How to Write an Essay

Creating

COMPOSITIONS

How to Write an Essay

For information:

Fred W. Duckworth, Jr.

c/o Jewels Educational Services

1560 East Vernon Avenue

Los Angeles, CA 90011-3839

E-mail: admin@trinitytutors.com

Website: www.trinitytutors.com

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Table of Contents

Chapter 1

An Overview

An essay is a short piece of writing that usually gives the author’s own views on a particular topic or subject. It is customarily divided into three parts: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion, and as a multiple-paragraph composition, it requires the author to decide on a number of things including an appropriate main idea or focus, an organizational structure, and a point of view based on purpose, audience, length, and format requirements.

Writing the Introduction

The first paragraph in an essay is the introductory paragraph. It has two jobs. First of all, it establishes (and supports) a central idea by means of a topic sentence that is located at or near its beginning. (A topic sentence states the most important or main idea.) The topic sentence is followed by three or more supporting/detail sentences.

Secondly, the introductory paragraph should grab the audience’s (or readers') attention. There are at least three ways of doing this, including...

Using humor

Citing a statistic.

Repeating a famous or interesting quote.

In the introduction you write clear, coherent sentences that develop the central theme. After you have written your introductory paragraph, you will need to write the “body.”

NOTE: When writing multiple paragraph compositions, be sure to use correct indention.

Writing the Body

The second part of an essay is the body. To create the body, you expand upon the supporting sentences from the first paragraph, making a complete paragraph out of each one. In other words, the body consists of three or more paragraphs, each of which is developed from one of the introduction’s topic sentences, which you extend and expand upon to create complete paragraphs. These paragraphs should support the main idea through the use of simple facts, details, and explanations. Finally, the last part of your essay is the “conclusion.”

Writing the Conclusion

The conclusion is a paragraph that summarizes the essay’s main points.To write a conclusion, you simply say the same thing that was said in the introduction, but you say it using different (synonymous) words.

The “Nuts and Bolts”

As was already stated, an essay is a multiple-paragraph composition. And as you know, a paragraph is a group of sentences that are all about the same topic. Of course, this means that before you can begin your essay you will obviously need to choose a topic. Sometimes your topic will be choosen for you, perhaps by your teacher, or by a writing prompt that included as part of an assessment for example. Once you have chosen (or been assigned) your topic, you will need to think carefully about what you're going to write about it, gathering and organizing your thoughts before you actually begin writing your paragraph.

Developing a Main Idea and Topic Sentence

As just stated, to write a well organized paragraph you’ll need a topic sentence. The topic sentence is the sentence that tells what your paragraph is mostly about. To create one, you need to identify the paragraph’s main idea. Ask yourself what question you are going to answer about whatever subject you have chosen, and what is the best way to do that. Decide which answer, or which part of an answer, contains the single most important point that you want to make. You will use that point as your main idea and the basis of your topic sentence. A Prewrite Worksheet has been provided for you on the next page to assist you in teh process of forming a topic sentence. If, after completing the workseet, you still can’t decide on which point is the most important, just choose one point and stick to it throughout your paragraph.

WRITING STRATEGIES

STANDARD 1.2 Organization / Focus w Level 4

PREWRITE WORKSHEET - PART I

Here is the question that I am going to answer about the topic I have chosen or that was assigned to me:

__________________________________________________

Here is what I think is the best way to answer the above question:

__________________________________________________

After considering the above answer, I think the single most important point that I want to make is . . .

__________________________________________________

(Use the above point as your main idea. Write it in sentence form. This will be your topic sentence.)

Developing the Introductory Paragraph

Once you have chosen the most important point, your next step is to find the best way to tell your reader about it. So, after writing your topic sentence, begin to identify facts or ideas that you can use to support your topic sentence. Ask yourself why this topic is important and why people should be interested in it. Think about possible answers to your initial question. Write out your thoughts and ideas with regard to all of the above considerations. Record your thoughts so that you can use them to guide yourself as you write your paragraph. There is no need to spend a lot of time doing this. Just write enough to help you remember why and how you're going to write your paragraph.

You should also collect facts related to your topic sentence or that will help you answer your initial question and write them down as well. To save time, make sure that the facts you are writing are related to the exact question you’re going to answer. And ask yourself the following questions:

Have I organized my facts and ideas in a way that develops my topic sentence?

In looking at the facts I have written and my ideas on the topic, am I including only those facts and ideas that will support my topic sentence?

After choosing the facts and ideas I plan to use, what would be the best order in which to arrange them?

How can I make my paragraph interesting?

What else do I want to say about the topic?

Do I need to gather more facts about my topic?

Now, finish your essay using the tips listed on the next page!

ESSAY WRITING GUIDESHEET

STANDARD 1.2 Writing Strategies w Level 4

Focus: Students will create multiple-paragraph compositions that develop a central idea based on audience and purpose

PREWRITING TIPS:

Read the prompt carefully.

Noticed the audience and the purpose stated in the prompt. Keep both in mind as you gather ideas and write your paper.

Try to write one sentence that states what you think about the topic of the prompt. This sentence will help focus you as you write.

Take the time to make a web or to write an outline in order to gather and organized your ideas for your paper.

Look over the ideas you’ve gathered and decide how to organize them in the clearest way. You want your paper to be easy to follow.

Be sure to develop the support for your essay. Include examples, supporting details, and reasons that will “elaborate” or further explain your topic.

As you write your draft, write freely. Remember that you can go back and revise.

REVISION TIPS:

Take time to give your paper a good going-over before you submit it for scoring.

Read through one time to see that you’ve included all the ideas you wanted and that they are clearly organized.

Read your paper a second time to proofread it. Locate and correct any grammar, usage, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation mistakes that would subtract from the overall quality of your paper.

When you think your paper is ready to be scored, hand it in to your teacher.