Rhetoric and composition Essay writing 101 Rhetoric and composition

In order to write an effective essay, it is necessary to complete 1. 2. 3. plan write revise In order to write an effective essay, it is necessary to complete three important steps:

WRITING AN ESSAY FOLLOW THE STEPS WRITING PLANNING STRUCTURE SUPPORT REVISION THESIS CONNECT QUESTION READ BACK

PLanning: the question The most important part of an essay is the thesis. The thesis is the main idea, the backbone of what you want to say. The thesis should directly answer the question, and in order to do so, the question must be understood completely. Most questions that you will answer with essays are complex, consisting of more than one part. Read through the question carefully to make sure you understand all the terms used. Then read back through it again to try to understand two things: -What the question IS asking (simplification) -What the question WANTS to ask (deduction)

anSWERING THE QUESTION WHAT IS IT ASKING?

PLanning: the thesis Once you are confident you understand the question, it is time to begin formulating your thesis. You want to make your thesis specific, so that you can develop a definite position as you write. The thesis should state that position, in a way that directly answers the question. After stating the position, you should introduce the three points you will address, as a preview. This functions in much the same way as a MOVIE PREVIEW. “The thesis is your argument: you will make a statement and then support your position.”

WHAT MOVIE DO I WANT TO SEE? PREVIEW WHAT MOVIE DO I WANT TO SEE? [[PREVIEW YOUR ARGUMENT]]

WRITING: BUILD A STRUCTURE Once you have laid out your three main points in your thesis, you must expand upon them. You have already set the foundation, now it is time to build the walls. Begin your first body paragraph by connecting to the statement just made at the end of the introduction. This continuity will be important to connect the ideas. As you proceed through your body paragraphs, make sure to stay on point throughout. Keep your thesis in mind as you write, so that you continue moving toward your final points. The Rough Draft Is Important: you must arrange all your thoughts on paper and make sure you have enough of an argument. 1. Many times, you will think of new connections or ideas as you are writing. That is fine- the thesis is not set in stone- it can be modified as you go. That is why the rough draft is such an important step. 2. Sometimes you will not have as much to write about two points as you will the third. Or sometimes you will find one point so large that you can divide it into two separate points.

WRITING: SUPPORT YOUR IDEAS As you expand and develop your body paragraphs, you will need to support your ideas. This means providing evidence, usually from the text, that agrees with your point. The general rule of thumb is that you have 2 examples to support each point. They can be quotes, descriptions of characters, or even brief summaries of the plot at key points. Support doesn’t require a dissertation in and of itself- usually you can support it in two sentences: one to present the example, and one to explain it.

WRITING: THE CONCLUSION After developing all three body paragraphs, you will need to tie them back in together neatly to the position you have established for the paper. This should be done in the conclusion. At the beginning of the concluding paragraph, you should find a way to reiterate your thesis. This could be restating it, or even revising it slightly according to the ideas you developed in the body. After reiterating, you should then broaden out the scope of the essay: the opposite of what was done in the introduction. Discuss the relevance of the question or subject in history or in relation to the present day.

REVISION: READ BACKWARDS Once you have completed all of the body paragraphs and written your conclusion, stop writing. That’s right: stop writing. Put down your pen, stretch your legs, get some water. Do whatever you need to do (quietly and reasonably) to disengage your mind from the subject for a few minutes. Get your blood flowing and think about something else. After you feel suitably disengaged, sit back down, flip over to the back of your essay, and begin to read through it backwards, sentence by sentence. You are doing this to go through and check to the grammar and spelling to be sure everything is ok.

REVISION: CHECK THE FLOW After you have proceeded through the text backwards and corrected grammar and spelling mistakes, you should read back through what you have written one more time, looking specifically for continuity and flow. Make sure you begin with a solid thesis, and then proceed through the body and then the conclusion with logical progression- establish a point and then build on the point to make another and another and so on. Try to link body paragraphs especially by common points (segues) so that there is a natural flow between them, rather than a start-and-stop rhythm.

AN EFFECTIVE ESSAY Once you have completed these steps and checked over your essay, it should be ready to submit. The product of these steps, an effective essay, should be an organized and thoughtful argument for a specific opinion or analysis. If that is what you feel you have produced, then it is ready for submission. This basic structure, the 5-paragraph or 3x5 essay, is one that is found in many fields, apart from only that of literature.

Variations on the structure Science/Research- Scientific Paper Technology- Philosophy- Process or Technical Writing- Journalism-