Writing A Good Essay

1
Writing A Good Essay

• Know The structure of an essay
• Show Design an outline for an essay

2
An Essay Is . . .

• The origin of the word essay comes from a French
  form of the Latin verb exigere, which means to
  examine
• The etymology shows the essence of the academic
  essay to encourage students to test or examine
  their ideas concerning a particular topic.

3
The Purpose of an Essay

• Descriptive - favorite place, an art
  masterpiece, your gourmet dinner
• Expository (Informational) compare/contrast two
  government systems, explain the rules of
  volleyball, select the greatest invention of all
  time and justify
• Argument/Persuade animal testing, year-round
  school, bans on assault weapons
• Entertain (Narrative) Halloween story, incident
  at 13th birthday
• Essays are concise and require clarity in purpose
  and direction. There is no room for the students
  thoughts to wander or stray from her purpose she
  must be deliberate and interesting.

4
The Introduction

• Motivator/Hook to grab readers attention
• Necessary background information
• Thesis statement to establish topic of essay to
  establish the claim (main point_
• Blueprint to lay out major supporting body
  paragraphs
• Style will vary with essay genre

5
Body Paragraphs

• Topic sentence (placement varies)
• Reasons, facts, and support
• Evidence of careful thought/research
• Transitional devices both within and as segue to
  other paragraphs
• Counter claim established if writing argument

6
The Conclusion

• A logical ending based on essay type
• Conclusions should
• Restate Thesis remind reader what you set out
  to do without an exact replica
• Briefly touch on some main ideas
• End with a Clincher - leave reader with something
  memorable