An overview of essay development
| Objectives In this unit you will: | know how to write the introduction, the body, the conclusion; |
| know what essay outline framework is; | |
| learn what essay development is; | |
| discover ten sequential steps in writing an essay. |
Starting up
Ex. 1. Read the following extract and develop your version of writing the essay.
Essays are clearly organized according to the standard classical approach in which a paper has an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. Learning this approach will provide you with a solid foundation in your writing. As you mature as a writer and develop your reading skills in English, you will see ways to vary this classical approach.
Introduction
An overview of essay development
Essays consist of more than one paragraph and have three major parts: an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. A complete essay contains all of the following elements. (Those elements considered optional have been underlined.)
The introduction contains (usually in this order):
• background information, which attracts or "hooks" the reader;
• a thesis, which limits the topic and states a precise opinion;
• a list of the subtopics.
The body paragraphs contain:
• topic sentences which follow the MAP points in the thesis;
• transitions introducing each subtopic;
• repetition of the essay topic and precise opinion from the thesis;
• relevant and generous convincing support (unity) and coherence;
• a closing remark (final comment) showing the relevance of the support.
The conclusion contains:
• a paraphrase of the thesis;
• a summary of the main points;
• a closing remark (final comment).
A suitable essay structure would be:
| I. INTRODUCTION | ||
| General Statement Organisation Statement | ||
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| II. MAIN BODY | ||
| A. Introductory Sentence Point 1 Point 2 Point 3 ... Concluding Sentence | ||
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| B. Introductory Sentence Point 1 Point 2 Point 3 ... Concluding Sentence | ||
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| C. Introductory Sentence Point 1 Point 2 Point 3 ... Concluding Sentence | ||
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| III. CONCLUSION | ||
| Recall issues in introduction; draw together main points; final comment. |
The Introduction
The main point of a longer paper is found in the introduction, which is the material at the beginning of the paper. The length of the introduction depends on the scope of the topic. If your paper is three pages, the introduction will probably be only one paragraph. If your paper is fifteen pages long, the introduction may be more than one paragraph. (The element considered optional has been underlined.)
The introduction:
• attracts and holds the reader's attention (hooks the reader)
• introduces the general paper topic
• limits the topic to a manageable focus for the assignment
• indicates the writer's purpose (to show, to convince, to prove, to entertain, to demonstrate, to inform)
• presents the writer's opinion or attitude about the limited subject in a thesis statement
• indicates how the topic will be explored (basic enumeration, comparison, contrast, causal analysis, development by example, process, definition, classification)
• provides a MAP (the essay subtopics) for the reader of how the discussion will proceed.
Hooks
Most academic papers begin with a hook, which gets the reader's attention and introduces the topic. Hooks are not required on essay tests; due to the time limit, a strong thesis and MAP are usually all that are needed. There are five kinds of hooks, which can occur alone or in combination: question, quotation, dramatic, funnel, and refutation.
The Question Hook
Asking a question will cause the reader to think about the topic. However, limit your hook to one question. If you ask too many questions, the hook is not effective.
Example
The House of Life
How many decisions do people make in their lives? There could be thousands of decisions in one person's life. However, only a few of them will have a great influence. A metaphor of building a house shows how the five most significant decisions are related to one another and reflect on people's lives. The five most important decisions concern education, career, marriage, residence, and religion [65 words]. (Adapted with permission, Yungjing Hsieh, Taiwanese.)
Thesis Statements
Just as a single paragraph has a topic sentence which introduces the paragraph topic and the writer's opinion and method, so a thesis statement is the most important element of an essay. Thesis statements contain the writer's limited subject, opinion or attitude, and possibly a MAP, which will be discussed in the body of the essay. The MAP is not required, but it is highly recommended because it will enable you to control the topic so that the readers will not get lost.