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A presentation on Essay Writing that I made.
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Essay Writing
Outline
• Origin of the word essay• What is an essay?• What can an essay say?• 3 basic types of essays• 6 parts of an essay• Where should you start?• Whom should you read?• What is the most important thing?
• From ‘essai’ from French to ‘test’ or ‘attempt’ • First known use 14th century• First appearance, Zuihitsu: a genre of prose
writing in Japanese literature. It means “to follow” and “brush”. Originally from Chinese meaning “to follow brush”
Why This Mentioning of Origin?
• Will it make you any smarter?• Will it make you write a better essay?• Will it make you form your opinion about an
essay?• Will it make you remember what an essay is?
Enough!
What Is an Essay?
• “a short piece of writing that tells a person's thoughts or opinions about a subject”
m-w.com
• It is a form of prose writing that aims to say something
What can an essay say?
What Can an Essay Say?
• Controversial stuff with proof• It can say and portray stories
unknown to us• That you think out of the box• Be a little personal
3 Basic Types of Essays
1) Descriptive essay 2) Opinionated essay / Argumentative essay3) Narrative essay / Personal essay
What is the mnemonic for learning the name of 3 basic types of essays?
• Yes, you guessed it right…
DON
3 Basic Types of Essays1) Descriptive essay – Describes a situation / event / place– Pros and cons / Likes or dislikes
2) Opinionated essay / Argumentative essay– Propose a debatable topic– Using cause and effect / using logic, come to a
conclusion3) Narrative essay / Personal essay– Using personal pronouns ‘I’, personal opinions are
given
Which Essay Type Is the Most Popular?
• What is your guess?
Yes, you are correct or incorrect?
• Debatable essay / opinion generating essay / argumentative essay / analytical essay
• These are all the names for almost the same type of essay with slight variations
6 Parts of an Essay
1) First statement is an ‘I’2) Introductory paragraph / Thesis3) Topic statement / thesis statement4) Body paragraphs 5) Concluding paragraph / Restatement of the
thesis statement6) Last statement is an ‘I’
6 Parts of an Essay…
1) First statement is an ‘I’– Quote / Simple introduction / A general but nicely
crafted statement 2) Introductory paragraph / Thesis– A little taste of what you want to carry forward
3) Topic statement / thesis statement– Last sentence of the first paragraph – A statement you will restate later in the
conclusion
6 Parts of an Essay…
4) Body paragraphs – Body is the space where you experiment by giving your
opinions, ideas or justifications• “… Pro idea 1
Pro idea 2Con(s) + Refutation(s): these are the opinions of others that you disagree with. You must clearly specify these opinions if you are to refute them convincingly.Conclusion” Cappelen Damm
• I recommend you see the link given in the reference for possible approaches
Body
• Opinion + justification • Opinion + logic + justification• Opinion + logic + justification + examples
How many paragraphs in the body?
• 300 words essay can have 2 to 3 paragraphs• Likewise for a 600 to 700 word essay 6
paragraphs will do
6 Parts of an Essay…
5) Concluding paragraph / Restatement of the thesis statement– You are saying goodbye. Conclude by summarizing and; – restating your thesis statement
6) Last statement is an ‘I’– Claim your victory by coming to a thoughtful conclusion– You took your precious time to write an essay so
personalize it by letting us, the readers, know what you’ve gained
Mnemonic to Learn 6 Parts of an Essay
• FIT BCL • Remember it like this: – A red snap fit buckle (FIT BCL) is 5 times tighter
than a quick fit buckle
Where should you start?
Whom should you read?
4 Popular Essay Writers
1. Francis bacon, The Essays (1597)2. Bertrand Russell, Unpopular Essays (1950)3. Michel de Montaigne, Essais (1580, 1588)4. Sei Shōnagon, The Pillow Book (1002)
No, they are boring
• They must be…
Read• Forbes• Reader’s Digest• National Geographic• Inc.• The Verge• BBC• CNN• Reuters
• DW• Engadget• Science Daily• Popular Science• And the list goes on…
What is the most important thing to remember from all this?
Quality
Outline for Revision
• Origin of the word essay• What is an essay?• What can an essay say?• 3 basic types of essays• 6 parts of an essay• Where should you start?• Whom should you read?• What is the most important thing to remember from
all this?
References
• access-socialstudies.cappelendamm.no• aucegypt.edu• grammar.about.com• publishersweekly.com• The Essays by Francis Bacon• Sei Shōnagon The Pillow Book• Image source slide 1 - proficientwriters• Image source slide 17 - customessayorder• Image source slide 34 - mcqpaper