WRITING
ESSAY
PARAGRAPH ESSAY
A paragraph is a group of interrelated sentences that talk about
one main idea while an essay is a group of paragraphs that talk
about one central idea.
PARAGRAPH ESSAY
ORGANIZED AROUND A TOPIC SENTENCE ORGANIZED AROUND A THESIS
STATEMENT
CONTAINS INTRODUCTORY SENTENCE CONTAINS INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH
USES SENTENCES TO EXPLAIN MAJOR USES PARAGRAPHS TO EXPLAIN MAJOR
POINTS POINTS
MAY USE A CONCLUDING SENTENCE ALWAYS USES A CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH
PARAGRAPH
ESSAY I. Introduction
A. Lead or Attention-getter
An essay has a more B. Transitional Statement
C. Thesis Statement
elaborate structure. It is II. Body
A. Major Point 1
divided into three general 1. Minor Detail 1
2. Minor Detail 2
parts (introduction, body B. Major Point 2
1. Minor Detail 1
and conclusion). 2. Minor Detail 2
On the right are the specific C. Major Point 3
1. Minor Detail 1
parts of an essay. 2. Minor Detail 2
III. Conclusion
A. Reiteration of thesis statement
B. Transitional statement/Reiteration of purpose,
benefit, and recommendation
C. Closing Statement
INTRODUCTION
LEAD/ATTENTION-GETTER – AIMS TO HOOK READERS
- THROUGH THE USE OF
PROVOCATIVE RHETORICAL QUESTION, STATISTICS,
STARTLING STATEMENT, ANECDOTE, QUOTATION, HUMOR
OR ANALOGY.
INTRODUCTION
TRANSITIONAL STATEMENT – the sentence which links the
lead to the thesis statement
- provides a background on the
topic
THESIS STATEMENT – states the main idea or argument of the
essay
Identify the lead, transitional statement, and thesis
statement. Underline the lead once; encircle the transitional
statement; and then underline the thesis statement twice.
THESIS STATEMENT
FORMULA: specific topic + arguable position + supporting
reasons
Characteristics of a strong thesis statement:
Specific topic (not too broad).
Arguable claim (not a fact; invites debate).
Previews 2-3 reasons or evidence.
Examples:
Weak: "Social media is popular."
(Factual, no claim.)
Strong: "Social media harms teen mental health
by promoting unrealistic comparisons, reducing
face-to-face interactions, and spreading
misinformation."
[Topic] should/should not [position] because [reason 1], [reason 2], and [reason 3].
Thesis Statement Strength (1-5) Why? (Fix if needed)
Too vague; add claim and reasons:
"Exercise is good." 2 "Daily exercise improves student focus,
health, and grades."
"Homework overloads students, causing
stress and poor sleep, so limits are 5 Arguable, specific reasons.
needed."
"Cats are animals." 1 Fact, not debatable.
TRANSITIONAL
PARAGRAPH
A paragraph that does not directly provide support to a thesis
statement is included in an essay.
Its function is to bridge one paragraph to another.
Sample transitional paragraph.
BODY
- the meat of the essay
- discusses the thesis statement in detail through its
paragraphs
- where the topic is developed and where the arguments are
laid out and discussed
CONCLUSION
-restatement of the thesis statement using a different
structure and wording to uphold the language style
-followed by transitional statement that talks about
recommendations, benefits of ideas presented or
purpose of writing the essay
-includes a closing statement to wrap up the essay
-link it to the attention getter
PROPERTIES OF A WELL-
WRITTEN TEXT
UNITY
COHERENCE AND COHESION
ORGANIZATION
LANGUAGE USE
MECHANICS
UNITY
UNITY is achieved when a composition has one focused idea.
COHERENCE AND COHESION
These are achieved when ideas are logically, and smoothly
linked to one another; without it, the reader may not be able
to comprehend your composition.
Coherence occurs when ideas are connected
at the conceptual or idea level. It can be seen
through well-defended arguments and
organized points.
Cohesion is the connection of ideas at the
sentence level. It can be readily seen in a text
through the smooth flow of the sentences and the
connection of the ideas.
Technique:
use pronouns
use transitional devices
employ repetition of keywords
ORGANIZATION
This is achieved when ideas are logically and accurately
arranged. The sentences within a paragraph must also be
organized logically.
LANGUAGE USE
This effectively enables the writer to communicate ideas without
confusing the reader.
1. Use clear and concise sentences.
2. Avoid redundancies, wordiness, cliches, and high falutin
language.
3. Avoid excessive use of “there” and “it” structures.
4. Use precise vocabulary.
5. Be consistent with your pronoun’s point of view.
6. Avoid sexist language.
7. Use the appropriate level of formality.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
MECHANICS
A set of conventions on how to spell, abbreviate, punctuate,
and capitalize a composition.
1. Always use Standard English.
2. Avoid contractions (e.g., shouldn’t).
3. Avoid exclamation marks unless they are part of a
direct quotation.
MECHANICS
4. Mention the full name of an institution or organization
with the abbreviation in parenthesis, in first mention.
Thereafter, use the abbreviation.
5. Numbers from zero to ten should be spelled out while
numbers higher than ten should be written in figures.
6. Generally, citations are used in academic and formal texts.
However, they are sparingly used in business texts.
DO THIS TASK ON A
WHOLE SHEET OF
PAPER!