2. What is an essay?
• A piece of writing that focuses on a topic.
• Organized on a general idea or thesis.
Thesis: a debatable proposition presented to
be discussed in the supporting paragraphs.
Paragrahs develop the thesis. It is the body of
essay.
Begins with an introduction and ends with a
concluding paragraph.
3. Format of an essay
CONCLUSION HAS THREE FUNCTIONS:
SUMMARIZE THE MAIN POINTS, RESTATING IT IN
A DIFFERENT WAY, STATE THE MAIN
CONCLUSION, AND SATISFY THE READER ‘S
PURPOSE.
1ST.PARAGRAPH STRUCTURE
2ND.PARAGRAPH STRUCTURE
3RD PARAGRAPH STRUCTURE
Title
-Represent the purpose of the essay.
-Correspond with the thesis statement.
BODY
4. Writing stage
Look for
information
on the topic.
Remember the three main
elements for an academic
writing: The style, which
must be formal, punctuation
and paragraphing.
Brainstorm
as many
ideas as
possible.
Plan and arrange
your main ideas
according to
genre.
Begin writing the
paragraphs.
The numbers
depends on the
complexity of the
topic.
A short essay contains 3
to 5 paragraphs plus an
introduction and
conclusion.
Use signal words to
make smooth transitions
between sentences and
paragraphs.
Support your ideas
with evidence, facts
and statistics.
Revise the overall
organization,add
information,
rearrange ideas.
5. WHAT IS THE FUNCTION OF AN
INTRODUCTION?
• To let the readers know what the essay is about.
• To present background information, to explain what
the issue is about.
• To let the readers know what your main conclusion
will be (state your thesis).
• To let the readers know what to expect in the
remainder of the essay. You can give a road map of
how the argument will proceed.
6. The introductory paragraph.
.Introduce the topic broadly. An opening statement or question that atracts the
reader’s attention , this is often called “ the hook”.
.Provide a quick definition of the problem.
.Announce your particular take.
.Declare your thesis statement that states the
purpose and plan of he whole essay.
1st. Paragraph 2nd. Paragraph 3rd. paragraph
7. TYPES OF ATTENTION GETTERS FOR INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH
Ways to grab the
reader’s attention.
.Use an anecdote.
. Proverb, Maxim, or Strong
statement.
Description, grab readers'
attention by engaging their
imaginations.
A paradox.
A shocking statistic.
A question.
"I never believed people when they said words could hurt, but staring at the
text message I'd just received made me realize its truth. The hurtful phrase
seeped into me like venom from a snakebite.“
“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” is the biblical phrase we use to refer
to capital punishment, the killing of criminals in order to punish them for
their crimes.
"A boxcar packed with human cargo rumbles down a German railroad track.
The air inside is hot and stale, and the passengers struggle to breathe,
unaware of where they are headed. This is what millions of people
experienced traveling to concentration camps during the Holocaust.“
With the explosion of the first atomic bomb came the advent of the greatest
weapon of war the world has ever seen—soon, though, it was to be used to
bring a new peace to a broken world.
About 26 percent of children growing up in America have only one parent.
What could be done to improve the lives of the elderly?
8. THESIS STATEMENT
It is expressed in the
last sentence of the
first paragraph.
It should declare
something that is
interesting and
debatable. It controls and
structures the
entire argument.
9. Example of an introductory
paragraph
“ The importance of money in life”
Money is certainly something
which is often discussed in today’s
world.Less than a third of human
beings believe that money is not
important in life, while the
majority of people holds the
opinion that money is really
necessary in every day life.
I assert that money is important as
means of obtaining a lot of things,
such as health services, a good
education, a prosperous standard
of living and it helps happiness.
ControllingAnnounce the topic broadly.
Introduction of the problem
Narrowing and making
smooth transition.
The thesis tells the reader
what to expect from the rest
of the paper.
10. BODY OF AN ESSAY
-The paragraphs develop the idea expressed in the thesis statement.
-Each paragraph has a topic sentence which states the main idea and it is placed at the
beginning to call reader’s attention.
-The topic sentence consist of two parts: the topic and the controlling idea (the specific
comments about the main idea. It is explained through supporting sentences and
illustrated with examples, facts and statistics.
-To identify controlling ideas we can ask wh-questions: what – how – why.
-Support the thesis statement.
-Each main idea becomes the main idea sentence for the body paragraph. Support it with
explanation, details and evidence.
-Put the main idea in order: time, place, importance.
-Each body paragraph ends with a concluding sentence.
-Use transition words
11. PARAGRAPHS
TOPIC SENTENCE
CONTOLLING IDEA
EXAMPLE FACTS
EXPLAIN
EVIDENCE
Provide the content
of the essay.
What you are going
to write about.
Specific comments
about the topic.
Narratives, persuasive,
explanatory and
descriptive
It should be
interesting
Use transition
words
12. Transition words
To list things.
To add points.
To make contrast.
To give example.
To show
similarities.
To emphasise a
point.
To express cause.
To express effect.
To summarize.
To introduce
points for and
against.
To explain/clarify.
Firstly, First of all, In the first place, to begin with, Secondly, Thirdly, Finally.
In addition to this, Furthermore, Moreover, Besides, Apart from , What is
more, also.
On the other hand, However, Although, But.
For instance, for example, This is illustrated/shown, By the fact that, A
clear/typical example of this.
Similarly, Likewise.
Above all, Clearly, Obviously, Naturally, indeed, Of course, Needless to say.
Owing to the fact, Due to, On account of.
Therefore, Thus, As a result of this, Consequently, For this reason.
To sum up, In conclusion, For this reasons.
One point/argument in favour…of/against, A further common criticism of.
In other words, That is to say, This means that, In essence.
13. Concluding paragraph:
This paragraph should include the following:
• an allusion to the pattern used in the introductory
paragraph.
• a restatement of the thesis statement, using some of
the original language.
• a summary of the three main points from the body of
the paper.
• a final statement that gives the reader signals that the
discussion has come to an end. (This final statement
may be a "call to action" in an persuasive paper.)
• An advice or a question.
14. THE REVISION AND EDITING PROCESS
• Read, revise and rearrange the material.
• Keep in mind:
# The style.
# Your purpose for writing.
# Your audience.
• Revise: grammar, punctuation and spelling.
• Rearrange in order to improve the organization of
ideas.
• Final draft should be neat and without errors.
15. Brainstorm: Comparing tea and coffee.
• Tea • CoffeeFamous: China,
India, Turkey, The
United Kingdom
and Ireland.
A ritual: visitors,
friends, family
gatherings
Example:
80% the English
have afternoon tea.
Statistics: the U.N. Food
and Agriculture
Organization suggests six
billion cups of tea
are drunk a day .
Served: hot, iced,
lemon, milk, anise.
Consumed: Ethiopia,
Saudi Arabia, Turkey
and European
countries .
Ancient custom : used
in the Western and
Eastern world.
Example: “ristretto”,
“café au lait” long
black American or
Turkish coffee
Statistics: the International
Coffee Organization (ICO), 1.4
billion cups are poured a day
worldwide.
Served: hot, iced,
cream, whisky, cognac
16. COMPARISON PARAGRAPH SKELETON by Rosmary Ribera Ferrier, for students of secondary school.
Tea and coffee have several things in common. First, tea is a beverage that is drunk
all over the world. To illustrate, it is so famous in China, India and Turkey as in The
United Kingdom and Ireland. At the same time, coffee is also a well known drink
consumed in Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and in all European countries . To
continue, tea is offered to visitors, friends or served in family gatherings. For instance,
more than 80% of the English have afternoon tea. In the same way, coffee is widely
used in the Western and the Eastern world. Indeed, if you think of coffee you will
probably think of an Italian “ristretto”, a French “café au lait” , a long black in America
or a Turkish coffee in Turkey. Last, these two drinks are quite popular everywhere.
According to the latest coffee statistics from the International Coffee Organization
(ICO), 1.4 billion cups of coffee are poured a day worldwide. Similarly, the U.N. Food
and Agriculture Organization suggests that the world drinks about six billion cups of tea
a day. Actually, You can drink both beverages hot or iced, served with milk or cream,
or with anise or cognac. As you can see, these two drinks are significantly similar.
17. REFERENCES
# Sanchez Terrell, S. (2015, July 18). “30 goals conference keynote: Rosmary Ribera Ferrier”
Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDBvSUXWIEV. Retrieved: October 22,
2015.
# “How to write an attention getter”. Available at: http://www.wikiho.w.com/Write-
an-Attention-Getter. Retrieved: October 22, 2015.
# Morgan, k. “Attention grabbing techiques for essay writing”.Available at: http://classroom
synonym.com/attention-grabbing-techniques-essay-writing-5116.html. Retrieved:
October 22, 2015.
# Plotnic, J. “Organizing an essay”. Available at: http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/planing
-and-organizing/intros-and-conclusions. Retrieved: October 22, 2015.
# Abrams, E. (2000). “Essay structure”.Available at: http://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/
essay-structure. Retrieved: October 22, 2015.
# Walk, K. (1998). “How to write a comparative analysis”. Available at: http://writingcenter.fas.
harvard.edu/pages/how-write-comparative-analysis . Retrieved at: October 22, 2015.
# “The five-paragraph essay”. Available at: http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/five_
par.htm. Retrieved: October 22, 2015.
# “General Essay Writing Tips”.Available at: http://www.internationalstudent.com/essay_
writing/essay_tips/. Retrieved: October 22, 2015.
