The Illustration/Example Essay

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The Illustration/Example Essay

• Language

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Movers and Shapers
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What is their Secret?They are COMMUNICATORS

• They know how to say it
• They know HOW to communicate
• They know how to get interest
• They know how to speak so
• People will listen
• People will believe
• People will act

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HOW?

• They use language
• To Inspire
• To Persuade
• To Delight
• To Teach
• How do YOU use language?
• What kinds of language do you use on a
  daily/weekly basis?

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• THIS WEEK...We will
• Examine how they/we use language
• Study their use (and OUR use)
• Words
• Language
• Jargon
• Slang
• Appeals
• To get their /our point across
• To include others
• To exclude others

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Every communication is essentially a trilateral
relationship.  Each point of the
triangleinfluences the others, and all are
influenced by the context of the communication. 
Each point of the triangle bears some
responsibility for the success of the
communication, and each point of the triangle
corresponds with one of Aristotle's three appeals
(general means of persuasion). 
The Rhetorical Triangle
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The Three Means of Persuasion

• Logos the logical appeal, an appeal to the
  audience's reason based on such techniques as
  examples, inductive and deductive reasoning,
  definition of terms, critique of the opponent's
  logic, etc.
• Ethos the ethical appeal, an appeal based on
  the character, persona, and/or position of the
  speaker. 
• Pathos the emotional appeal, based on evoking
  particular emotions such as fear, envy,
  patriotism, lust, etc.

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Three Points of the Triangle

• Author
• Message
• Audience

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Rhetorical Triangle
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The Example EssayMovers and ShapersLanguage

• Definition
• Example is a specific event, person, or detail of
  an idea cited and/or developed to support or
  illustrate a thesis or topic.

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We use examples to

• Bring general and abstract statements down to
  earth so that
• Readers will be interested
• Readers will understand your ideas, points
• Make the
• General specific
• Abstract concrete

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Understanding Illustration

• An example or illustration represents
• A general group
• Movers and Shapers
• Carter
• Martin Luther King
• Elie Wiesel
• An abstract concept or quality
• Language
• Jargon
• Slang
• Formal/Informal

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TOPIC for Example Essay

• 1. YOUR Language
• How does your language differ with these
  audiences/groups? Several groups.Different
  languages
• Family
• Friends
• School
• Church
• Other Activities, Hobbies, Etc.

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TOPIC for Example Essay

• 2. How do you use these appeals with your
  family/friends/church, etc.?
• Logos
• Pathos
• Ethos

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Language TOPICS 3-4

• 3. Chronology Languages you use in a regular
  day
• 4. One REALLY important Group and that Language
  that you share.

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GETTING STARTED

• Keep readers in mind
• What do they already know about your language?
• What do they need to know in order to accept your
  thesis?

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Brainstorm ideas

• Make lists
• Write Letters
• Answer questions to get started

• What
• Who
• When
• Where
• How
• Why

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OUTLINING IMPORTANT!!

• Introduction
• Anecdote/first example (see Klass)
• ThesisTopic and significance
• Body Paragraphscategories of movers shapers
• Topic sentence that includes key ideas from the
  thesis
• ExamplesNeeded to prove/illustrate thesis
• Summary sentence Ends this category
• Conclusion
• Return to anecdote to summarize
• Restate thesis if necessary

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How many examples?

• Depends on subject, purpose, audience.
• A single extended example
• Several paragraphs
• Several pages
• Multiple examples
• Few
• Dozens

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Or maybe both.

• Sometimes a general or abstract statement
• benefits from both
• An extended example
• Several briefer examples
• For example A mental hospital is no place for
  the mentally ill.
• Develop half with one patients experience
• Develop half with brief summaries of others
  experiences

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Developing an Illustration

• Begin by developing a thesis It is a
  generalization based on what you know about your
  language, your jargon, based on your
• Activities
• School
• Family
• Friends

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ORGANIZING

• Introduction Engages, gets attention, gives
  context to relate to.
• Begin with a brief anecdote describing a specific
  situation of language useHumorous? Serious?

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The BODY Example Essay

• While writing the body of the essay
• Remember
• Examples must be
• Specific
• OR
• Plentiful enough to illustrate your thesis

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ORGANIZING

• Body
• Single example
• OR.
• Multiple examples

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ORGANIZINGHow many examples?

• Limited to 4 or 5
• Arrange in order of increasing
• Importance
• Interest
• Complexity
• Strongest, most humorous, most detailed provides
  a dramatic finish

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OrganizingHow many examples?

• Ten or more examples?
• Categorize or organize or classify
• Find likenesses
• Organize into order of importance/emphasis
• This organization will allow you to discuss the
  examples in groups for example
• Your language/jargon
• Family
• Friends
• Other

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DRAFTING

• If you used many examples, briefly summarize each
  in your essay
• If you used few, longer examples, describe each
  one in detail
• If you used a single example
• NARRATE
• BE SPECIFIC
• EDIT FOR GRAMMAR AND PUNCTUATION!
• Commas, fragments, comma splices, shifts to
  you, verb forms

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ORGANIZING

• Conclusion
• Come back to anecdote from your introduction and
  finish the story.
• Elaborate on
• YOUR THESIS!