Essays

Essay

Essays – A piece of writing that is written to convincesomeone of something or to inform the reader about a topic in particular.

Types –Persuasive (Argumentative)-In which you use logicand arguments to convince the reader of your point of view. The purpose of this is that it attempts to convince a reader to adopt a certain point of view or to take any action in particular. Expository (Informative)-A genre of essay that requiresthe student to investigate an idea, evaluate evidence, expound on the idea, and set an argument that concerns the idea clearly and concisely. The purpose is to present a balanced, objective description of a topic. Definition or Description- A spoken or written representationof a person, object, or event. The main purpose of descriptive writing is to describe the person, place, or thing in a way that would form a picture in the reader's mind. Process (How-to)- A writing process that explainshow to do something or how it works using a step-by-step explanation. The purpose of this is to give either directional or informative information to the reader. Compare and Contrast- Examines two or more topicsthat compare their similarities and contrasts their differences. It is ideal for showing what separates and unites related things or concepts. Cause and Effect- It tells how one event leads toanother event. This determines how various phenomena relate to each other in terms of origins and results. Analytical/Critical- Where you will need to presenta type of argument or claim about what you are analyzing. The use of this to define a term, tell the procedure of the process, classify ideas, or make a contrast among different things. Evaluative: A composition that offers value judgments about a particular subject according to a set of criteria. It's to present an informed and well-reasoned judgment about a subject. Interpretive: Interpret a piece of literature like a book, essay, play, or poem. The goal is to evaluate the methods the author used instead of simply identifying them. Narrative (Tells a story)

Personal Statement/Anecdote-An essay where you write to show a college admissions committee who you are and why you deserve admission to their school. This helps make you stand out from the crowd, therefore focuses on what makes you unique. Research-An essay where you explain what you havelearned after exploring your topic. It isn’t only to inform the reader what others have to say about the topic, but to draw what others have to say about the topic and engage the sources. Timed-Helps demonstrate disciplinary knowledge byproducing a writing sample within a limited time. Document-Based Question (DBQ): Series of short-answer questions that are constructed by students using their knowledge with support from several sources. Synthesis: A written discussion incorporating support from several sources of different viewpoints.

Strategies/Planning Tips/Steps Pre-writing/Prompt Analysis/Outlining-Beginning with the introduction, lay out your main argument, from there you go through each paragraph, highlighting the main idea, evidence, and analysis that you’ll be using. Always be sure that it ties into the previous paragraph, as well as your argument. Finally, you sum up your argument in your conclusion, with points to the larger significance of your essay’s claims. Researching/Evaluating of Sources- As you examine your sources it is important to determine the quality of the information provided with them. This may include purpose and intended audience, authority and credibility, accuracy and reliability, currency and timeliness, and objectivity or bias. Work Cited Page – Explain and give an example of how to set up works cited entries in both MLA and APA formats - there are subtle differences between each format, so be sure to identify them. MLA Format-A style of crediting sources you use towrite a paper, it should be formatted like this: Author last name, First name, and Title of the source. APA Format-Uses the Author’s last name and the year of publication, for example; (Field, 2005).