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 13 th 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 information Thesis 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 type Conclusions 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