Essay Study

FFree WriteThe Essay

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4Xcn7LIXzg

Relevancy

Why do we have you write the formal essay?Why do you need to learn the skills required

to write a formal essay?

Why?

•Formal tone – sound educated•Analysing

•Connections – text to text, text to world, text to self

•Organizing thoughts - flow•Clarifying

Some students want tocombines elements of writing – sentence, grammar, critical thinking, basically the

entire courseeffective communication – all professions

organize thoughtspresent ideas to sway audience

critique literaturereal world – business presentation – emails,

mission statementsscience labs

What does Andrew Marvell want?http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/marvell/coy.htm

Pre-AssessmentWhat do you already know about the essay and essay writing?With which types of essays are you familiar?What is the easiest part of the process?What is the most challenging part of the process?

TerminologyRhetoricRhetorical ModeAudienceThesisNarrationDescriptionExpositionArgument/Persuasion

Purpose

•Narration – tell a story•Description – create a sensory picture

•Exposition – explain or inform•Argument/Persuasion - convince

Narration in Non-fiction writing• Tell a true story• Anedotes – great support for a thesis• Everyone loves a good story• Sequence of events – chronological or

flashback• Transitions – next, after, as soon as, then,

finally• Point of view – be consistent• Setting – dates, places

Thesis•Argument•“Destination” – Canadian Content, Intro•Controls the paper•Everything relates back to the thesis•Placement – beginning or end, sometimes

in the middle•Explicit or implicit•Rubric – Knowledge and Thinking

Audience

Who are you writing to?What do they know?

What do they want to know from you?

“Eternal Glimpse”

1. What is thesis?2. How do you know this essay has narration?3. How are the events arranged?4. What is the point of view?5. Is this narration a good support for the thesis? Explain your anwer.

Read a narrative essay.

Baba and MeEscape to Paradise

DeficitsOnly Little Girls Skip

How I learned to appreciate...

Brainstorming•Free writing on the thesis•Mind mapping•Dot jot of ideas•What comes to mind? How easy will this

thesis be to defend?

Outline•Graphic organizer, loose-leaf page, word

document– what works best for you?•Thesis •Dot jot points, proofs (quotations and

page references), explanation•Consider organization – strong point,

weakest point, strongest point

Outline cont'd

Include topic sentences – Why?Each topic sentence must relate to thesis

Quotations – Why?Context for each quotation

Outline•Graphic organizer, loose-leaf page, word

document– what works best for you?•Thesis •Dot jot points, proofs (quotations and

page references), explanation•Consider organization – strong point,

weakest point, strongest point

Rough Draft•Complete sentences•Paragraph structure•Topic and concluding sentences•Link paragraphs with transition words or

repetition of words

Editing•Explore spell check suggestions.•Make sure you have avoided “I think,”

“You,” slang and any other informal language.

•Read aloud to catch awkward sentences, missing words, typos.

•Get a trustworthy editor – what parts are not fully explained? What questions does your editor have? Consider what should be changed. Maintain your own voice – your paper should sound like you.

Final Copy•Title page – title of your essay (not the

title of your novel) goes in the centre; your name, date, teacher’s name, course go in bottom right corner

•Double space•Bibliography

Relevance – Transferable Skills

Casual Debate – Leafs vs HabsLawyer – LitigatingLetter of Application/Reference