The Essay
Writing Process
academic skills
units 8 and 9
Damon Hansen,
ma; academic
english sp 2017
CLASS INTENTIONS
• Short post Qing Ming family presentations
• To be able to recognize and understand all the phases of the
writing process.
• To comprehend the differences between various types of
essays.
• To develop skills in editorial critique that will help you to
produce high quality writing.
• To get together into groups and begin to plan the group essay
project.
• REVIEW FOR MIDTERM EXAM
group writing
assignment
• read description in handout
• get into groups
• YOU MUST ACCESS SOURCE MATERIAL
ON elearning.shishu.edu !!!!
• If you have not yet accessed elearning, see me
or your tutor!!!
• Access and download the reader for your topic
(saving paper). Divide the reading among your
group member!!!!
• First segment due before class next week!!!
characteristics of
good quality
writing
First: THESIS
CLARITY AND
CONSICENESS
OVERLY WORDY and
vague
In this paper I will focus
are various aspects I am
interested in. These aspects
are really worth knowing
about! They have some
relationship to herbal
remedies!
better
The primary purpose of
this writing is to outline
the various physiological
benefits of the herbal
remedy cannabis in pain
reduction.
second: cohesion
and correlation
Does the FIRST sentence of each
paragraph (topic sentences) correlate
to the topic introduced in the thesis
sentence?
Does each paragraph as a whole stick
to the same topic or are there
unrelated points included?!?
ThiRD: INTEGRATION
OF SOURCE MATERIAL
Look at the reference page and the
source quoted.
Find evidence of in text citations with
direct quote or paraphrases.
(Author, YYYY)
• Essay analysis task
• Underline thesis
• Underline topic sentences
• Check in text references and
paraphrase \
• Check coherence / cohesion
• Check tone
• Create outline
Thesis sentences
•In this paper I will
____
•In this essay I will
___-
related issue list
ISSUE BRAINSTORMING
AND DEBATE
Controversial Issue : Company’s
obligation to inform customers
OPPOSITING POSITIONS
A: Companies that do not label food
are evil
B Consumers are responsible for
making good food choices.
ISSUE BRAINSTORMING
AND DEBATE
Controversial Issue : SHOULD PEOPLE HAVE
EQUAL ACCESS TO DEADLY FIREARMS
SUCH AS MACHINE GUNS
OPPOSITING POSITIONS
A: PRO CONTROL People cannot control their
emotions and are prone to violence and rage
therefore guns should be outlawed except for
military
B AGAINST CONTROL A well armed population
can rise up against tyranny and overthrow evil
leaders.
ISSUE BRAINSTORMING
AND DEBATE
1. ARGUMENT GENERATION
2. PASS AROUND POSITION
PAPER
3. READ YOUR CLASSAMTES
PAPER.
4. WRITE I SUPPORT x
POSITION BECAUSE Y
more concise
Example:
1.
My critique in this paper is primarily focused on
the character Atticus and the manner in which he
processes morality despite public opposition.
1.
DEFINING CONSCIENCE
2.
The reader shall be better informed about the
famous lawyer Atticus and his enduring moral
thought process.
3.
The primary focus of my writing is to cover three
areas: (1) the attributes of Atticus, (2) moral
though processes and (3) applying moral thoughts
despite opposition from the public.
outline
THESIS : The primary focus of my writing is to cover three areas: (1)
the attributes of Atticus, (2) moral though processes and (3)
applying moral thoughts despite opposition from the public.
I: Defining conscience.
II: Atticus’ application of moral principles.
III. How to distinguish wrong from right.
IV: How to we oppose others that contradict our moral ideas.
V: Equal justice for all
VI: Moral thinking
CONCLUSION
Descriptive
Narrative: In this essay I will share personal experience and
necdote about gender discrimination.
Cause and Effect: In this essay I will discuss the correlation
etween X event and gender discrimination.
Compare and Contrast Feminism : In this essay I shall compare
women’s rights in china and america.
Persuasive/Argumentative: declare, assert, content, argue
shall assert that women are superior based on X evidence.
LGBT
•
1 Descriptive: I will describe the phenomena of LGBT in
China today.
• 2 Narrative: In this essay I will tell a personal coming out
story about LGBT in China.
• 3 Cause and Effect: In this essay I will discuss the
relationship between chinese law and discrimination against
LGBT
• 4 Compare and Contrast Feminism : In this essay I shall
compare gay rights in China and america.
• 5 Persuasive/Argumentative: declare, assert, content, argue
• I shall assert that gay men should be treated equally in
China.
FEMINISM
PERSUASIVE ESSAY
LANGUAGE IN THESIS: prove , argue, assert, declare
My core intention is to prove the point that women are essentially equal and
capable of anything.
COMPARISON ESSAY
Thesis language: differentiate, discuss similarities
This essay will draw upon sources to differentiate women’s rights in China and
America
CAUSE AND EFFECT: thesis language --- correlation, causation,
relationship, influential factors, ‘causal relationship’ ; intimate
connection
Cause and effect
Present situation
Overconsumption of KFC and high oil food.
Contributing factors
• Deliciousness
• Crispiness
• Convenience and rapidity
• Cultural tradition
• Aesthetics
THESIS SENTENCE: In this essay I shall discuss several factors that
contribute to overconsumption of KFC including taste, convenience and
cultural traditions.
Cause effect essay
CAUSE AND EFFECT: thesis language --- correlation,
causation, relationship, influential factors, ‘causal
relationship’ ; intimate connection
Present situation
There is a great deal of confusion and misinformation
about the true meaning of feminism.
Contributing factors
1 – corporate brainwashing 2 – objectification of women 3traditional gender roles
Thesis sentence In this essay I will discuss the correlation
between brainwashing, objectification, tradition and poor
understanding of feminism.
Cause effect essay
CAUSE AND EFFECT: thesis language --- correlation,
causation, relationship, influential factors, ‘causal
relationship’ ; intimate connection
HERBAL REMEDY TOPIC
Present situation
People drink a lot of chamomile (Chun Huang Ju ) tea.
Contributing factors
Insomnia, stress, anxiety,
Thesis sentence In this essay I shall discuss the correlation
between the consumption of chamomile tea and contributing
factors such as insomnia, stress and anxiety.
Cause effect essay
CAUSE AND EFFECT: thesis language --correlation, causation, relationship, influential
factors, ‘causal relationship’ ; intimate connection
Present situation
LGBT people in Texas USA have no rights.
Contributing factors
Homophobia, ignorance, idiocy (stupidity)
Thesis sentence
In this essay I will discuss the correlation between
homophobia, ignorance, idiocy and lack of parental rights
in Texas.
THESIS
In this essay I will discuss
the correlation between
strict gun laws in China
and low fatalities due to
gun deaths in Shanghai
THESIS
My primary purpose in
this writing is to give
biographical evidence
for innate inequality
among LGBT.
THESIS
In this essay I will
discuss the intimate
connection between
poor regulations and
food safety in China.
Essay thesis types
DESCRIPTIVE My main purpose is to
illustrate the main characteristics of LGBT
in China.
ARGUMENTATIVE This essay shall outline
several key points of evidence to prove
without any doubt that LGBT are naturally
different.
COMPARE: I shall explain the difference
between american LGBT and Chinese
LGBT.
ELEARNING RESOURCES
• PDF DOCUMENT FOR YOUR TOPIC
• Elearning.shisu.edu
• Academic database
•Analyze coherence --- do
the paragraphs stay on
the same topic?
Descriptive Essay
o provides details about how something looks, feels,
tastes, smells, makes one feel, or sounds
o describe what something is, or how something
happened
o could be a list-like description that provides point
by point details
Narrative Essay
o tells a story
o conversational in style, and tells of a personal
experience
o commonly written in the first person (uses I)
o tell of a single, life-shaping event, or simply a
mundane daily experience
Narrative Essay
Some popular narrative essay topic examples:
• First Day at College
• The Moment of Success
• A Memorable Journey
• The Biggest Misunderstanding
• The Difficult Decision
• The Trip of Your Dreams
• The Day You Decided to Change Your Life
Cause and Effect Essay
o explains why or how some event happened, and what
resulted from the event
o a study of the relationship between two or more events or
experiences
o discuss both causes and effects, or it could simply address
one or the other
o discuss the reasons why something happened
o discuss what happens after a specific event or circumstance
Compare and Contrast Essay
o discusses the similarities and differences between two
things, people, concepts, places, etc
o be written simply to entertain the reader, or to arrive at an
insight into human nature
o could discuss both similarities and differences, or it could
just focus on one or the other
o A comparison essay usually discusses the similarities between
two things, while the contrast essay discusses the differences
Compare and Contrast Essay
compare/contrast essay may discuss . .
.
• the
likenesses
and
differences
between two places, like Bandung
and Jakarta;
• the
similarities
and
differences
between
two
religions,
like
Christianity and Islam;
• two people, like my brother and
myself.
Process Essay
• describes how something is done
• explains actions that should be performed in a
series
• explain in detail how to accomplish a specific task
• could be in the form of step-by-step instructions,
Expository Essay
• explanation of a short theme, idea or issue
• try to pin down the meaning of a specific word, or
define an abstract concept
• to present, completely and fairly, other people's
views or to report about an event or a situation
• presents a subject in detail, apart from criticism,
argument, or development
Persuasive/Argumentative Essay
•
to persuade the reader to the writer's point of view
•
try to convince others to agree with the writer's
opinion
•
may argue openly, or it may attempt to subtly
persuade the reader by using irony or sarcasm
The following diagram illustrates the
recursive nature of the writing
process.
QUALITY essay
analysis task
• Read the example essay distributed.
• UNDERLINE the thesis sentence and the first sentence
of each paragraph.
• DISCUSS if thesis correlates to the content of the topic
sentences. What essay TYPE do you think is present?
• LOOK at the work cites pages and COUNT how well the
source material is INTEGRATED into the body of the
essay.
Blogging the Writing Process: An
Introduction:
• Blogging proved to be an effective tool for the
writing process approach as evidenced by the
numerous benefits for its use that outweighed the
drawbacks. Throughout this course, blogging will
be integrated into the five stages of the writing
process in order to compose different types of
essays.
As shown in the diagram below, blogging will be
integrated into the five stages of the writing process
approach which; in turn, will be broken down to
a number of key stages:
Parts of an Essay
Conclusion
Introduction
Body
Paragraphs
Introduction
What is an essay ?
An essay is a piece of writing that usually has five or more
paragraphs. An essay is written about one topic that has
several main points. The main points are introduced in an
introductory paragraph and supported in body
Essay
paragraphs. The conclusion
is the last paragraph.
Body Paragraph 3
Introduction
_____________
Body Paragraph 1
_____________
Body Paragraph 2
_____________
_____________
Conclusion
_____________
Overview of an Essay
Introduction
Body
Paragraph 1
Body Paragraphs
Support the main
ideas of the thesis
statement
Begin with topic
sentences
Body
Paragraph 2
General statements
and information
about the topic
Thesis statementlists the main ideas
in the essay
Body
Paragraph 3
Conclusion
Brief summary of
main points of the
essay
The Hamburger
Method
• Essays, like sandwiches or burgers, are divided into different
parts.
• Introduction
• Body
• Conclusion
Parts of an Essay
An Introduction
An introductory paragraph is the first paragraph in an essay. It contains
two parts.
1. General Statements: a few sentences about your
subject that catch the attention of your reader.
2. A Thesis Statement: one sentence that tells your
reader the main points of your topic and states the
overall “plan” of your essay.
Parts of an Essay
Body Paragraphs
The body consists of one or more paragraphs following the
introduction. Each paragraph supports the main idea of
your essay by breaking it down into smaller ideas or subtopics. Each body paragraph consists of a topic sentence
and several supporting sentences. A conclusion sentence
draws the paragraph together.
Introduction
Body
Paragraph 1
Body
Paragraph 2
Body
Paragraph 3
Parts of an Essay
Conclusion
The conclusion paragraph is the last paragraph in the essay. It
completes the essay by summarizing or repeating the most
important ideas. The conclusion can also include an opinion, a
prediction, or a solution to a problem.
Introduction
Body Paragraph 1
Body Paragraph 2
Body Paragraph 3
Conclusion
Example
An Introduction
General Statements
Going to a new school can be exciting, but for an international
student, the years of education in a different country can be
difficult and tumultuous. When I first arrived in the U.S. to attend a
university, I was overwhelmed and confused by everything new.
Fortunately, I met three very special friends who made a positive
impact on my life during those years and helped me survive the
trials of being a foreigner in a completely different educational
system.
Thesis Statement
Example
Body Paragraph
Topic Sentence
One of the first people I met was Joe Frieda. I first met Joe standing in a
line at the bookstore. I was having a difficult time finding the books for the
English classes I was taking my first semester here. He not only helped me
find my books, but he also gave me some good advice on where to get
tutorial help on campus and where I could find some good restaurants.
We’ve become better friends since then and he has been so helpful in
answering any questions I have about going to school in the U.S. and about
American culture. If I hadn’t met Joe that day, I might still be looking for the
right books for my classes!
Concluding Sentence
Supporting Sentences
Example
Conclusion
Summary of Main Ideas
“The significance of the kindness that these three people showed me and
the impact that it has made on my life during my experience as an
international student at State University cannot be underestimated. I will
never forget their friendship and will remember their examples of kindness to
me whenever I encounter other foreigners in my own country.
Promise or Resolution
Stages of the
Writing Process
1)Prewriting
• Prewriting is the first stage of the writing process.
Prewriting, as its name suggests, is something you do
before you write a paragraph or essay or other written
work. The purpose of the prewriting stage is to find a
topic for writing, to collect ideas and information, and to
do research if necessary. There are many different types
of prewriting that help writers generate ideas. The
different types of prewriting that we will explore here
are: freewriting, brainstorming, clustering, questioning,
and Venn diagram.
A) Freewriting
•
Freewriting is when someone writes freely what comes to
mind in sentences or phrases, without worrying about grammar,
punctuation or making sense. ANY EMOTION, OPINION, FACT,
HISTORICAL DATA, FAMOUS INDIVIDUAL, NOTABLE
AUTHOR OR BOOK
Mistakes
Formatting, fonts, bold, underline,
italics, font size, spacing,
numberin
1. DO NOT WRITE THE MONTH
ONLY 2007
2. USE STANDARD FONT
TIMES NEW ROMAN
B)Brainstorming
• Brainstorming or listing is when you freely write down
all ideas in the order which they occur to you.
C) Questioning
• When you prewrite with the questioning technique, you are trying to find out
the How? Who? What? Where? When? and Why? about your topic.
D) Clustering
• Clustering, or mind mapping is a "visual of outlining",
putting the main topic in the center of paper and lining it
with any new ideas associated. You can also group subideas around this new idea. This strategy allows you to
collect ideas effectively and, particularly, understand the
logic contained between ideas.
E) Venn diagram
• A Venn diagram is used to help visualize the similarities and
differences between two subjects. Venn diagrams are very useful
when brainstorming a compare and contrast essay.
2)Drafting
• Drafting is the second stage of the writing process. At
this stage, the writer should write a complete first draft
using his or her notes from prewriting as a guide. The
purpose in drafting is to have a complete draft, not a
perfect one, so writers are encouraged to ignore spelling
or grammar mistakes and write quickly
3)Revising
• Revising is the third stage of the writing process In fact,
to revise means literally to “re-see” or “re-look” at your
writing. When you revise, you look at the parts of your
essay and make sure that each part works together to
make a coherent whole. Similarly, feedback from others
can help you identify those parts of the essay that work
well--and those that do not. Revising often
includes
adding,
cutting,
moving,
or changing information in order to make the ideas
clearer, more accurate, more interesting, or more
convincing.
4)Editing
• Editing is the fourth stage of the writing process. In
this stage, you check your text to make sure that
there are no errors in grammar, punctuation, and
spelling.
5) Publishing
• This is the last stage of the writing process. In this stage,
you share the essay you have written with the readers you
determined in the prewriting stage.The purpose of
publishing is to share and celebrate your finished
products. When writers publish their writing, they
produce a clean, neat final draft thatis free of errors.
example topics
• work with your group to try to brainstorm possibilities.
• Write example thesis sentences.
• TOPIC (1) Animal Rights and experimentation:
•
Position A: animals are treated in cruel and unusual ways in the
laboratory setting for the purpose of testing unnecessary cosmetics
products used for human beatification. Such experiments are immoral
and should be outlawed by international law.
•
Position B: Animal experiments may cause suffering but the
improvement of human quality of life and development of
pharmaceutical takes a much higher priority.
RELATED CONCEPTS: ANIMAL EXPERIMENTATION, CRUELTY,
BRUTALITY, LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS, HUMANE
TREATMENT
What strong opinions do you have about this topic?
What do you want to prove?
• TOPIC (2) Feminism
• Position A: Men have more power and opportunity
than women in society
• Position B: Society is increasingly equal.
• TOPIC (3) Possession of fire arms (gun control)
• Position A: China’s government should have strict laws
and only allow military or police to possess firearms.
•
Position B: A well armed populace is necessary to
defeat tyranny.
• TOPIC (4) LGBT rights
• Position A: Traditional Chinese beliefs about family
are of integral importance and take precedence over
LGBT
•
Position B: LGBT are humans and must be
granted basic rights to marry, be free from
discrimination when finding a job and can contribute
to society, raise children, etc.
• TOPIC (5) Herbal remedies
• Position A: Natural medical treatments are more safe
and effective and should be favored over western
medical practice.
•
Position B: Western bio-medical models are
empirically validated and always preferred over
nontraditional methods of treating disease.
TOPIC (6) Diet and Nutrition
• Position A: Food companies have a moral obligation to
keep carcinogens and dangerous chemicals out of the
food supply
• Position B: The consumer is responsible for his or her
own nutritional choices.