© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc College Writing Skills, 6E and College Writing Skills with Readings, 6E John Langan An Introduction to Essay Development Chapter Seven An Introduction to Essay Development

Chapter 7 © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc College Writing Skills/ College Writing Skills with Readings, 6E Patterns of Essay Development DescriptionDescription NarrationNarration ExpositionExposition ArgumentationArgumentation

Chapter 7 © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc College Writing Skills/ College Writing Skills with Readings, 6E Description Description verbal picture Description is a verbal picture of a person, place, or thing.

Chapter 7 © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc College Writing Skills/ College Writing Skills with Readings, 6E Narration Narration account of something that happened Narration is an account of something that happened.

Chapter 7 © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc College Writing Skills/ College Writing Skills with Readings, 6E Exposition ExamplesExamples ProcessProcess Cause and effectCause and effect exposition explains In exposition, the writer explains a certain subject. Patterns of exposition include: Comparison and contrastComparison and contrast DefinitionDefinition Division and classificationDivision and classification

Chapter 7 © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc College Writing Skills/ College Writing Skills with Readings, 6E Argumentation argumentation, In argumentation, a writer attempts to supporta controversial point,support a controversial point, or defenda positiondefend a position on which there is difference of opinion.

Chapter 7 © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc College Writing Skills/ College Writing Skills with Readings, 6E Two Points to Remember predominant pattern more than one pattern 1) While many essays involve one predominant pattern, most make use of more than one pattern. argumentation 2) Most essays involve some form of argumentation ; that is, they attempt to convince the reader that a point is valid.

Chapter 7 © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc College Writing Skills/ College Writing Skills with Readings, 6E Important Considerations in Essay Development lengthnature of the assignmentUnderstanding the length and nature of the assignment subjectKnowing your subject purpose audienceKnowing your purpose and audience point of viewDetermining your point of view peer reviewUsing peer review personal reviewDoing a personal review

Chapter 7 © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc College Writing Skills/ College Writing Skills with Readings, 6E The Length and N ature of the Assignment kindWhat kind of paper does the instructor have in mind? –Research summary? –Comparison? –Original work? –Something else? How longHow long should the paper be?

Chapter 7 © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc College Writing Skills/ College Writing Skills with Readings, 6E Subject of the Paper interests know something Try to write on something that interests you -- if possible, make it a subject you already know something about.

Chapter 7 © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc College Writing Skills/ College Writing Skills with Readings, 6E Purpose purposes Most writing has one of three purposes : to inform,to inform, to persuade, orto persuade, or to entertain.to entertain. audience In order to achieve your purpose, you will need to know your audience.

Chapter 7 © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc College Writing Skills/ College Writing Skills with Readings, 6E Audience general audience educated adult readers Your instructor and classmates stand in for a general audience : educated adult readers. specific audiences You will need to practice writing for more specific audiences, as well – an employer, a church group, the City Council, etc.

Chapter 7 © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc College Writing Skills/ College Writing Skills with Readings, 6E Point of View 1) First-person approach I like comfort when I’m camping 1) First-person approach ( I like comfort when I’m camping.) Most common in narrative essays. 2) Second-person approach First, find your flashlight 2) Second-person approach ( First, find your flashlight.) Generally appropriate only for giving instructions and direct explanations, as in process essays. 3) Third-person approach The camper found his flashlight. 3) Third-person approach ( The camper found his flashlight.) Most common in academic writing.

Chapter 7 © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc College Writing Skills/ College Writing Skills with Readings, 6E Peer Review 1)Identification 1)Identification : On a sheet of paper, write the author’s name and the title of the paper you read. 2)Scratch Outline 2)Scratch Outline : “X-ray” the paper for its inner logic by making a scratch outline. 3)Comments “snag”?Where did the paper “snag”? Suggest ways to fix problems. support, unity organizationAre there problems with support, unity, or organization ? Try to help. likedNote something you really liked about the paper.

Chapter 7 © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc College Writing Skills/ College Writing Skills with Readings, 6E Personal Review personal review Follow these steps to practice your personal review :, evaluate unity, support, organization. 1)While you write and revise, evaluate for unity, support, and organization. sentence skills. 2)After you’ve finished the next-to- last draft, check it for sentence skills.