Essay WritingA Quick Overview

English Language Arts

What is an essay?

An extended piece of writing in which an author explores a subject in detail.

What are the different types of Essays?

An essay may be classified as:

Narrative – relates a story about an event or experience. (The Monday Morning Essay)

Descriptive – describes a person, place, event, object, or process such as a character sketch.

Expository – explains information about an event, process, issue or topic such as a magazine article about refining oil

Persuasive – writing meant to convince an audience to think in a certain way or to take a particular action.

Essay Structure

An essay, generally, has 3 distinct parts:

Introduction

Body

Conclusion

Sample essay or journal

Topic:

Summer holidays are a really fun time of the year. What would you like to do over your summer holidays?

The first thing you need to do is coming up with a THESIS.

The thesis is made up of the three main ideas of your essay or journal entry

A great thesis for this question is :

Three things I would like to do over my summer holidays are spend time with my friends, go to summer camp and make some money

Introduction Introduce the subject

‘Hook’ your reader in with a great opening sentence, statistic, scenario etc.

“Summer is a great time of year. The weather is warm, there is no school and there is always something fun to do! Summer is my favorite season and I can’t wait for it to get here after a long school year. I always have a lot of plans for my summer holidays but there are some things I want to do more than others. Three things I would like to do over my summer holidays are spend time with friends, go to summer camp and make some money.

This is the hook AND it introduces the subject - summer

These are some interesting facts or general information on the topic

This is your THESIS

Introduction

Does your writing need a thesis?

Thesis - is the main argument of a piece of writing or it presents the main topics of the essay.

If writing persuasively, preview the 3 supporting reasons/arguments in your introduction

Use transitional words: First, Second, Third in your body

Ex: Three things I want to do over summer holidays are spend time with my friends, go to summer camp and make money.

Body

3 Body paragraphs that support your thesis

Begin each with a topic sentence, which highlights what the paragraph will focus on.

Use transitional words (first, second, third, OR Firstly, secondly, thirdly)

Use specific examples to support what you are saying End with a transitioning sentence that takes the reader to the second paragraph’s focus.

Topic Sentence & Transition Words Each body paragraph must start with a topic

sentence.

Let’s continue with the Summer Holidays topic….

1st body paragraph

The first thing I would like to do during summer holidays is spend time with my friends.

The word first is a transition word.

2nd body paragraph

The second thing I would like to do during summer holidays is go to summer camp

The word second is a transition word.

3rd body paragraph

Based on the other topic sentences come up with the topic sentence for the 3rd body.

Body Paragraphs

After you come up with a topic sentence (The first thing I want to do during summer holidays is spend time with my friends)

You need to develop your paragraph and explain what you are going to do and why you want to do it.

The first thing I want to do during summer holidays is spend time with my friends. During the school year I became very close with Jack and Jill. We were always partners in school and we live close to each other. Over the Summer I want to spend as much time with them as I can. They are really fun to be around and we have a lot in common. Now that we don’t have to go to school we are free to do things like go to the beach, go camping, and ride our bikes. Spending time with my friends is just the first of many things I would like to do over the summer.

2nd body paragraph

Based on the sample topic sentences and the sample 1st body paragraph, write the 2nd body paragraph.

Conclusion

Sum up the main idea (Thesis)

Restate any important points

Offer a reflective idea to leave with your reader

Sometimes, it is effective to leave your reader with a question:

Ex: How can we expect our world to change if everyone thinks: “What can I do?”

Sample conclusion

In conclusion, Summer is one of the best times of the year! The sun shines, the grass is green and everyone is in a better mood. As a reward for all my hard work in school I get a well deserved break to do all my favorite things. As I already said although there are lots of things I would like to do over Summer holidays but the things I want to do most are spend time with my friends, go to summer camp and make some money. If I get to do all these activities my summer will be a success and I can go back to school happy!

“Be yourself. Above all, let who you are, what you are, what you believe, shine through every sentence you write, every piece you finish.”