REVIEW What is a personal essay? Essay 1: Identity & Agency Prompt? Rhetorical Situation for this essay Genre Purpose Stance Audience Context Medium & Design Write brief answers on back of E1 Proposal

Structure of Narrative Essay A personal essay can vary in structure, but in general, it should focus on one particular “umbrella” topic or thesis statement. “Changing my major from Mathematics to Education has taught me the meaning of hard work, perseverance, and discipline.” For most personal essays, you must make a claim Not knowing anything about the field of Education pushed me to read and “catch-up” with the most recent scholarship. Use personal experience as evidence. “Everyday, I read two scholarly articles from the last ten years about K-12 education to get an idea of what topics and issues are relevant in academia.” “I spoke with educators I met as a student and asked them for their opinions about the state of education from where they stand.” Explain and discuss the connection between evidence and claim (assertion). This is your commentary. “By reading widely and speaking with educators, I realized that even though my knowledge of the field was limited, I can push myself to seek out more information and work really hard to understand the state of the field today.

Peer Proposal Activity Actively read your peer’s proposal and annotate: Ask questions, comment, offer suggestions, and write on the margins Evaluate the writing, not the writer Working Thesis Statement: is there one? Is it clear? How clearly does it reflect the purpose of the essay? Possible Evidence: Does the author offer possible evidence to support the thesis? How effective or sufficient are they? Analysis and Reflection: Does the author sufficiently reflect on the influence or significance of the decision? How well does the author connect the decision to their identity? Share your feedback. Begin with the positives before giving your constructive feedback.

Shape of an Academic Essay General Specific THESIS STATEMENT AEC AEC AEC General Specific Shape of an Academic Essay

Structure of Narrative Essay Introduction* Body Paragraph 3 Thesis Statement Sub-assertion #3 What How Commentary #1, 2, 3…. Why Body Paragraph 4 Body Paragraph 1 AEC Sub-assertion #1 Conclusion Evidence #1, 2, 3… So What? Commentary #1, 2, 3… Why does this matter? Body Paragraph 2 Sub-assertion #2

Introductions: What are they good for? Strong, effective essay introductions should tell: What the reader is reading (context) Why the reader is reading this (significance) What the reader will do with the information (relevance) In what order the reader will receive information (preview structure)

*this, of course, is not a hard- and-fast rule. Introduction should not be the first thing you write!* *this, of course, is not a hard- and-fast rule.

Where to begin? General-to-Specific General statements can include providing facts as well as broad statements about a topic. It can help your reader ease into your own argument, especially if it is challenging or provocative. After making a general statement, some support or explanation should be offered so that your introduction is moving from a broad claim to a more specific claim.

Sample Intro (1) In comparison to many of the world’s better- known languages, English is relatively new. (2) Indeed, the English of 600 years ago can be understood only by specialists. (3) Although Chinese has the greatest number of native speakers, English is the most widely distributed language in the world today. (4) This position derives from the fact that English is widely taught as a second language in schools and widely used in international communication as a lingua franca.

Sample Intro 2 (1) Education means considerably more than just teaching a student to read, write, and manipulate numbers. (2) Computers, the Internet, and advanced electronic devices are becoming essential in everyday life, and they have changed the way information is gathered. (3) How this new technology is utilized in the curriculum and managed by teachers will have an important role to play in widening the resource and knowledge base for all students. (4) Technology affects the way teachers teach and students learn. (5) To make the best use of information technology (IT), schools need a workable plan to fully integrate it into all aspects of the curriculum so students are taught how, why, and when to use technology to further enhance their learning.

Thesis Statements

What is a thesis statement? tells the reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion. is a road map for the paper; in other words, it tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper. directly answers the question asked of you. A thesis is an interpretation of a question or subject, not the subject itself. The subject, or topic, of an essay might be World War II or Moby Dick; a thesis must then offer a way to understand the war or the novel. makes a claim that others might dispute. is usually a single sentence somewhere in your first paragraph that presents your argument to the reader. The rest of the paper, the body of the essay, gathers and organizes evidence that will persuade the reader of the logic of your interpretation.

How do I know if it’s a strong thesis? Do I answer the question? Re-reading the question prompt after constructing a working thesis can help you fix an argument that misses the focus of the question. Have I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose? If your thesis simply states facts that no one would, or even could, disagree with, it’s possible that you are simply providing a summary, rather than making an argument.

Is it specific enough? Does my thesis pass the “So what?” test? If a reader’s first response is, “So what?” then you need to clarify, to forge a relationship, or to connect to a larger issue. Does my essay support my thesis specifically and without wandering? If your thesis and the body of your essay do not seem to go together, one of them has to change. It’s o.k. to change your working thesis to reflect things you have figured out in the course of writing your paper. Remember, always reassess and revise your writing as necessary. Does my thesis pass the “how and why?” test? If a reader’s first response is “how?” or “why?” your thesis may be too open- ended and lack guidance for the reader. See what you can add to give the reader a better take on your position right from the beginning.

Compare these theses The North and South fought the Civil War for many reasons, some of which were the same and some different. While both sides fought the Civil War over the issue of slavery, the North fought for moral reasons while the South fought to preserve its own institutions. While both Northerners and Southerners believed they fought against tyranny and oppression, Northerners focused on the oppression of slaves while Southerners defended their own right to self-government.

Write your own Introduction & Thesis Statement

10-MINUTE BREAK!

Building blocks to your essays Writing Paragraphs Building blocks to your essays

Writing like an ACE (AEC)! Paragraph Development using AEC ASSERTION EVIDENCE COMMENTARY ASSERTION: Also known as a topic sentence** ** Makes a claim. Not a statement of fact. EVIDENCE: Also known as supporting details, examples, results Facts, figures, anecdotes* COMMENTARY: Also known as analysis, explanation, discussion, reflection, significance or relevance Translates the evidence Explains the connection between assertion & evidence Connects to the thesis and its larger significance/relevance

Sample AEC Worksheet

3 things to keep in mind Unity Coherence Development

UNITY: One key idea there is one key idea (the topic sentence) that tells the reader what the paragraph is about. The topic sentence controls how the paragraph will be developed. all other sentences are related to this key idea in some way.

COHERENCE: Makes sense the ideas are organized logically, each one leading to the next. ideas related to the topic focus are present from sentence to sentence. *ideas not relevant to the topic focus are not present key words related to the topic focus are repeated pronouns that refer to nouns in previous sentences clear transition markers show the relationship between sentences and ideas

DEVELOPMENT: Have a purpose all paragraphs have a purpose; they do something with their main idea by developing the idea in the topic sentence in specific ways Examples & Illustration: examples, evidence, data to demonstrate the main idea Narration: story to demonstrate, clarify and extend the key idea Description: give concrete details that clarify the key idea Process: describe the steps (chronological) in doing something. Compare & Contrast: describe similarities and differences of the items presented in the topic sentence Analogy: draw comparisons between two items that appear different Cause & Effect: present causes or effects of something Classification: develops an idea by categorizing into different and logically related parts. Definition

Plan your paragraph development; Use AEC