How to Write an In Class Essay

Topic Selection• The very first thing you need to do when writing this in class essay is

determine the topic – what will your essay be about?

Assembling the Evidence• Once you have your topic & question it is time to review the sources you

have been provided.• When you are reviewing the sources you must remember the purpose or

your essay – it is argumentative.

Sorting Through Your Ideas and Research

To sort through your research, consider the following:

1) Gather your sources to ensure they are all in place.2) Read over ALL of the sources and summarize them in your own

words – be sure that you understand them.3) Begin to rank your points or evidence according to their

importance and validity. To do this you must keep your question in mind.

4) Organize your notes to ensure that you have different perspectives. You do not want to over use one source. You should use a variety.

5) Narrow your focus - Choose what information you may want to use and what you think you may discard. Consider how you will answer the question and what support you will use.

Narrowing Your Focus

• Once you have completed your initial research you should narrow down your focus

• From there, determine a clear answer to your question and what might be the best arguments for you to use.

• In order to do this, you may want to use a graphic organizer

Brainstorm ideas1.Topic: Elections

2.Question:Why are voter turnout rates so low in Canada?

3.Answer:Canadians are apathetic and take democracy for granted.

4.Develop reasons to prove your claim:Canada has not faced a serious threat from a foreign power for many decades.

Traditionally, the nation’s brightest and best have not run for office.

Many Canadians feel the U.S. would not tolerate any real change in the direction of government style.

Use a concept map like the one shown here to help brainstorm your ideas

Parts of an Essay

1) The Introduction

2) The Thesis

3) Body Paragraphs

4) Conclusion

In an Essay

• You will usually have five paragraphs

• Consecutive paragraphs may be linked with transitions so as to provide a sense of continuity in your argument. However, depending on the rubric, you may find this technique unnecessary and clumsy.

Typical Essay Format• It begins with an introduction which provides the reader with the indication of the direction

the report or essay will take before conclusions can be drawn. The thesis is usually the last sentence in the introduction.

• Paragraph 1 provides the first argument that will support/answer the overall question/argument of the essay, present evidence, facts or statistics to back up claims made.

• Paragraph 2 provides the second argument that will support/answer the overall question/argument of the work , present evidence, facts or statistics to back up claims made.

• Paragraph 3, provides the third argument that will support/answer the overall

question/argument of the work, present evidence, facts or statistics to back up claims made. • It ends with a conclusion which relates back to the introduction. It makes a conclusion based

on the evidence presented in the main text of the report itself. It adds value to the work presented by making sense of the report's/essay's main points, showing the implications of the arguments made. No new material appears in a conclusion. It is a genuine conclusion and not a simple summary of the rest of the work.

Essay Format

1. The Introduction• The Introduction is one of the most important parts of your

essay, as you must grab the reader’s attention. You do not want to bore the reader in the first paragraph.

Some things to keep in mind are:a) Try to present interesting information, such as an interesting

fact or quotation.b) Write with conviction, show the reader what you have written

matters; avoid sounding bored.c) Include your detailed thesis statement, outlining exactly what

you will attempt to prove in your essay in the VERY LAST sentence.

2.The Thesis

• Now that you have decided what information you plan to present in your essay, you are ready to write your thesis statement.

• A thesis is a statement of your idea, argument or point, which you will support with evidence throughout your essay.

A thesis statement shoulda) Be short and conciseb) List your three argumentsc) Much like a compass, point in a definitive direction

Thesis Statement

• The thesis statement tells the reader what the essay will be about, and what point you, the author, will be making.

Sample thesis statement: Apathetic Canadians have low voter turnout because Canada has not faced a

serious foreign threat for decades, the brightest and best Canadians tend to not run for office and most Canadians realise the U.S. would not tolerate any real change in Canada’s government.

Notice how there is a clear connection to the question “Why are voter turnout rates so low in Canada?” There is a clear answer and each of the three arguments has been listed as part of the thesis statement.

3. The Body

• The next part of the essay is the body.• This is where you will prove your thesis.• There should be 3 body paragraphs, each focused on

one argument.

You will include:a) 3 pieces of supporting evidence per paragraphb) For each piece of evidence, you will explain HOW your evidence proves your thesis correct.

Forming an Argument• All academic arguments start with a personal opinion• These personal opinions by themselves are not enough to make an argument.

They are not convincing.

• For example, consider the statement: “Conscription was necessary during WW1.”

• This statement formulates an unsupported idea that may be either accepted or rejected depending on one's opinion.

• You may believe that conscription was necessary and yet be totally in error.

• What is missing?

• Evidence

• Evidence

“When taking into consideration the high casualty rates, low enlistment rates, and that more men were needed to win the war, it is evident that conscription was necessary during WW1.”

Evidence• Evidence itself is neutral• Only when it is applied in support of a given

thesis does it function. • It is a matter of how you apply your evidence that

counts.

• Saying that there was low enlistment in the army by 1917 on its own is neutral. You have to explain WHY this would make conscription necessary.

Conclusion• In the conclusion you will retrace your line of thought. • You want your conclusion to be a reminder to the reader of

the steps of your journey together.• You will want to mention several keywords and the most

important facts.• Make a different restatement of your thesis; in other words,

alter it.• Discuss why the information you listed is important• What are the implications of your work• Leave the reader pondering or thinking about your point of

view.

Writing Your Outline

• Before you can begin to write your essay, you must first prepare an essay outline

• The outline will form the basis or the backbone of your essay

• Remember the main function of the outline is to show you how well your research and evidence fits your thesis.

Answer the question• No matter how well presented your work is, to pass your

assignments you must answer the question. • The work that you present should be relevant to the

discussion. • This might be described as the "So what?" factor of your

work. You will be rewarded for linking ideas together to draw conclusions, or discussing the implications of what you have described.

• You will be rewarded for questioning the material that you have researched for preparing your assignment.

• You will not be rewarded for simply listing everything that you have discovered on a topic.

Repetition• Repetition will not win marks. • If you are tempted to use a phrase such as "As already

mentioned", "As explained above" or "aforementioned", check that you are only providing a link back to earlier arguments, rather than simply repeating them.

• If you are using repetition as a strategy to make your essay or report meet the recommended word length, you need to think carefully about how well you have prepared to write your assignment.

• It is likely that you have not gathered enough information or read adequately for the assignment if this is the case.

Historical Writing:Plain Old Past Tense

• Use past tense verbs– The president died and eventually his cousin replaced him.

• Avoid the “historical present”– The president dies and eventually his cousin replaces him.

• Avoid the conditional– “Would” should only be used in conjunction with the word

“if”– The president died and eventually his cousin would

replace him.– Avoid double past tense such as: The president had died.

Historical Writing:Passive and “to be” verbs

“To be” verbs = is, are, was, were, have been, will be, etc.

• “To be” verbs are linking verbs• They should be used to link nouns with descriptive

words– Dr. Rankin is short

• They should not be used in sentences that want to be active.– NOT: It was a challenge – INSTEAD: It challenged– NOT: He was successful – INSTEAD: He succeeded– NOT: The author’s argument is – INSTEAD: The author

argues

Formal Writing:Write in 3rd Person

• Do not use 1st person (never use pronouns)• 1st person = I, me, we, us

• 1st person can weaken formal writing, as can informal or slang.Example: I think the Mackenzie King was a whack

job.

Formal WritingWrite in 3rd Person

• 3rd Person = He, She, They, It

• Do not use 2nd person– Your evidence is strong

• 2nd person = You– In the colonial south, if you did not have honour,

you were not respected

Formal Writing:Spell Out Numbers

• Generally spell cardinal numbers 1-12.• Do not use symbols – percent rather than %• Spell all ordinal numbers:– First, second, third (not 1st, 2nd, 3rd)– Nineteenth century (not 19th century)

• Exceptions:– Dates

• October 1, 2005 – (not October 1st, 2005)– Serial Numbers

• King Charles V, Figure 3

Formal WritingBe Concise

Avoid using more words than necessary• At this very moment = Now• In spite of the fact that = Although• As a result of = Because• In the month of May = In May• During the time that = While• Have need of = Need• Is of the opinion of = Believes

Formal Writing:Miscellaneous

• Avoid contractions– Did not (instead of didn’t)

• First and last name– Brian Mulroney (the first time in the essay;

thereafter Mulroney)• Presidential (or royal) administrations– In parenthesis the first time in the essay– R.B. Bennett (1930-1935)

• Italicize foreign words– Por favor

General Grammar Tips:The Poor Overused Apostrophe

• Apostrophes indicate possession– The soldier’s guns (Belonging to one soldier)– The soldiers’ guns (Belonging to more than one soldier)– They also form contractions – but this is not appropriate in

formal writing

• They do not make words plural• They do not make numbers or acronyms plural– 1500s (not 1500’s)– MREs (not MRE’s)

General Grammar Tips:Commonly Misspelled Words

• Their (possessive), There (place), They’re (they are)• To (direction), Two (2), Too (also)• Affect (verb, influence), Effect (noun, result)• Allusion (suggestion), Illusion (deception)• Eminent (noteworthy), Imminent (impending)• Than (comparison), Then (at that time)• Woman (singular), Women (plural)• Dived (past tense), not Dove (a bird)• Led (past tense), not Lead (a heavy metal)