THE ESSAY From the French ‘essai’ - attempt English ‘assay’ – ‘try’ or ‘to weigh’

An effective essay has… RELEVANCE The essay answers the question(s) that prompted it. ORGANIZATION The essay has a distinct and recognizable beginning, middle, and end. The ideas are presented in a specifically chosen order and flow smoothly together. FOCUS Does the essay have one clearly articulated focus? The thesis statement should clearly state the focus of the essay. Every paragraph in the essay should explain and develop the thesis statement.

Typical Essay Outline: Introductory Paragraph: grab attention state thesis (often, not always) Body Paragraphs: build points develop ideas support main claims Concluding Paragraph: restate thesis leave reader with something to think about

WHERE DO I START ?!? Define the purpose of your essay: To inform? To persuade? To evaluate? Begin to gather information: 1) What do I know from personal experience? 2) What do the ‘experts’ say? RESEARCH SKILLS! 3) What information do I have from the text that I am studying that connects to this topic?

BRAINSTORM: There is no wrong answer at this point !

RESEARCH: Identify Main Topic: ____________________ Come up with a Question/ Information Problem? Brainstorm Key Words (to help you search) Take Point Form Notes (to avoid plagiarism) RECORD YOUR SOURCES FOR EVERYTHING!

Assess your resources… …check and double check for bias!

Go ‘text-hunting’ AND/OR use the notes that you already have

Make sure to answer: BE SPECIFIC IN YOUR EXAMPLES

Now you are almost ready to write…. …but there are still a few things to keep in mind…

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE What do they know? What are their values and beliefs? What motivates them? HOW WILL YOU APPEAL TO THEM?

LOGOS – no NOT the product kind Logos refers to the soundness of the argument Facts, statistics, examples, and authoritative statements Supporting evidence must be: unified, specific, sufficient, and accurate

PATHOS Sensitivity, the emotional appeal of the language Appeals to audience needs, values, attitudes Encourages them to commit to a viewpoint or a course of action

PATHOS continued… Word choice is important for the connotation (emotional appeal of the word) Advertising and propaganda often appeal to emotion and hope to exclude logic as in the following example: Experience the power. Bold, yet subtle. Clean. Masculine. The scent for the man who’s in charge.

ETHOS The establishment of credibility and integrity of the writer Convince readers that you know what you are talking about Logical argument that takes opposing viewpoints into account

Plan, Plan, Plan! - logical order? -transitions? -does it all connect back to the thesis?

Essay Outline

First Impressions… Your introduction is your only chance to make a first impression Open with a general/catchy statement that will interest your audience – convince them to spend some time with you Create a road map of your argument/essay Ensure that you have a specific thesis – you need to make your position clear HINT: This paragraph should be rewritten at least once after you finish the first draft of your essay

BODY PARAGRAPH OPTION #1: BLOCK METHOD:discuss everything relevant about one topic before moving on to the next topic EX) Comparing two newspapers: Paragraph A: Toronto Sun Paragraph B: National Post B: National PostInternational news National newsNational newsLocal news

OPTION #2) Point by point method: alternating from one aspect of the first subject to the same aspect of the next subject EXAMPLE: Paragraph 1) Everything about local a) Sun’s local news b) Post’s local news Paragraph 2) Everything about national a) Sun’s national b) Post’s national (etc. for p3)

HOW TO WRITE AN EFFECTIVE CONCLUSION DO: Implicitly restate your thesis Emphasize the importance of your topic by placing it in a larger context Offer suggestions for the future based on what you have argued DO NOT: Introduce new material OR leave the reader feeling that something is missing

EDIT

EDIT, EDIT, EDIT! 1.Decide what your thesis is. Is there a way that you can state your main idea more clearly? 2. Make sure that you have included specific proof and clear explanations 3.Next, look at how you have organized the paper. Do you make strong connections between the points that you are making in your essay? 4.If you haven't drawn a clear correlation between your points, you may need to rearrange them, revise your materials, or substitute better evidence to support your thesis. 5.Check all your quotations to make sure each supports your thesis and that you have properly used signal phrases, indentations (necessary for longer quotations), and citations in parentheses (MLA style).

THIS IS NOT TRUE!

ALSO NOT TRUE!

Good luck!