Carmen Medina Garrguez. Essay Writing 1: From theory to Practice. carmedphd@gmail.

com
https://sites.google.com/site/eoimalaga1415/the-writing-process
Objectives: Learn what an essay is, dissect one to view its parts.
Contents: What is an essay?, Parts of an essay. Thesis statement. Paragraphs. Types of essays.
Analysing an essay.
I. Previous knowledge quiz. With your partner, quickly read the questions and choose the correct
answer.
1. An essay title ___.
a. is not necessary for a test essay.
b. should contain a minimum of twelve words.
c. should have a capital on all important words.
d. should have a capital on only the first word.
2. Good topic sentences ___.
a. contain lots of good examples.
c. contain very specific details.

b. contain clear controlling ideas.

d. contain only ten or fewer words.

3. A body paragraph should always be ___.

a. five to seven sentences.
c. only three or four sentences.

b. ten or more sentences.

d. well developed, with adequate examples.

4. The most important sentence in any essay is ___.

a. the first sentence of the introduction.
b. the final sentence of the conclusion.
c. the thesis sentence in the introduction.
d. the first topic sentence in body paragraph one.
5. A paragraph "hook" is a technique ___.
a. to use ideas from the topic sentence in one paragraph in the concluding sentence of another.
b. for making readers laugh by having a long and involved topic sentence.
c. for making a paragraph longer by adding lots of unnecessary details.
d. to use ideas from the concluding sentence of the previous paragraph in your topic sentence.
6. Body paragraphs are usually ___.
a. in chronological order.
c. longer towards the end of the essay.

b. about the same length.

d. with topic sentences at the end.

7. The introduction paragraph should ___.

a. be longer than the body paragraphs.
c. contain many details and examples.

b. always contain a question.

d. be shorter than the body paragraphs.

8. All essays have ___.

a. the same number of paragraphs.
c. four paragraphs.

b. five paragraphs.
d. multiple paragraphs.

9. The topic sentence for an essay is called a: ___.

a. thesis
b. theses.
c. theory.
10. The concluding paragraph should ___.
a. be your longest paragraph.
c. begin with a restated thesis.

d. theme.

b. always end with the restated thesis.

c. restate all your main ideas again.

Source: http://palc.sd40.bc.ca/palc/Quiz/Writing/essaystructure1.htm
II. Parts of an Essay (Outline)
I.
Introduction. Thesis: _____________________
II.
Body 1. Topic Sentence: _____________
- supporting idea
- supporting idea
2. Topic Sentence: ____________
- supporting idea
- supporting idea

Carmen Medina Garrguez. Essay Writing 1: From theory to Practice. carmedphd@gmail.com

https://sites.google.com/site/eoimalaga1415/the-writing-process
3. Topic Sentence: ____________
- supporting idea
- supporting idea
III.
Conclusion
III. A thesis is just a fancy way of making a statement of what you believe and why you believe it.
When you write an essay, you MUST clearly state your thesis at the end of the introduction
paragraph. It needs to be there. If you dont have a thesis, you dont have a quality essay. The
reason you write an entire essay is to prove your thesis statement. You NEED to remember this.
A thesis statement is made up of three different parts. Every thesis needs these three things:
1) Identification (What is the topic you are talking about?)
2) Claim (What do you believe about the topic?)
3) Direction (What are the 3 main reasons you can support your claim? This will basically
outline the body paragraphs of your essay.)
You will need to form these three parts into a complete argumentative sentence:
Identification of Topic + Claim (belief about topic) + Direction (reason 1, reason 2, and
reason 3.)
** Before you write your thesis, decide what you plan to argue and determine 3 DIFFERENT &
GENERAL ways in which you can prove your opinion. Sometimes it is easier to argue a certain
side of an issue, and it might be smart to take the side that is easier to prove.
Writing Prompt: Educators often discuss whether high school sports have a positive influence on students.
Some educators think high school sports do have a positive influence because the lessons learned from
athletic competition add to the lessons learned in the classroom. Other educators think high school sports do
not have a positive influence because the emphasis on sports often overshadows student achievement in
other areas. In your opinion, do high school sports have a positive influence on students?
ID-Identify topic
Claim-What you believe
Direction-3 general reasons you
believe your claim is true
Sports offered in high school
They have a positive influence
Teach social skills
Teach time-management
Provide exercise and teach
benefits of hard work
Thesis: High school sports unquestionably have a positive influence on high school students because they teach
social skills, reinforce time-management skills, provide exercise and show the benefits of hard work.

IV. Which is the best thesis statement?

V. Paragraphs
There are four different types of paragraphs.
Narrative used to tell a story or a sequence of events
Descriptive used to describe a scene or an object
Expository used to provide information, including facts, instructions, and definitions
Persuasive used to share opinions and convince others to agree or take action
https://s3.amazonaws.com/newcharterthumbnails/contents/4f2d7dd4a0b8290001002305/original/Types%20of%20Paragraphs.pdf?1
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VI: Essay types
Argument
Cause and Effect
Classification
Comparison/Contrast
Critical Analysis

Evaluation
Illustration
Narration
Persuasion
Description