Essay Writing Strategies Essay Formula ColorCoding B Lee

Essay Writing Strategies Essay Formula Color-Coding B. Lee 2003

Words of Advice “Being able to write an essay is the result of a long-term, step-by-step process of learning what an essay consists of, how to complete each step, and how to combine the steps into a finished product. ” ~Hollis Elkins, 2002

Essay Formula A Step-by-Step Process! Color-Coding Main Menu

Identify Paragraph Functions Introductory Paragraph Body Paragraphs Concluding Paragraph Color-Coding Main Menu

Introductory Paragraph 1. Opening Sentence-Hook 2. Overview Thesis Statement Color-Coding Paragraph Functions Main Menu

Body Paragraphs Remember the ABCs! 3 1. Topic Sentence 2 1 A. Intro. To Evidence B. Evidence C. Commentary 2. REPEAT ABC as needed (or mix & match) 3. Closing Sentence (Paragraph-ending explanation) Color-Coding Paragraph Functions Main Menu

Concluding Paragraph Thesis Statement -Reworded - Big Picture Statement (Advanced Writers: Précis) Paragraph Functions Color-Coding Main Menu

Color-Coding Essays A sample student paragraph for color-coding Blue = Topic Sentence Red = Introductions to Evidence Green = Evidence Black = Commentary Purple = Closing Sentence (Paragraph-ending explanation) Sample Paragraph #1 Essay Formula Sample Paragraph #2 Main Menu

Sample Paragraph #1 Orwell also provides for his own ideas with logical and illogical techniques. He states at different times in the passage, “through loyalty a friend can be led into a wrongdoing. ” This he uses to establish a criterion for humanity. He then links the idea of sainthood by saying, “the essence of being human is that one does not seek perfection. ” By using this clever logic, Orwell can justify human actions of sin and mistake. Since all humans make mistakes, Orwell states, one who does not is inhuman. Simple linear logic is used well by Orwell. However, he still uses logical fallacies to bolster his own stance. Orwell invites a false analogy by saying, “alcohol, tobacco, and so forth, are things that a saint must avoid, but sainthood is also a thing that human being must avoid. ” Orwell takes two situations (humanity and sainthood) and treats them the same way with a blanket statement. This is a false analogy because sainthood cannot be compared to material vices such as alcohol, but is rather a human condition. Furthermore, Orwell uses an opinion as evidence and begs the question when he says, “To an ordinary human being, love means nothing if it does not mean loving some people more than others. ” Orwell offers no proof as to why people feel this way; he does not tell us what “ordinary” is; and he can’t prove that people feel this way at all. Orwell assumes in order to prove, and in doing so, is fallacious. Color Key Essay Formula Main Menu Sample Paragraph #2

Sample Color-Coded #1 Orwell also provides for his own ideas with logical and illogical techniques. He states at different times in the passage, “through loyalty a friend can be led into a wrongdoing. ” This he uses to establish a criterion for humanity. He then links the idea of sainthood by saying, “the essence of being human is that one does not seek perfection. ” By using this clever logic, Orwell can justify human actions of sin and mistake. Since all humans make mistakes, Orwell states, one who does not is inhuman. Simple linear logic is used well by Orwell. However, he still uses logical fallacies to bolster his own stance. Orwell invites a false analogy by saying, “alcohol, tobacco, and so forth, are things that a saint must avoid, but sainthood is also a thing that human being must avoid. ” Orwell takes two situations (humanity and sainthood) and treats them the same way with a blanket statement. This is a false analogy because sainthood cannot be compared to material vices such as alcohol, but is rather a human condition. Furthermore, Orwell uses an opinion as evidence and begs the question when he says, “To an ordinary human being, love means nothing if it does not mean loving some people more than others. ” Orwell offers no proof as to why people feel this way; he does not tell us what “ordinary” is; and he can’t prove that people feel this way at all. Orwell assumes in order to prove, and in doing so, is fallacious. Color Key Essay Formula Main Menu

Sample Paragraph #2 Although Soto is looking back at his childhood from an adult perspective, one way he recreates the pie-stealing incident is by using the type and length of sentences which a six-year-old might. Many of his sentences are brief and to-the-point. These statements continue a simple subject, a simple verb, and a brief sentence ending. Each stage of his “crime” is described in this simple way. He recalls, “I sat on the curb. ” Later he says, “My face was sticky with guilt. ” When the empty pie tin rolled away from him, he remembers, “I retrieved it, jogging slowly. ” And finally, when the experience was at an end, he says, “I flung it again until I was bored and thirsty. ” Each of these sentences is written in a way that a child would speak: uncomplicated, concise, and brief. This style creates the effect of a boy telling the story. Sometimes Soto uses this pattern in compound sentences comprised of very short independent clauses: “He looked at me, and I got up and headed for home. ” “A car honked, and the driver knew. ” These sentences have the same effect of the simple sentences and follow the same pattern. They convey the sense that a child is telling the story. Sample Paragraph #1 Color Key Essay Formula Main Menu

Sample Color-Coded #2 Although Soto is looking back at his childhood from an adult perspective, one way he recreates the pie-stealing incident is by using the type and length of sentences which a six-year-old might. Many of his sentences are brief and to-the-point. These statements continue a simple subject, a simple verb, and a brief sentence ending. Each stage of his “crime” is described in this simple way. He recalls, “I sat on the curb. ” Later he says, “My face was sticky with guilt. ” When the empty pie tin rolled away from him, he remembers, “I retrieved it, jogging slowly. ” And finally, when the experience was at an end, he says, “I flung it again until I was bored and thirsty. ” Each of these sentences is written in a way that a child would speak: uncomplicated, concise, and brief. This style creates the effect of a boy telling the story. Sometimes Soto uses this pattern in compound sentences comprised of very short independent clauses: “He looked at me, and I got up and headed for home. ” “A car honked, and the driver knew. ” These sentences have the same effect of the simple sentences and follow the same pattern. They convey the sense that a child is telling the story. Color Key Essay Formula Main Menu