Module 2 Elements in Essay

1. Module 2Elements in Essay Matakuliah : G1222, Writing IV Tahun : 2006 Versi : v 1.0 rev 1

2. What’s inside • The ten elements of essay • Some style of writings

3. In this section you’ll learn: • Identifying essays based on the elements contained in the essay. • Identifying some style in writing specific essays

4. General What is an Essay? • An essay is a form of composition in which the writer analyzes or interprets a subject, usually involving the personal interpretation of the writer. • Essays should not be confused with research papers. These two forms do have similar structure and they can overlap, but they have different purposes; the essay, analyzes / interprets, while a research paper presents the results of research.

5. 1) Choosing a Topic • If your topic is assigned, you'll likely need to focus on a specific area or aspect of the topic in order to make it suitable for an essay of whatever the assigned length is. • If you have free choice of topics, then there are certain things to consider. First of all, think about what interests you. There a few things more dull than trying to write a decent essay about a topic that bores you. (This is something to consider when narrowing down an assigned topic, as well.) • Next, see what resources are available. If all you have is the school library for research, go there and see what books they have. You can't write an essay about Hallowe'en customs in Ireland if there aren't any books about Hallowe'en or Ireland. Choose your topic based on what research material you can get. • The other thing to consider is length. You need to pick a topic that will provide enough material to fill however many pages you've been assigned, but that won't provide so much material that you have difficulty deciding what to leave out (these considerations can often be resolved by broadening or narrowing the topic).

6. 2) Three-Part Structure • Introduction: a paragraph stating how you've chosen to examine a topic, and a general idea of what importance they might have • Body (paragraph about the significance of the topic) - paragraph x - paragraph y - paragraph z • Conclusion: a paragraph summarizing the general significance of the topic, and why you think they're important • The three-part structure of essays -- introduction, body, conclusion -- goes like this: • tell the reader what you're going to say • say it • summarize what you've said

7. 3) Introduction • Essentially, an introduction introduces the topic of the essay. 1. Consider what a reader needs to know in order to understand what you are writing about. 2. Are there details of time and place that are important? • Another function of the introduction is to capture the reader's attention, so they will want to continue reading. There are a number of ways to do this; some of the most effective devices are a quote from a famous person that relates to your topic, a compelling description or scene, startling statistics, or a question. Anything that will interest a reader and involve them in the topic is good.

8. 4) TheThesisStatement The thesis statement is a sentence (or rarely, a couple of sentences) that states the subject of the essay, and shows the division of that subject into the subtopics you will be discussing (usually in the order they will appear in the essay). If, for example, you are writing an essay that will have three body paragraphs, each with its own subtopic, you should mention those three things in your thesis statement. Example: "In William Shakespeare's play The Tempest, Prospero is surrounded by significant symbols; three of the most compelling are the strange books of magic, the bestial creature Caliban, and the fairy Ariel."

9. Transitions (cont.) • Transitions create a thread between paragraphs, so your reader isn't lost or jarred when moving from one idea/paragraph to the next. A transition is simply a sentence, or part of a sentence, that connects the material in one paragraph to that in the next. This creates a smooth read and makes your material seem to make more sense. • The transition may be part of the concluding sentence of one paragraph, or it may be part of the introductory sentence of the next paragraph. You could even have a transition that is partly in one paragraph's conclusion and partly in the next paragraph's introduction.

10. 6)Attention Getter An attention getter is to capture the reader's attention, so they will want to continue reading.There are a number of ways to do this. Some of the most effective devices are: • a quote from a famous person that relates to your topic, • a compelling description or scene, • startling statistics, or a question. • anything that will interest a reader and involve them in the topic is good.

11. 7. Body Good ways to organize and essay body include: • chronological • cause and effect • least important to most important • simplest to most complicated Separate Ideas When writing the body of your essay, keep in mind that each new idea (or related group of ideas) should be in a new paragraph. Support the Thesis When you're trying to decide what information to include in your essay, and what to leave out, you really only need to consider one thing: does the information support your thesis statement?

12. 8) Conclusion • The conclusion must summarize or tie together the main points of the essay. • If there is a part of your essay that won't fit into this summarizing/tying together, then you need to seriously consider whether that part really belongs in the essay. • The conclusion is where you show the reader that all the different things you've written about in your essay are part of one larger topic, or lead to a final result, or otherwise belong in the same piece of writing. If there are any loose ends in your essay, any threads or thoughts that don't quite attach to the whole yet, tie these up in the conclusion. • If you posed any questions or problems in your introduction, then you must address those questions or problems again in the conclusion

13. 9) Concluding Statements Generally, it works best to use your clincher or thought-provoker as your concluding statement. Whatever you put in the final sentence of your essay, make sure it will somehow remind the reader of what they have just read. You may choose to end quietly, perhaps with some simple statement of fact that sums everything up; or you may choose to end boldly, with an extravagant quote or a loud proclamation of opinion. Whether you end with a whisper or a bang, remember that in writing last things have power--choose your final words carefully and give your reader something to think about. Example of a concluding sentence: "By examining Ariel's symbolic qualities, it can be seen that this fairy creature represents the positive side of Prospero's power; and if Ariel is angelic, Caliban is equally demonic." Notice how the first part of the sentence sums up the topic (Ariel as a symbol in The Tempest), while the second part of the sentence ties the paragraph's topic into the topic of the next paragraph (Caliban as a symbol).

14. 10) References There are several ways to make references: • The simplest way to mention sources,is to mention them in the text. For example: Ariel first appears in Act I, Scene II of The Tempest, when Prospero calls out, "Come away, servant, come: I am ready now; Approach, my Ariel; come." • The usual way to write multiple-source essays in university/college is to use parenthetical references. This simply means enclosing the references in parentheses after the specific bit of information that needs the reference. Some of the information will still fall in the writing itself, but the details are out of the way. • For any essay in which you use more that one source, you should include a bibliography. The specific arrangement of information within the bibliography can vary somewhat--use whatever format your teacher specifies. Include in your bibliography every source that you mentioned in the text of your essay. If your essay was about a specific literary work, include that, too.