 3: Your explanation of how it proves your topic

sentence/thesis) Paragraphs need to be well-developed; a paragraph with only

one “chunk” as described above is not sufficient

Coherence

This means the connections between words, sentences, and paragraphs in your essay

Coherence is established in a number of ways: Transition words and phrases Should appear throughout essay as needed, not just before certain

sentences Repetition of key words The key words from your thesis/topic sentences need to appear

throughout your essay. If they don’t, the connections between your ideas may not be as clear to your reader as they are to you

Pronoun references Making reference via pronouns to earlier ideas in your

sentence/paragraph highlights the connections been those ideas. This technique (which I have used three times in this sentence so far, but now four times) can also help clarify your meaning.

Unity

This refers to keeping your entire idea focused on the same topic

Your thesis statement is like the center of the web of ideas presented in the paper

No direct connection back to thesis? Then it probably shouldn’t be in your paper.

Overall Organization

Your entire paper should be organized purposefully Introduction and conclusion should give a sense of

opening and closure Body paragraphs, if chronological, should be in

chronological order. So should ideas within paragraphs.

If your paragraphs do not have a chronological aspect, consider putting your strongest argument last to leave your reader with a strong impression

Documentation

ALL ideas in the paper that are not common knowledge must be documented from a reliable source Reliable source: A legitimate publication or print

source. Random websites (like Brainyquote) that have no documentation to back up their information are not reliable sources. If you can add your own info to it, it’s probably not reliable.

Documented: In English, we use MLA style parenthetical documentation. If you have parenthetical documentation, you need a works cited.

Check out The Owl at Purdue for in-text documentation help and for works cited help.

Formatting

Page numbers go in upper right corner. They should be last name page. Like this: Laffin 3

Heading goes in upper left corner: Your name Becky Nam My name Mrs. Laffin Class + period English III AP – 2 Date 15 May 2014

Use Times New Roman, 12 pt. for everything (even the page numbers)

Double space everything (including the heading) Print on the front only Staple it in the upper left BEFORE coming to class

Turnitin.com

This is a required part of the assignment If it is not done on time but a hard copy was

submitted on time, the penalty is 5 points off per day it is late

If it is not done on time and a hard copy was not submitted, the regular late work policy applies (and you have a zero if it is never submitted)

Can be done before/after school and during advocate in the library; the librarian can help you if you are having trouble

The Writing Process

Consists of: Prewriting Drafting Revising Editing Publishing

The Writing Process

Prewriting Sooooooooooooo important NOT the most tedious or difficult part The MOST ignored but potentially helpful part of

the writing pocess Come on! Please do the prewriting!

The Writing Process

Prewriting Includes two sub-steps: brainstorming and planning Brainstorming: Coming up with TONS of ideas without

judging them. You’ll judge later. Just go for ideas and connections now. Techniques include making a web, a list, freewriting, doing

research, talking to other people about ideas, looking for ideas/inspiration in life and your experiences, etc.

In addition to ideas for your paper, think about the way you need to write the paper. Who is your audience? How should you use ethos/pathos/logos? What is your purpose? What good reason do you have for writing (yes, it’s an assignment, but if you find a better exigence, your paper will be stronger)? What other features do you want your paper to include?

The Writing Process

Prewriting Planning: After thorough brainstorming, select

your best ideas to use and make an outline Many people with poor development of ideas in

their papers needed to do more brainstorming before planning

“Best ideas” doesn’t usually also mean “first three ideas”

Note: You should brainstorm and plan for BOTH your body paragraphs AND your intro/conclusion

The Writing Process

Drafting This is where you write out your ideas into

sentences/paragraphs This should take place AFTER you brainstorm and

plan. Drafting is probably the most challenging step

because you are trying to get all of your ideas into words. You can make it MUCH easier by having a good plan of what you are going to write.

The Writing Process

Revising Revising is polishing the content and language in your

paper Content:

Do the ideas all connect back to the thesis? Are these the best ideas to prove your position? Have you effectively used ethos/pathos/logos? Have you effectively addressed the opposition? Could I improve coherence by rearranging or adding/removing ideas?

Language: Am I clear? Do I sound natural? Is my tone appropriate? Could I make it stronger based on my audience and purpose? Could I improve coherence by adjusting the way I am saying things?

The Writing Process

Editing is fixing the errors in your paper Spelling Punctuation Capitalization Fragments Run-ons Comma faults (You can not join two sentences with only a

comma; you must use a comma + for, and, nor, but, or, yet, or so. Note that “however” and “therefore” are not words that can be used with only a comma to join sentences.)

Verb tense issues Use literary present when discussing literature Shifts in verb tense imply that you have not read through your

paper. They are distracting and make writing difficult to follow.

After revising and editing…

You aren’t finished with your paper after one round of revising and editing

Print your paper and read it over again In other words, another round of revising and editing

Repeat revising and editing until your paper is so polished that you do not see any mistakes or problems to address

Use checklists/rubrics provided by your teacher to help you make sure your paper will receive the grade you want

Publishing

When your paper is finished Print (front only) Put it in the order assigned by your teacher Staple/place it in the folder Have it ready to hand to your teacher when you

get to class (You don’t want to wait until you get to class– what if something is missing? What if there isn’t time during class to put papers together?)