Essay Writing

Outline

• Origin of the word essay• What is an essay?• What can an essay say?• 3 basic types of essays• 6 parts of an essay• Where should you start?• Whom should you read?• What is the most important thing?

• From ‘essai’ from French to ‘test’ or ‘attempt’ • First known use 14th century• First appearance, Zuihitsu: a genre of prose

writing in Japanese literature. It means “to follow” and “brush”. Originally from Chinese meaning “to follow brush”

Why This Mentioning of Origin?

• Will it make you any smarter?• Will it make you write a better essay?• Will it make you form your opinion about an

essay?• Will it make you remember what an essay is?

Enough!

What Is an Essay?

• “a short piece of writing that tells a person's thoughts or opinions about a subject”

m-w.com

• It is a form of prose writing that aims to say something

What can an essay say?

What Can an Essay Say?

• Controversial stuff with proof• It can say and portray stories

unknown to us• That you think out of the box• Be a little personal

3 Basic Types of Essays

1) Descriptive essay 2) Opinionated essay / Argumentative essay3) Narrative essay / Personal essay

What is the mnemonic for learning the name of 3 basic types of essays?

• Yes, you guessed it right…

DON

3 Basic Types of Essays1) Descriptive essay – Describes a situation / event / place– Pros and cons / Likes or dislikes

2) Opinionated essay / Argumentative essay– Propose a debatable topic– Using cause and effect / using logic, come to a

conclusion3) Narrative essay / Personal essay– Using personal pronouns ‘I’, personal opinions are

given

Which Essay Type Is the Most Popular?

• What is your guess?

Yes, you are correct or incorrect?

• Debatable essay / opinion generating essay / argumentative essay / analytical essay

• These are all the names for almost the same type of essay with slight variations

6 Parts of an Essay

1) First statement is an ‘I’2) Introductory paragraph / Thesis3) Topic statement / thesis statement4) Body paragraphs 5) Concluding paragraph / Restatement of the

thesis statement6) Last statement is an ‘I’

6 Parts of an Essay…

1) First statement is an ‘I’– Quote / Simple introduction / A general but nicely

crafted statement 2) Introductory paragraph / Thesis– A little taste of what you want to carry forward

3) Topic statement / thesis statement– Last sentence of the first paragraph – A statement you will restate later in the

conclusion

6 Parts of an Essay…

4) Body paragraphs – Body is the space where you experiment by giving your

opinions, ideas or justifications• “… Pro idea 1

Pro idea 2Con(s) + Refutation(s): these are the opinions of others that you disagree with. You must clearly specify these opinions if you are to refute them convincingly.Conclusion” Cappelen Damm

• I recommend you see the link given in the reference for possible approaches

Body

• Opinion + justification • Opinion + logic + justification• Opinion + logic + justification + examples

How many paragraphs in the body?

• 300 words essay can have 2 to 3 paragraphs• Likewise for a 600 to 700 word essay 6

paragraphs will do

6 Parts of an Essay…

5) Concluding paragraph / Restatement of the thesis statement– You are saying goodbye. Conclude by summarizing and; – restating your thesis statement

6) Last statement is an ‘I’– Claim your victory by coming to a thoughtful conclusion– You took your precious time to write an essay so

personalize it by letting us, the readers, know what you’ve gained

Mnemonic to Learn 6 Parts of an Essay

• FIT BCL • Remember it like this: – A red snap fit buckle (FIT BCL) is 5 times tighter

than a quick fit buckle

Where should you start?

Whom should you read?

4 Popular Essay Writers

1. Francis bacon, The Essays (1597)2. Bertrand Russell, Unpopular Essays (1950)3. Michel de Montaigne, Essais (1580, 1588)4. Sei Shōnagon, The Pillow Book (1002)

No, they are boring

• They must be…

Read• Forbes• Reader’s Digest• National Geographic• Inc.• The Verge• BBC• CNN• Reuters

• DW• Engadget• Science Daily• Popular Science• And the list goes on…

What is the most important thing to remember from all this?

Quality

Outline for Revision

• Origin of the word essay• What is an essay?• What can an essay say?• 3 basic types of essays• 6 parts of an essay• Where should you start?• Whom should you read?• What is the most important thing to remember from

all this?

References

• access-socialstudies.cappelendamm.no• aucegypt.edu• grammar.about.com• publishersweekly.com• The Essays by Francis Bacon• Sei Shōnagon The Pillow Book• Image source slide 1 - proficientwriters• Image source slide 17 - customessayorder• Image source slide 34 - mcqpaper