Writing Essays

What is an essay? An essay is usually a short piece of writing written about a certain topic.

There are many types of essays… For our purposes we can think of two main categories of essays: 1. personal and the autobiographical essays 2. objective and factual essays.

Types you’ll read and write in school Persuasive Expository Literary Personal

Parts of an essay Essays include a thesis statement and evidence to support the thesis. A thesis is a general sentence with a subject and an opinion or commentary. Evidence can be in the form of factual information or anecdotes or stories – it depends on your thesis. All evidence is there specifically to get your point across.

Format of an essay Just like a narrative, an essay always has a beginning, middle, and end. We more commonly call those parts the introduction, body and conclusion. This format should be familiar to you…

All essays have this in common… The author has a purpose for writing, whether it is to entertain, persuade, describe, or inform. The author has considered his/her audience and chooses a writing style, tone, and format suited for that audience.

Do we use the word “I” in an essay? No! It is a formal piece of writing that is based on factual evidence – no one wants to hear what you think or believe. Yes! It is a personal commentary about a subject you have strong feelings about. Yes and no! It depends….

The answer is yes and no. Depending on the assignment or the type of essay you are required to do, you must choose the form to fit. If you are writing a social studies essay to prove a point with factual information, you do not use “I”. If you are writing a personal essay about the joys of pogo sticks, you might use “I”.

Despite their similarities, different types of essays have a few different expectations…

Literary essay The first paragraph of a literary essay always introduces the book. It includes: the title of the book the author the main characters the setting the overall idea of what the book is about.

A successful response to literature does the following… Identifies the literary work and clearly states your overall response to it. Tells enough about the literature so that readers can understand your response Contains clearly described, specific reactions and responses to the literary work Supports your statements with quotations and details Summarizes the response in a conclusion.

A successful persuasive essay does the following… Identifies the argument and clearly states your overall position. Supports your claim with a variety of sound, well researched facts Considers another point of view (makes a counterargument) Summarizes the argument in a conclusion.

A successful memoir does the following… Focuses on a small, detailed personal event or situation Uses writer’s craft to draw the reader in (using interior dialogue, pausing the narrative to elaborate on important moments, choosing precise vocabulary to convey the right mood) Includes a “so what”, or reflection, as to why the event was important

An successful expository essay does the following… Considers its audience Clearly states the question or statement that is to be defended Provides detailed and well researched support to the claim Finishes with a conclusion that rewords the main ideas of the paper, summarizing and reflecting in a way that the reader feels finished: the purpose of the paper has been met.