The Essay

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The Essay

• Its Structure and the Functions of Its Components

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The Purpose

• Define a position or opinion
• Collect supporting examples/details
• Organize points logically

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The Purpose

• Compose a well-developed and accurate essay
• Paint a clear/wholistic picture of what you are
  trying to say for the reader.

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Brief Overview of Writing Process Steps

• Pre-write
• Organize
• Write the draft
• Edit
• Revise
• RELEASE/ PUBLISH

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Basic Structure

• Introduction (Beginning)
• Body Paragraphs (Middle)
• Conclusion (End)

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The Introduction

• Paragraph that Sets the Tone for the Rest of the
  Essay

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1st Sentence- The HookStates the Central Idea

• Definition
• Statement
• Quote
• Rhetorical Question
• Anecdote

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1st Sentence- The HookStates the Central Idea

• Definition
• A dynamic character is a character that undergoes
  a change because of the actions in the story
  (Anderson, et al 1144).

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1st Sentence- The HookStates the Central Idea

• Statement(Rhetorical ?)
• What causes human beings to change?
• Plant, animals, trees, even bacteria-all
  creatures experience growth or change in some way.

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1st Sentence- The HookStates the Central Idea

• Quote
• Harold Wilson says, He who rejects change is the
  architect of decay. The only human institution
  which rejects progress is the cemetery.

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1st Sentence- The HookStates the Central Idea

• Ancedote
• Imagine your life flashing before your eyes while
  hanging off the ledge of a 12 story building.
  Then consider this situation sparking from a
  little yellow piece of paper flying out the
  window.

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Background-Leads into the Thesis Statement

• Title
• Author
• Ex. Jack Finney
• Setting
• -Ex. New York
• Character Info.

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THESIS STATEMENT

• The Most Important Sentence in an Essay

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Thesis Statement

• Blanket Statement about what is discussed in the
  essay
• THE LAST SENTENCE OF THE INTRODUCTION
• Helps keep unity in the essay
• Controls the selection of evidence

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Thesis Statement

• LIMITS THE TOPIC COVERED IN THE ESSAY
• Answers the provided question/ Responds to prompt
  with SPECIFIC points or reasons (THESIS in 3)
• NEVER WRITE I will discuss... or The following
  paragraphs will involve

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Thesis Statement

• Tom Benecke demonstrates the traits of a dynamic
  character, a round character, and

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The Body Paragraphs

• The Meat of the Essay

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The Body Paragraphs

• Topic Sentence
• Limits topic covered in paragraph
• Helps the writer maintain unity in the paragraph

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The Body Paragraphs

• Topic Sentence
• Introduces central points (One of the reasons
  stated in Thesis Statement)
• Tom Benecke in Contents of the Dead Mans Pocket
  demonstrates the qualities of a dynamic
  character.

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The Body Paragraphs

• Examples w/ Elaboration
• Support the point
• Explain how the example(s) support the point

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The Body Paragraphs

• Concluding Sentence
• Develops a larger connection or idea from
  examples
• Since Tom Benecke has new attitude towards his
  wife by the end of the story, he is an example of
  a dynamic character.

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The Body Paragraphs

• Transition at the beginning of the paragraphs
• NEVER introduce a new idea in a previous paragraph

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The Body Paragraphs

• I. Topic Sentence
• II. Support
• A. Example A
• 1. Fact/Detail/Quote
• 2. Explanation/Elaboration
• B. Example B
• 1. Fact /Detail/Quote
• 2. Explanation/Elaboration
• C Example C
• III.Concluding Sent.

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The Body Paragraphs

• Additionally, Consequently, After a few hours,
  Afterwards ,At last, At the same time, Before,
  Before this, Currently, During, Eventually,
  Finally, First, Second, Third, First of all,
  Formerly, Immediately before, Furthermore,
  However, Nevertheless, Regardless,
  Constrastingly, In addition to...

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Conclusion

• The End
• (The Last Great Stroke of the Paintbrush/
• The Bottom Bun)

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Conclusion

• Restate the THESIS STATEMENT
• Mention specific effect of each point of the
  Thesis Statement

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Conclusion

• UNIVERSAL STATEMENT
• Connects the topic to a larger idea, such as
  overall affect of the work or analysis

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Conclusion

• NEVER BEGIN THE PARAGRAPH W/ the phrase IN
  CONCLUSION

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Questions
?
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Created by J. Tolliver

• Credits to Hampton City Schools 2001-2002
• 9th Grade Curriculum

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