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Essay

What is Essay?

( A short piece of writing in a particular subject

There are three parts of essay, namely:

1. Introduction

2. Body

3. Conclusion

INTRODUCTION

Use the first few paragraphs to establish the nature of your study, but keep the introduction

• Subject ( Identify your specific topic, and then define, limit, and narrow it to one issue

• Background ( Provide relevant historical data. Discuss a few key sources that touch on your specific issue. If writing about a major figure, give relevant biographical facts, but not an encyclopedia-type survey/ Saying something interesting

• Thesis Sentence ( Within the first few paragraphs, establish the direction of the study and point toward your eventual conclusions (See below, “Opening with your Thesis Statement) / Outline of main points

What is Thesis?

( Statement or theory put forward and supported by arguments

Opening with Your Thesis Statement

Generally, thesis will appear near the end of the introduction, although it sometimes begins, as in this next example:

Parents who abuse their children are victims and should be treated as such, not as criminals. Granted, they are not battered like the youngsters, but society must understand that child abuse can be a symptom of the parent’s economic condition and social background. Reaching out to the parent before a child appears in an emergency room may prove difficult, yet theoretically solving the causes, not just treating the effects, may be the only way to stop this escalating maltreatment of America’s greatest resource, the children.

___: Thesis

BODY

Make your argument / analysis/ examination

• Main Point(s)/Idea(s)

• Justification ( Proof, Evidence, Facts, Examples, Opinion, Logic, Explanations)

There must be link (inter paragraph link) among the paragraphs. For example, there are three paragraphs as the body; the order can be seen as follows:

MP1 + J1 link MP2+J2 link MP3 + J3 link MP4 + J4

MP = Main Point

J = Justification

Link can be connected by repetition of key words and transitional words/phrases (e.g., firstly/to begin with, secondly, finally, also, furthermore, in addition, therefore).

Do not ever forget to include any references (at least one reference) to support argument / analysis/ examination in the body of your essay.

CONCLUSION

Build a conclusion that goes beyond mere summary and repetition of the thesis. It should reach a judgment to endorse one side of an issue, to discuss findings, or to offer directives. To put it succinctly, it should say something worthwhile. After all, the reader has a right to a concluding statement

REFERENCES:

Hornby, A S. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 4th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989

Lester, James D. Writing Research Papers- A Complete Guide. 7th ed. New York: HarperCollins College, 1993.

Writing a Title

Compiled from: “Writing Research Papers – A Complete Guide” by James D. Lester

The title of writing should provide specific words of identification. A clearly expressed title, like a good thesis sentence, will control your writing and keep you on course. Consider the following strategies for writing a title.

1. Name a general subject, followed by a colon, and followed by a phrase that renames the subject.

Poor title: Saving the Software

Better title: Computer Control: Software Safeguards and Computer Theft

( Key words: computer theft, software safeguards

2. Name a general subject and narrow it with prepositional phrases

Poor title: Gothic Madness

Better title: Gothic Madness in Three Southern Writers

( Key words: gothic, southern writers

3. Name a general subject and cite a specific work that will illuminate the topic

Poor title: Religious Imagery

Better title: Religious Imagery in Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury

( Key words: religious imagery, Faulkner, The Sound and the Fury

4. Name a general subject, followed by a colon, and followed by a phrase that describes the type of study

Poor title: Black Dialect in Maya Angelou’s Poetry

Better title: Black Dialect in Maya Angelou’s Poetry: A Language Study

( Key words: black dialect, Maya Angelou’s Poetry, language study

5. Name a general subject, followed by a colon, and followed by a question

Poor title: AIDS

Better title: AIDS: Where did it come from?

( Key words: AIDS, where

6. Establish a specific comparison

Poor title: A Comparison of Momaday and Storm

Better title: Religious Imagery in Momaday’s The Names and Storm’s Seven Arrows

( Key words: Momaday, The Names, Storm, Seven Arrows

Types of Essay

"Compare and contrast the use of rhyme in two poets of the eighteenth century," a teacher might say when giving you your English assignment. Or maybe, "Define democracy," for a social studies essay. There are many different kinds of essays, each with a slightly different purpose. Different books give them different names and divide them up in somewhat different ways, which can make things confusing. I have tried to use the more common names for types of essays here, but what matters more is not what they are called, but what they are meant to do. Below are some types of essays. Do not worry about memorizing them, just read through and see the different things an essay can do.

1) Analogy and Comparison

Analogy and comparative essays both use comparison, but they use it somewhat differently. Comparative essays simply compare similarities and differences, while analogy essays use analogy to clarify difficult topics.

Analogy

An analogy is a kind of comparison that attempts to illuminate a subject by comparing it to something else that is in many ways unlike the subject. For example, an analogy might explain the workings of the human brain and nervous system by comparing it to the electrical wiring of a car. Although a person and a car are very different, there are specific similarities that can help someone picture the way a human nervous system works by reference to the more familiar car electrical system.

Of course, not everyone is familiar with the electrics of cars, so in choosing your topic for an essay that uses analogy, you will have to be selective about what you decide to compare your primary topic to. The best way to use analogy is to explain something abstract or complicated by comparing it to something familiar, concrete, or simple to understand.

Comparison

This kind of essay is also known as the compare-contrast essay. In a comparison essay, the object is to compare the similarities of otherwise different things, and/or to contrast the differences of otherwise similar things. Sometimes, you may be expected to look at the similarities and differences, though usually the similarities of similar things and the differences of different things are already obvious.

In writing this kind of essay, you will likely need to use methods from many of the other kinds of essays. You might need to explain similarities by analogy, for example (see above), or highlight differences by process analysis.

2) Analytical Essays

An analytical or analysis essay is one that analyzes, that is, interprets or examines something. There are several different kinds of analytical essay including cause and effect, description, literary analysis, and process analysis.

Cause and Effect

A cause and effect essay examines or interprets the causes or effects of a situation. In this kind of essay, you may start from a known result or situation and examine what brought about that result. For example, it is known and observable that the sky appears blue, so you could write about why that sky appears blue, what causes it. Or, a cause and effect essay might begin from a known situation and then examine the effects of that situation. For example, intensive agriculture uses enormous amounts of fertilizer, so you could write about the effects of fertilizer that runs off farmland when it rains.

Description

Some essays do nothing but describe. To describe something in an essay, it is a good idea to use some of the same techniques as you would use in creative writing. Make use of all five senses: how does a thing look, feel, taste, smell, and sound? Note those small, unique details that really enable a reader to see what it is about the thing you are describing that makes it different from other things like it. Descriptive essays can easily slip over the dividing line between something you have to write for school and a true piece of creative non-fiction.

Do not forget, though, that clarity and accuracy are important, so stay away from abstraction as much as possible. And remember that the techniques of the descriptive essay are useful in other essay types, as well. How can you analyze something without a quick description of it, at least?

Literary Analysis

A literary analysis essay interprets literature (a poem, short story, play, etc). It may discuss the meaning of the work, or it may evaluate the use of particular literary techniques, style and so on. Generally, a literary analysis focuses on three aspects of literature: a writer, a specific literary work or works, or a literary element. These three can be combined in various ways; for example, you could choose to write about Shakespeare's use of the rhyming couplet in his comedies, you could write about Shakespeare as a typical (or atypical) playwright of his time, or you could examine the theme of Macbeth.

Process Analysis

A process analysis essay looks at how something is done. You could approach your topic as a how-to, and guide your readers through the process that they will follow. For example, you could write an essay describing how to hand-polish a car in a step-by-step format that allows readers to polish their own car following your instructions. Or you could look at the topic as something that has already been done. For example, you could write about the grandfather clock in your front hallway, describing the process by which it was made. Thus the process analysis paper can either instruct (teach someone how-to) or inform (illuminate a past event).

3) Argument and Opinion

Argument essays and opinion essays Opinion essays can be very similar, in that they both present a position and offer reasons for holding that position. The difference is largely one of degree; an opinion can be supported, but not actually proven, while an argument is a more rigorous and logical construct that ideally can be objectively evaluated in comparison to other arguments. In other words, opinions are personal, but arguments must be supported with good evidence.

Argument

An argumentative, or persuasive, essay is meant to convince the reader of something. You might, for example, write about why smoking is bad for your health, or why you should always look both ways before crossing the street. You do not necessarily have to agree with the position you are arguing for, as long as you write your essay as if you agree. This is an important distinction, as some teachers like to assign essays that require you to argue against whatever opinion you agree with. For example, you might be given an assignment to write and essay arguing for the elimination of the summer holiday from the school year. Even if you do not think the summer holiday should be eliminated, you still have to be able to express the arguments for that idea. Also, being able to argue from the other side of a topic is useful when you are arguing for something you believe in--that way, you can anticipate the arguments of the other side and refute them as you present your own arguments.

Opinion

An opinion essay simply expresses the writer's opinion on a particular topic. A good opinion essay, though, not only states what the opinion is, but also why the writer holds that opinion, and shows that the writer has examined and evaluated other possibilities. Thus, if you write about your opinion on spaying/neutering pet dogs, you should also give reasons for having that opinion, and you should mention other possible opinions and explain why you rejected them.

This kind of essay can be used for sharing ideas, explaining the reasons for actions you have taken, or to try to convince the reader to change their mind.

4) Classification and Definition

When you need to write about what something is, you will probably need to use classification and definition. Classification related something the other things that it is like or unlike, while definition attempts to say simply what the thing is.

Classification

A classification essay clarifies relationships between things. Classification, essentially, divides things into categories based on their similarities and differences. This is especially important in science, but all topics can make use of classification. A classification essay in English, for example, might discuss a group of authors from the same time period, or a series of poems that share the same metrical structure (sonnets, maybe, or blank verse). A history essay might look at when the industrial age began in different parts of the world, or how the American Civil War affected people in different social classes.

You can also add elements of classification into other kinds of essays. For example, in that essay about spaying/neutering dogs, you could look at different classes of "pet" such as the house dog, the working dog (shepherding, police, etc), the show dog, and so on. Classification can help clarify a topic, and even add support to your opinion.

Definition

Definitions can, of course, be useful in nearly any kind of writing. Definitions can also make an essay all on their own, depending on the topic and the purpose of defining it. For many terms that need defining, especially simple physical things, a sentence or a paragraph is often enough. For more abstract concepts, though, a whole essay may just be the beginning. Consider the abstract notion love. You could, if need be, come up with a fairly short definition that would serve well enough in some contexts, but an abstract like love can also provide the topic for an essay. Suppose your topic was "What is Joy"--could you write an essay simply attempting to define this word? That is a definition essay.

5) Narration and Thoughts

Like description, narration offers opportunities for using the techniques of creative writing in an essay. By making your essay-writing more creative, you may enjoy it more--school work can be fun if you know how it make it fun.

Narration

A narration or narrative essay is an essay that tells a story. It is a good way to involve the reader, as reading a narrative essay is much like reading a short story (if it is done well). In a narrative essay, the message of the essay may not be apparent until the end, once the reader has already read it; thus it can be a powerful way of getting people to read about things they might avoid in another kind of essay. For example, you could write your essay about spaying/neutering dogs as a story about a group of dogs. If you wrote it well, the reader might not even realize you were arguing for all pet dogs to be spayed/neutered (or not to be, depending on your opinion) until they had finished the story and sympathized with the dogs they had read about. Narration can be a powerful way to get a reader on to your side of an argument.

A writer can use narration to explain the purpose of other types of essay, as well, perhaps as an introductory paragraph or section. In this way, you can draw a reader into the subject before getting into more technical detail.

A Few Thoughts

Dividing essays up into different types may be an interesting exercise, but is is practical when all you want to do is get through the school year will reasonable grades? The answer is both no and yes. No, because you do not need to know all this detail to be able to write a good essay. Yes, because knowing what type of essay you are expected to write will help you figure out how to approach writing it. When you are given an essay assignment, be alert for key words. "Compare and contrast" means you will need to look at similarities and differences. "Describe" means you will be writing a descriptive essay. And so on.

Source:

Silvester, Niko. Types of Essay. Feb 2005. 27 February 2005.



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