ESSAYS WRITING
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Ngày 19/10/2018 |
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Chia sẻ tài liệu: ESSAYS WRITING thuộc Tiếng Anh 9
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Essay Writing
Copyright ©1995-2008 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue
Overview
The essay is a commonly assigned form of writing that every student will encounter while in
academia. Therefore, it is wise for the student to become capable and comfortable with this type
of writing early on in her training.
Essays can be a rewarding and challenging type of writing and are often assigned both in class—
which requires previous planning and practice (and a bit of creativity) on the part of the
student—and as homework, which likewise demands a certain amount of preparation. Many
poorly crafted essays have been produced on account of a lack of preparation and confidence.
However, students can avoid the discomfort often associated with essay writing by
understanding some common genres within essay writing.
However, before delving into its various genres, let’s begin with a basic definition of the essay.
What is an Essay?
Though the word ‘essay’ has come to be understood as a type of writing in Modern English, its
origins provide us with some useful insights. The word comes into the English language through
the French influence on Middle English; tracing it back further, we find that the French form of
the word comes from the Latin verb exigere, which means ‘to examine, test, or (literally) to drive
out’. Through the excavation of this ancient word, we are able to unearth the essence of the
academic essay: to encourage students to test or examine their ideas concerning a particular
topic.
Essays are shorter pieces of writing that often require the student to hone a number of skills such
as close reading, analysis, comparison and contrast, persuasion, conciseness, clarity, and
exposition. As is evidenced by this list of attributes, there is much to be gained by the student
who strives to succeed at essay writing.
The purpose of an essay is to encourage students to develop ideas and concepts in their writing
with the direction of little more than their own thoughts (it may be helpful to view the essay as
the converse of a research paper). Therefore, essays are (by nature) concise, and require clarity in
purpose and direction. This means that there is no room for the student’s thoughts to wander or
stray from her purpose; she must be deliberate and interesting.
It is the purpose of this handout to help students become familiar and comfortable with the
process of essay composition through the introduction of some common essay genres.
This handout will include a brief introduction to the following genres of essay writing:
The Expository Essay
The Descriptive Essay
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The Narrative Essay
The Argumentative (Persuasive) Essay
The Expository Essay
What is an Expository Essay?
The expository essay is a genre of essay that requires the student to investigate an idea, evaluate
evidence, expound on the idea, and set forth an argument concerning that idea in a clear and
concise manner. This can be accomplished through comparison and contrast, definition,
exempla, the analysis of cause and effect, etc.
Please note: This genre is commonly assigned as a tool for classroom evaluation and is often
found in various exam formats.
The structure of the expository essay is held together by the following:
A clear, concise, and defined thesis statement that occurs in the first paragraph of the essay.
It is essential that this thesis statement be appropriately narrowed to follow the guidelines set
forth in the assignment. If the student does not master this portion of the essay, it will be quite
difficult to compose an effective or persuasive essay.
Clear and logical transitions between the introduction, body, and conclusion.
Transitions are the mortar that holds the foundation of the essay together. Without logical
progression of thought, the reader is unable to follow the essay’s argument, and the structure will
collapse.
Body paragraphs that include evidential support.
Each paragraph should be limited to the exposition of one general idea. This will allow for
clarity and direction throughout the essay. What is more, such conciseness creates an ease of
readability for one’s audience. It is important to note that each paragraph in the body of the essay
must have some logical connection to the thesis statement in the opening paragraph.
Evidential support (whether factual, logical, statistical, or anecdotal).
Often times, students are required to write expository essays with little or no preparation;
therefore, such essays do not typically allow for a great deal of statistical or factual evidence.
A bit of creativity!
Though creativity and artfulness are not always associated with essay writing, it is an art form
nonetheless. Try not to get stuck on the formulaic nature of expository writing at the expense of
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