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Understand About Essays

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Title: Understand About Essays


1
Understand About Essays
  • What exactly is an essay?
  • Why do we write them?
  • What is the basic essay structure?

2
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3
Writing is thinking on paper.-William Zinnser
  • Definition of Essay
  • An essay is a formal, structured piece of writing
    that makes a statement on a topic or question,
    and it supports this statement throughout with
    information and ideas.

4
What is a formal, structured writing?
  • Formal writing is the opposite of the way you
    talk to your friends.
  • It is not personal or friendly.
  • It is reserved, structured and serious.
  • Since essays are lengthy, they are structured or
    organized to help the reader follow you.

5
Structure of writing
  • First, you tell your reader what you are going to
    write about. This is your introduction.
  • Then, you write about it. This is your body.
  • Finally, you tell your reader what you have
    written. This is your conclusion.

6
What is a thesis statement?
  • This is a short, direct response to the essay
    question.
  • It states one clear idea.
  • It is generally one sentence.
  • It ties your whole essay together.
  • It comes in the first paragraph which is called
    the introduction.

7
The thesis statement is mandatory!
  • If you dont have a thesis statement you dont
    have an essay!
  • A thesis statement is where you tell your reader
    what you are going to write.

8
Supporting your statement
  • You support your thesis statement in the body of
    the essay by expanding on your statement. You
    prove it, explain it, or discuss it.
  • The body is the main section of your essay. You
    will usually have several paragraphs in the body
    of the essay.

9
Conclusion
  • The conclusion is the last paragraph of your
    essay.
  • It is a restatement of the topic or thesis, but
    should be the exact same words.

10
Why do we write essays?
  • To show what you think about a topic
  • To show what you know about a topic
  • To show that you can use what you know to support
    and develop your ideas and opinions
  • You are trying to convince your reader that you
    are right or at least that your point of view is
    reasonable!

11
Dont write essays like you talk
  • Do not write about personal feelings or
    experiences in an essay.
  • In order to convince the reader, you need to
    sound sensible and logical.
  • Do not use slang or informal language.
  • You write essays for your teachers or unknown
    readers, not your friends.

12
Kinds of Essays
  • Essays may be written to
  • 1. explain something
  • 2. discuss ideas
  • 3. describe something
  • 4. compare and contrast two things
  • 5. to trace the history of something
  • 6. take a stand and argue your point

13
Fact and Opinion
  • Some essays are a combination of fact and
    opinion.
  • Most essays in history or geography are mostly
    about facts. But even in these essays, you must
    interpret facts, bring facts together and make
    statements about them. It is not just a list of
    facts. That would be a report.

14
Essay QuestionsWhat are they asking you to do?
  • Look for instruction verbs, such as
  • Describe
  • Compare and contrast
  • Explain
  • Argue
  • Analyze
  • Discuss

15
Describe
  • Give details about the features or
    characteristics of something
  • These questions ask you-
  • Who is and what are questions
  • ExampleDescribe the significant battles of the
    Texas Revolution

16
Compare and Contrast
  • Identify and discuss the similarities or
    differences between two or more things
  • Example What are the advantages of PCs compared
    to Macs?
  • What are the similarities and differences between
    PCs and Macs?
  • Compare and contrast Spanish Texas to Mexican
    Texas.

17
Explain
  • To make plain
  • To examine the reasons, causes and/or effects
  • Examples
  • How did the law allowing empresario contracts
    change Texas?
  • What were the causes of the Texas Revolution?

18
Argue
  • Argue one side of a given point of view
  • (This means you take a side, but show that you
    understand the other side, too.)
  • Example
  • Do you agree or disagree that Spain had a lasting
    impact on Texas?
  • What do you think was the most important period
    of Texas history?

19
Discuss
  • Give points for and against a point of view, and
    come to a conclusion at the end of your essay
    based on these points.
  • Example
  • What are the points for and against slavery in
    Texas?
  • Is it true that Texas was better off as a
    republic than it was as a state of Mexico?
  • What are the pros and cons for having Sam Houston
    as the president of Texas?

20
The Introduction
  • The introduction is like a signpost pointing the
    way, so your reader does not get lost in the
    forest of your ideas!
  • The introduction is a paragraph, not just a
    sentence.
  • A paragraph has a topic sentence, a few
    explanatory sentences and a concluding sentence.
  • An Essay has an introductory paragraph, a few
    paragraphs making your point, and a concluding
    paragraph.

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The Introduction restates the essay question
  • It does not contain details of your essay
    points. The details go in the body of your essay
    or the middle paragraphs.
  • Without an introduction, you really dont have an
    essay.

22
A Useful Pattern for your introduction
  • 1. One or two sentences that set the context for
    your essaythe lead-in
  • 2. The thesis statement which is the statement
    on the essay question which ties the whole essay
    together
  • 3. One or two sentences which show the reader
    how you are going to develop the statement in the
    body paragraphs-the preview

23
Break it down
  • The Lead-In
  • Gives you some background or context for your
    essay
  • The Thesis Statement
  • Directly relates to the Essay Question
  • The Preview or essay map
  • indicates what is to follow in the body
    paragraphs

24
How this all looks
  • Introduction
  • Lead In 1 to 2 sentences
  • Thesis Statement Responds to the question or
    gives the topic statement of the essay 1
    sentence
  • Preview shows the reader where you are going
    with your body paragraphs 1 to 2 sentences

25
Body Paragraphs
  • These paragraphs each state a point of your
    argument, description or explanation and proves
    it or develops the description or explanation.
  • Each body paragraph has a topic sentence, which
    will be your stated point, and several sentences
    of explanation which you use to explain your
    position.

26
Conclusion
  • The conclusion is the least emphasized part of
    your essay.
  • In the introduction, you have stated your topic
    and stated your position.You have also pointed
    out what you will explain.
  • In the body paragraphs, you develop your points
    with supporting information, giving reasons for
    your argument or more detail for your
    explanation.
  • Your conclusion is a short restatement of the
    topic, wrapping up your position.

27
In conclusion,
  • The conclusion reminds the reader why you wrote
    the essay, what you wrote in it, or what your
    main idea was throughout the essay.
  • It gives the reader a chance to read a wrap up
    of the essay.
  • It never introduces any new points or includes
    any detail.

28
Connecting Your Sentences and Paragraphs
  • Use transition words to connect sentences
    together and paragraphs to each other to help the
    flow of your ideas.
  • Some of these words are also, in addition,
    furthermore, besides, likewise, so, therefore,
    then, consequently, in fact, in particular, next,
    first, secondly, finally, in conclusion, however,
    nevertheless, in contrast, instead, otherwise,
    yet

29
Use the right kind of language
  • Avoid personal terms like I, me and my
  • Your focus is not on you, but on your ideas and
    information
  • Examples of what to avoid
  • In my opinion,
  • I think that,
  • I am going to tell you is
  • That is what I think

30
Spelling
  • Spelling mistakes distract the reader from what
    you are saying.
  • They give a bad impression because they show lack
    of effort.
  • Use dictionaries, computer spell checks and your
    parents to proofread your work.

31
Punctuation and Grammar
  • Both punctuation and grammar help us express
    exactly what we mean and help the reader
    understand what we write.
  • This is particularly important in long and formal
    writings where the thoughts are complex.
  • If you want to be taken seriously, you must write
    using the accepted writing practices of correct
    punctuation and grammar.

32
Complete Sentencesnothing but complete sentences!
  • Proofread your work for complete sentences, and
    correct run-on sentences or fragments.
  • Proofread for spelling, punctuation, grammar.
  • Proofread for clarity to be sure you are staying
    on point, proving your point, and making sense.
    Revise that which does not make sense or sounds
    awkward.

33
In a good essay, a reader could read only the
introduction and topic sentences and still have a
very good idea of your argument or the point of
your essay.
  • Therefore, creating a good thesis statement or
    topic statement is very important.

34
Outline, Write, Edit, Rewrite
  • A good essay will take time. It is necessary to
    follow these steps.
  • When asked to write an essay for a test, you will
    only have time to outline
  • and write.
  • Writing good essays takes practice.
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