Benjamin Way Creative Writing

Overview  Purpose of an Essay  Parts of an Essay  Introductory paragraph  Body Paragraphs  Concluding paragraph

Purpose of an Essay  The purpose of an essay is to communicate a complicated idea in detail.  Lots of ideas are way too big to be explained in a single sentence. An essay is a way of combining all the parts of a big idea in an organized and easy-to-understand way.

Basic Structure of an Essay  Introduction  Thesis  List of topics  Body paragraphs  Topic  List of proof or ideas within topic  Analysis of those proofs or ideas  Conclusion  Thesis  Summary of what essay was about

Example Introduction  Thesis: The American political system is corrupt.  List of topics: Voting is rigged, money has too much influence on winners, both parties abuse their power.

Body paragraph Example 1  Voting is rigged:  Evidence 1: Elected officials decide who gets to vote for them  Evidence 2: Some votes end up not being counted  Evidence 3: Some areas don’t get as many polling stations, so people have to go a long way and then wait hours there to vote compared with minutes elsewhere.

Body paragraph Example 2  Topic: Money has too much effect on elections  Evidence 1: Whichever party spends more money can get more people to vote  Evidence 2: The candidate who spends the most in primary elections usually wins the party nomination  Evidence 3: Third party and independent candidates who never have the most money almost never win elections.

Body Paragraph Example 3  Topic: Both parties abuse their power  Evidence 1: Elected leaders use their power to benefit big donors for their campaigns  Evidence 2: Political friends of government officials end up getting pardoned for crimes  Evidence 3: Government officials use their influence to help companies they own, enriching themselves.

Concluding Paragraph  Restated thesis: The American political system suffers from deep corruption in multiple ways.  Summary: Government officials are chosen by the rich and powerful, not by democracy, and they use their influence to benefit the rich and powerful, not the people.

Basic Structure of an Essay  Introduction  Thesis  List of topics  Body paragraphs  Topic  List of proof or ideas within topic  Analysis of those proofs or ideas  Conclusion  Thesis  Summary of what essay was about