...inspiration alone is not the key to effective essay writing. You see, the conventions of English essays are more formulaic than you might think – and, in many ways, it can be as simple as counting to five. The Five Paragraph EssayThough more advanced academic papers are a category all their own, the basic high school or college essay has the following standardized, five paragraph structure: Paragraph 1: IntroductionParagraph 2: Body 1Paragraph 3: Body 2Paragraph 4: Body 3Paragraph 5: Conclusion Though it may seem formulaic – and, well, it is - the idea behind this structure is to make it easier for the reader to navigate the ideas put forth in an essay. You see, if your essay has the same structure as every other one, any reader should be able to quickly and easily find the information most relevant to them. The Introduction Want to see sample essays?Check out our Sample Essay section where you can see scholarship essays, admissions essays, and more! The principle purpose of the introduction is to present your position (this is also known as the "thesis" or "argument") on the issue at hand but effective introductory paragraphs are so much more than that. Before you even get to this thesis statement, for example, the essay should begin with a "hook" that grabs the reader’s attention and makes them want to read on. Examples of effective hooks include relevant quotations ("no man is an island") or surprising statistics ("three out of four doctors report that…"). Only then, with...
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...My Latest Obsession Essay Worksheet Writing is an invaluable skill for your personal, academic, and professional life. We communicate more and more every day in writing through text messages and email. We demonstrate our professionalism through the messages we communicate to our colleagues and leaders. During your program, you will communicate your learning through online discussions, worksheets, essays, papers, and other written communication. Our assignments in this class are meant to help you practice using the writing process to create effective paragraphs free of grammatical, mechanical, and usage errors. By the end of our time together, you will have created a 5-paragraph essay that conveys your latest obsession as well as demonstrates your knowledge of several rhetorical strategies (to learn a bit more about the 5-paragraph essay, be sure to check out this helpful resource: The 5-Paragraph Essay) You will be using this worksheet to complete your My Latest Obsession essay. You will begin working on your essay in Week 2 and finish it by Week 6. The chart below outlines the sections of the essay that you will complete each week as well as the specific classroom Dropbox that should be used for your submissions. Essentially, you will complete the required sections during the specified week, and then submit your worksheet for grading (you’ll add to your sheet each week and then resubmit it). By our last week, Week 6, you will have written an entire essay using this worksheet...
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...Content: In terms of content, this essay does not seem to fully adhere to the essay prompt. Remember that we are required to find a major theme that relates “The House On Mango Street” to your own life. Make sure to begin incorporating your own life experiences to your essay before you run out of time. Furthermore, your essay also contains several MLA formatting errors that must be addressed, so make sure to review the formatting requirement for MLA. Organization: The organization of your essay requires several corrections to ensure it is adequately organized. The first problem I noted was that you need to complete your opening paragraph of your essay, which is a critical component of any essay. Additionally, your thesis statement and...
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...more comfortable writing this essay than the first essay; although this was still an analytical paper, it definitely had some argumentative aspects in it. Writing in general is not my strong suit, but I feel that I really improved my sentence flow and my ability to incorporate quote in my essay. One of the parts of my essay that I am particularly happy with is my introductory paragraph. For me, the introductions and conclusions are the hardest parts of an essay; you have to introduce the topic and explain your stance, but you also don’t want to say too much so you won’t end up being repetitive throughout your essay. I feel like my introduction provides just enough information to interest the...
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...Project: Reflective Essay Introduction: Now that you are nearing the completion of WRTG 101, you have reached a time when it can be useful to you to reflect and evaluate your learning experience. In a fast-paced course such as this one, you have worked hard and quickly to complete your assignments according to the instructions given to you. Now is the opportunity for you to consider the experiences you had had in writing throughout this course and how those experiences might be useful to you in future courses. This assignment asks you to reflect and consider the work you have done, how successfully you feel you have completed it, and how the skills and strategies you have learned in completing this work may help you in your future studies. Since this assignment is reflective and self-evaluating, using “I, me, my” should be acceptable as you write this essay. The Assignment: This assignment calls for you to write an essay of 800-1000 words, double spaced. The essay should have the following academic essay elements: 1) a clear introduction, body, and conclusion 2) a clearly identifiable thesis statement in the introduction 3) evidence based upon your recollections and any material from the course (whether from the texts, the online resources, the course modules, the feedback to drafts, or the conference topics) that you might find relevant to mention in your discussion Length: 800-1000 words Possible approaches for the reflective essay in WRTG 101: ...
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...Reflective Essay Reflective Essay Guidelines: How to Write reflexiveessay December 23rd, 2010 Reflecting attempt to write is like the reflection somewhat personal experience. Reflecting attempts supply a kind personal analysis of some events. This kind of attempts may use creative approach of sides of the author. For many class participants it can be very interesting to try their abilities if one writes such attempts. But other class participants think that this kind of attempts requires enormous efforts. However with right techniques reflecting attempt letter seems to be a fascinating experience to the hand. Select the topic of a reflecting attempt the most important thing in the reflecting attempt of the letter is decide a correct topic, in order to discuss. Reflecting of attempt the author interesting to form tones one should be interested in the topic. Writing this kind of attempts, a class participant has the opportunity, its/thoughts to unite philosophical or social points divide. Before beginning to write, a class participant should regard some possible topics and select an appealing. Letter of the reflecting attempts the structure of a reflecting attempt is similar to any other kind attempt: Purpose 1. The introductory point is to along-include the reader in narration. Form the first sentence sound intriguing, in the eye falling or the confusion. Here is possible all possible means of exciting attention. 2. Writing a thesis statement, is safe, to include...
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...Essay #1 – “I Search” Exploratory Essay 1500-2500 words (15% of your Final Grade) This paper is designed to teach the writer and the reader something valuable about a chosen topic and about the nature of searching and discovery. As opposed to the standard research paper where a writer usually assumes a detached and objective stance, the “I Search” paper allows you to relate your personal experience engaged with some aspect of a topic, to hunt for facts and opinions firsthand, and to provide a step-by-step record of the search process. It’s part research paper, part personal narrative, part reflection. • First step: choose a controversial topic broadly pertaining to digital technology, digital media, “the internet,” television, or modern computing technology that truly interests you—specifically some problem or concern you want to be more informed about (use Homework #1 as a launching point). The topic, however, has to be argumentatively rich, meaning that there have to be many different viewpoints on the issue. • Second step: rather than starting with a thesis or claim, you’re going to begin with a question or problem spurred by some personal experience or exploration. Think of yourself like an investigative journalist or social scientist: if you’re writing about online communities, immerse yourself in one; if you’re writing about internet/television/cell phone addiction, deprive yourself for a few days; if you’re investigating some activity, try engaging in that...
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...In the essay “Out-of-Body Image” by Caroline Heldman, Heldman illustrates the strain on the relationship between a woman and her body caused by the manipulation in the media. Early on in the essay, Heldman makes it clear that the media has an issue sexualizing women and she does it through tone and the words she chooses. In the introduction of the essay she discusses the typical body figures people see in advertisements; they are “impossibly slim (and digitally airbrushed).” The words impossible and digitally suggest this sense of fabrication and falseness, a perception that cannot be reciprocated by a typical woman. She continues by suggesting that the depictions of women in the media is poisonous and highlights just how bad the impact of the media is, that it is comparable to poison and is harming not only women but young girls who view these advertisements as well. Heldman also demonstrates the direct effects the “poison” has, she mentions that self-objectification leads to eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. These disorders stand out from the essay because they discuss a serious disease that could affect young girls and women. Heldman then focuses on the young girl aspect of the problem when she mentions the American Psychologists Association investigative report. The report found that girls as young as seven years old were learning to objectify themselves after watching advertisements and across other medium. Heldman states, “Teaching them to think of themselves...
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...ISB DEADLINE | DATE | 1ST Deadline | 15th September 2014 | 2nd Deadline | 30th November 2014 | Essay - 1 (300 words max) Innovation or doing things differently it is said is a key to future success. Could you substantiate or negate this idea based on your experience. Please provide examples from your own experience – either examples of your own innovation or examples of others whom you have worked with. (300 words maximum) Essay - 2 (300 words max) Applying to and enrolling in a Business Scholl is an important career decision. Critically look at your career to date, the choices you have made, the key influences behind those choices, your goals for the future and how you expect to benefit from the ISB experience in achieving your goals. (300 words max) Essay – 3 (200 words Max.) One of the following * This experience completely changed my way of thinking * An instance when you went out of the ordinary to achieve something significant, but in hind sight feel you could have done better * Tell us about your role in a team that made a significant contribution to the organization * Contribution to peer learning and engagement with the ISB student body are important aspects of the ISB experience. What contribution do you expect to make in this direction during the one year at ISB OTHER IMPORTANT THINGS 1. They have a separate format for recommendations. 2. Have to submit 2 recommendations. 3. Application fee 50 USD 4. Total expenses...
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...ween Essays and Research Papers Not all writing assignments are created equal. We’re sure this is something that students around the world have discovered – the hard way. It almost seems purposefully unfair. One type of writing is difficult enough, but teachers want to throw all different writing brands, styles and formats into the mix. You’ve got APA paper, term papers, research papers, standard essays, reports, etc. Amidst all these writing assignments, two stand out as the most commonly assigned. Essays and research papers are, above all, the biggest and most common headache for students. However, understanding the crucial differences between these two assignments may help students to tackle them better in the future. What is an Essay? An essay is a simple composition with three basic parts: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. The introduction is the first sentence of the essay, and works to introduce the topic of the piece, as well as the writer’s response. An essay could centers around a) the writer’s response to a question, b) an examination of a topic, c) a reaction to a text or d) an opinion supported be evidence. The evidence provided in an essay can center around personal experiences or unbiased factual support. The conclusion of an essay works to sum up the writer’s major points, opinion or position. In essence, an essay is a composition used to examine a topic in a brief but detailed and organized way. Most essays only span a few pages, and some only...
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...Arrangement Recognizing Patterns A. The essay question you are given will reveal what type of essay you are going to write. 1. Process Essay: Explain the rituals and activities of a church service you’ve attended. 2. Compare and Contrast: What scholastic habits among men and women lead to differences in their academic performances? 3. Argumentative: Is universal health care an unnecessary tax burden on the self-employed? Introduction - 3 STEP Intro: Creating interest > presenting the subject > stating thesis STEP ONE: Attention Catching Device (first sentence): An interesting or entertaining statement or question at the beginning of an essay that draws the reader’s attention and relates directly to the subject of the essay. Examples of Attention Catching Device: 1. Definition – Create an original definition of a relevant term or concept. (Ex. Democracy is a form of government in which power is given to and exercised by the people. This may be true in theory, but ….(lead reader to your thesis).) 2. Anecdote - A brief (half-paragraph) story that leads to your thesis statement. Note: This technique works best with narratives and works less well with more fact based papers. Ex. Kevin Barrington is a sixth grade student at Gregory College Prep. He awakes at 6:00am and departs his home at 6:30am with a juice box and a box of cereal in order to catch the bus. His commute is more than...
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...WRITING A SUMMARY-RESPONSE ESSAY In academic contexts, you are often asked to write response essays (sometimes called reaction papers) in which you select an aspect of a text that particularly interests you and respond to it in writing. That is, you will be asked to read something (a journal article, a chapter in a book, a technical report) and to write a summary and an analysis of what you read. The purpose of this type of assignment is to find out whether you understood what you read, what your response to the content of the text is, and whether you can express your response clearly. Generally, a response to written material consists of two basic parts: A. a summary of the written material B. an analysis of part of all of the material. Here is the typical format of a response essay: Introduction (The First Paragraph of your essay) 1. State the author’s name and surname 2. State the name of the article (For example: In “The Dangers of the Television” ) 3. Summarize the article and state the author’s main issues/thesis and key supporting points that the author discusses. Use an opening phrase such as: says, discusses, explains, argues, shows. (For example: In “The Dangers of the Television”, Fidler points out that. . .) 4. State your main idea / thesis in which you show your agreement or disagreement at the end of the introduction paragraph. That is your reaction. Body (The second paragraph) Your body paragraph or paragraphs should include: 1. major key supporting points...
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...Online Mark J Bronson Rosemary R. Reigle, Ed.D. SID 910088653 Essay #2 PRE-WRITING CLUSTER Internships go to top students Internships go to top students Too much weight is placed on grades Too much weight is placed on grades Competition for limited spaces puts pressure on applicants Competition for limited spaces puts pressure on applicants Employers looking for top students for internships and permanent placement Employers looking for top students for internships and permanent placement Top companies want top graduates Top companies want top graduates Acceptance into 4 yr universities Acceptance into 4 yr universities Academic Integrity Under Assault as Students Compete for Perfect Grades Academic Integrity Under Assault as Students Compete for Perfect Grades Help students find a major that they love and excel in Help students find a major that they love and excel in Refocus students on love of learning Refocus students on love of learning Focus is not on learning Focus is not on learning Curriculum should be career focused and not filled with breadth classes. Curriculum should be career focused and not filled with breadth classes. Cheating is out of control Cheating is out of control Students focus on tests and “braindump” after test Students focus on tests and “braindump” after test Study the “instructional” material in Chapters 1 through 11, read Chapter 16 and in a 600 word essay take position and support it with authoritative evidence on the question:...
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...Kevin Oliveira Professor Madritch Expository Writing 30 November 2011 Leslie Marmon Silko: A Closer Look Into Racist Struggles The controversial dilemma of illegal immigration is a prominent part of politics today more than ever. Leslie Marmon Silko’s persuasive essay, “Fences Against Freedom,” exemplifies the constant battle on racism and immigration our nation faces today. Through her own experiences, she has concluded that the government evokes racism among the population in a negative manner. Silko’s essay explains that the government is a body that is not to be trusted and that their mischievous ways trickle down the ladder to us. She speaks for all persons with mixed ancestry on the point that their lives are daily struggles as a result of our nation’s leaders and their misperceived views on race. Racism is one of the leading social problems that Americans can associate themselves with because it is seen everywhere and it is spreading the wrong message. The ineffectiveness of Silko’s argument, that the government and media is to blame for the apparent racism in the country today, is exemplified through her constant contradiction of statements and child-like motives. Silko blames the government for their actions that have affected her life as well as many other people of different race. Leslie Marmon Silko grew up in Native American home in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She is well known for her English and writing skills and she was raised as a Laguna Pueblo...
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...Narrative Essay “Narrative” is a term more commonly known as “story.” Narratives written for college or personal narratives, tell a story, usually to some point, to illustrate some truth or insight. Following are some tools to help you structure your personal narrative, breaking it down into parts. The “Hook” Start your paper with a statement about your story that catches the reader’s attention, for example: a relevant quotation, question, fact, or definition. Introduction Set the Scene Provide the information the reader will need to understand the story: Who are the major characters? When and where is it taking place? Is it a story about something that happened to you, the writer, or is it fiction? Thesis Statement The thesis of a narrative essay plays a slightly different role than that of an argument or expository essay. A narrative thesis can begin the events of the story: “It was sunny and warm out when I started down the path”; offer a moral or lesson learned: “I’ll never hike alone again”; or identify a theme that connects the story to a universal experience: “Journeys bring both joy and hardship.” “Show, Don’t Tell” Good story telling includes details and descriptions that help the reader understand what the writer experienced. Think about using all five senses—not just the sense of sight—to add details about what you heard, saw, and felt during the event. For example, “My heart jumped as the dark shape of the brown grizzly lurched toward me out of...
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