1. Led by: Kristina Yegoryan
BRIDGE Workshop
Led by: Kristina Yegoryan
In 1 Workshop Learn About:
Essay Writing
Writing Process
Organization
Researching
MLA Formatting

2. WHAT IS AN ESSAY?
WHAT DOES THE WORD “ESSAY” MEAN?
WHAT IS ITS ORIGIN?

3. ESSAY
The word “essay” means “to try.”
An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view.
It is a short piece of non-fiction: an editorial, a feature story or a critical study.
It differs from the article as in the essay the pleasure of reading takes precedence over the information in the text!

4. THE ORIGINE AND HISTORY of ESSAY
The term Essay was FIRST used by Michel Montaigne during the
16th cen. (Renaissance) Montaigne attempted to “assay” (weight) his thoughts on human perception.
17th cent. (Age of Enlightenment)- Essays were a favored tool of polemicists who aimed at convincing readers of their position
18th, 19th cent.: Essays were written for a general public
20th cent.: Some used essay to explain the new movement in art (T.S. Eliot) and some used for literary criticism (Woolf, Charles du Boss)

5. WHY DO WE NEED TO WRITE ESSAYS?

6. WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF WRITING ACADEMC ESSAYS ?
At times it is difficult to test a student’s knowledge with multiple-choice tests.
Essay writing shows:
Student’s interpretation
Critical thinking
Projection/expression of ideas
Writing skills

7. HOW DO WE WRITE?
At times students think that writing a paper a night before can be a miracle

8. THE PROCESS OF WRITING A PAPER
1) PREWRITING
2) DRAFTING
3) REVISING
4) EDITING
(PUBLISHING)

9. The Main Essay Types are:
Narrative ( to tell a story/incident)
Expository (to explain or acquaint with something)
Exemplification (brings in many examples to
support a choice/argument)
Cause and Effect
Descriptive
Definition
Compare and Contrast
Persuasive/ Argumentative (prove a point)

10. What To Remember When Writing an Essay
Organization and Structure
(academic essays have the 5 paragraph base- structure: Introduction, 3 Main Body Paragraphs, and Conclusion)
Author’s voice (the essayist)
You do not need to use “I” when stating your arguments or opinion- your essay/ your writing does present your voice and your argument/opinion

11. What To Remember When Writing an Essay
Implied audience/reader :
Encoding (writer’s purpose) vs Decoding (reader’s interpretation) of the information in the essay
“ The reader of an essay is called on to join in the making of the meaning”
Rhetorical appeals: Ethos, Pathos, Logos
(by Aristotle)
Watch this video for understanding Rhetorical appeals:
(What Aristotle and Joshua Bell teach us about Persuasion)

12. PARTS OF ESSAY
Introduction: It sets the tone and the direction for the composition. The paragraph starts with Attention Getter/ Hook and concludes with a Thesis Statement.

Body: The body can consist of any number of paragraphs that support the thesis statement. Typically compositions contain one to three body paragraphs. Each body paragraph has its own topic sentence with supporting evidence or commentary.
Conclusion: It brings the composition to a close. It usually starts with a general sentence that summarizes the introduction/the topic. Conclusion includes a restatement of the thesis in different words and ends with a “Call to Action” or advice.

16. INTRODUCTION 1. Attention Getter / Hook 2. Definition/ Depiction
Use any of these hook strategies:
Rhetorical question
General statement
Very specific statement
Fact or a startling statistics, or a quote
2. Definition/ Depiction
3. The Twist (However,…)
4. Explanation
5. Thesis Statement ( the last sent/the main argument)

17. A Thesis Statement is…
A sentence that goes at the end of your introductory paragraph. IT IS THE LAST SENTENCE OF INTRODUCTION
The main idea of the whole essay.
A debatable statement, the author’s argument /opinion.
It is usually 1 sentence or 2 max.

18. Are there different types of thesis statements?
YES
Open vs. Complete
An Open Thesis does not contain the body points.
i.e. Everyone should drive a hybrid car.
A Complete Thesis includes the body points.
i.e. Everyone should drive a hybrid car because they pollute less, they get better mileage, and they help reduce gasoline costs.

19. A Simple Thesis Formula
Although counter argument, actually your argument because 1st supporting idea, 2nd supporting Idea, and 3rd supporting idea.

20. CONCLUSION The 3 most important sentences to have:
1. Summary sentence
(General statement –going back to Introduction
or if started with a rhetorical ?-then answer to the question)
2. Restatement of Thesis (re-saying your argument
(Ex. Since A, B, and C + your argument)
3. “Call for action”( a suggestion/advice what to do)
Hence, we should do…. (shouldn’t)…

21. FORMATTING YOUR PAPER

22. WHAT IS MLA ? MLA format offers:
MLA stands for Modern Language Association
MLA format offers:
guidelines for the overall look of a paper
makes the paper credible with a method of documenting sources

23. Basic Features of MLA Style
Use Times New Roman font, 12 point size
Double-Space the whole paper
All margins should be set to 1 inch
Single or double spacing after punctuation is acceptable
Each page should have “header” of last name and page number at the upper right-hand corner of each page
Continued

24. Basic Features of MLA Style
Heading in the left corner of the 1st page:
Student’s Full Name
Instructor’s name
Class name
Date ( Day Month Year ) Ex. 20 November 2012
The title of the paper is centered
Do not underline, bold, or “quote” the title
When ending a quote with punctuation, punctuation is inside the quotation marks
Ex: “ O Romeo, O Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?” (Romeo and Juliet ).

25. How should paper look based on MLA FORMAT

26. WORKS CITED
Is a list of the references used in the paper and serves as an acknowledgement for the sources.
With the detailed information in the Works Cited list one can find the original source if needed for further research
Works Cited is usually a separate page attached in the end of the essay or document
The sources are listed in the alphabetical order without numbers or bullet- points

28. ACTIVITY TIME! Let’s try to structure a sample essay!
1. Watch the 3 min Ted Speech on 30 Day Goal by Matt Cutts, and think about your 30 day challenge and try to come up with a Thesis Statement for your 5 paragraph Narrative essay!
2. Watch the 3 min Ted Speech on 8 Secrets of Success by Richard St. John, and think about your 3 secrets of success to form a strong thesis statement before you structure a 5 paragraph Argumentative essay!

29. Questions?
TANK YOU for YOUR Attention!