The Essay

December 2009

So what is an essay anyway?

• The essay is a short non-fiction piece of writing about a specific topic. There are different types of essays including:

• -literary analysis( write a response to literature, character, and other literary elements)

Literary analysis essays ask you to RESPOND and ANALYZE

Example: In the novel, The Outsiders how did the protagonist, Ponyboy Curtis, change?

Expository Essays

• -expository (gives facts, explains, gives steps in a process, presents ideas in a logical order)

Expository essays ask you to EXPLAIN or TELL HOWExample: Explain how to prevent global warming

and reduce your carbon footprint. • -descriptive (uses sensory images to describe

what the write sees, hears, smells, touches, and tastes, paints a clear description of people, places, objects or events)

So what is an essay anyway?

Descriptive essays ask you to DESCRIBE Example: Tell us what you see, hear, smell, taste,

and feel on Christmas morning. • -persuasive (prove something and give

reasons why, present arguments against your reasons and show them to be false, take a stand, ask or call for an action)

Persuasive Essay

Persuasive essays ask you to PERSUADE, CONVINCE, TELL WHY SOMEONE SHOULD DO SOMETHING

Example: Persuade a close friend to donate blood as part of a blood drive that your school is sponsoring for the Red Cross.

Pre-Writing

• It is important to gather evidence and ideas before you begin writing your essay. You can do this by using:

• PACOP-What is your Purpose?A-Who is your Audience?C-What are your ideas for details, facts or reasons? O-How are you going to Organize and structure your

paper?

The Introduction

• Have you ever thought about what are the good and the bad things in eighth grade? There are good things like changing classes and more freedom. Some of the bad things are you have to stay in school longer, you have more homework, and tests get harder. Stay with me as I explain the good and bad things about being in the eighth grade.

The Introduction

• An introduction has two purposes:• -capture your reader’s attention• -present the main idea of your writing

• Ways to begin• -share an unusual fact• -present a vivid description• -ask a question• -share an anecdote • -use dialogue

The Introduction

• The introduction introduces the subject of your paper with a broad general statement that is related to your topic, and then narrows to a single point or argument, which is called the claim or thesis.

The Introduction

• Share an unusual fact

• -Beginning this way can make your reader want to keep reading.

• Example:

• Some gardeners talk to their plants. Scientists have learned that plants can “talk” too. During long periods without rain, trees make high-pitched sounds. The message: They’re weak from thirst.

-”The Trees Are Talking” National Geographic World

The Introduction• Present a Lively Description

• A vivid description that includes sensory details can capture your readers’ imagination and welcome them into a whole new world or perspective.

• “Winter came upon us like the sudden opening of a tomb. Almost overnight it seemed that the last multicolored banners of autumn leaves had been wrenched from the trees by the wind and built up in great moldering piles that smelled like plum cake when you kicked them. Then came the early-morning frost that turned the long grass white and crisp as biscuit, made your breath hang in pale cobwebs in front of you and nipped at your fingertips with the viciousness of a slamming door.”

• -Gerald Durrell, A Bevy of Beasts

The Introduction• Ask a question

• Asking a question can get your readers thinking about the answer your writing will provide.

• “Do you eat like a bird and still gain weight? Believe it or not you may be eating in your sleep. Sleep eating is an unusual but far-from rare phenomenon, according to Neil Kavey, director of the Sleep Disorders Center at New York’s Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. Kavey recently wired up three people thought to be sleepeaters in a scientific attempt to show that they would try to eat in their sleep. Sure enough, they did.”

• -Paul McCarthy, “Snacking in Your Sleep”

The Introduction

• Relate an incident

• An interesting or humorous story can draw readers into your writing by making them part of the action. When we read we often make connections to a text based on our own experiences. Including those connections in your introduction can create a connection between you and your reader.

The Introduction

• Use dialogue

• Quoting people’s words can add interest to the introduction and give your writing credibility.

The Introduction

• Rewrite one of the following weak introductions.

• 1. I’m going to tell you how to remember names better.

• 2. There’s no more enjoyable activity than playing basketball.

• 3. My Thanksgiving vacation was fun.

Ms. Freese’s Example

• Five out of every ten Americans admit to becoming depressed during the holidays, but not for the reasons you might think. It isn’t weight gain from too many slices of turkey, or emotional distress from spending time with family or even the crowded shopping mall. What is depressing Americans during the holidays is the lack of light. According to leading physicians, a lack of vitamin D often leads to symptoms of depression.

Thesis

The thesis statement, or claim is the most important element in your essay. Your thesis is your argument in response to the writing prompt. It is written as a statement of fact.

Your essay explains, defends, clarifies and illustrates the argument you pose in your thesis.

Thesis

Generating a thesis is tough, and takes practice, but once you learn this skill you will be able to use it in all your writing.

We are going to learn how to write a thesis using several methods:

The Rule of Three, The Math Approach, The Thesis Generator, and the Quotation Sandwich

Thesis

• The Math Approach

• Subject + Direction + 3 Reasons=Claim

Example:Write an essay explaining what you admireAbout one of your friends and why.

The Math Approach

• Subject= My friend Katie

• Direction= What is it about Katie that makes me admire her so much?

• 3 Reasons= • She is a good listener • She is a good friend• Her willingness to put others first

The Math Approach

• Claim:

• Katie is a good friend because of her passion for the under-resourced, her willingness to spend time with friends, and her ability to be a good listener.

The Rule of Three

• The rule of three asks that in your thesis statement you list three reasons why in response to the question.

• Your thesis statement should always include the word three in it if you follow this rule.

The Rule of Three

• Example Thesis:

• Most successful students have three characteristic abilities than those who merely play at being students: they have the ability to motivate themselves, they have the ability to organize themselves, and they have the ability to set goals for themselves.

The Thesis Generator

• The thesis generator is a visual way to generate your claim. This rule requires four steps.

• 1. Identify the subject of your paper.• 2. Turn your subject into a guiding question.• 3. Answer your question with a statement.• 4. Refine the statement into a working thesis.

The Thesis Generator

• Example1. Relationships between teenagers and their parents.

• 2. How does the relationship between teenagers and their parents change?

• 3. As teens grow more independent, they resent and resist the limitations and expectations their parents impose on them.

• 4. Conflict between teenagers and their parents is a difficult, but necessary stage in kids’ development.

The Quotation Sandwich

• Quote. Claim. Comment.

• Claim- Your opinion on the material, written as a statement of fact

• Quote-provides concrete textual evidence and support for the claim statement

• Commentary-Ties the quote to the claim

The Quotation Sandwich

• Example from Romeo and JulietAt the start of the play, before she has met and fallen in love with Romeo, Juliet is a dutiful daughter, willing to take direction from her elders. When Lady Capulet asks her if she can like Paris she responds agreeably, “It’ll look to like, if looking liking move. But no more deep will I endart mine eyeThan your consent gives strength to make it fly”(1.3. 103-105).

Juliet’s willingness not only to accommodate her mother’s request that she meet Paris, but also

suspend judgement on him until she receives her mother’s approval is surely the mark of an obedient daughter.

Example Thesis Statement

Body Paragraphs and Transitions

• First I will tell you about the good and fun things about being in the seventh grade.You get to change classes so if one teacher is like Mrs. Trunchbull in Matilda, you are only with her for part of the day. If your teacher is like Ms. Honey you will enjoy a fabulous time with her. Another thing I enjoy is more freedom. We don’t have to walk in straight lines as if we were soldiers marching off to war. Next, you can get your own food instead of having the lunch ladies get it for you. I like spending time with my friends so if there are not in one of my classes, I can see them at lunch.

Body Paragraphs and Transitions

• Next I’m writing about the bad things you go through in seventh grade. First of all you have to take the SAT test. In elementary school you didn’t have to worry about this kind of thing. The SAT test is like eating stale food because it can hurt you and it can be boring. The tests get harder as you go on. We have so many of them they can cause a major stress and make you feel like your stomach was just pulled out. At my elementary school we got out fifteen minutes earlier. Sitting in math class for that extra minutes makes me feel terrible inside.

Body Paragraphs and Transitions

• Finally my next category is going to be things that come good and bad. First field trips are extremely fun because you can talk and miss school. However it’s bad if you go somewhere boring or can’t sit with your friend. Everybody loves P.E. because we play real sports with competitiveness. But sadly when we’re leaving PE, my clothes get sweaty which doesn’t feel good. Everybody knows the pluses and minuses of Homework! We have so much homework it just takes the energy out of you, which is bad. What is good about it is that the more homework you have, the better chance you have to pull up your grade.