Essay
Overview
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STRUCTURE OF THE ESSAY
Every essay has a beginning, a middle, and an end. In a five-paragraph essay the first paragraph is called the introduction. The next three paragraphs consist of the body of the paragraphs. The fifth and final paragraph is the conclusion. This structure is not written in stone, however. Look in a newspaper or magazine; you'll rarely see an essay that follows this exact formula. On the other hand, it's a good place for beginners to start. When you feel more confident, you can get more creative and break free of the five paragraph formula.
Click
here to see a graphic of the structure of a five-paragraph
essay.
There are three important things to consider as you write your essay: subject, purpose, and audience.
SUBJECT
Throughout your educational career, teachers will be giving you writing assignments. They want to see if you understand material covered in class, they want to know your opinion on a particular topic, and they want to determine if you can express ideas clearly.
There will be occasions when you will want to write an essay in other situations as well. Maybe you want to write a letter to the editor of a newspaper, or perhaps the boss at a job you're applying for wants you to write why you think you're qualified for the position.
In any case, most of the time, the subject of the essay will be given to you. Even if it's not, the primary thing you want to remember is to write about what you know.
AUDIENCE
Many times your audience will be your teacher. Sometimes, even though your teacher will be the primary reader and grader of your essay, he or she will ask you write to a different audience. Other times your audience will be your peers, parents, employers, newspaper editors, or the community.
Your audience should determine how you will write and what you will say in your essay. Before you start writing you should:
- Understand your audience's interests and perspectives.
- Evaluate your topic in relation to your audience.
- Adapt your topic, examples, and language so that they are appropriate to your audience.
PURPOSE
The purpose of your
essay will determine what type of essay you write. Each type
has certain uses and styles. Below are four common types of
essays.
Narration
- recalls an event or series of events
Description
- portrays a person, place, or object
Exposition
- explains, clarifies, or illustrates
Persuasion
- convinces through reasoning
At this web site, we will be focusing on the expository essay, although you can use the Ten Steps to work through the writing process of any essay type you choose.
Remember to keep your subject, purpose, and audience in mind as you plan and write your essay.
Basic
Essay Structure Essay
Structure and Development Structure
of a Five Paragraph Essay Essay
Structure Basic
Elements of an Essay Structure
and Planning Writing
with a Computer Basic
Essay Structure Considering
the Audience Identifying
Your Audience Purpose
and Audience Guide
to Different Kinds of Essays Definitions
of Writing Modes Writing
Mode: Narration Overview
of the Narrative Form of
Writing Writing
Skills: Narrative Essay Narration
and Narrative Essays Learning
to Swim To
Leap or Not to Leap A
Father Dying of AIDS Blue
Band Emotional High
http://www.hn.psu.edu/Faculty/KKemmerer/dmtnar.html Athenian
Adventure Josie's
Triumph My
Family History Descriptive
Essays Writing
Mode: Description An
Overview of the Descriptive Form of
Writing Description
and Descriptive Essays Writing
Skills: Descriptive Essay Carnival
Rides Diller's
Dilemma My
Experience in an Indian Sweat
Lodge A
Newport Mansion Grandpa
Jack Lucy's
Lessons Writing
Mode: Exposition An
Overview of the Expository Form of
Writing My
Job in an Apple Plant The
Hazards of Moviegoing Disney's
Early Feature-Length Films Cats
Make Perfect House Pets Happy
As a Pig in Mud Heroes
According to the Media The
Dangers of Outer Space The
Bingo Van Writing
Mode: Persuasion An
Overview of the Persuasive Form of
Writing Writing
an Argument Essentials
of Effective Persuasive
Essays Deborah
Sampson: An American Hero The
Problem with Advertising Abolishing
Grades: A Step in the Right Direction for Today's
Students Ronald
Regan's Space Shuttle Speech The
Right to Die Should
Euthanasia Be Legalized in
America?
Related
Links
http://www.isikun.edu.tr/academics/efldept/Writing_Stage_1/Essay_structure.htm
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Aegean/6354/essay_structure.html
http://www.gc.maricopa.edu/English/essay/
http://www.tld.jcu.edu.au/netshare/learn/essay/structure.html
http://meltingpot.fortunecity.com/gregory/302/essaycomponents.htm
http://www.pratt.edu/wtc/writing/structure/right.html
http://www.sifc.edu/english/writersguide/05GIwriting%20with%20computer-1.htm
http://www.tampaprep.usf.edu/student/rc/EssayStructure.html
http://www.westga.edu/~writing/uwc/noframes/handouts/audience.htm
http://english.olivet.edu/holt/html/ch01.htm#S1B2
http://www.sifc.edu/english/writersguide/13PWStep2PurposeAudience.htm
http://depts.gallaudet.edu/englishworks/writing/essay.html
http://www.orww.org/PEAS/Peas_Siletz_Writing_Modes.htm
http://www.vannet.k12.wa.us/inctr/LaWEB/Narrative.html
http://ccweb.norshore.wednet.edu/writingcorner/narrative.html
http://infoplease.lycos.com/homework/writingskills4.html
http://www.westga.edu/~writing/uwc/noframes/handouts/narrative.html
http://infoplease.lycos.com/homework/writingskills4a.html
http://kardassia.vcc.mnscu.edu/departments/english/narrative_essays.htm
http://www.uga.berkeley.edu/apa/personalstatement/sampleessay.html
http://www.hn.psu.edu/Faculty/KKemmerer/mmknar.html
http://depts.gallaudet.edu/Englishworks/writing/narrative.html
http://english.olivet.edu/holt/html/5_1_frm.htm
http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/acadwrite/descriptive.html
http://www.vannet.k12.wa.us/inctr/LaWEB/Descriptive.html
http://ccweb.norshore.wednet.edu/writingcorner/descriptive.html
http://www.westga.edu/~writing/uwc/noframes/handouts/descriptive.htm
http://infoplease.lycos.com/homework/writingskills5.html
http://infoplease.lycos.com/homework/writingskills5a.html
http://www2.rscc.cc.tn.us/~jordan_jj/OWL/Diller.html
http://english101bilkent.homestead.com/files/descriptive_essay_example.htm
http://english.olivet.edu/holt/html/5_2_frm.htm
http://www.tiny-lights.com/frames.htm
http://www.tiny-lights.com/frames.htm
http://www.vannet.k12.wa.us/inctr/LaWEB/Expository.html
http://ccweb.norshore.wednet.edu/writingcorner/expository.html
http://depts.gallaudet.edu/Englishworks/writing/draft2job.html
http://depts.gallaudet.edu/Englishworks/writing/fiveparagraph.html
http://english.olivet.edu/holt/html/5_3_frm.htm
http://members.tripod.com/~lklivingston/essay/sample.html
http://ec.hku.hk/writingmachine/bin3/example.htm
http://philo.ucdavis.edu/~kit/model.html
http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/students/fwalters/fullessay.html
http://www.sifc.edu/english/writersguide/42WPMiddlepara_4SampleEssay.htm
http://www.vannet.k12.wa.us/inctr/LaWEB/Persuasive.html
http://ccweb.norshore.wednet.edu/writingcorner/persuasive.html
http://www.westga.edu/~writing/uwc/noframes/handouts/argument.htm
http://www.hamilton.edu/academic/Resource/WC/Effective_essays.html
http://www.bham.wednet.edu/exposit/stmp8H.htm
http://www.bham.wednet.edu/exposit/ad1H.htm
http://www.hn.psu.edu/Faculty/KKemmerer/jgargu.html
http://www.startribune.com/stOnLine/cgi-bin/article?thisStory=81191806
http://www.surry.cc.nc.us/eng112/TheRight.HTML
http://www.isikun.edu.tr/academics/efldept/Writing_Stage_1/essay.htm#introduction
