Essay

What is an essay?

An essay is a group of paragraphs written about a single topic and a central main idea. It must have at least three paragraphs, but a five-paragraph essay is a common assignment for academic writing.

The Structure of an Essay

The three main parts of an essay

1.      The introduction

This is the first paragraph of an essay. It explains the topic with general ideas. It also has a thesis statement. This is a sentence that gives the main idea. It usually comes at or near the end of the paragraph.

2.      The body

These are the paragraphs that explain and support the thesis statement and come between the introduction and the conclusion. There must be one or more body paragraphs in an essay.

3.      The conclusion

This is the last paragraph of an essay. It summarizes or restates the thesis and the supporting ideas of the essay.

How to format an essay

1.      Use double spacing (leave a blank line between each line of writing).

2.      Leave 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) of space on the sides, and the top and bottom of the page. This space is called the margin.

3.      If you type your essay, start the first line of each paragraph with five spaces (one tab). This is called indenting. If you write by hand, indent about 2 centimeters (  inch).

4.      Put the title of your essay at the top of the first page in the center.

Thesis Statement

What is a thesis statement?

The thesis statement is the sentence that tells the main idea of the whole essay. It can be compared to a topic sentene, which gives the main idea of a paragraph. It usually comes at or near the end of the introductory paragraph.

Writing a Strong Thesis Statement

·         A thesis statement gives the author’s opinion or states an important idea about the topic. It should give an idea that can be discussed and explained with supporting ideas:

The qualifications for entering a university in my country are unreasonable.

When studying a second language, there are several ways to improve your use of the language.

These are strong thesis statements. They can be discussed or explained.

·         A thesis statement should not be a sentence that only gives a fact about the topic:

In the Northern Hemisphere, the summer months are warmer than the winter months.

This is not a strong thesis statement. It cannot be discussed or argued about.

·         A thesis statement should not state two sides of an argument equally:

There are advantages and disadvantages to using nuclear power.

This could be a topic sentence, but it is not a thesis statement. It gives two sides of an argument without giving a clear opinion of support or disagreement. It could be revised like this:

Although there are some advantages, using nuclear power has many disadvantages and should not be a part of our country’s energy plan.

This is a strong thesis statement. It clearly gives the writer’s opinion about nuclear power.

Writing Thesis Statements

How to connect the thesis statement and the essay

The body paragraphs of an essay should always explain the thesis statement. In addition, each body paragraph should discuss one part of the thesis. Look at the following thesis statement. The topics to be discussed are underlined.

To create a successful advertisement, it is necessary for advertisers to answer three questions: what are we selling?, who are we selling it to?, and how can we make people want to buy it?

Possible topic sentences for each body paragraph:

1.      The first step in creating a successfull advertisement is to completely understand the product that is being sold and how it can be used.

2.      A second important part of creating an advertisement is deciding who is expected to buy the product.

3.      Finally, a way must be found to create an ad that will make people want to buy the product.

How to develop a thesis statement

One way to develop a thesis statement for an essay is to write opinions you have about the topic. Begin, I think that ... and complete the sentence with your opinion. Then remove I think that ... and the remaining words make a possible thesis statement.

Topic: diet/ food

I think that a vegetarian diet is one of the best ways to live a healthy life.

I think that government should restrict the use of chemicals in agriculture and food production.

After you have written several opinion statements, choose the one that would make the best thesis. Remember to decide if the sentence gives a clear opinion, states a fact, or presents two sides without a clear argument.

Outlining an Essay

What is an outline?

An outline is a list of the information you will put in your essay.

An outline:

·         Begins with the essay’s thesis statement.

·         Shows the organization of the essay.

·         Tells what ideas you will discuss and shows which ideas will come first, second, and so on.

·         Ends with the essay’s conclusion.

Writing an outline before you write an essay will ...

·         Show you what to write before you actually begin writing.

·         Help make your essay well organized and clearly focused.

·         Keep you from forgetting any important points.

Imagine your skeleton: although you don’t see it, it supports your body. In the same way, although a reader won’t see your outline, making an outline in advance will support your essay by providing its structure. In fact, adding more information to an outline is called “fleshing it out.”

How to write an outline

Before writing an outline, you must go through the usual process of gathering ideas, editing them, and deciding on a topic for your writing. Writing an outline can be a very useful way of organizing your ideas and seeing how they will work together.

To show how the ideas work together, number them. to avoid confusion, use several different types of numbers and letters to show the organization of the ideas. Use roman numerals (I, II, III, IV, V, VI, etc.) for your essay’s main ideas: your introduction and thesis statement. Your body paragraphs, and your conclusion. Write all of these first, before going into more detail anywhere.

I.                   Introduction

II.                First main idea

III.             Second main idea

IV.             Third main idea

V.                Conclusion

Next, fill in more information for your body paragraphs by using capital roman letters (A, B, C, etc.). use one letter for each supporting idea in your body paragraph. Complete this information for each body paragraph before going into more detail.

I.                   Introduction

II.                First main idea

A.    First supporting point

B.     Second supporting point

... and so on.

Finally, use arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.) to give details for your supporting points. Not every supporting point will have details, and some points will have several. It is not important to have the same number of details for every supporting point.

I.                   Introduction

II.                First main idea

A.    First supporting point

1.      First detail

2.      Second detail

B.     Second supporting point

1.      First detail

2.      Second detail

... and so on.

Example: Don’t Support Nuclear Energy! I.                   Nuclear power is not a good energy source for the world. II.                Very expensive A.    Nuclear fuel is expensive B.     Nuclear power plants are expensive to build and operate 1.      Cost of construction 2.      Cost of training workers 3.      Cost of safety features III.             Nuclear materials are not safe A.    Nuclear fuels are dangerous 1.      Mining fuels produces radioactive gas 2.      Working with radioactive fuels can harm workers. B.     Nuclear waste products are dangerous 1.      Very radioactive 2.      Difficult to dispose of or store safely IV.             There is a great possibility of accidents A.    Nuclear power plants can fail 1.      Three mile island, U.S.A. (1979) 2.      Tarapur, India (1992) 3.      Darlington, Canada (1992) B.     Workers can make mistakes 1.      Chernobyl, U.S.S.R. (1986) 2.      Kola, Russia (1991) 3.      Tokaimura, Japan (1999) C.     Natural disasters can occur 1.      Earthquake: Kozloduy, Bulgaria (1977) 2.      Tornado, Moruroa, the pacific (1981) V.                Because of the cost and the danger, the world should develop different types of energy to replace nuclear power.

Evaluating an outline

The outline checklist

Before you start writing your essay, check your outline for organization, support, and topic development. If possible, have a friend or your instructor check your outline too.

Organization

·         Paragraphs in the right order

·         Supporting points and details in the right order

Support

·         Each main idea related to the thesis statement

·         Each supporting point related to the paragraph’s main idea

·         Each details related to the paragraph’s supporting points

Topic development

·         Enough (and not too many) main ideas to develop the thesis statement

·         Enough (and not too many) supporting points for each main point

·         Enough (and not too many) details for each supporting point

Review

·         Write a simple outline of yourself of your life. First, outline only the “body paragraphs.” Your main ideas could include physical characteristics, your personality, your habits, your family, places you have lived, jobs you have had, things you like and dislike, and so on.

·         Explain your outline to a partner. Your partner will then add a “thesis statement” and “concluding statement”.

·         Join another pair and present your complete outlines.

Introductions and Conclusions

The importance of introductions and conclusions

The introduction and the conclusion are two of the three main parts of an essay. Without an introduction and a conclusion, an essay is just a group of paragraphs. The introduction and the conclusion work together to make the topic and main ideas of the essay clear to the reader.

The Introduction

What is an introduction?

The first paragraph of an essay.

The introduction ...

·         Is usually five to ten sentences.

·         Catches the reader’s interest.

·         Gives the general topic of the essay

·         Gives background information about the topic

·         States the main point (the thesis statement) of the essay.

The introduction is often organized by giving the most general ideas first and then leading to the most specific idea, which is the thesis statement, like this:

 

                                                                                                                 

How to write a strong introduction

A strong introduction ...

·         Introduces the topic clearly

·         Gives several sentences of information about the topic

·         States the thesis (the main idea) of the essay

Any of the following will make an introduction weak:

·         It doesn’t give enough information about the topic or gives too much information about it.

·         It talks about too many different topics

·         It does not state a clear thesis

Types of information

How to make an introduction interesting

To make an introductory paragraph interesting for the reader, you can include ...

·         Interesting facts or statistics.

·         A personal story or example.

·         An interesting quotation.

The conclusion

The importance of a conclusion

The conclusion is the final paragraph of the essay. A good concluding paragraph ...

·         Summarizes the main points of the essay

·         Restates the thesis (using different words)

·         Makes a final comment about the essay’s main idea.

·         May emphasize an action that you would like the reader to take.

Don’t introduce new ideas in a conclusion. A conclusion only restates or gives further commentary on ideas discussed in the essay.