Writing The Essay

Hacker, Diane. A writers' Reference 3^rd edition. Bedford Books. Boston, 1995.

A. PLANNING

        I.     Assess the writing situation

            a.     Subject - is it worth writing about, is it too broad or too narrow, and is it detailed enough
 
            b.     Sources of information - Where is the information coming from? Is it personal experiences, from observation, interviews, or from documentation/reading.

            c.     Purpose - Why are you writing? To inform, persuade, entertain, is it a call to action, or a combination of all.

            d.     Audience - Who is the audience, how well are they informed on the subject, what do they need to learn, and what is your relationship to them?

            e.     Length - Are there any specifications, if not what is appropriate?

            f.     Document design - Are there any specifications, do you have any guidelines or examples?

            g.     Deadline - When is the deadline? Make sure that you plan for all the stages, including typing, proofreading, and the final.

        II.     Experiment with techniques for exploring ideas.

            Don't just plunge in, explore more than one technique, such as listing, clustering, questions, and freewriting.

            a.     Listing - list ideas, brainstorm

            b.     Clustering and branching - highlight the relationships among ideas  Ex. Teaching staff--regular

   ----part-time----college professors

   -----local talent------------artists

    ------------musicians ------------judges and politicians

            c.     Asking questions - who, what, where, when, why and how
 
            d.     Freewriting - nonstop writing, everything that you know about subject, set aside ten minutes to do this.
 
        III.     Settle on a tentative focus
 
            Ways to focus on the material. Get a tentative central idea, thesis sentence or overriding purpose.
 
        IV.     Sketch a tentative plan/informal outline
 
 
B. DRAFTING

        MAKE SURE TO KEEP YOUR PLANNING MATERIAL CLOSE AT HAND

 I.     Draft an introductory paragraph of 50-100 words. These should be sentences to engage the reader and end with a statement of your main point. The introduction should include one of the following: startling statistic or unusual fact, vivid example, description, paradoxical statement, quote or bit of dialogue, question, analogy, joke or anecdote.

II.     Characteristics of an effective thesis - it is limited, sharply focused, and not too vague.

III.     Draft the body - Keep the focus in mind, what does the thesis promise. Compose your preliminary plan and block out the paragraphs accordingly.

IV.     Draft the conclusion - Echo the main idea without repeating it, summarize the main point, pose a question for future study, offer advice, or propose a course of action. Do not introduce new ideas. End crisply and on a positive note.

 
C. DRAFTING PARAGRAPHS
 
        CLUSTERS OF INFORMATION SUPPORTING THE ESSAYS MAIN POINT. THE PARAGRAPHS SHOULD BE CLEARLY
        FOCUSED, ARRANGED LOGICALLY, WELL DEVELOPED, ORGANIZED, COHERENT, AND NOT TOO SHORT OR TOO
        LONG.

 I.     Focus on a main point - The paragraphs are all unified around a main point. All the sentences in the paragraph are  related to that point.

     a.     State the main point in the topic sentence, and this is what is expected as the reader continues on.
 
     b.     Sticking to the main point. Sentences that do not support the main point are to be deleted or moved elsewhere in writing.
 
II.     Develop the main point - Don't use a series of brief paragraphs, develop them into larger more detailed ones.
 
III.     Choose a suitable pattern of organization.

"Methods of Development"
     a.     Examples and Illustrations - reader asks "for example", illustrations, extended examples

     b.     Narration - tells a story or part of a story, recounts
 
     c.     Description - sketches portrait of a person, place or thing by using concrete and specific details that appeal to one or more senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch)

     d.     Process - chronological order, step by step
 
     e.     Comparison and contrast - compare- - comparison two subjects similarities and consideration of  differences, contrast- - focus on differences only
 
      f.     Analogy - the comparison of items that appear to have little in common
 
      g.     Cause and effect - effect to causes or causes to effects
 
      h.     Classification and division - class- - regrouping items into categories according to consistent principle, division- - takes one item and divides it into parts according to consistent principles

      i.     Definition - puts a word or concept into a general class and provides enough detail to distinguish it from other members in the same class.

         IV.     Make paragraphs coherent. Flow one to the next without bumps, or shifts. Tie the old information to the new information.
 
              a.     Link ideas clearly- learn the paragraphs main point and the details that link to it

          Put the paragraphs in the essay in a clear hierarchy

              b.     Do not use repeating key words, use a variation of the word
 
              c.     Use parallel structure- the same point of view and verb tenses throughout, bind series of sentences which express the same information together
 
              d.     Maintain consistency
 
              e.     Provide transitions- to show addition(and, also), to give examples(ex., for instance), to compare(also, similarly), to contrast(but, yet), to summarize or conclude(that is, to sum up), to show time(after, next,
later), to show place or directions(above, below, beyond), to indicate logical relationships(if, so, thus)
 
           V.     If necessary adjust paragraph length. 100-200 words for the body and the introduction and conclusion shorter.
 
                    a.     Reasons to begin a new paragraph. Introduction or conclusion, shift to new idea, shift in time or place, to emphasize a point, to highlight contrast, to provide reader with a needed pause, a change in speakers.
 
                    b.     Reasons for combining paragraphs.  To clarify organization, to connect ideas, or to bind text that looks choppy.
 
 D. REVISING
 
        LOOK AT FOCUS, ORGANIZATION, PARAGRAPHING, CONTENT, AND OVERALL STRATEGY.
 
        I.     Make global revisions- whole paragraphs may be dropped and others added, review from the audiences' perspective
 
                a.     Purpose and audience- does it accomplish its purpose and is it appropriate for the audience
 
                b.     Focus- do the introduction and conclusion focus clearly on main point
 
                c.     Organization and paragraphing- can readers follow the overall structure, are the ideas ordered effectively, do the paragraphs make sense, and are any of the paragraphs too long or too short for easy reading
 
                d.     Content- is the supporting material persuasive, which ideas need further development,  are the parts proportioned sensibly, where might there be deleted material
 
      II.     Revise and edit sentences- style and clarity, try to avoid wordiness and reliance of linking  with the word and

EXAMPLE

Original Paragraph

Finally, we decided that perhaps our dream needed some prompting, and we visited a fertility doctor and began the expensive, time consuming round of procedure that held out the promise of fulfilling our dream. All this was to no avail, and as we approached the sixth year of our marriage we had reached the point where we couldn't even discuss our childlessness without becoming very depressed. We questioned why this had happened to us? Why had we been singled out for this major disappointment?

 Revised Paragraph

Finally, deciding that perhaps our dream needed prompting, we visited a fertility doctor and began the expensive, time-consuming round of procedures that held out some promise of our dreams fulfillment. Our efforts, however, were to no avail. As we approached the sixth year of our marriage we could no longer even discuss our childlessness without becoming very depressed. We questioned why this had happened to us. Why had we been singled out for such a major disappointment?

     III.     Proofread the final manuscript. Search for misspellings, typographical errors, and omitted words or word endings. Proofread out loud. Check that the conclusion fulfills the promise made in the introduction, and make sure that each paragraph is linked.
 
 
E. ESSAY STRUCTURE
 
    I.     Introduction----the topic sentence goes here with general statements and the thesis statement
 
    II.    Body----the body is the longest part of the essay and can contain as many paragraphs as is needed to support the controlling ideas of your thesis statement

        A.     Paragraph 1- topic sentence

    1.     Support statements
    2.     Support statements
    3.     Support statements--concluding sentence

        B.     Paragraph 2 - topic sentence

    1.     Support statements
    2.     Support statements
    3.     Support statements--concluding sentence

        C.     Paragraph 3 - topic sentence

    1.     Support statements
    2.     Support statements
    3.     Support statements--concluding sentence

     III.     Conclusion----restatement or summary of the main points, final comment, and concluding
    sentence