ESSAY STRUCTURE

There are two main types of essays: the expository essay and the rhetorical essay. In an expository essay, a writer simply explains or describes something. In a rhetorical essay, a writer argues a debatable proposition, presenting his case as persuasively as possible.

In this course, you are expected to write rhetorical essays; you are expressing opinions and are trying to influence your readers. An effective rhetorical essay is one that looks as objective as possible. Expressions such as "I think..." should be avoided; they seem less objective. A flat statement - "Marijuana should be legalized" - is more powerful than indirect statements such as "I sincerely believe that marijuana should be legalized."

An essay should consist of three parts: an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. The introduction and the conclusion are one paragraph each, while the body can be any number of paragraphs. An essay should therefore contain at least 3 paragraphs, and usually 5 or more.

Introduction

The first paragraph of an essay should be an introduction. The main purpose of an introduction is to state the thesis clearly. At some point in the introduction, the thesis should be summed up in a thesis statement (sometimes called a thesis sentence). The thesis statement is the controlling force of your essay. It states the general message that you wish to convey, and it often includes an overview of the different topics that will be covered in the body. Be very careful in constructing your thesis; a strong thesis makes it easier to write a strong essay.

In the introduction, the writer is also trying to catch the reader's attention. For this reason, there is usually a lead, consisting of a controversial fact or anecdote, which leads to the thesis statement. The lead may be thought of as advertising; like an advertisement, it attempts to arouse curiosity or provoke a reaction to attract an audience.

Body

The body of the essay provides evidence to support the thesis. Each paragraph in the body should contain a topic sentence: a summary of the point being made in the paragraph. The other sentences of the paragraph contain specific, concrete information (facts, figures, quotations...) that supports the topic sentence.

The topic sentence is usually either the first sentence or the last sentence in a paragraph. Saving the topic sentence for the end is sometimes called funnel structure. The reader is presented with one piece of evidence after another, inexorably leading to the topic sentence. This structure is usually more effective than a pyramid structure, where the topic sentence is stated at the beginning of the paragraph, and is followed by a list of supporting evidence.

Conclusion

You should restate your thesis (the same statement in different words) in the conclusion. This thesis restatement brings the reader back to your main point.

After the thesis restatement, you should provide your reader with a closure, usually an element from the introduction to bring the reader full circle.

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To facilitate writing your essays, begin by making an outline. Photocopy the form on the following page, and fill it in. This will serve as your outline.

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Name: ________________________________________

Course and group number: ______________________

ESSAY OUTLINE

Title of essay: _____________________________________

INTRODUCTION Thesis statement:_____________________________

BODY

paragraph 1 Topic sentence:_______________________________

Supporting facts, etc:

1) _________________________________

2) _________________________________

3) _________________________________

4) _________________________________

paragraph 2 Topic sentence: _________________________________

Supporting facts, etc:

1) _________________________________

2) _________________________________

3) _________________________________

4) _________________________________

paragraph 3 Topic sentence: _________________________________

Supporting facts, etc:

1) _________________________________

2) _________________________________

3) _________________________________

4) _________________________________

paragraph 4 Topic sentence: _________________________________

Supporting facts, etc:

1) _________________________________

2) _________________________________

3) _________________________________

4) _________________________________

paragraph 5 Topic sentence: _________________________________

Supporting facts, etc:

1) _________________________________

2) _________________________________

3) _________________________________

4) _________________________________

CONCLUSION Thesis restatement:______________________________