how to write an essay lecture

7/31/2019 How to Write an Essay Lecture

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Writing an Essay

2 May Lecture


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Three Main Types of Writing

1. Narrative Writing: Tells a personal or fictional

experience or tells a story based on a real or imagined

event.

2. Expository Writing: is writing that is designed toconvey information or explain what is difficult to

understand.

3. Persuasive Writing: Attempts to convince thereader to accept a particular point of view or to take a

specific action.


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How to Write a Personal Narrative:

A personal narrative is a story told in the first person, often using

pronouns like "I," "me," and "mine."

The story is about real life, not creative fiction or literature. It may be

about the writer, something the writer witnessed, or about someone the

writer knows, having heard it second-hand. Truth and experience are thehallmarks of this style.

The narrative emphasizes a clear focus. It recounts what is probably a

short story in an informal as well as an informational way.

Your narrative can include autobiographical elements. You may choose toreveal details from your life or the life of someone you know or care

about. If it's not autobiographical, the story should outline an event, or

series of events, with which the writer is clearly familiar.

By the conclusion of the paper, a narrative will have made a main point.


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Guideline for Writing a PersonalNarrative:

WHAT? Tell readers the basic story, as though responding

to their collective unasked question, 'What happened?'

SO WHAT? Then revise your story to make readers care.Bad and good things happen to us all. Why should they care

about the events in your paper? Make it exciting,

meaningful, and purposeful.

NOW WHAT? At the end of the paper, give readers aprinciple that they can take with them. By applying what

they learn from your narrative experience, they may view

the world or themselves differently.


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Guideline for Writing a PersuasiveEssay:

Use evidence to support your viewpoint. Statistics, facts, quotations

from experts and examples will help you to build a strong case for your

argument. Appeal to the readers sense of logic by presenting specific

and relevant evidence in a well-organized manner. Consider opposing views. Try to anticipate the concerns and questions

that a reader might have about your subject. Responding to these

points will give you the chance to explain why your viewpoint or

recommendation is the best one.

Present a strong conclusion. All your evidence and explanations should

build toward a strong ending in which you summarize your view in a clear

and memorable way. The conclusion in a persuasive essay might include a

call to action.


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How to Write an Expository Essay:

Expository writing is any type of writing that

is used to describe, explain, or inform.

In a nutshell, expository writing is used toconvey information from writer to reader.


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Guideline to Writing an ExpositoryEssay

STEP ONE: SELECTING A TOPIC

If your professor assigns you a specific topic to write about, then this

step is completed before you even begin. However, often the teacher

will allow students to choose their own essay topic, so it is important to

be able to choose effectively.

It is important to narrow down your choice so that it is appropriate to

the essay length requirements. For example, if the professor has

assigned a two-page essay, it is not a good idea to choose a big topic.

Conversely, if the professor wants an especially lengthy essay, do notchoose too narrow of a topic so that it becomes difficult to fill up the

pages with information.


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Guideline to Writing an Expository Essay

STEP TWO: CHOOSE A DEVELOPMENTAL PATTERN

There are a variety of ways to develop a custom expository essay, just as there is avariety of ways to convey information. The following are just a few examples of the

developmental patterns you can adopt for your own essay:

Definition- This may be the most straightforward of the developmental patterns. As

its name suggests, you will simply use the expository essay to thoroughly define a

topic.

Example- In this developmental pattern, you will provide and describe an example of

a particular subject or group.

Cause and Effect- With this developmental pattern, you will illustrate the

relationship between to variables, one dependent on the other. Describe the manyways in which this particular variable affects the other, and explain why it does so.

Classification- This developmental pattern is used to categorize multiple subjects

into separate or distinct groups by certain criteria.

Compare and Contrast- With this developmental pattern, the writer will examine

both the similarities and the differences between two or more distinct subjects.


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Guideline to Writing an ExpositoryEssay

STEP THREE: PERFORM ADEQUATE RESEARCH ON YOUR

TOPIC

Too often students begin writing expository essays without

first having learned about their subject. If the teacher requires you to write the essay with

knowledge from the top of your head, then obviously

you will not have to perform research.

However, if this is not the case then it is vital that you take

some time to learn about your topic before beginning to write.

Doing so will only lead to a much stronger essay.


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How to Structure Your EssayThese simple steps will guide you through the essay writing process:

Decide on your topic.

Prepare an outline or diagram of your ideas.

Write the introduction.

Write your thesis statement.

Write the body.

Write the main points.

Write the subpoints. Elaborate on the subpoints.

Write the conclusion.

Add the finishing touches.


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What is a Thesis Statement?

The thesis statement tells the reader what the essay

will be about, and what point you, the author, will be

making.

You know what the essay will be about. That was yourtopic. Now you must look at your outline or diagram and

decide what point you will be making.

What do the main ideas and supporting ideas that you

listed say about your topic?


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What is an Introduction

The introduction should be designed to attract the

reader's attention and give her an idea of the

essay's focus.

Begin with an attention grabber.

If the attention grabber was only a sentence

or two, add one or two more sentences that

will lead the reader from your opening toyour thesis statement.

Finish the paragraph with your thesis statement.


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What is a Conclusion

The conclusion brings closure to the reader,

summing up your points or providing a final

perspective on your topic.

All the conclusion needs is three or four strongsentences which do not need to follow any set

formula.

Simply review the main points (being careful not torestate them exactly) or briefly describe your

feelings about the topic.


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Finishing Touches Check your writing.

Nothing can substitute for revision of your work. By reviewing what you

have done, you can improve weak points that otherwise would be missed.

Read and reread your paper.

Does it make logical sense?

Leave it for a few hours and then read it again. Does it still make logicalsense?

Do the sentences flow smoothly from one another?

If not, try to add some words and phrases to help connect them. Transition

words, such as "therefore" or"however," sometimes help. Also, you mightrefer in one sentence to a thought in the previous sentence. This is

especially useful when you move from one paragraph to another.

Have you run a spell checker or a grammar checker?

These aids cannot catch every error, but they might catch errors that you

have missed.


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Finishing Touches Check the instructions for the assignment.

When you prepare a final draft, you must be sure

to follow all of the instructions you have been

given.

Are your margins correct?

Have you titled it as directed?

What other information (name, date, etc.) must you

include?

Did you double-space your lines?

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