The American Horror Story Book of Writing

Section 6 ESSAYS Essays – Explain what an essay is (I know, this is where I usually explain it to you but now that you have made it to the end of this project, it’s your turn) Types – Explain each type of essay and state its purpose Persuasive (Argumentative) Used to convince the reader to agree with the author’s argument.

Expository (Informative) Written to inform the reader about a topic Definition or Description Written & the author describes a place, feeling, person Process (How-to) An essay that explains how to do something Compare and Contrast An essay written to evaluate similarities & differences b/w 2 or more ideas Cause and Effect An essay written to analyze events and outcomes Analytical/Critical Written to critique according to criteria Evaluative Written to critique according to criteria Interpretive WWritten to analyze another piece of writing Narrative (Tells a story) Personal Statement/Anecdote An essay written about one's achievements Research An essay written about a study Timed An essay written in a certain amount of time Document Based Question (DBQ) evaluation of one’s ability to write following a prompt using evidence from sources (timed) Synthesis central idea using evidence from multiple viewpoints Strategies/Planning Tips/Steps – Explain how to plan and organize essays and how to analyze and break down prompts.

Pre-writing/Prompt Analysis/Outlining first identify the type of essay that will be written and then begin thinking about an essay outline (Intro, body paragraphs, conclusion) and if given a prompt follow it directly.

Researching/Evaluating of Sources Identify reliable sources that are credible and have to do with the type of essay you are writing.

Work Cited Page – Explain and give an example of how to set up a works cited entry in both MLA and APA formats - there are subtle differences between each format, so be sure to identify them clearly.

MLA Format- MLA format is aligned with the left margin and hanging at an indent of 0.5 inches (applied to the second and subsequent lines). Begin with the author's last name followed by first name and middle initial. Then, Italicize the title of books or magazines. Place titles of shorter works in quotation marks and list page numbers. Each citation should be double spaced and no space should be skipped between each entry.

All entries must be arranged alphabetically.

APA Format- Lines subsequent to the first should be indented 0.5 inches from the left margin. Start with the author’s last name ,followed by the initial of their first name (then middle initial if applicable) and year of publication in parentheses. Entries should be organized alphabetically by the last name of the first author. For titles of books, chapters,articles,reports,webpages.