the essay-writing book what does it suggest about essay writing?
TRANSCRIPT
The essay-writing book
What does it suggest about essay writing?
Chapter One
• give readers preview of what’s “motivating your argument” (21), and always keep in mind
main purpose of your discussion (27)
Chapter Three
• quotations should always have reason for being in a paper, and should be given some
context (i.e., discussion [44])
• effective quoting/paraphrasing is fine balancing act between someone else’s views, your comments on those views, and your own
views (49)
Chapter Five
• use “voice markers” to differentiate between your views and someone else’s (e.g., “While X
suggests ___, I would caution against a complete acceptance of this view” [75])
Chapter Six
• anticipate criticism of your opinion in order to strengthen paper (78), since process of
writing is a “conversation” (79)
• easier to write paper if you “entertain counter-arguments” (80)
Chapter Ten
• metacommentary (i.e., action of commenting on your own thoughts) helps generate more
ideas and greater depth in paper (131)
• dealing with counter-arguments (see Ch. 6) is also form of metacommentary (134)
• paper with good metacommentary not only makes claims; it “stage manag[es]” claims
(137) and maybe goes beyond them
Essay structure
So what do I need, and do, in a paper?
Essay 1, opinion piece
Should include...
Opinion & body
• intro.: contains your specific opinion (i.e., thesis statement)
• body paragraphs: expand on thesis; maintain focus; draw inspiration from primary text,
opinion, interplay between two; explain ideas and grow discussion; reflect upon validity of
own thoughts; establish connections between primary work and opinion
Conclusion
• ties together loose ends; reaffirms dominant thoughts; suggests new ideas/modes of
inquiry
Essay 2, extended opinion piece
Should include...
Opinion & body
• intro.: contains your specific opinion (i.e., thesis statement)
• body paragraphs: expand on thesis; maintain focus; draw inspiration from primary text,
opinion, but open to critical possibilities/interplay; reflect upon validity of
own thoughts and those of criticism; establish connections/polarizations between primary
and secondary work, and opinion; synthesize
Conclusion
• ties together loose ends; looks at discussion in its entirety; suggests new ideas/modes of
inquiry
And don’t forget...
• in extended opinion pieces (i.e., research papers), think of secondary sources as tools
that allow you to “bridge” certain gaps between your opinions and primary text, but never allow secondary sources to speak for
you