BBI 2421

PJJ – Second Meeting

Essay

• Introduction:What the essay is all aboutLast sentence is called “thesis statement”

• Body:Elaborates each subdivision of the essayOne paragraph for one subdivision

• Conclusion:Summarizes or reviews the main point

IntroductionGeneral statementThesis statement

BodyTopic sentence 1

Supporting point 1Supporting details 1

Topic sentence 2Supporting point 2

Supporting details 2Topic sentence 3

Supporting point 3Supporting details 3

conclusion

Introductory Paragraph

• Attracts the reader’s interest (general information)

• Introduces the topic of the essay (thesis statement)

Thesis Statement

• State the specific topic of the essay• List the subtopic of the main topic• Eg:

Three of the more successful styles are …Therefore, workaholics’ lifestyles can affect their

families, social lives, and health.Teenagers express their separateness most vividly

in their choice of clothes, hairstyle, music and vocabulary.

Body Paragraph

• One body paragraph for one subdivision• It may and may not have a conclusion• Each paragraph supports the thesis statement

Conclusion

• It signals the end of the essay• It reminds the reader of your main point• It leaves readers with your final thought

MISTAKES• Unclear introduction• Unclear thesis statement• Disorganize thesis statement• Disorganize body paragraph• New subdivision in body paragraph• Conclusion does not reflect your whole essay• Introducing new idea in conclusion• Wrong usage of transition signals• Get lost in one’s own writing• Contradict one’s own idea

Opinion Essay:

• IntroductionGeneral ideaThesis statement

• Body paragraphPoint 1Point 2 Point 3

• ConclusionRecommendation

• Thesis statement• Topic sentence

Definition:

• There are three parts:

Concept

Category

Characteristic(s)

• Concept:Eg: Casual Friday refers to

• Category:Eg: the custom

• Distinguishing characteristics:Eg: of office workers wearing casual clothes to

work on Friday.

• Casual Friday refers to the custom of office workers wearing casual clothes to work on Friday.

Body Paragraph:

• Have a clear topic sentence• Discuss each points separately, one after the

other.• Introduce each point with a signal word /

phrases.• Eg:

The first reason…Another quality of a …In addition, … is another advantage of …

Expansion of Points:

• To give a clearer idea to the reader• This is necessary, especially when you have a

one-word term or a phrase such as staycation, memory, medical tourism, low blood pressure.

Example:

• Support each point with relevant details like examples or statistics; numbers, costs, amounts, percentages.

Coherence:

• Flow (one sentence must lead to the next one)• Ways to practice coherence:

Use nouns and pronouns CONSISTENTLY.Use transition signals:

To move to new idea.To show relations among ideas.

Use logical division of ideas:Most important – less important.Less important – most important.

Use Nouns and Pronounce CONSISTENTLY:

• Continue to use the same nouns and pronouns you start with.

• Eg:Noun:

Students ≠ student.Pronoun:

You ≠ they / he / him.

Tips:

• Use a plural noun rather than a singular noun when referring to a group of people of both sexes.

• Use a plural pronoun rather than a singular pronoun to make it less awkward.

• Eg:A student must display his or her matric card when in

campus. Students must display their matric card when in campus.

APA citation

• Use author-date method• In-text citation:

Short / long quotationsDirectly quoting from a work

Summary / paraphraseUsing your own words

Short quotations

• Author (Year of publication), “xxx”• Page number for the reference (p. 25)• Introduce the quotation with a signal phrase

According to Jones (1998), "Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time" (p. 199).

Jones (1998) found "students often had difficulty using APA style" (p. 199).

She stated, "Students often had difficulty using APA style" (Jones, 1998, p. 199).

Long quotations

• 40> words• Free-standing block• No quotation marks• On a new line, indented 5 spaces from the left

margin

Jones's (1998) study found the following:

Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time citing

sources. This difficulty could be attributed to the fact that many students failed to purchase a style manual or to ask their teacher for help. (p. 199)

Summary / paraphrase

• Author (year of publication), xxx• Page number is optional but encouraged.

According to Jones (1998), APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners.

APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners (Jones, 1998, p. 199).

Author(s)

• 2: name both, use ‘and’Research by Wegener and Petty (1994) supports...(Wegener & Petty, 1994)

• 3-5: name all the 1st time, first author followed by ‘et al.’ the 2nd time onwards(Kernis, Cornell, Sun, Berry, & Harlow, 1993)(Kernis et al., 1993)

• 6>: first author followed by ‘et al.’Harris et al. (2001) argued...(Harris et al., 2001)

• Indirect source: use the original, (secondary)Johnson argued that...(as cited in Smith, 2003, p.

102).

Rule Example

Use reporting phrase:- He said- He stated- According to name of the source, (use “x” if you copy words exactly)

“I like you,” he said.He said, “I like you.”According to veterinarian Dr. Brown (2000), “…”

Begin each quoted sentence with a capital letter.When a quoted sentence is separated into two parts, begin the second part with a small letter.

“Your dog is a pit bull,” he continued, “and I am afraid of him.”

Comma, question mark, exclamation marks etc go inside the second quotation mark.

“why not?”

Give the quoted person’s title or occupation.Use appositive clause to help you write this better.

My older sister, financial manager for a large insurance company, claims, “I save myself time, and I save my company money by telecommuting.”

Reference list:Printed

• Book:• Author, A. A. (year of publication). Title of

work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Location: Publisher.Calfee, R. C., & Valencia, R. R. (1991). APA guide to

preparing manuscripts for journal publication. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Reference list:Printed

• Newspaper:• Author, A. A. (year, month day). Title of

article. Title of Newspaper, p. x.• Parker-Pope, T. (2008, May 6). Psychiatry

handbook linked to drug industry. The New York Times, p. 7.

Reference list:Printed

• Newspaper (no author):• Title of the article. (year, month date). Title of

newspaper, p. x.• Report casts shadow. (2007, October 16).

Waikato Times, p. 7.

Reference list:Printed

• Magazine:• Author. A. A. (year, month date). Title of the

article. Title of the magazine, volume, page number.

• Goodwin, D. K. (2002, February 4). How I caused that story. Time, 159, 69.

Reference list:Electronic

• Newspapers:• Author, A. A. (year, month day). Title of

article. Title of Newspaper. Retrieved from http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/

• Parker-Pope, T. (2008, May 6). Psychiatry handbook linked to drug industry. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com