Writing an Essay

The Academic Essay

The academic essay is composed of 3 parts: an introduction, the body, and a conclusion.

Evidence

Organization

ESSAY

Tone

EVIDENCE

The most important part of the academic essay is finding and using credible evidence to support your thesis.Provide logical evidence

to support your opinions.

Use ACE and signal phrases to integrate your quotes

A word of caution about evidence…

Sometimes you want to support your opinion with research.

Sources like Wikipedia, Webster’s Dictionary, or the World Book encyclopedia are not considered academic sources.

They are too general and have issues with timeliness, target audience, and credibility.

They are a great place to start research or find great links to other, credible sources.

TONEUse a formal or

academic voice in the essay.

Edit your essay for conventions, such as grammar, mechanics, and style.

Use third person: The author, reader,

audience, novelNOT- I, we, you

Evidence

Organization

ESSAY

Tone

TONEAvoid emotional or ambiguous arguments

Your FEELINGS can change.

Your position on the topic should be the same, regardless of the mood you are in.

In addition, YOU are the expert. Do not use words like, “kind of” and “sort of”.

Evidence

Organization

ESSAY

Tone

Organization Some argue this is the

most important feature of an essay.

Must have an Introduction with a thesis

Body Paragraphs

A conclusion

Text

Ideas

ESSAY

Writer

The Introduction

Should include: A hook–grabs the reader’s interest and is

relevant to the essay’s topic and tone.

Try to avoid a question in formal writing.

Important background information the reader must have concerning the issue.

Helps establish context for the reader.

Transition from the general to the specific (thesis).

The Thesis Statement

At the end of your introduction, the reader should find your thesis.

The thesis has 3 major parts: the subject (what you are writing about), the attitude (what you are saying about the subject), and the sequence (the order of the topics): The narrator in Lucien Stryk’s poem, “Cherries,” reflects

the greedy and selfish attitude of corporate leadership in North America.

Tracey Devon, the protagonist of Out of Sight, Out of Mind, by Marilyn Kaye, is lonely, melancholy, and shy.

Thesis Statements

Identify the the subject (what the author is writing about), the attitude (what the author is saying about the subject), and the sequence (the order of the topics) in the following examples: In the beginning of Anderson’s novel, Speak, Melinda is

portrayed as a depressed and miserable person. However, throughout the novel Melinda becomes increasingly optimistic and resilient, which indicates that she is beginning to heal from her traumatic past.

The title of Marcus Zusak’s novel, The Book Thief, has a strong relationship to the content of the novel itself because the title highlights the importance of the act of stealing books, which is correlated with the most important times of emotional and intellectual growth in Liesel’s life.

The Body

The body is where writers present their evidence to support their thesis.

For an academic essay, the writer must present at least two points of support in each body paragraph.

The first sentence of each body paragraph should clearly support some part of the thesis. We call these topic sentences.

The last sentence of each body paragraph sums up the paragraph and links back to the thesis. We call these concluding sentences.

Developing the Body Paragraph: ACE

Assertion/Context: Give the reader information about what is happening in the quote or show how you have come to the position you hold on this issue.

Use a signal phrase to incorporate the quote: In chapter four Bill says, “…

Explanation: Show the reader why you have used this quote to prove your thesis.

Developing the Body Paragraphs: Evidence

Evidence/Examples/Quotes: You will provide two or more citations from the novel

to prove your point. This helps your reader “see” what you are talking

about. Provide a concrete example of the more abstract

concept.

Developing the Body Paragraphs: When Should you use Definitions?

Define terms: You only need to define terms if you are using a specific term that is either unknown to your audience or is open to multiple definitions. For example, if you are writing about the novel “Unwind” you

may need to explain what a “clapper” is to the audience if you are making reference to it in your essay.

Developing the Body Paragraphs

Transitions/Concluding Sentence:

This is the last step in a body paragraph.

Transitions help wrap up the paragraph’s point and move the reader to the next stage of the essay.

The Conclusion

This paragraph ends the essay. The first element in a conclusion is traditionally a

restatement of the thesis. You never copy the thesis exactly as it appears in the introduction, but you do want to remind your reader of the overall point of your essay.

Your conclusion is a place to show the significance of your thesis – why your interpretation is important or unique.

Do not introduce new evidence here!