How to Write an Essay

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How to Write an Essay
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The Five Paragraph Essay

• You may remember learning about this type of
  essay before, but here is a review.

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• The five paragraph essay consists of five
  complete paragraphs.
• The first one being the introduction
• Second, third and forth reserved for the main
  body
• The last being the conclusion.

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Lets get started...

• You will want to take some notes.....

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The all important Introduction

• The introductory paragraph is the place in which
  the writer introduces the reader to the topic. It
  is important to make this a clear and limited
  statement. This is where the writer grabs the
  reader's attention. Because of its purpose, it is
  often the first sentence of the paragraph. It is
  followed by three subtopics that develop the
  thesis.
• This can be done in a variety of ways....
• http//www.geocities.com/SoHo/Atrium/1437/structur
  e.html

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Way 1

• Historical review Some topics are better
  understood if a
• brief historical review of the topic is presented
  to lead into
• the discussion of the moment. Such topics might
  include "a
• biographical sketch of a war hero," "an upcoming
  execution
• of a convicted criminal," or "drugs and the
  younger
• generation." Obviously there are many, many more
  topics
• that could be introduced by reviewing the history
  of the
• topic before the writer gets down to the nitty
  gritty of his
• paper. It is important that the historical review
  be brief so
• that it does not take over the paper.
• http//cctc2.commnet.edu/grammar/intros.htm

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Way 2

• Anecdotal An anecdote is a little story.
  Everyone loves to listen to stories. Begin a
  paper by relating a small story that leads into
  the topic of your paper. Your story should be a
  small episode, not a full blown story with
  characters and plot and setting...If you do it
  right, your story will capture the reader's
  interest so that he or she will continue to read
  your paper. One caution be sure that your story
  does not take over the paper. Remember, it is an
  introduction, not the paper.

http//cctc2.commnet.edu/grammar/intros.htm
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Way 3

• Surprising statement A surprising statement is a
  favorite introductory technique of professional
  writers. There are many ways a statement can
  surprise a reader. Sometimes the statement is
  surprising because it is disgusting. Sometimes it
  is joyful. Sometimes it is shocking. Sometimes it
  is surprising because of who said it.
  Professional writers have honed this technique to
  a fine edge. It is not used as much as the first
  two patterns, but it is used.
• http//cctc2.commnet.edu/grammar/intros.htm

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Way 4

• Famous person People like to know what
  celebrities say and do. Dropping the name of a
  famous person at the beginning of a paper usually
  gets the reader's attention. It may be something
  that person said or something he or she did that
  can be presented as an interest grabber. You may
  just mention the famous person's name to get the
  reader's interest. The famous person may be dead
  or alive. The famous person may be a good person
  like the Pope, or he or she may be a bad person
  like John Wilkes Booth. Of course, bringing up
  this person's name must be relevant to the topic.
  Even though the statement or action may not be
  readily relevant, a clever writer can convince
  the reader that it is relevant.
• http//cctc2.commnet.edu/grammar/intros.htm

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Way 5

• Declarative This technique is quite commonly
  used, but it must be carefully used or the writer
  defeats his whole purpose of using one of these
  patterns, to get the reader's interest. In this
  pattern, the writer simply states straight out
  what the topic of his paper is going to be about.
  It is the technique that most student writers use
  with only modest success most of the time, but
  good professional writers use it too.
• http//cctc2.commnet.edu/grammar/intros.htm

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• Your introduction also needs to state the three
  main subtopics of your paper, without going into
  detail.

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Now that thats done lets take a look at what you
should never put in an introduction!!!
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Never....

• Apologize... never suggest that you do not know
  what you are talking about by using sentences
  like...
• In my humble opinion . . .I am not sure
  about this, but . . .
• http//cctc2.commnet.edu/grammar/intros.htm

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Never....

• Announce your intentions....never state out right
  that you are about to write an essay.
• In this essay I will....
• In my paper I will talk about....
• The purpose of this essay is to...
• http//cctc2.commnet.edu/grammar/intros.htm

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Never....

• Use a dictionary or encyclopedia definition....
• According to Merriam-Webster's WWWebster
  Dictionary,a widget is . . .
• http//cctc2.commnet.edu/grammar/intros.htm

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Never....

• Dilly-dally. Get right to it. Sometimes it is
  useful to write a paragraph to get yourself
  started, but once you have finished your paper
  all the unnecessary parts need to be taken out.
• http//cctc2.commnet.edu/grammar/intros.htm

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• The last line in your introduction also needs to
  move the reader completely from your introduction
  to your main body. This is where your thesis
  statement comes in. It answers the question that
  the topic asks.

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Okay now that the introduction is done take a
minute to shake out your writing hand....

• Three..........
• Two..........
• One......

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Next comes the Main Body...

• The main body is made up of three paragraphs.....

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Paragraph 1

• This is where you restate Subtopic One. You
  follow this with your First Supporting Detail or
  Example, your
• Second Supporting Detail or Example
• and then your Third Supporting Detail or
  Example.
• http//www.geocities.com/SoHo/Atrium/1437/structur
  e.html

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It also needs to contain...

• the strongest argument, most significant example,
  cleverest illustration, or an obvious beginning
  point.
• http//cctc2.commnet.edu/grammar/five_par.htm

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• Next you use a... Transition to lead into your
  second paragraph.

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Paragraph 2

• This is where you Restate Subtopic Two. You
  follow this with your First Supporting Detail or
  Example, your Second Supporting Detail or Example
  and then your Third Supporting Detail or Example.
• http//www.geocities.com/SoHo/Atrium/1437/structu
  re.html

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It also needs to contain...

• the second strongest argument, second most
  significant example, second cleverest
  illustration, or an obvious follow up the first
  paragraph in the body.
• http//cctc2.commnet.edu/grammar/five_par.htm

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• Transition again....

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Paragraph 3

• This is where you Restate Subtopic Three. You
  follow this with your First Supporting Detail or
  Example, your Second Supporting Detail or Example
  and then your Third Supporting Detail or Example.
• http//www.geocities.com/SoHo/Atrium/1437/structu
  re.html

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It also needs to contain...

• the weakest argument, weakest example, weakest
  illustration, or an obvious follow up to the
  second paragraph in the body.
• http//cctc2.commnet.edu/grammar/five_par.htm

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• Transition
• One more time....

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• And then...

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Your Conclusion

• Finally, the fifth paragraph is the summary
  paragraph. It
• is important to restate the thesis and three
  supporting
• ideas in an original and powerful manner as this
  is the last
• chance the writer has to convince the reader of
  the validity
• of the information presented. Because the
  purposes of the
• first and fifth paragraph are so similar, some
  writers
• construct them at the same time. They will edit
  them, as
• necessary, as they do with each and every part of
  the
• essay.
• http//www.geocities.com/SoHo/Atrium/1437/structu
  re.html

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Your conclusion needs to have the following...

• An allusion to the pattern used in the
  introductory paragraph,
• A restatement of the thesis statement, using some
  of the original language or language that
  "echoes" the original language. (The restatement,
  however, must not be a duplicate thesis
  statement.)
• A summary of the three main points from the body
  of the paper.
• A final statement that gives the reader signals
  that the discussion has come to an end.
• http//cctc2.commnet.edu/grammar/five_par.htm

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Good Things To Know...
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• You need to always fully understand what you are
  expected to do....if in doubt, ask the
  teacher....
• You also need to decide if your paper is suppose
  to be a general overview on the topic or answer a
  specific question.

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Next comes the Brainstorm...
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• By now you should all know the basic ideas of the
  brainstorm....but just incase....
• http//www.atpm.com/7.03/
• images/inspiration-

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• And how do I cite my sources again????

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In a bibliography!!

• A bibliography always starts on a new page.
• The title is centered.
• Double-space between title and the first entry.
• Each entry begins flush with the left margin, and
  is then indented half an inch.
• Entries are single-spaced, with a blank line
  between entries.
• Alphabetize the list by author.
• http//www.nutsandboltsguide.com/chicago.html

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An Example...
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From a book...

• Author (s). Title of book. Place of Publication.
  Publisher. Date.

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From the Web...

• Author (s). Title of Article. Title of Book.
  Date (of the article). Publisher. Date (you got
  the information). Other information (web site).

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Newspaper or Magazine Article

• Author (s). Title of Article. Title of
  Periodical. Date. Page.

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If you use another source check out how to cite
it here.....

• http//essayinfo.com/citations/mla.php

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But what if I want to use a quote but I do not
want to plagiarize?
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Use an In-text Citation

• An in-text citation allows you to use a quote
  from any source, in your essay, without
  plagiarizing some ones work.
• What you need to know is how you do it...here is
  an example....

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• ...while looking at the moon in the sky does not
  cause the same amount of damage to the eyes that
  the sun does it does however cause the eyes to
  ...close and open very fast allowing limited
  light to get to the inner eye.... (Authors last
  name Page number.) Therefore you will probably
  get bored before you ever went blind.
• The next thing to consider is the fact that
  the

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Things to Remember...

• If the quote is more than four lines long, then
  it must be written as follows
• Your essay is being written here and then
  you...
• ...want to put a quote in that is more
• than four lines of test long. You need to
  indent
• it like this, and cite it the same way as
• you do a short quote. The four lines would be
  four
• lines of typed text (Baker 2)
• You also need to remember that a quote over two
  lines is always
• single spaced even when your paper is doubled
  spaced.

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• You should also always number your pages. How you
  do this depend on how your teacher likes it done.
  In most cases the teacher wants the page number
  in the top right hand corner.
• You may also include your last name before the
  number if you so desire, but never put page
  before the number.

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Just in case you missed it...

• Most of this information can be found on the
  following web page
• http//www.geocities.com/SoHo/Atrium/1437/index.ht
  ml

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And to answer the age old question of...

• Why do we have to write essay papers????

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• Writing is a part of everyday life, especially if
  you are planning to attend university, community
  college or any post secondary school.
• You will be asked more than once to write an
  essay in any of the above mentioned forms of
  schooling.
• They do not give you a second chance to make up a
  paper the better you know it now, the better off
  you will be then.
• And do not forget, there is an essay on your
  Exam!!!

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But what if I do not plan on going to university
or any other post secondary school?

• The chances that you will get a good, well paying
  job with out some form of post secondary
  schooling is slim to none. And even if you do,
  then at some point during that job you will be
  required to write some form of report.

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And possibly, for some, the best reason why you
need to write essays in English 12 is...
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• TO PASS...

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• The End