Essay Writing



(Essay Writing: Introduction

( An essay is really just a collection of ideas related to one topic. Structurally, an essay is a collection of smaller thoughts or ideas (i.e. paragraphs) that are held together thematically by the main topic. Essays always present ideas in a logical/ sequential way. Today you will be exploring how to write an essay.

Essay Types

There are many types of essays. Four (4) of the more important ones are:

Discursive: i.e. discussing something: issues, opinions, problems etc…

Expository: i.e. explaining something: facts, events, details etc…

Argumentative: i.e. arguing different points of view

Comparative: i.e. comparing two or more things.

Essay Structure

All essays are structured so that the ideas are presented in a logical and sequential way. One of the easiest, though not necessarily most inventive, ways of doing this is to use the ‘Keyhole Essay’ method.

The Keyhole Essay

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(The arrows inside the keyhole indicate a narrowing (i.e. becoming more specific) of the topic or a widening (i.e. becoming more general) of the topic.

Notes:

(Essay Writing: Step 1 – Choosing a topic

(Often, the topic we choose will determine how much there is to write about or explore in any given essay. If your topic is not very interesting, that is, if it does not allow for much exploration, then it will be very difficult for you to write a lot about it. So…CHOOSE YOUR TOPIC CAREFULLY!!!

(When choosing a topic try to look for ideas/ problems that have no clearly defined answer.

• For example, if you were writing a discursive essay about ‘The Hobbit’ a poor topic would be: Bilbo’s appearance. Why? Well… after you had finished describing Bilbo’s appearance, there would be little left for you to discuss.

• A better choice would be: Changes in Bilbo’s character. The reason? There are many changes in Bilbo’s character throughout the novel and many reasons for it. Hence, you would definitely have a lot to write about.

( Now it’s your turn! Fill in the table below with possible essay topics. After you have thought carefully about each, choose the one that is most interesting and which provides the most opportunity for exploration.

|Text: |

|Topic |Reason |

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Notes:

( Essay Writing: Step 2 – Generating Ideas

(Coming up with ideas is often very challenging. What do I say? What can I say? What should I say? An easy way to start is to ask yourself questions like:

Topic: __________________________________________________________________________________

1. Why is this topic important?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. For whom is it important? Why?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Is it more important than other topics? Why?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Is there a lot to say about the topic? What?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

( Essay Writing: Step 3 – Structuring Ideas

(Now that you have a few ideas, it’s time to put them in order according to our ‘Keyhole Essay’ model.

Task: Take all of the ideas you came up with in step and put them in order. Which idea comes first? Second? Third etc… Make notes to the right of each essay section!

( Each idea you generate will be made into a paragraph using the (P – E – E) method.

1. ________________ Notes

2. ___________________ Introduction

3. ___________________

4. ___________________

5. ___________________

6. ___________________ Body

7. ___________________

8. ___________________

9. ___________________

10. __________________ Conclusion

11. __________________

Notes:

(Step 4: Writing the Introduction

(Writing an introductory paragraph is easy as long as you plan it carefully. Remember, an introductory paragraph should start with a general statement related to the topic and end with a very specific one, the thesis statement.

Task: Think of at least five ideas that you want to include in your introductory paragraph and put them in order from general to specific. For example:

|Topic: Teenage smoking in Hong Kong |

|Ideas: |Introductory paragraph: |

|general | |

|1._decrease in smoking worldwide______ |Over the past twenty years, the overall number of people who smoke has decreased|

| |worldwide. Despite this, the number of teenagers who smoke has increased. Why |

|2._more teens smoking_______________ |are more teenagers smoking these days when more and more people are quitting? |

| |There are many possible reasons: peer pressure, family influences, personal |

|3._Why such a difference?____________ |reasons etc… In Hong Kong, the most likely reason is peer pressure. |

| | |

|4.__Many possible reasons____________ | |

| | |

|5.__Reason in Hong Kong – peer pressure specific | |

Now it’s your turn!

|Topic: |

|Ideas: |Introductory paragraph: |

| | |

| |_________________________________________________________________________________________________|

|1.________________________________ |_________________________________________________________________________________________________|

| |_________________________________________________________________________________________________|

| |_________________________________________________________________________________________________|

| |_________________________________________________________________________________________________|

|2. _______________________________ |_________________________________________________________________________________________________|

| |_________________________________________________________________________________________________|

| |__________ |

| |_____________________________________________________ |

|3.________________________________ | |

| | |

| | |

| | |

|4. _______________________________ | |

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|5.________________________________ | |

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(Step 5: Writing the Body

( The body of the essay is probably easier to write than the introduction because it is really just an expansion of the thesis statement. When you write the body of the essay you need to include specific information, examples, ideas etc… from inside the text and outside the text in order to support your thesis statement.

Task: Write a body of three paragraphs that follows from the introductory paragraph you wrote in step 4. Remember to use the P-E-E structure when writing your paragraphs.

| |Ideas for Paragraphs |Paragraph |

| |Topic: |__________________________________________________________________ |

| | |__________________________________________________________________ |

|( |Ideas: |__________________________________________________________________ |

| | |__________________________________________________________________ |

| | |__________________________________________________________________ |

| | |__________________________________________________________________ |

| | |__________________________________________________________________ |

| | |__________________________________________________________________ |

| |Topic: |__________________________________________________________________ |

| | |__________________________________________________________________ |

|( |Ideas: |__________________________________________________________________ |

| | |__________________________________________________________________ |

| | |__________________________________________________________________ |

| | |__________________________________________________________________ |

| | |__________________________________________________________________ |

| | |__________________________________________________________________ |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| |Topic: |__________________________________________________________________ |

| | |__________________________________________________________________ |

| |Ideas: |__________________________________________________________________ |

|( | |__________________________________________________________________ |

| | |__________________________________________________________________ |

| | |__________________________________________________________________ |

| | |__________________________________________________________________ |

| | |__________________________________________________________________ |

| | | |

| | | |

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| | | |

(Step 6: Writing the Conclusion

( A conclusion is really just a summary of the points you have made throughout your essay. In many ways, it is similar to an introduction but in reverse. A conclusion usually begins with a restatement of the thesis statement, followed by a broadening of the topic, the points you have made, and any new insights you want to present.

Useful Language: Restatement

As explored in…/Based on… the actions of X… /Obviously… /Finally…

Task: Take at least five important ideas from your essay that you want to include in your concluding paragraph and put them in order from specific to general. For example:

|Topic: Teenage smoking in Hong Kong |

|Ideas: |Concluding paragraph: |

|specific | |

|1._peer pressure_________________ |As explored, peer pressure is the main cause of teenage smoking in Hong Kong. While |

| |all students are at risk, teenagers who lack confidence are the most susceptible. |

|2._lack of confidence and self-esteem_ |Often, it is their need to look cool and be accepted that leads them to take up |

| |smoking in the first place. Some teenagers simply want to be rebellious and challenge|

|3._need to look cool and be accepted__ |authority. Whatever the case, smoking rarely benefits anyone. Hopefully, in the |

| |coming years, students will wake up and realize the harm they are doing to their |

|4.__desire to test/ challenge authority_ |bodies before it is too late. |

| | |

|5.__health_____________ general | |

Now it’s your turn!

|Topic: |

|Ideas: |Concluding paragraph: |

| | |

|1.________________________________ |________________________________________________________________________________________________________|

| |________________________________________________________________________________________________________|

| |________________________________________________________________________________________________________|

| |________________________________________________________________________________________________________|

|2. _______________________________ |________________________________________________________________________________________________________|

| |________________________________________________________________________________________________________|

| |________________________________________________ |

| | |

|3.________________________________ | |

| | |

| | |

| | |

|4. _______________________________ | |

| | |

| | |

| | |

|5.________________________________ | |

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Introduction In this section, you introduce your reader to the topic of your essay. You do this by beginning with a broad or general idea (usually the topic background) and ending with a ( thesis statement. A thesis statement is the most specific and important point you are trying to make.

Body In this section, you justify or support your thesis statement with: quotations, references to the text, facts, dates, other writer’s opinions, observations etc…

Conclusion In this section you (restate the thesis statement and elaborate on it by summarizing your entire essay .You may also want to add any new insights you have found or issues you feel could be further explored.

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