ENG 1113: Unit 1 Essay
Kelli McBride
READINGS
· “How to Say Nothing in 500 Words” by Paul Roberts (in Power of Language and on web site under Unit 1)
· Walker, Alice. “Am I Blue?” (in Power of Language 359-62)
· Schiel, Marilyn. “Levi’s” (in Power of Language 313-15)
An effective essay in any college situation is primarily a demonstration of your ability to think and express yourself logically.
GUIDELINES
Write a two-page essay describing a memorable event that you feel like sharing with others. This narrative should reflect some aspect of importance that will provide us with a moral lesson of sorts. Your audience should be one that would benefit from this lesson and not already know it. In essays like this, the writer depends on description and details to provide the emotional impact for the reader. Be sure that the details and descriptions you provide are relevant to the purpose at hand (your thesis), and do not fall into clichés and meaningless phrases.
Be sure you do not merely summarize what happened to you. You must tell the story in order to illustrate the moral or life lesson that you learned. Everything in the story, therefore, must show how you acquired that knowledge. Look at the two essays we read in class for cues on using description and detail to present a message to your reader.
Your discussion must incorporate your own ideas and opinions regarding this subject, but may also make use of ideas presented in assigned readings and class discussion. Ideas taken from the readings must be incorporated according to the rules of M.L.A., which your Troyka text clearly addresses.
In addition, you will:
· use proper tone and voice for a formal essay.
· avoid the use of contractions.
· use strong verbs and specific words to convey your meaning.
· employ correct punctuation and grammar.
· follow page format guidelines as described in your syllabus.
· assume that your audience for this assignment consists of intelligent, college-level readers.
· turn in a draft at least 600 words long (typed). You will have an opportunity to revise the draft for a better grade.
ADDITIONAL
You may make an appointment with me (or email me) at any phase of your assignment to discuss any ideas or problems you may be having. I am more than willing to look at drafts at any stage of development. Please consult the information in your syllabus about scheduling appointments in order to do so. You may also schedule an appointment in SSC’s Student Success Center with a writing tutor to gain valuable feedback on your draft.
THIS ASSIGNMENT IS WORTH 100 POINTS
Essay Writing Basics
Overview
An academic essay is a group of paragraphs, organized into three sections. Those sections are: introduction, body, and conclusion. These sections may have more than one paragraph in each, though the body section must have more than one paragraph. Body paragraphs differ in structure and function from introduction and conclusion paragraphs, so we will study each section separately, identifying the common characteristics in a traditional academic essay.
The Paragraph
Paragraphs are groups of sentences, organized around a topic sentence. The topic sentence announces to the reader what the paragraph is about and what the author will say about that topic. It has, then, two components: topic and attitude.
1. The Topic
The topic of a paragraph is a word or phrase that the author has narrowed down. By “narrowed down” I mean that the author has found a topic that he can cover effectively in one paragraph. For example, a subject like “tuition costs” would be too large for one paragraph, if the author wants to provide a detailed discussion that will help the reader understand the topic. So, the author works to narrow this topic down to something that he can cover in one paragraph. To do so, the author turns to prewriting techniques, such as brainstorming, freewriting, and clustering. These techniques ask the writer to jot down as much as possible about the topic. These prewriting techniques have multiple purposes:
o They clear the author’s brain
o They allow the author to get down, on paper, everything he knows about a topic
o They allow the author to begin organizing information through grouping of like information and deleting of irrelevant information
Choosing a particular prewriting technique depends on the author and the purpose. Some techniques lend themselves to more detailed information, and others appeal to particular learning styles. Authors should practice using several techniques and discovering which work the best for them under certain circumstances.
Prewriting might yield the following topics on “tuition costs:”
o Recent hikes in tuition at SSC
o Breakdown of tuition use at SSC
o Comparison of tuition at SSC and other area colleges
o Getting financial aid at SSC
Notice that all of these topics deal with SSC. This is another way of narrowing a topic. Since tuition may change from school to school, an author cannot easily make a blanket statement about tuition in Oklahoma or America. The more he can narrow the scope of his topic, the more he can accomplish in the paragraph. This, however, is only half of the topic sentence. At this point, the author has not informed the reader what he will say about the topic. This is the “attitude.”
2. The Attitude
Before a writer has a topic sentence, he must figure out what he wants to tell the reader about his topic. This is called, among other things, the “attitude.” We can take the four topics above and add attitudes to them:
o Recent hikes in tuition at SSC + will prevent many current SSC students from continuing their education.
o Breakdown of tuition use at SSC + reveals the college’s commitment to providing advanced technological resources for students.
o Comparison of tuition at SSC and other area colleges + shows the great bargain offered to students attending Seminole for their first two years of college.
o Getting financial aid at SSC + can be easy with the right planning.
Now we have a complete topic sentence that the author can write about in the paragraph. Writers must be careful that they do not begin a paragraph with simply an announcement of a topic rather than a complete statement of purpose: topic + attitude.
After the author has settled on a topic sentence, he can begin planning his paragraph. Planning is an important part of writing. When a writer has some idea of where he’s going with his paragraph, he can better prepare for any obstacle to his position on the topic that he might face and/or that the reader might have. Obstacles can present themselves in several ways:
· Lack of basic knowledge of topic: the reader does not know enough background information to fully appreciate or understand the author’s point.
· Different opinion about topic: the reader has an opposing position and may strongly disagree with the author or challenge the author’s evidence and reasoning.
· Different education level than author: the reader may not have the same vocabulary or educational background as the author, so the author must modify his diction and style to suit his audience.
· Difficulty finding evidence: the author may not find or have trouble finding the facts and examples he needs to prove his position on the topic.
Even the best planning might not help the author prevent some of these problems, but it helps lower the odds of major problems late into the writing process.
Planning also helps the author organize the different components of an academic paragraph. Those elements, besides the topic sentence, include:
1. Important definitions: any words or terms the reader may not know, or that have potential multiple means that the reader may misinterpret.
2. Explanation of attitude: the author must explain what he means. This may take several sentences.
3. Details to illustrate explanations: to further help the reader understand the author’s position, the author provides relevant examples.
4. Evidence to support details: if the topic warrants, the author must back up his position with facts, statistics, authoritative testimony, and other objective evidence that supports his attitude on the topic. The more debatable or argumentative the attitude, the more likely the author will need objective evidence outside his own experience or opinion.
5. Transitional sentences, phrases, and words: because different elements work together to form a paragraph, the author must help the reader navigate from one to the other. He does this by using transitions that connect sentences and ideas. These show the relationship of one thing to another, like cause, effect, comparison, and contrast.
6. Concluding/Summary sentence: the final sentence or sentences in a paragraph should wrap up the author’s point. It might summarize the overall material or it might ask readers to take action, consider solutions, or evaluate their own positions on the topic.
Paragraphs and Essays
Kelli McBride
Paragraph: a group of sentences about one idea. The author expresses the idea in a topic sentence. To explain the topic sentence, the author adds other sentences that provide support. Note: though I have provided three points of support, an essay may have more than three.
Example Paragraph:
· [TOPIC SENTENCE]
Our organization should not appoint Joe Smith as committee chair.
· [EXPLANATION OF IMPORTANT TERM]
This position requires someone who can work well with others, provide responsible leadership, and consider suggestions from other members of the committee.
· [TRANSITION SENTENCE]
Mr. Smith exhibits none of these traits.
· [SUPPORTING POINT 1]
First, he only likes to work with people he can dominate.
· [SUPPORTING POINT 2]
Second, he likes to take credit for any success but to blame others for failures.
· [SUPPORTING POINT 3]
Third, he views suggestions from other team members as challenges to his authority.
· [RESTATEMENT OF TOPIC AND CONCLUSION]
For all of these reasons, Joe Smith would make a poor chairman of the committee.
Essay: a group of paragraphs about one idea. The author expresses the idea in a thesis sentence, which goes in the introductory paragraph. To explain the thesis, the author gives reasons, which she writes as topic sentences for each body paragraph. To explain the topic sentences, the author presents evidence in other sentences in each paragraph.
SAMPLE ESSAY with LABELED PARTS
Introduction that starts broad and narrows to thesis; provides background information and context for essay. / Our organization today faces many challenges. One of the crucial decisions that we must make is planning our five-year goals. For this, we must appoint a chairperson for the development committee. This position requires someone who can work well with others, provide responsible leadership, and consider suggestions from other members of the committee.
Thesis statement / Though the directors are considering Joe Smith for this position, they should not appoint him as committee chair because he exhibits none of these crucial qualities.
First body paragraph: opens with intro sentence that isolates one part of the definition from the previous paragraph and adds more specificity. / New paragraph: The chair must be able to work with a variety of people within our organization and outside of it. At times, the chair will encounter people who are of higher or equal rank, and he/she must be able to adjust to these different situations.
Topic sentence: reason that supports thesis / However, Mr. Smith only likes to work with people he can dominate.
Evidence that develops topic sentence and proves author's point / For example, last year, he chaired the festival committee and managed to anger the president of both town banks, the president of the chamber of commerce, and the assistant to our keynote speaker, not to mention the many members of our own organization that he was rude to. An inquiry into the many complaints revealed that Mr. Smith was unable to respect the authority of other people and always wanted to be the top dog. A similar problem occurred when he was in charge of the 2002 Charity Drive and the 2003 Christmas Auction and Dinner. Our organization received many letters and phone calls complaining of his highhanded manner.
Summary of paragraph / This is hardly the quality we need in the development chair.
Second body paragraph: opens with intro sentence that isolates one part of the definition from the intro paragraph and adds more specificity. / New paragraph: The person heading the committee must show responsible leadership. This involves giving credit to everyone involved in successful ventures and shouldering the responsibility for any problems that occur.
Topic sentence: reason that supports thesis / Mr. Smith, though, likes to take credit for any success but blame others for failures.
Evidence that develops topic sentence and proves author's point / Two years ago, the Charity Drive raised more money than in the 2000 and 2001 seasons combined. This was the result of a team effort and the work of Lindsey Beresford who arranged for Reba McIntire to be our keynote speaker. However, Mr. Smith took credit for these accomplishments and never mentioned any other member of his team or Mrs. Beresford's contribution. Yet, a year later, when the keynote speaker backed out at the last minute because Mr. Smith failed to confirm the date of the festival, he refused to acknowledge his fault and instead let people believe that it was a team failure. No one on either of these committees will work with Mr. Smith because of the ill will he built.
Summary of paragraph / We do not need a chair that will drive people away from our organization. We need someone who provides strong leadership and draws people to us.
Third body paragraph: intro sentence with last definition / New paragraph: Finally, the chair should encourage all team members to participate and submit ideas for developing our organization. We are stronger when we have many talented minds working for us.
Topic sentence: reason that supports thesis / Here again, Mr. Smith has proven that he cannot accept input from anyone else. In fact, he sees any suggestions at odds with his own plans as challenges to his authority.
Evidence that develops topic sentence and proves author's point
No summary of paragraph / This year, he proceeded to implement his own plan for streamlining our membership drive. One of his committee members had previous experience in this job and offered advice that would improve his plan and make our system more efficient. Mr. Smith ridiculed this person in front of several members and refused to listen to any of his idea. The result was a catastrophe. The new plan cost us twice as much as the old plan, and in the process of implementing it, Mr. Smith lost several years worth of computer records that had to later be re-typed by hand. This took three people seventeen hours of work. The person Mr. Smith ignored suggested a complete system backup to prevent such loss and cost-saving measures that would have saved us money.
Transition and summary of essay/ Restatement of thesis / New paragraph: Mr. Smith's record speaks for itself: he would make a very poor committee chair.
Conclusion gradually broadens by summarizing points, establishing why issue is important in author's point of view, and calling for action from directors. / We cannot afford to give him any more opportunities to antagonize and belittle members, waste money, and take our organization down the wrong path. This position is too important to our future to put in the hands of someone who has very little concept of teamwork and leadership. Other members have much more experience and have proven that they have the qualities we want for a chair. The directors should consider them instead of Joe Smith.
THESIS EQUATION