Writing A Good Essay

Know: The structure of an essay

Show: Design an outline for an essay

An Essay Is . . .

The origin of the word essay comes from a French form of the Latin verb exigere, which means “to examine”The etymology shows the essence of the academic essay: to encourage students to test or examine their ideas concerning a particular topic.

The Purpose of an Essay

Descriptive - favorite place, an art masterpiece, your gourmet dinner

Expository (Informational) – compare/contrast two government systems, explain the rules of volleyball, select the greatest invention of all time and justify

Argument/Persuade – animal testing, year-round school, bans on assault weapons

Entertain (Narrative) – Halloween story, incident at 13th birthday

Essays are concise and require clarity in purpose and direction. There is no room for the student’s thoughts to wander or stray from her purpose; she must be deliberate and interesting.

The Introduction

Motivator/Hook to grab reader’s attention

Necessary background informationThesis statement to establish topic of essay; to establish the claim (main point_

Blueprint to lay out major supporting body paragraphs

Style will vary with essay genre

Body Paragraphs

Topic sentence (placement varies)

Reasons, facts, and support

Evidence of careful thought/research

Transitional devices both within and as segue to other paragraphs

Counter claim established if writing argument

The Conclusion

A logical ending based on essay typeConclusions should…Restate Thesis – remind reader what

you set out to do without an exact replica

Briefly touch on some main ideas End with a Clincher - leave reader

with something memorable