Essay Writing

HOW TO EXPAND AND EXPLAIN YOUR IDEAS EFFECTIVELY. COMPILED BY MADIOPE J.M

CONTENT• What is an Essay?• The Structure of an Essay• Types of essays

Expanding Ideas• In essay writing, we want to expand our ideas as much

as possible, while STILL following paragraph structure.• The only difference is that the THREE REASONS in your

original paragraph get their OWN paragraph• Additionally, you introduce and conclude your writing

into separate paragraphs• THIS MEANS YOU ARE WRITING

FIVE PARAGRAPHS

Did you say FIVE

paragraphs?

What is an Essay?• The main purpose of any essay is todiscuss, persuade, describe, explain,interpret or analyse a particular topic.

The Structure of an Essay

• The Introduction: Explains the topic with general ideas. It also has the thesis statement and comes at or near the end of the paragraph.

• The Main body: Explain and support the thesis statement.

• The conclusion: Summarises or restates the thesis and the supporting ideas of the essay.

Taken from: Academic Writing from Paragraph to Essay, Zemach, D. & Rumisek, L. Macmillan 2005

Essay Structure• An essay has three main parts:• An introduction (introductory paragraph)• A body (at least one, but usually more

paragraphs)• A conclusion (concluding paragraph)

Essay Structure

The introductionAn introductory paragraph has 2 parts:• General statementIntroduce the general topic of the essay.Capture the reader’s interest.• Thesis statementStates the specific topic.May list subtopics or subdivisions.May indicate the pattern of organization.Is normally the last sentence in the introductory paragraph.

Body ParagraphsThe body paragraphs are used to:• Develop your topic.• Prove your points.The body paragraph should have:• Some sort of pattern (chronological order or

comparison/contrast, or a combination of both)• A logical division of ideas (division into subtopics

and discussion of these subtopics in separate paragraphs)

The conclusion• The conclusion is the final paragraphin an essay. It has three purposes:• It signals the end of the essay.• It reminds the reader of your main points. You can

do this in two ways:• Summarize your subtopics.• Paraphrase your thesis.• It leaves the reader with your final thoughts on

the topic.

Types of

Essay

• Descriptive• Narrative• Cause and Effect• Compare and Contrast• Process• Expository• Persuasive/

Argumentative

Descriptive Essay

o provides details about how something looks, feels, tastes, smells, makes one feel, or sounds

o describe what something is, or how something happened

o could be a list-like description that provides point by point details

Narrative Essay

o tells a storyo conversational in style, and tells of a

personal experienceo commonly written in the first person

(uses I)o tell of a single, life-shaping event, or

simply a mundane daily experience

Cause and Effect Essay

o explains why or how some event happened, and what resulted from the event

o a study of the relationship between two or more events or experiences

o discuss both causes and effects, or it could simply address one or the other

o discuss the reasons why something happened

o discuss what happens after a specific event or circumstance

Compare and Contrast Essay

o discusses the similarities and differences between two things, people, concepts, places, etc

o be written simply to entertain the reader, or to arrive at an insight into human nature

o could discuss both similarities and differences, or it could just focus on one or the other

o A comparison essay usually discusses the similarities between two things, while the contrast essay discusses the differences

Process Essay

• describes how something is done

• explains actions that should be performed in a series

• explain in detail how to accomplish a specific task

• could be in the form of step-by-step instructions,

Expository Essay

• explanation of a short theme, idea or issue

• try to pin down the meaning of a specific word, or define an abstract concept

• to present, completely and fairly, other people's views or to report about an event or a situation

• presents a subject in detail, apart from criticism, argument, or development

LIST OF REFERENCES• http://www.slideshare.net/legendofsheena/essay-

writing-29651899?qid=48f2266a-d77e-4b25-8121-39177edaae27&v=qf1&b=&from_search=2

• http://www.slideshare.net/mumarialuisa/essay-writing-23430869?qid=a9169190-6efb-44f9-b336-7529d189fa24&v=default&b=&from_search=4

• http://www.slideshare.net/edibrata/essay-writing-5th-types-of-essay?qid=48f2266a-d77e-4b25-8121-39177edaae27&v=qf1&b=&from_search=3

• http://www.slideshare.net/pietvanderlaan/essay-writing-structure?qid=48f2266a-d77e-4b25-8121-39177edaae27&v=qf1&b=&from_search=18