Writer’s Workshop - How To Write An Essay

1. Writer’s Workshop

2. The five characteristics of informative writing: • An introduction • A thesis statement • A clear text structure • Supporting details • A conclusion

3. What Is An Essay? • An essay is, generally, a short piece of writing (5 paragraphs on average) that gives the author's own argument • This writing will have an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each body paragraph will reflect and explain how each author informs their readers about their risk taking subjects and the outcomes of those risks

4. Introduction • The introduction paragraph is the first part of your essay. • A great introduction grabs your reader’s interest and tells them what to expect. • You can write one in 4 steps: Step 1: Hook your reader • Your first sentence sets the tone for your whole essay. This sentence is often called the hook because you want to catch your reader and reel them in. • Avoid long and dense sentences. Start with something clear, concise and catchy that will spark curiosity. • For example, if you’re writing about the history of the brail writing system, you want to start by saying something like: • Instead of just stating our topic, we’re making a bold claim about its place in history and linking it to relevant social themes. • The phrase “turning point” hints at the big changes we’re going to discuss without giving away too much information away just yet.

5. Step 2: Give Background Information • Give your reader the background they need to understand your argument. Depending on the subject of your essay, this might include: • Describing the historical or social context • Defining key terms • Introducing relevant theories or research • But don’t overdo it here. Save your evidence and interpretation for the main body of the essay • In our brail example, we first introduce the topic • And then sketch the social context that the essay will address

6. Step 3: Present your thesis statement • Now its time to narrow your focus and show exactly what you want to say about the topic. Your thesis statement should sum up your argument in a 1-2 sentences, is most important part of the introduction, define the focus of your essay, and is a claim that requires evidence and explanation • The goal of a thesis statement is to clearly convey your own position in a debate or your central point about a topic and to indicate the reasoning behind your position. • So the main point of our essay was to show why brail was such an important invention. • The thesis statement sums up the 2 stages of our argument: The innovation of a writing system made for blind people and the social changes it facilitated.

7. Step 4: Map your essay’s structure • Particularly in longer essays it’s helpful to end the introduction by talking about what will be covered in each part. Keep it concise and give your reader a clear sense of the direction your argument will take. In our example, we map out the 3 main parts of the essay. The pre-brail situation, the development of the invention, and the consequences.

8. Thesis Statement • A thesis statement is a short statement, usually one sentence, that summarizes the main point or claim of an essay, research paper, etc., and is developed, supported, and explained in the text by means of examples and evidence. It usually appears at the conclusion of the introductory paragraph of a paper.

9. 3 Steps To Write A Thesis Statement • We need to come up with a research question. For example, “What were the main factors that led to the result of the 2016 Brexit referendum?” • Find a tentative answer to the research question you came up with in step one. Since we’re taking an argumentative approach here, the answer should take a strong position on the topic.

10. 3. As we keep on researching, we discover more evidence and sources, so keep developing and refining your thesis statement. Your final thesis statement should be elaborate and also summarizes the overall argument

11. 3 Criteria For A Good Thesis Statement • Let’s examine how strong our thesis statement is. The best thesis statements are • Concise • Disputable • Coherent • Our thesis statement is concise. It builds up to a central argument, which is that Brexit was driven by political frustration. And it leaves out other information like the consequences of Brexit. • To keep it concise, avoid general and vague wordings. Keep it in a sentence or two.

12. It’s also disputable. The thesis statement took a position that some might argue the other way around. It’s not a simple fact the readers will easily accept. As it requires further evidence and persuasion which encourages readers to keep reading • Our thesis statement is coherent as well. The 3 parts of a thesis statement, topic (light green), position (red) and evidence (green) were all well connected and presented in a logical manner.

13. Depending on the aim of your paper, there are different types of thesis statements you can choose from. • The first type is argumentative, like the example we used earlier. An argumentative thesis statement should take a clear position since the goal is to persuade your reader of a claim.

14. The second type is expository. If you want to analyze, interpret or evaluate different aspects of a topic than your thesis statement should map out the key points of your analysis and briefly introduce the conclusions you will draw from it. For example: • The third is analytical. Your paper could also aim to explain and discuss the facts of a topic. In this case, your thesis statement should summarize all the main points you will cover.

15. Text Structure Text structure refers to how the information within a written text is organized. This strategy helps students understand that a text might present a main idea and details; a cause and then its effects; and/or different views of a topic. The 5 types of text structure are: • Description • Sequence • Cause and Effect • Compareand contrast, • Problemand solution.

16. Supporting Details • A paragraph contains facts, statements, examples-specifics which guide us to a full understanding of the main idea. They clarify, illuminate, explain, describe, expand and illustrate the main idea and are supporting details. • Determining Supporting Details • Decide which details help to further the story line. • Decide which details help you to understand the main idea. • Answer question raised by the main idea (who, what when, why or how)

17. Conclusion • The conclusion is the very last part of your essay. Your goal here is to tie together your essay’s main points, leaving your reader with a strong impression of your argument and why it matters. There are 3 steps: Step 1: Return to Your thesis: • In the first sentence of your conclusion, signal that your essay is coming to an end by returning to your overall argument. It’s important to avoid direct repetition, so don’t just copy your thesis statement here. Try to rephrase it in a way that shows how your essay has moved the thesis forward like this:

18. Step 2: Review your main points • Next, remind the reader of the key points you used to support your argument. Instead of simply summarizing each paragraph in turn, soon you can tie it all together in a sentence or two that shows the relationship between those points. So the points of this paragraph would be: Step 3: Show why it matters • To wrap up your conclusion, it’s a good idea to zoom out and take a broader view of the topic. Consider the implications - What does it add to understanding or what new questions does it raise? - Any practical suggestions or predictions about what might happen next? - Can your ideas be applied to different contexts or connected to a broader debate?

19. Try to leave the reader with the lingering sense of interest in your topic. Something like this: • There are some common mistakes students make when writing a conclusion. Here are a few pitfalls to avoid: • Don’t include new evidence. It’s ok to briefly mention related topics that you didn’t cover in the essay but any evidence or ideas that are essential to supporting your thesis should appear earlier in the essay, not in the conclusion. • Don’t undermine your argument. It can be tempting to say things like “This is just one approach among many” or “There are good arguments on both sides of this issue” or “There is no clear answer to this problem.” Those phrases make your point sound uncertain or confused. • Even if you’ve explored several different points of view, your own position should come across clearly and competently. For a stronger conclusion avoid generic concluding phrases like “to sum up” or “in conclusion”.

21. About Your Essay PROMT: You have read three stories, “Romeo and Juliet”, “A Night to Remember” and “Address to the Nation on the Explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger” All 3 stories events had high expectations for success but ended in tragedy. Using information from the texts, explain how people respond differently to tragedy. • Reflect on the 3 stories. • Complete the top section of the graphic organizer explaining how each author informed their readers about their risk-taking subjects in each text. • For each section of the organizer, pull examples from the text (or search for them on the internet) that identify the risks individuals from the text took and the outcomes of those risks.

23. Student Model: Risks Teach Valuable Lessons 1. People take risks every day. Many risks are small, such as trying a new type of food. Other risks are bigger, such as moving across the country. Whether big or small, all risks have something in common. People can never be certain how a risk will turn out. Every time a person takes a risk, there is a chance that they will lose something valuable. Frederick Douglass, the crew of the Challenger, and members of the Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Native American tribe are examples of people who have risked devastating losses to pursue worthy goals. Even though these risks and the outcomes of these risks differ, they all teach essential lessons.

24. 2. In his autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Douglass describes dangerous risks that he took on the road to freedom. Born into slavery. Douglass was legally denied an education. When he was young, however, the mistress of one house started to teach him how to read until her husband told her to stop. She then became angry and violent when Douglass tried to learn on his own. Douglas recalls the rage: “I have had her rush at me with a face made all up of fury, and snatch from me a newspaper, in a manner that fully revealed her apprehension.” Douglass knew that there could be serious personal and legal consequences if he were caught, but he decided that was worth the risk. Douglas saw knowledge as part of his long-term plan to escape slavery. He explains, “I looked forward to a time at which it would be safe for me to escape. I was too young to think of doing so immediately; besides, I wished to learn how to write, as I might have occasion to write my own pass.” Douglass’s efforts gave him a way to pursue freedom. After several years, he learned how to read and write. The risks Douglass took in pursuit of his goal also teach readers valuable lessons. His success teacher the values of perseverance and faith in one’s own abilities.

25. 3. However, failure teaches lessons, too. In 1986, the crew of the space shuttle Challenger set out to make new discoveries in space, but they lost their lives in a space shuttle disaster. In his speech “Address to the Nation of the Explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger,” President Ronald Reagan reminds Americans that the crew was willing to do a dangerous job. They wanted to travel into space because they believed that the mission would be worth the risk. He says. “They had a hunger to explore the universe and discover its truths.” The Challenger crew was well prepared and planning to study important questions about the universe. Unfortunately, they never had a chance to achieve that goal because the space shuttle exploded after takeoff. Despite this tragic end, Americans can still learn a valuable lesson from the Challenger crew. Reagan explains that “the future doesn’t belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and we’ll continue to follow them.” The crew was willing to risk their lives in search of knowledge about the universe. Their efforts teach the values of selflessness and bravery.

26. 4. The risks that one needs to take to pursue a goal can also change over time. This is evident in “Vanishing Island,” an informational article by Anya Groner. In the early 1800s, many member of the Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Native American tribe establish a community on a small island off the coast of Louisiana, and it became a “cultural homeland.” The island is called Isle de Jean Charles. Since the mid-twentieth century, however, the land on the island has been rapidly eroding, or wearing away. Storms, river engineering, and pollution are causing this to happen, and the landform may not even exist by 2050. As a result, many members of the tribe will risk giving up their land and homes to relocate the community. Chief Naquin, the current chief of the Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Native American tribe, compared the loss of this island to “the loss of a family member.” Leaving that land will be painful, but members are dedicated to preserving their history, community, and culture on the new site. For example, tribal secretary Chantel Comardelle envisions a museum that guides visitors through the history of the island. Many members of the community also value family. To encourage interactions among family membres on the new site, they want to build groups of houses with shared backyards. These plans address important issues, but many residents on the Isle de Jean Charles will still need to endure a difficult move. Their sacrifices teach readers the values of determination and resilience, the ability to recover from a loss.

27. 5. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, “Address to the Nation on the Explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger,” and “Vanishing Island” inform readers about historic risks that people have taken to pursue their goals. They show that each person faced hardships as a result of their decisions, and the Challenger crew tragically lost their lives. However, their stories continue to teach lessons about honorable qualities. They set examples that readers can follow when they need to decided if they want to take a risk for an important goal. Questions: What thesis statement is present in the introduction? What main idea is shared in the first body paragraph? How does the main idea in the body paragraph support the thesis statement?