1. Essay Writing Terms
For SPHS

2. concrete details (CD)‏
Specific details. Synonyms for concrete detail include facts, specifics, examples, descriptions, illustrations, support, proof, evidence, quotations, paraphrasing, or plot references.

3. Examples of Concrete Details:
“My fight was against the barriers that kept Negroes out of baseball” (Robinson 1).
“The photo was taken in 1972 at the medium-security Federal Correctional Institution in Ashland, Kentucky” (Gantos 1).

4. commentary (CM)‏
A comment or explanation about something; not concrete detail. Synonyms include insight, analysis, interpretation, inference, evaluation, explication, and reflection.

5. Examples of Commentary:
Gantos explains how prison life is violent and terrible, not the glamorous “thug life” some people want to present.
Through her descriptions, Sally Ride shows us how space exploration is a worthwhile and significant endeavor.
In “Do What You Love” Tony Hawk reveals how passion and dedication have helped him create a fulfilling life.

6. Commentary from the Authors
Within their essays or narratives, authors also use commentary. For example:
“Here we were, all of us living in constant, pissy misery, and instead of trying to feel more human, more free and unchained in their hearts by simply respecting one another and getting along, many of the men found cruel and menacing ways to make each day a walk through a tunnel of fear for others” (Gantos 1).
“Free minds and human hearts were at work all around me; and so there was the probability of improvement” (Robinson 1).

7. assertion
A positive statement or declaration. Assertions should not be factual statements, they should contain commentary and be arguable.

8. A thesis should appear somewhere in your introductory paragraph.
thesis statement
A thesis must contain both the subject of the essay and commentary about it; it must be an assertion.
A thesis should appear somewhere in your introductory paragraph.

9. Topic sentences
A topic sentence must contain both the subject of the paragraph and commentary about it; it must be an assertion. Every body paragraph needs to start with a topic sentence.

10. expository essay
A piece of writing that gives your thoughts (commentary) about a subject. For this class, expository essays must have a thesis and at least 4 paragraphs: an introduction, 2 body paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph

11. Expository Writing Includes . . .
Persuasive essays
Literary response essays
Analysis essays
Most of the writing you do for high school would fit into expository writing.

12. A persuasive essay is a specific type of expository essay.
Persuasive Writing
A persuasive essay is a specific type of expository essay.