Little Book on Writing Deductive Essays
“Drawing Hands” (1948) by M.C. Escher
2 Table of Contents Essay on Realistic Expectations for Writers by Tomas Pollard................................................................. 4 On Writing Essays by Marlies de Vos ....................................................................................................... 6 The Power of the Deductive Essay by Tomas Pollard .............................................................................. 8 Expectations in the 500-­‐Word Essay by Rachel Collins.......................................................................... 10 What is a thesis again? .......................................................................................................................... 12 Tips for Writing Your Thesis Statement ................................................................................................. 13 Three Examples of a Thesis Statement .................................................................................................. 14 Strategies for Writing a Thesis ............................................................................................................... 15 Beyond Cowboys and Windmills by Tomas Pollard ............................................................................... 16 All Jokes Aside… by Tamara Peeters ...................................................................................................... 18 Keys to Teaching Writing by Tomas Pollard........................................................................................... 20 Workshop on Building a Thesis .............................................................................................................. 22 Checklist for Editing a Deductive Essay.................................................................................................. 24 Short Introduction
These essays are all written in the deductive form with a thesis, topic sentences, and
transitions. The teachers and one student at the HU wrote these essays as an example for other
students. Two essays, “Beyond Cowboys” and “All Jokes Aside”, are examples of the
comparison and contrast essay, but the rest are expository essays.
Please use “On Writing Essays” by Marlies de Vos as a guide for the format of your
essays including your name, student number, teacher, and other info at the top.
I greatly thank Marlies de Vos, Rachel Collins and former student Tamara Peeters for
allowing their work to be used. All work is used by permission. I wish also to acknowledge the
intellectual work in and behind the idea of Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL). Their influence
and quality is a major contribution for writers that I aim to imitate, in a smaller form, in our own
Writing Lab on sharepoint.
Please save this guide as other courses will require you to write deductive essays.
Questions or comments on this introduction can be emailed to Tomas Pollard at
[email protected].
Tomas Pollard, 2010
3 Essay on Realistic Expectations for Writers by Tomas Pollard
Writing is a skill that reflects your assumptions, experiences, and expectations. Writers first need to be
aware of how they think in general, to imagine what to write, and to set out to write—sometimes in a
straightforward manner but sometimes in a loopy fashion. Cognitive research has broken new ground that
has changed all three tasks in the last twenty years by placing all writers into two groups: drafters and
planners. In addition, a few writers are audio-lingual to an extreme degree. Knowing if you are a drafter,
a planner or an audio-lingual writer can set realistic expectations for the way you write.
Drafters write down many ideas, revise and reword in a circular process. Drafters write by
“playing with paper and words,” to borrow a phrase from the classical poet Horace. Drafters, who make
up about 90% of most writing classes, benefit from most of the approaches and methods in all the
textbooks on writing. They need to plan time to write, and they benefit if they can return to the task many
times as words on the page seem to generate new words in the revision process. Oftentimes, a jumbled
sentence can be reworded into a major insight, and awkward passages can seem to give birth to new
sentences that are well-worded elaborations of an idea. Drafters sometimes give the paper more credit for
their ideas than themselves, and they should because the paper is their finest tool, the most effective
weapon in their effort to make order out of seemingly unrelated sensory impressions. Some writers view
paper with a certain animosity, though.
Planners, about 10% of any writing classroom, are deep thinkers who often have an aversion to
paper. Once an idea is written down, they feel, it cannot be changed anymore. Planners can seem
plagued, even pained by doubt. Typically, they feel like they have writer’s block due to the time wasted
trying to write or the time wasted “procrastinating,” walking the dog or making just another cup of coffee
as they fine tune an idea. In fact, their nature is simply different, not better or worse than drafters’.
Planners can benefit from all the improved ways of teaching writing, but they write differently than
drafters by thinking through and rewriting paragraphs and whole sections of an essay in their head.
Planners tend to be introverts and introspective; they prefer to avoid the page until the words flow out in
complete paragraphs after the ideas for them have fully developed in their mind. When planners hear that
they think differently and will usually work like a drafter having writer’s block, they may feel understood
for the first time in their writing life. However, all writers learn new tricks over time and can learn
invention methods to speed up and improve the process. Planners are no different and should not act like
their nature cannot be nurtured to produce work early enough to edit and revise, so they should try new
methods of writing and not become too fatalistic about their “limitations”.
Among the drafters and planners, a small group of writers benefit from knowing that they also are
audio lingual. Audio-lingual people can learn and process information faster if they have someone to talk
to about it. We are all audio-lingual to some extent, but these writers are to a higher degree. If audiolingual writers have a problem or need to take a stand in an argument, they often cannot untangle how
they feel or think about it unless they can talk to a writing partner about it. If they cannot talk to
someone, they often feel like they have “writer’s block”, but they do not—they are simply audio lingual
4 and need to talk to someone about it. As soon as they can talk to someone, their mental logjam unclogs
itself and the ideas start flowing. If they can find someone to act as a sounding board, almost anyone who
listens to their initial ideas, asks open-ended questions, and lets them bound about till they invent enough
material to start writing, they tend to do quite well as writers.
Although most writers are drafters, a few are planners or audio-lingual writers who need time to
reflect or a sympathetic listener to write. All writers may have problems that make them act like a
different type at times. Planners may need someone to talk to, and drafters may have writer’s block and
need more time and space to think difficult matters through. The goal of the writing classes, peer
reviews, and advice from teachers is to empower writers to express their ideas clearly and effectively.
However, all these tools will be of no use if writers do not work. Procrastinating writers and writers with
a romantic notion of writing may view themselves as planners when in fact they are simply undisciplined
or have a self-defeating view of writing. To place words on paper is often seen as an act of divine
inspiration, even among nonbelievers. Others simply excuse themselves from overexertion by saying
writing is a natural talent that one is either born with or without, but thousands of writers have reached a
high level of competency with practice. Countless studies and writing teachers have proven that, as they
learned to speak by speaking more and more, students mostly only need to write more to learn to write.
Talented writers like Dylan Thomas made writing look easy, inborn, and divinely inspired by
shocking readers with their artistic wonders, but literary researchers have uncovered that some of these
gems of genius were actually in their thirtieth or fortieth version, many revised in the handwriting of their
friends and discussed at length in letters. Willa Cather would regularly delete so many words from drafts
of her novels that the final version was one half to one third of the original, and James Joyce once rewrote
a chapter of Ulysses thirty-two times. Masterpieces are rewrites of rewrites, and researchers report that
the first draft usually looked a little clumsy. Writing is hard work, and those who practice the most can
improve the most. Let genius then inspire all writers to write, edit, and rewrite.
Note: The conclusion became so long that it was divided into two paragraphs. The thesis can be located
in the second-to-last paragraph.
5 Name:
Marlies de Vos
Student number:
1234567890
Group:
ENV21M
Course:
Speaking and Writing
Teacher:
Mrs Smith
Assignment:
Example essay
Words:
499
On Writing Essays
Essay writing can seem like an insurmountable task, and students often wonder if it is possible at all to get five
hundred words on paper coherently. Luckily, writing is a skill you can learn to master, and before long you will be
able to enjoy the pleasure of completing an essay. The key is getting to know the three steps that are essential to
successful essay writing. They are inventing, drafting and editing.
The first phase in any writing process is inventing, which can be divided into generating ideas and
organising them. The first step in generating your ideas is picking a subject for your essay. Once you have decided
what you will be writing about you start brainstorming. The goal of the brainstorm session is to get all your ideas
onto paper. Once you have exhausted the subject, you select three ideas that are most suitable for your essay. These
three ideas are your topics and will form the core of your paragraphs. The final invention step is creating a thesis
statement. This is one sentence which states the main idea of the essay and it will form the basis of your essay. Once
you have gone through all the invention steps and have managed to get your ideas onto paper, you are ready to start
drafting.
The second part of the process, drafting, focuses on the actual writing of your essay. In the first phase you
have organised your ideas, and now you need to start expanding them into a five hundred word essay. After your
brainstorm session, you picked three topics, which you will now use to create paragraphs. The core of a paragraph is
the topic sentence, which clearly states your topic and links it to the thesis of your essay. The rest of the paragraph
6 expands on the topic sentence and it should end with a transition sentence, which allows you to introduce the topic
of the next paragraph in relation to the content of the previous paragraph. You have now finished drafting, but you
still need to dot the i’s and cross the t's.
The final and maybe most important step in the writing process is editing. This last step basically consists
of correcting and improving your work. As you can imagine it is very important to hand in your work without any
spelling or grammatical errors. Editing also gives you a chance to review your essay and ask yourself whether your
thesis covers the content, your paragraphs are properly linked, your use of language is clear and unambiguous, and
you have not written wordy, rambling sentences. It is also advisable to ask a fellow student to read your essay and
give you feedback.
The three key steps to essay writing will give you something to hold onto when you are in the process of
writing your first essay assignment. Once you have gone through the inventing phase, drafted your work and
carefully edited it, you are ready to hand in your essay.
Note: Marlies de Vos is a teacher at the HU who wrote this essay in 2009.
7 The Power of the Deductive Essay by Tomas Pollard
Deductive essays are powerful tools because they leave an indelible print on the mind, making difficult
ideas and concepts easier to remember. Numerous empirical studies have repeatedly verified that the
main points presented in a deductive essay are more easily recalled than the same information presented
in a loosely structured way, in any other form of notes or in an inductive essay with only a thesis at the
end. What makes the deductive essay so comprehensible is no mystery. The power of a deductive essay
derives from the fact that it repeats the main idea in different forms four times in the essay in two theses,
the topic sentences, and the elaboration in the paragraphs. To master the making of this coherent
structure requires knowing how to write three special sentences found in deductive essays: the thesis
statement, topic sentences, and transitions.
The thesis, sometimes called a theme sentence or a “hoofdidee” in Dutch, hints at the main
ideas in each paragraph and is basically a summary of the topic sentences. One to two sentences long, a
thesis acts as a roadmap for the reader telling what is to come, in what order, and to what end. Some
students hate writing a thesis because they want to surprise their readers in the essay and keep them in
suspense teasing them and making them curious to the very last moment, but essays should not be like
clever short stories. A well-made thesis is like a clear course that announces the important points at the
start so that readers can focus on them and question them as they read, making a sound judgment by the
end. In a deductive essay the thesis appears twice, once towards the end of the introduction and once at
the start of the conclusion. The second thesis should be a rewording and restatement of the first. A
complete thesis states all the main points in a vivid manner so that someone theoretically could use it to
write an essay that has the same main points and structure, if not the same content. If a paragraph does
not relate to the thesis, it needs to be taken out of the essay, or if the thesis does not allude to the contents
and focus of a paragraph, it needs to be revised to do so. A thesis statement lists the main ideas in the
order that they appear in the essay, while a topic sentence shows what point is about to be discussed in a
paragraph.
The topic sentences state the main focus or topic of a paragraph. Typically the first sentence of
a paragraph, a topic sentence reuses the wording of the thesis and shows how the paragraph will support
or elaborate on the thesis. If the thesis is the roadmap, the topic sentence is like a navigation system that
announces the current location at the main points in the line of thought. If a sentence in a paragraph is not
alluded to in the topic sentence or related to it in some way, it should be moved into another paragraph
that it fits into better or deleted altogether. A thesis and topic sentence should be democratic in a fashion,
including or representing all the topic sentences (for the thesis) or all the sentences in paragraph (for the
topic sentence). However, once these sentences have been written, they should govern their part of the
essay like elected officials assigned to keep order. A thesis and topic sentence should not grow and grow
into an unwieldy wordy eyesore that confuses more than it enlightens. They should not outgrow the
boundaries of a common sentences and distort clear ideas into a compact verbal knots that cannot give the
reader any direction. No, these to-the-point, readable sentences should be reliable guides.
8 Aiding these two importance sentences are transitions, sentences or phrases that show how
paragraphs are related to each other. They usually appear at the end of a paragraph, but they can also be a
part of a topic sentence. For example, the transition in this paragraph is the phrase “aiding these two
importance sentences.” Between the first and second body paragraph the transition is a sentence that
draws on a mixed contrast between the two sentence types under discussion: “A thesis statement lists the
main ideas in the order that they appear in the essay, while a topic sentence shows what point is about to
be discussed in a paragraph.” A transition helps readers ease into another idea and clarifies the logical
connections between the old idea and the new. They are often related to the thesis, but their main
contribution, their main usefulness, is in the way that they bring two independent paragraphs close
together so that they act as a community. A transition diplomatically asserts the unity between
paragraphs so that they do not begin to work at cross-purposes in the mind of the reader.
Repeating the main points in the thesis, topic sentence, and transitions has greatly profited
readers of deductive essays. The popularity of deductive essays could be misinterpreted as a sign that
humans need repetition to learn anything. However, the form also requires writers to explain themselves
again and again, mainly because words are pictures. Showing many perspectives helps readers. The
mental energy put into reshaping and rewording actually sorts and resorts information for readers so that,
regardless of the different learning styles or way of thinking, the writer has a greater chance of fully
moving, informing or convincing the reader. Repetition of the main points then is a hopeful sign that,
regardless of how different readers are, one explanation may do the job.
9 Expectations in the 500-Word Essay by Rachel Collins
Expectations must be shared or explained to be met. When entering a new kingdom, a traveler
does well to know if a gift should be given or accepted upon arrival and if shaking hands with
the opposite sex amounts to a marriage proposal. Knowing what the expectations are is just as
important while composing your first 500-word essay in English. Readers expect three parts in
an essay: an introduction, main body, and a conclusion. Each part has its own purpose.
The purpose of the introduction is to announce the general subject matter of the article
and attract the interest of the reader. The introduction can be made stylistically appealing by
including a well-known allusion, an impressive statistic or fact, or a comment on an unusual
situation. It should involve the readers by relating the information to one of their interests, if
possible. The introduction also names the subject and includes the thesis so that readers are
ready to hear it fully elaborated in the rest of the essay.
The main body of the essay contains paragraphs with detailed discussions or elaborations,
the bulk of the specific details. A body paragraph can contain all types of support or information
related to the thesis including quotations, anecdotes, facts, analogies, and statistics. In the basic
formula of essay writing, this part of the essay contains at least two to three paragraphs. A body
paragraph is expected to be at least three sentences long, and all the sentences should be devoted
to one topic. Since the topic sentence announces what is to be discussed, it should be the first
sentence of the paragraph, which makes it easier for the reader to find. Since the seventeenth
century, English writers have either indented the first line or skipped a line between paragraphs
because locating the first sentence of a paragraph, the topic sentence, was seen as extremely
handy for readers. Somewhere between the paragraphs a transition is expected to indicate how
the paragraphs are related to each other. Since early rhetoricians called paragraphs thoughts, the
transitions were said to tie the thoughts together like a knot in a pair of shoelaces. After the body
comes the conclusion.
The conclusion sums up the main ideas in a restatement of the thesis. Since readers like
to be able to find this sentence quickly, it is expected to be the first sentence, though it
sometimes appears later. The conclusion should be a few sentences long, anywhere from three
sentences for a simple essay to five or more for more complex ones. Reading the conclusion
should give a reader an accurate idea of what has been said in the body. The end should not be
thrown on at the last minute but an organic part of the whole as the tail tells something about the
dog. If it raises questions or makes recommendations, readers expect that issues or problems
would have been discussed in the body. If it ends in a digression, readers expect that the seed of
the digression is assumed in the thesis, and the hint or insight in the last sentences may have
already occurred to the reader in a somewhat simpler or less developed form as an afterthought.
10 To sum up, the expectation is that a 500-word essay has three parts: an introduction, a
body of two to three paragraphs, and a conclusion. Other expectations weigh in heavily. The
thesis should be the last sentence of the first paragraph. In addition, readers expect to find the
topic sentences and restated thesis in the first sentence of a paragraph. The introduction should
interest the reader, and the conclusion should leave the reader with a clear sense of the main
points and perhaps with an idea for reflection. Readers enjoy effectively made essays that meet
their expectations. Like a traveler who knows and meets expectations in a new culture, writers
who meet these expectations will bring pleasure, and pleasure and success will motivate most
writers to stand still in appreciation and later make lighter the burden of writing.
Note: The original title of this essay was “The 500 Word Essay,” a more comprehensive guide to
essay writing. Parts of the essay are in other guides, so they were deleted and the essay was
restructured and partially rewritten by Tomas Pollard so that it fits the deductive form more
closely. The bulk is from the original piece.
11 What is a thesis again?
A thesis statement is an assertion, not a statement of fact or an observation.
•
•
Fact or observation: People use many lawn chemicals.
Thesis: People are poisoning the environment with chemicals merely to keep their lawns clean.
A thesis takes a stand rather than announcing a subject.
•
•
Announcement: The thesis of this paper is the difficulty of solving our environmental problems.
Thesis: Solving our environmental problems is more difficult than many environmentalists
believe.
A thesis statement is narrow, rather than broad. If the thesis statement is sufficiently narrow, it can
be fully supported.
•
•
Broad: The American steel industry has many problems.
Narrow: The primary problem if the American steel industry is the lack of funds to renovate
outdated plants and equipment.
A thesis statement is specific rather than vague or general.
•
•
Vague: Hemingway's war stories are very good.
Specific: Hemingway's stories helped create a new prose style by employing extensive dialogue,
shorter sentences, and strong Anglo-Saxon words.
A thesis statement has one main point rather than several main points. More than one point may be
too difficult for the reader to understand and the writer to support.
•
•
More than one main point: Stephen Hawking's physical disability has not prevented him from
becoming a world-renowned physicist, and his book is the subject of a movie.
One Main point: Stephen Hawking's physical disability has not prevented him from becoming a
world renowned physicist.
You can revise your thesis statement whenever you want to while you are writing
your essay. Writers often discover what their real purpose and point is in the process
of putting their thoughts into words and then reading what they've written.
http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/acadwrite/thesistatement.html Retrieved from the Writing Center of St. Clould
State University.
12 Tips for Writing Your Thesis Statement
1. Determine what kind of paper you are writing:
•
•
•
An analytical paper breaks down an issue or an idea into its component parts, evaluates the issue
or idea, and presents this breakdown and evaluation to the audience.
An expository (explanatory) paper explains something to the audience.
An argumentative paper makes a claim about a topic and justifies this claim with specific
evidence. The claim could be an opinion, a policy proposal, an evaluation, a cause-and-effect
statement, or an interpretation. The goal of the argumentative paper is to convince the audience
that the claim is true based on the evidence provided.
If you are writing a text which does not fall under these three categories such as a narration of
events, a thesis statement in the first paragraph could still be helpful to your reader.
2. Your thesis statement should be specific. It should cover only what you will discuss in your
paper and should be supported with specific evidence.
3. The thesis statement usually appears at the end of the first paragraph of a paper.
4. Your topic may change as you write, so you may need to revise your thesis statement to reflect
exactly what you have discussed in the paper.
13 Three Examples of a Thesis Statement
A thesis statement should act as a roadmap for the essay for the reader. It can even give the
writer directions on what to write if it takes form early enough. In each of the following
examples the reader should be able to turn to the thesis as if it were a reliable guide to the essay
that will follow. After each thesis, the reader expectations are mentioned so that you can see
how you can set your reader on the right track with a clearly worded thesis.
1. Example of an analytical thesis statement:
An analysis of the college admission process reveals two principle problems facing counselors:
accepting students with high test scores or students with strong extracurricular backgrounds.
Expectations: The paper that follows should explain the analysis of the college admission
process and explain the two problems facing admissions counselors
2. Example of an expository (explanatory) thesis statement:
The life of the typical college student is characterized by time spent studying, attending class,
and socializing with peers.
Expectations: The paper that follows should contain three paragraphs looking closely at the
three uses of time.
3. Example of an argumentative thesis statement: High school graduates should be required to
take a year off to pursue community service projects before entering college in order to increase
their maturity and global awareness.
Expectations: The paper that follows should present an argument and give evidence to support
the claim that students should pursue community projects before entering college.
Adapted from the Purdue OWL.
14 Strategies for Writing a Thesis
There are many ways to phrase a thesis. Here are a few strategies.
Coping Strategy: Make a List
My main reasons for studying English are 1) my search for a challenge and 2) my desire to teach English.
I choose to study English for two main reasons: 1 and 2.
Studying English appealed to me for two main reasons: the possibilities to teach outside of Europe and
the chance to improve my teaching skills.
Creative Strategy: Make a Story
After teaching History for fifteen years, I decided to earn a Bachelor’s degree in English in order to fulfill
one of my dreams and to expand my knowledge of teaching methods.
Creative Strategy: Make a Smooth Sentence with the Essential Ideas
A teacher of History for fifteen years, I want to study English now to live out one of my dreams and
improve my teaching skills.
15 Beyond Cowboys and Windmills by Tomas Pollard
[Introduction] As an American born in Texas and living in the Netherlands, I have a double nationality
and have heard stereotypical remarks about both countries in almost every variation. In Texas I am
asked, for instance, if my neighbor is a prostitute, how much marijuana I have smoked in Amsterdam, if I
live close to a windmill, and if Dutch people really wear wooden shoes. In the Netherlands people ask
where my cowboy hat and boots are, if I rode a horse to school, if I know George Bush, how much money
I get from my oil well, and if I miss all my guns back in the States. Although there are a lot of stereotypes
about the two places that would imply that they are very different, [Thesis] the Netherlands and Texas
have two surprising similarities: the independent character of their people and their decentralized form of
government.
[Topic Sentence] Like the Dutch, Texans are highly opinionated and independent thinkers. For
example, the three Texans who have become American presidents are noted for not following the
philosophy of their political parties. Although Democrat Lyndon Johnson was from the American South
and elected mostly by white Americans who wanted to ignore the civil rights movement in the 1960s, he
changed his mind on the matter and signed the Civil Rights Bill. More recently, George Bush, Jr. has
completely neglected military reports and Congressional votes as he independently sets the course in Iraq.
Due to his independence, George Bush, Sr. was called a conservative by liberals and a liberal by
conservatives, both of whom worked with him on passing legislation. [Transition] Even though their
decisions could not be more different, they show that these men like most Texans are independent
thinkers.
[Topic Sentence] The Dutch are also very highly opinionated in their political views. In
contemporary history the independence of Dutch voters could be best seen in their rejection of the
European Union Constitution, against the advice of most of the larger political parties and their leaders.
[Transition] Their similar boldness in expressing their political views may have a surprisingly similar
influence: Spain.
16 [Topic Sentence] Having occupied these two distant places in the past, Spain left a similar legacy
there: a decentralized form of government without a strong figurehead. Spain was infamous for sending
representatives to rule over their conquered lands or colonies with an iron fist. After gaining
independence from Spain or Mexico (which adopted the same measures of government, to be brief), the
countries of Texas and the Netherlands set out to guarantee that the presidents and prime ministers would
not have too much power. Although Texas had to rewrite its constitution when it became a state, it still
chose to give as much power to the lieutenant governor, who controls its finances, as to the governor, who
executes the laws. Power is spread quite thin in the Netherlands, too. The Dutch have not only a royal
family to share symbolic charisma in its land, but they also have set of ministers who have to work
together in the cabinet. In fact, one or two Dutch ministers can cause the whole government to fall, as
independently minded Rita Verdonk did recently.
[Restated Thesis] In conclusion, the lands of the cowboys and windmills are not as different as
they seem to be due to the independent character of their inhabitants and the decentralized governments.
[Conclusion] Many of my Texan family members and friends felt differently about this subject at first.
On arrival, the Dutch seemed quite different because they came across as rude and unfriendly. On the
other hand, Dutch friends and acquaintances have initially found Texan visitors to be overly friendly,
“fake” or superficial. However, once they got to know each other, they either found commonly held
viewpoints or had to agree to disagree.
639 words
Note: Tomas Pollard is a HU teacher who wrote this essay in 2007.
17 All Jokes Aside… by Tamara Peeters
Dutch people pride themselves on the fact that they are so different from the Belgians, and it is exactly the
same story the other way around. In a way this is true, we are very different: the Belgians like their fries
larger than the Dutch do, and they know how to brew good beer, unlike the Dutch. What everyone seems
to forget is that the Dutch and the Belgians are more alike than they dare to admit, because both the Dutch
and the Belgians have very striking way to express their preconceived opinions about each other, and
according to legend they were both saved from a disaster by a young boy in the past.
The Dutch and Belgians have strikingly similar ways to express the prejudices that are present
about one another. The number one thing a Dutchman will say about a Belgian is that they lack
intelligence, which they mostly express by telling derogatory jokes.
What is the similarity between an intelligent Belgian and a dinosaur?
They’re both extinct.
Of course, Belgians have their prejudices about the Dutch too. The main Dutch characteristic you will
hear the Belgians speak of is how greedy they are. This is again mostly expressed by telling derogatory
jokes about the Dutch, which is a striking similarity between the two people.
Why do the Dutch have big nostrils?
Well the air ís free.
It has become a tradition to crack jokes about each other, just as it has become a tradition to be vexed by
it and return the favour, creating a never-ending circle of jokes.
18 Another point where the Dutch and Belgians are alike is that they were both saved by a young
boy in the past, according to legend. One of the most famous icons for Belgium is Manneken Pis, who
supposedly saved Brussels from being blown up by their enemies by peeing over the burning fuse of a
barrel of explosives. This deed has been honoured by a statue near the Town Square in Brussels and
makes Belgians all over Belgium feel proud. Holland has a similar icon; however, that legend has his
roots in the United States of America. That legend is Hansje Brinker, the boy who stuck his finger in the
dike and saved the Netherlands from flooding, saving thousands of lives, or so the story goes. Even
though the story is originally written by an American writer, Mary Mapes Dodge in 1865, it has found its
way into the Dutch folklore and Hansje Brinker even has several statues throughout the Netherlands.
Evidently this is another point the Dutch and Belgians have in common, legends about heroic little boys
that resonate to this day and continue to make their mark on both countries.
In conclusion, the ‘less-then-intelligent’ Belgians and ‘greedy’ Dutch have more in common than
they want to admit, namely the way in which they express their prejudices about each other and the heroic
boys whose stories have continued to be a part of their folklore to this day. Even though prejudices
continue to exist among both people, the points they have in common unite them in a brotherly way
because being Belgian or being Dutch does not matter when it comes to enjoying a good joke.
542 words
Note: Tamara Peeters was a HU Bachelor student in 2007.
19 Keys to Teaching Writing by Tomas Pollard
Writing is not an easy skill to teach. Effectively combining grammar, syntax, and diction in a text
appropriate for its audience and occasion takes a great deal of practice even for native speakers. Given all
the obstacles for a writing student, it may be surprising that a general consensus has been reached on what
makes teaching writing so complicated.
[Thesis:] Effectively teaching writing requires a creative classroom atmostphere, clear writing scales,
and well-motivated students.
[Topic sentence:] One major obstacle in teaching writing is creating the most productive atmosphere
in the classroom. Writing teachers must delight in showing off their skill but must also fumble around
while writing with students in class. Teachers can also confess their weaknesses and strengths. Such
explicit honesty about writing failures and successes may lead some students to raise more questions
about the teachers’ proficiency or size of their ego. However, such risks are worth taking to get students
to see the importance of error in the writing process. After students capture the spirit of writing, they can
produce enough materials to make effective writing. [Transition:] However for a writing teacher to
show what is “effective,” there have to be clearly stated goals and purposes for the writing.
[Topic sentence:] What students should aim for while writing needs to be made explicit in a grading
or assessment scale. Many teachers write a grading scale for each assignment and analyze the goals of a
piece, such as a letter or short story, during class discussions. Rhetorical strategy can become an
interesting subject only after students found some common ground on the nature of the audience and
occasion of the text. A clearly stated set of expectations with a few examples, which vary in character,
sets the stage for students to approach the task with a solid sense of challenges in and options for writing.
20 [Transition:] Once the classroom and writing scales are ready, now comes the most difficult part of the
equation: the students after the first draft.
[Topic sentence:] Motivating students to really write—meaning inventing, drafting, and rewriting—
is the most difficult part of a writing teacher’s job because students have a romantic notion of the genius
writer. Although students can be realistic and even cynical about many matters, writing and singing are
still imagined as the two occupations that do not require any work. Students need to see drafts of genius
writers and hear of the time spent by most writers on their drafts and song writers on their songs.
Students can also learn from their teachers’ drafts of an effective piece similar to the one they are working
on. In any case, teaching invention, drafting, and rewriting is easier with examples. [Transition:]
Because motivating frustrated students can be so daunting, writing teachers need to encourage and
support each other, revealing what works.
[Restatement of Thesis:] Making a learning environment where skilled writers can develop, setting
clear standards, and motivating students to see writing as a process are the most difficult tasks of a writing
teacher, but these challenges should not make us overlook the joys of writing experienced by teacher and
pupil alike. Teachers are thrilled to see their student mature as thinkers and articulate language users.
Perhaps nothing can replace the first realization that a struggling student is starting to write with more
confidence and skill enjoying writing for the first time.
Note: Tomas Pollard is a HU teacher who wrote this essay in 2006.
21 Workshop on Building a Thesis
Case 1: Help Zed! Write a thesis using the topic sentences from this hypothetical essay by Zed. The
thesis should contain the three points in their order of appearance. You may want to underline the details
that are essential. Essential material may need to be reworded or may luckily fit in a thesis without
alteration.
¶1 I am studying English because I have taught History at Flevoland College since 1994 and need a new
challenge.
¶2 I study English because I have grown quite fond of folk tunes and traditional pub music, something I
acquired from my mother who is a native speaker of British English and a talented singer.
¶3 Another reason I choose to study English is that my older sister who just graduated from the same
study last year gave me all her old books.
¶4 Whatever the subject, I like to teach because I enjoy the challenge of convincing young people going
through puberty that they need to learn something they do not know they like yet.
Thesis:
22 Case 2: Look at Your Own Thesis
Write a thesis for your paper by first writing down the topic sentences. At this point you may wish to
decide to combine paragraphs with the same topic or to eliminate paragraphs that are not related to your
main idea or thesis. In any case, after you have listed your topic sentences write a thesis for your essay.
¶1
¶2
¶3
¶4
Thesis:
23 Checklist for Editing a Deductive Essay
Level 1: Editing Content and Organisation
_The thesis lists the main points, states the main idea, or takes a disputable stand, a position on a
debatable issue, if it is argumentative.
_The thesis appears in or near the last sentence in the opening and in or near the first sentence in the
conclusion.
_The thesis contains the main idea of each topic sentence, which could be a reason to support an
argument or the steps in an event or process.
_The topic sentences, the first sentence of each paragraph, are clearly related to the thesis.
_The examples are appropriate for the points under consideration.
_The order of the paragraphs, the reasons, increases its rhetorical power by placing like things closer
together.
Level 2: Editing Paragraphs
_Each sentence in the paragraph relates to the topic sentence and belongs in the paragraph.
_Sentences tend to begin where others leave off and end where the next sentence will take up the flow of
the thought.
_Coherence and cohesion are built up by clearly organising your material, repeating the key points, and
using linking words, relative pronouns, and parallel structures.
_Verbal cues within the paragraph indicate the precise relationship among ideas.
_Transitions—in the form of a sentence at the end of a paragraph, a phrase ending the last sentence of the
paragraph, or a phrase starting off the next paragraph--clarify the link between paragraphs. Often
repeated phrases or a reworded main idea can be used.
Level 3: Editing Words
_Each word is necessary to the sentence. It cannot carelessly be deleted.
_Test all forms of “to be” and “to have” to see if a nearby noun, adjective, or gerund could be a better
verb. Then, see if it can be deleted.
_Check for your most common grammatical and syntactical problems, such as comma splices and run-on
sentences.
_Check your quotations against the sources. Edit the in-text citations and bibliography page for APA
documentation style.
2010.2
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