Essay Writing Essay Writing An authors personal point

Essay Writing

Essay Writing An author's personal point of view v. Literary criticism v. Political manifestos v. Argumentation v. Observations of daily life vreflections

French: essayer, "to try" or "to attempt" • "prose composition with a focused subject of discussion" or a "long, systematic discourse". Theodor W. Adorno • "the essay is a literary device for saying almost everything about almost anything” Aldous Huxley • Crews "a fairly brief piece of nonfiction that tries to make a point in an interesting way. "

Three Worlds • The personal and the autobiographical • The objective, the factual, and the concreteparticular • The abstract-universal

An Essay Brief Nonfiction Tries to make a point Not just a topic; also a thesis. Doesn't just give information about a subject; it supports a statement, a claim. • Interesting - audience • •

The Goal of An Essay To interest its readers, to change their thinking, to get them involved in the ideas it presents and ultimately get them to adopt those ideas. An essay might seek to inform or to persuade or both.

• A thesis statement is a single declarative sentence that states what you want your readers to know, believe, or understand.

Your thesis must make an arguable assertion. Ask yourself whether it would be possible to argue the opposite. If not, then it's not a thesis -- it's more of a fact. Not Arguable: "Computers are becoming an efficient mechanism for managing and transmitting information in large businesses. " (Who's going to dispute this? It's not an arguable assertion -- it's a fact. ) Arguable: "Heavy use of computers may disrupt family cohesion and increase divorce in society. " (This is arguable because many people may not believe it. It would make a good thesis!)

The thesis must also be specific Avoid broad, vague generalizations. Your thesis should include detail and specificity, offering the reader the why behind your reasoning. Poor Specificity: "We should not pass the microchip bill. " (Hey, not specific enough! It's just a value statement and doesn't provide enough reasoning for the reader. ) Good Specificity: "Because the microchip insert causes serious health hazards such as cancer and brain tumors to those who use it, the microchip bill should not be passed. " (Now thesis is much more specific, and the reader gets a clear idea of what the essay is going to be about. )

Follow an "although. . . actually" format Although it appears that computers may help students learn to write, actually they can become a detriment to the generation of what creative writers call "flow. ” Although many people believe that extraterrestials and crop circles are a figment of the imagination, actually there is strong evidence suggested by collective, distinct anecdotes that alien encounters are real. Although some philosophers profess to lead more pure, thoughtful lives, actually philosophers are no different than other publication-hungry academics.

Thesis Statement • Before-During-Efter • Trial statement: Why or how? • Positive not negative

Thesis Statements A strong thesis statement both names the topic and reveals the writer's opinion about that topic. It should be clear and specific. A thesis statement can also list the supporting ideas, but sometimes these are written in a separate sentence. Weak thesis statement: India has a lot of interesting festivals. The statement is too broad– the writer can’t discuss all Indian festival. Even though it does state the writer’s opinion, the statement is not clear: it doesn’t explain why the festivals are interesting. Strong thesis statement: Diwali is an important festival for Indians because they celebrate, remember traditional legends, and enjoy time with their families. The topic is specific enough, and it clearly gives the writer’s opinion. In addition, it lists the supporting ideas. Dorothy Zemac and Lynn Stafford-Yilmaz, Writers at Work: The Essay. Cambridge University Press, 2008

Parts of an Essay • Introduction- ead the reader into the topic and clarify what the essay will specifically deal with. It usually consists of one paragraph, but this depends on the length of the essay and the amount of background information the context requires. • Main body - deals with the major ideas that support the statement. Each main idea is presented in a separate paragraph and developed with supporting ideas in the form of explanations, definitions, or similar, and illustrated with examples where appropriate or necessary. • Conclusion -back to the purpose of the essay and draws all the points together before making a final comment on the result of the discussion/argument.

Categories • • informative persuasive expository argumentative