Essay Writing Class, Quarter 2 — Week 4

All About Them Academics

For Teacher Kathryn’s class inHomeschool @ The Fort

But first… (again)

Paper Formatting❖ Please always include the following in your papers:

❖ NAME:

❖ GRADE LEVEL:

❖ ASSIGNMENT:

❖ DATE of SUBMISSION:

❖ CLASS: Essay Writing, Week [X]

Paper Formatting

❖ Please always print your homework and submit in class.

❖ If you cannot send it in class, please send to:❖ kathryn.cartera@gmail.com

Review!

❖ How do you organize an essay?

❖ What do you call the sentence that encapsulates what the essay is all about?

Tips of the Week

Yay! Nay

Stuff inside your paper:

❖ Supporting facts, figures, and statements

❖ Examples

❖ Transitions from one idea to the next

❖ Redundant ideas!

❖ Irrelevant (unimportant) details

❖ Bad grammar

❖ “Obvious” statements (sometimes also called “you” statements)

What types of academic papers are we talking about here?

–Chinese Proverb

“I hear and I forget;I see and I remember;

I write and I understand.”

Essays you’ll encounter in life…

1. The Process

In  this  essay,  you  explain  how  something  works,  or  how  to  do  or  make  something.  Your  challenge  is  how  to  write  clearly  and  

completely,  so  that  readers  can  easily  follow  the  explanation.  To  do  that,  you  must  have  a  thorough  understanding  of  your  subject.  

2. The Comparison

Aka,  the  Compare  and  Contrast!  Here,  you  examine  the  similarities  and  differences  between  two  or  more  subjects.  Your  subjects  can  come  from  any  number  of  categories,  including  people,  books,  movies,  events,  

experiments,  feelings,  and  products.  Just  make  sure  that  they  come  from  the  same  category,  and  that  they  would  be  interesting  to  compare.  

3. The Cause/Effect

In  this  essay,  you  present  a  thoughtful  analysis  of  a  timely  subject.  When  you  develop  this  type  of  essay,  your  first  task  is  to  identify  the  most  important  points  related  to  your  subject.  Your  second  task  is  to  

make  clear  cause/effect  connections  between  these  points.  

4. The Definition

Here,  you’ll  explain  a  commonly-­‐‑used  term  or  concept  that  is  not  easy  to  define.  It  may  be  that  the  term  is  complicated  (ie.  inflation,  government,  cancer)  or  that  it  means  different  things  to  different  

people  (ie.  love,  trust,  friendship).  Consider  the  following  elements  in  your  essay:  dictionary  definitions,  personal  definitions,  negative  definitions  (telling  what  it  is  not),  comparisons,  quotations,  and  

anecdotes  (stories).    

4. The Problem/Solution

In  this  essay,  you’ll  provide  a  detailed  analysis  of  a  subject—from  a  clear  statement  of  the  problem  to  a  discussion  of  possible  solutions.  It  is  important  to  examine  your  subject  from  a  number  of  different  

angles  before  proposing  a  solution.  

Homework

HW: Academic Essay 11. Choose one of the academic essay types

we just discussed, except The Comparison

2. Choose a topic for that particular type of essay. Ex.

• Defining God

• Causes of Bad Relationships with Parents

• How to be a Funny Person

• Irresponsibility: Is there a Way to Fix This?

3. Write that first draft!

4. Proofread, edit, and revise.

5. Pass the both the first and the second draft.

HW: Academic Essay 1

• FINAL DRAFT DEADLINE:

•Next week! (Week 5)