...the University Essay Like many undergraduate students, you are probably aware that university essays should be “different” from high-school essays. However, you may be unclear on what this difference ought to consist of. What, for instance, distinguishes the standard high-school approach to essay-writing, the five paragraph approach, from a university-level approach to essay-writing? This module will guide you through the process of moving beyond the five paragraph essay. | |The Five Paragraph Essay The five-paragraph approach has two major limitations. First, the approach produces extremely simple essays. Second, the approach is very formulaic. The five-paragraph structure can only articulate a very simple form of argument, involving a major claim and three supporting claims. In order to avoid being limited to this argument-form, the student requires the ability to build the structure of an essay around her own ideas. This ability requires an understanding of how the essay works, not knowledge of an essay-writing formula (like the five-paragraph essay). The Essay An essay is a written defense of a position (a thesis) on a topic. A good essay-topic will motivate a line of inquiry that is manageable for the essay-writer. To this end, it is extremely important to ensure that the topic is adequately narrow. A thesis is the concluding point of the line of inquiry motivated by the topic. Thus, a thesis is not a restatement of a topic. The thesis of your essay should be framed...
Words: 1594 - Pages: 7
...Journal Essay Format Information The five paragraph essay follows a defined format. The first paragraph introduces us to the thesis of the essay and directs us to the three main supporting subtopics. The second through fourth paragraphs are all similar in format. They individually restate the subtopics, and are developed by giving supporting information. The fifth and last paragraph restates the main thesis idea and reminds the reader of the three main supporting ideas that were developed. All of these paragraphs are important. The introductory paragraph is the place in which the writer introduces the reader to the topic. It is important to make this a clear and limited statement. This is where the writer grabs the reader's attention. Because of its purpose, it is often the first sentence of the paragraph. It is followed by three subtopics that develop the thesis. Between this paragraph and all paragraphs of the essay, there needs to be some kind of a transition word, phrase, or sentence. Next, the body of the essay contains paragraphs two through four. They are all similarly constructed. Their topic sentences are restatements, often in original form, of the three supporting ideas presented in the first paragraph. The subtopic of each of the body paragraphs is again supported by three or more supporting sentences. These cement, in the reader's mind, the relevancy and relationship of each of the subtopics to the thesis statement. Finally, the fifth...
Words: 483 - Pages: 2
...UNDERSTANDING AN ESSAY. Many people today have heard and even written many essays, but a large percentage of those people may not be aware of whether what they wrote was an essay, they just wrote.so what is an essay? This short essay will give an understanding of what is an essay and what it must contain. An essay can be defined as an opinion piece or just a piece of writing which is intended to methodically analyse and evaluate a topic or an issue. Generally, an essay is aimed at analysing the information and facts of the topic under study or the topical issue and then gives a standpoint on the matter. In other words, an essay is a prose writing that must present analysed information to the reader and show the standpoint of the writer. This is to say that an essay must show the writers understanding of the issue by critically providing the facts already known and then analyse them to convince the reader to side with the writer or understand the writers view point. Generally, a good essay is composed of five paragraphs. Each paragraph introduces a new idea. A good scholar should understand how to develop a five paragraph essay because it is the most recommended especially in literature and in articles for it presents the ideas in a clear and straight forward manner. Normally, an essay consists of three main parts namely, the introduction, body, and then the conclusion. The introduction consists of one paragraph. This paragraph introduces the reader to the topic and outlines...
Words: 641 - Pages: 3
...There are various kinds of essays, from descriptive to 5 paragraph persuasive essay, one should know how to write is effectively but no one will guarantee you that your instructor would like your essay or not. All you have to do is find the best way for writing an essay and put your best into it. Writing a 5 paragraph narrative essay will also require a lot of effort from your side, although it’s a short one as compared to the other essays but this needs a proper structure to write. Here, we are encapsulating five rules for 5 paragraph essay writing. There Are Five Parts Of 5 Paragraph Essay Outline, Which Are: Introduction Body paragraph number one Body paragraph number two Body paragraph number three Conclusion Introduction: This is basically an opening statement so it should be well written and interesting to grab the attention and force the readers to continue reading the essay. This can either start with a pertinent quote or any short anecdote. Once you are done with, write some background about the topic then come to the crux of the issue that is your thesis statement. Make sure your thesis statement is the last thing in your introductory paragraph. Body Paragraph No. 1: First Body paragraph of your essay 5 paragraph should begin with a transitional sentence which can lead to the first supporting evidence of your five paragraph essay topic. Your evidence should be associated with a single theme and should be in quotations. This can be counted...
Words: 389 - Pages: 2
...Read the topic or essay question. Your essay or paper will likely be directed by a question or a prompt, like a quote, with a question. It’s important that you read the question carefully and understand what it is asking of you. If you have created your own topic for the paper based on an assigned piece of literature or author, ensure you understand what you are expected to be exploring in the paper. o For example, you may get a prompt in the form of quotation from a work of literature, such as: “What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form, in moving, how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals! And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust?” - Hamlet by William Shakespeare.[1] o You may be given an essay topic based on an assigned book or text, such as: “Discuss how Shakespeare’s Hamlet treats the idea of suicide in a moral, religious, and aesthetic sense. Pay particular attention to Hamlet’s two important soliloquies on suicide: “O, that this too solid flesh would melt” (I.ii.129–158) and “To be, or not to be” (III.i.56–88). Why does Hamlet believe that most human beings choose to live, despite the cruelty, pain, and injustice of the world?”[2] 1. 2 Research your topic. Before you get into structuring and writing your essay, take some time to do research on your topic. If your essay is about suicide and Hamlet, for...
Words: 1125 - Pages: 5
...PSP111-1001A-02 Presentation Essentials Assignment Name: Unit 1 Individual Project Deliverable Length: 2-page paper Details: Choose and view videos of two good presentations on topics related to a career. For each, discuss in-depth the three parts of, and the relationship among the parts of, the Rhetorical Triangle as described in the Unit 1 online Course Materials: speaker, audience, and situation. Explain why each element was successful or not successful in the presentation. Then compare and contrast the two presentations: Tell which one is more effective and explain the reasons why. Include citations and references for your videos. Please submit your assignment. (I HAVE UPLOADED THE 2 VIDEOES I HAVE CHOSEN) Unit 1 IP: 125 possible points can be earned in accordance with the following rubric: Please read the required Chapters 1 and 2 in the textbook. The optional “Critical Thinking” exercises can focus your thinking about the “speaker” element of the Rhetorical Triangle. Please note that you will find career-related video resources required for the Unit 1 IP if you click on “Library” . . . “Find Web Resources” . . . “General Studies” . . . “Business Presentations.” NOTE: WIKIPEDIA MAY NOT BE USED AS A SOURCE FOR ANY OF OUR PROJECTS BECAUSE IT IS NOT A RELIABLE ACADEMIC RESOURCE. Choose two GOOD career-related videos. These should include general information about a career rather than specific procedures from a specific company. Do not choose videos about specific...
Words: 923 - Pages: 4
...Short Essays Instructions You will write four Short Essays in this course. The goal of these essays is for you to think over and analyze information biblically and theologically to articulate a case for your own views. Follow the steps below to successfully complete each essay. Step 1: Familarize yourself with the general expectations of the Short Essay assignments as described below. You must use the Short Essay Template to compose your essay; this will ensure that you adhere to proper formatting (double-spacing, 1-inch margins, and 12-pt. Times New Roman font). In addition, you must follow Turabian style and include a Bibliography after each essay. The body of your essay should be 600–800 words in length, this does not include your name, course and section number, essay title, and Bibliography. For each essay, you will be reading articles from the Elwell text and then answering various questions about a theological topic. Use the Short Essays Template in which to compose your essay; this will ensure that you adhere to proper formatting (double-spacing, 1-inch margins, and 12-pt. Times New Roman font). In addition, you must follow Turabian style and include a Bibliography after each essay. Each essay should be 600–800 words in length, not including your name, course and section number, essay title, and Bibliography. Thus, you need to be concise yet...
Words: 1012 - Pages: 5
...Four Ps of Writing The Four Ps of Writing focus on the writing process and the assignment. PURPOSE Why are you writing? Are you writing to inform? Persuade? Are you writing in a combination of modes? Remember, a mode of writing is how you present your information. Some strategies to help with the purpose of a writing assignment are called Rhetorical Strategies: Description Expression of what the five senses experience Sensory stimulation Vivid language Narration Telling a single story or several related stories Beginning, middle, end Exemplification Illustration with examples Specific examples Division-Classification Logical ordering of a complex situation Division ( single unit or concept, breaking the unit into parts and analyzing the parts and the whole Classification ( put two or more related items together and categorize them according to type or kind Process-Analysis Technique that explains the steps or sequence in doing something Satisfies our need to learn as well as our curiosity of how it works Comparison-Contrast Analyze similarities and differences Helps to make choices Cause-Effect Casual analysis Choice and consequence Why does one thing cause something else to happen? Definition ...
Words: 526 - Pages: 3
...Scribd Upload a Document Search Documents Explore Documents Books - Fiction Books - Non-fiction Health & Medicine Brochures/Catalogs Government Docs How-To Guides/Manuals Magazines/Newspapers Recipes/Menus School Work + all categories Featured Recent People Authors Students Researchers Publishers Government & Nonprofits Businesses Musicians Artists & Designers Teachers + all categories Most Followed Popular Sign Up | Log In Your Browser is Outdated Because you are not using a modern browser you will not have access to all of Scribd's features. Please consider upgrating to a modern browser: Close This Message Five Paragraph EssayI have never read a story like The Unicorn in the Garden and it definitely it was one of the beststories I have ever read. At the end of the story you don't know if the man really saw an unicorn or made it up so his wife would call the police. It really doesn't matter if he saw the unicorn or made it upthe point is that he gained what he wanted he got rid of his wife.The story also teaches a lesson, every little bad thing you do to someone can backfire twice ashard. The woman had called the police and the psychiatrist in the most meanest intention because shewanted to get rid of him, she did not love him after all. So what the man did was that he gave her of her own medicine, when the police asked if he saw an unicorn he replied using the same words that she hadused previously when he told her that there...
Words: 1015 - Pages: 5
...Jim Fim Mrs. Dyer 5 Paragraph Essay September 10, 2012 Everyday Heroes What’s a hero to you? It’s probably a superstar or a celebrity. But everyday heroes can have more of an impact on a person than a superstar. Everyday heroes like my dad have heroic qualities including enthusiasm, persistence, and compassion. Enthusiasm is a great trait to possess because it helps you have fun. Once, when I wasn’t feeling good, my dad wanted me to go to a car show. I was exhausted, but I went anyway. It was a blast! My dad helps me to have fun when I’m not having fun. Although it may not seem like it, my dad likes having a good time. My dad’s enthusiasm helps him to provide a great time for himself and others. Persistence is another quality my dad possesses; it means not giving up. My dad definitely won’t let me quit if I’m having trouble with something. He will keep trying to finish a job even if it’s not working out for him. Basically, he just plain won’t give up. Persistence enables you to overcome obstacles. My dad’s greatest quality is compassion because he cares about people around him. When I was sick in the middle of the night, my dad went out to the store to get me medicine. He also lets me do stuff and go places. My dad buys me unnecessary things sometimes, also. My dad’s compassion sets an example for others. You may not think of my dad as a superstar or celebrity, but in my eyes, my dad’s enthusiasm, persistence, and compassion make him a superstar. When a person possesses...
Words: 283 - Pages: 2
...The SAT Essay: Building a Repertoire of Examples The SAT essay is intended to measure your writing skills, not your knowledge of any specific subject. Therefore, the essay prompts given on the SAT must be fairly open-ended, so that anyone with a highschool education and life experiences common to all teenagers can respond to them. Most of them deal with basic philosophical, psychological, moral, or social issues. In my experience as a teacher, I’ve seen that the biggest challenge students face in writing the SAT essay is coming up with rich and relevant examples to discuss within the twenty-five minutes you’re given for the essay section. Quite often, students end up using examples that are inappropriate or superficial, or they don’t know enough about the examples they’ve chosen to write about them in detail. The way to combat this problem is to create your own repertoire of examples that you are well prepared to write detailed paragraphs about. Then, when you read the prompt you’re given on the day of the test, you can simply choose the examples from your repertoire that are most relevant to that particular topic. (Of course, this method isn’t fullproof; it may happen that you are unfortunate enough to get a topic that your prepared examples aren’t really appropriate for. If that’s the case, don’t try to force your examples to fit the topic. The process of coming up with these examples and writing several practice essays will also help you learn how to come up with new examples...
Words: 3449 - Pages: 14
...Define the context. If the essay is assigned, certain parameters will usually be defined for you, such as the length of the essay, format of the title page, and the intended audience (e.g. your teacher, an admissions committee, a cheating website) and what length is appropriate. No matter what, if you're given directions, follow them. A brilliant essay might still fail to get its point across if it doesn't follow the rules. Remember, the main point is what you should concentrate on. Stick to the question key words throughout your essay. If the question is given and it asks you to describe for example an important character in a novel, you must always refrain from saying an 'interesting character' or 'admirable character'. Stick to the words of the question. Ads by Google Looking for PhD Programs? Scholarship from Masdar Institute in collaboration with MIT.Apply Now Masdar.ac.ae 2 Choose a topic. Often this will be decided for you, but if not, try to choose something you're interested in or, better yet, passionate about. It will make the essay easier to write. On the other hand you could choose a stand you disagree with because it will allow you to see flaws in your argument more easily. You can also think of your thesis statement at this point, but it shouldn't be set in stone since it may be elaborated or changed as you do your research in the next step. A thesis statement is what your essay is attempting to explain and prove. Make sure your thesis statement explains everything...
Words: 1507 - Pages: 7
...Essay Structure: Agatha Christie By: Nastaran Date: June 26th, 2014 The Agatha Christie essay is very organized, and carries the information in a excellent flow and structure. The topic sentences and the body of the essay went well with the thesis statement. There are several aspects that you need to keep in mind when writing an essay; catching the reader's attention such as writing a challenging question which the essay starts with, "who does not enjoy a good mystery story?" this question, motivates a reader's attention of concern. There should not be unnecessary sentences: straight to the point, but well developed paragraphs. Stay within topic, each paragraph needs to have a single idea that supports your thesis and still have excellent flow. The essay has a great introduction, it maintains the "triangle standing on its point" structure, meaning that the writer moved from general to specific. The writer went from people enjoying "mystery stories", to Agatha Christie's, "strong characters, her interesting settings, and her strong morality." As I read on I am more intrigued to find out more. The body paragraphs are in the same order as the thesis statement, each paragraph with supporting examples, details, and opinions. In the first body paragraph, the writer compares Christie with other writers, creating more anticipation for the readers. Next, the second body paragraph describes interesting setting where Christie's characters are found. The last paragraph...
Words: 622 - Pages: 3
...v. holmes Instructions Use SafeAssign before submitting your assignment. Alabama State University English 132 Mrs. V.C. Holmes Definition Essay Due: October 9, 2012 *Definition is the action of the power of language to describe, explain, or make clear a word, phrase or expression. Guidelines: This essay must meet the following minimum standards: A. Clearly state thesis B. Adequate and specific supporting details (a variety) C. Unified structure and adequate, logical organization (transitions) D. An identifiable pattern of development namely “definition.” E. Clear, Concise, Coherent sentences that contain no more than a total of five (5) errors in basic grammar, mechanics and usage. F. An introduction to include: 1. Formal definition, negation, stipulative, etymology. (Follow Example) 2. Thesis Statement First Body Second Body Third Body Conclusion English 132- Assignment Definition Essay Preliminary Approach Your first challenge is to analyze the literary analyses previously assigned. Define words in the text if you are not familiar with them. Determine the “stance” or “thesis” of the text. What is the purpose of the literary analysis? Research the author and text written. Definition Essay Write a five paragraph essay defining one of the major characters in your assigned text or the “dominant impression” (an overall feeling expressed) in the text. This “word” or “word phrase” should be expressed in your thesis statement. (Expanded) Thesis...
Words: 452 - Pages: 2
...WRTG 2010 Essay One Textual Interpretation / Close Reading Although we are all familiar with the essay form, we may not be comfortable analyzing essays as arguments. However, essays, like all forms of writing, implicitly or explicitly take a stand, make an argument. To grow as critical readers – and thinkers – we must be able to analyze and make our own interpretations of what a given piece of writing is trying to teach us, to persuade us. For this reason, your first essay in WRTG 2010 asks you to develop an interpretation of one of the following essays: * Benjamin Franklin’s “Arriving at Perfection” * Annie Dillard’s “Living Like Weasels” - Zora Neale Hurston’s “Colored Like Me” As DiYanni explains in the Introduction to 50 Great Essays, an interpretation is not a summary; in fact, interpreting what an essay means can only happen once the reader has not only an accurate grasp of the content but has also gone further to observe details, connect those details, and make inferences about the author’s argument based on those details. Your interpretation, then, will not be a summary of your selected essay; instead, it will be your argument as to a primary meaning and persuasive purpose of the essay. As with any piece of writing, an essay can have multiple interpretations; thus, your interpretation should be arguable, debatable, forcing you to support...
Words: 464 - Pages: 2
