Theory of Composition

The sentence: It should contain only one thought. It must be coherent and express
what the writer intends, e.g.: I want to see my friend who has been ill for the last
few days.

The paragraph: It is a group of sentences that develops one main idea; in other
words, a paragraph develops a topic. The topic of a paragraph is usually
introduced in a sentence which is called the topic sentence.

Topic sentence: It is a a sentence that summarizes the main idea of a paragraph.

It is usually the first sentence in a paragraph. Although topic sentences may
appear anywhere in a paragraph, in academic essays they often appear at the
beginning.

Composition vs essays

Although an essay is a type of composition, we need to learn how to distinguish

them. Composition is another word for writing the act of writing or the piece of
writing that results, it comes from: putting things together. The essay is also a
piece of writing, but this contains the authors point of view and his position on the
problem under consideration. Also one of the distinguishing essays from
composing features is its paradox, that is, the goal is to surprise the reader, to
impress him, using vivid images, aphorisms, paradoxical statements

The essay: It is a group of paragraph that develops one central idea. The essay is
a more formal composition which is generally written from a personal point of view.

An Essay is a piece of writing that has more than one paragraph. It is divided into
three parts: a beginning, middle, and an end. The Beginning is called the
introduction, the middle is called the body, and the end is called the conclusion.
The introduction And the conclusion are usually one paragraph each. The Body
may have from one to an unlimited number of paragraphs.

Thesis statement: It should express only one idea about one topic, if a thesis
statement contains two or more ideas, the essay runs the risk of lacking unity and
coherence.

Types of essay
An expository essay involves investigating a topic, evaluating evidence and
presenting a concise analysis. Expository essays involve less research than
argumentative and are shorter in length.

a. Comparison and contrast essay

With this kind of essays we compare and contrast two topics. Be selective
and choose the most significant points for comparison that will support the
central idea in your essay. The emphasis usually goes in one or the other.
b. The Example Essay: When in order to cover a certain topic you begin
exemplifying it, and then exposing the problem itself. The number of
examples depends only on the topic. They should be representative
examples, they must support the thesis. You need to organize you
examples in different categories ( according to time, importance, or
chronological order. It is up to you).
c. Classification Essay: Another common pattern in expository essays is
classification and division. It is used for analyzing topics. When you classify,
you divide the members of a group into categories whose members have
similar characteristics. Once you have decided on a principle of
classification, check to see if this classification includes all member of the
group. It is a good idea to present the categories in the introduction
paragraph. We can do this by naming the groups. E.g. There are basically
three types of burns: first degree, second degree, and third degree.
d. The process analysis essay: A process is a series of actions leading to an
expected or planned outcome. There are two types of process essays:
those that instruct or direct(directional process essay) and those that explain
or analyze(informational process essay)
e. Cause and effect analysis essay: When we analyze causes, we are
attempting to understand the events that led to an outcome. When we
analyze the result of some action. The organization here is not
chronological is casual: sth cause sth else.

A descriptive essay talks about a topic in intense detail. Descriptive writings

appeal to the senses, so it tells how something looks, feels, tastes, and sounds. It
is like a word picture.

An argumentative essay is very similar to an expository essay, with the writer

gathering more evidence to support a specific position regarding the topic and then
presenting the argument in support of that position.

It is a genre of writing that requires the student to investigate a topic; collect,

generate, and evaluate evidence; and establish a position on the topic in a concise
manner. The argumentative essay is commonly assigned as a capstone or final
project in first year writing or advanced composition courses and involves lengthy,
detailed research.

You need to take a stand on an issue and suggests or presents solutions. The
purpose is to convince or persuade. An argument is when two parties disagree
about something. Arguments of preferences, belief or faith, and fact are not the
type of argument to develop in this kind of essay, the kind of argument that can be
covered in this essay is the one that is based on an opinion which, at the same
time, can be supported by evidence such as facts.

The difference between a strong thesis, and an argumentative thesis is that the
latter takes a side on an issue, frequently it proposes a course of action.

You must be very aware of your audience. To begin with, you need to assume that
the reader disagrees with you. Second, you need to remember that, although the
other disagrees with it does not mean that is not as intelligent as you, so for that
reason, avoid any kind of attack.

All formal arguments are based on logic. Inductive (look into the details in order to
draw a conclusion) and Deductive (arriving at a conclusion based on a
generalization).

There is no set organization in this kind of essays, but you must be certain to show
the progression of your logic from the major premises to the conclusion.

A reflective essay is to explicitly analyze experiences or opinions. The goal of the

reflective essay is to describe how a person, event, or experience affected you.
Your objective is to reflect upon your personal growth. To do this, youll need to
share your thoughts and emotions. Dont worry; you dont have to share your
deepest, darkest secrets (unless, of course, you want to).

For example, your reflective essay might tell the story of how you felt at the
doctors office but quickly describe why you felt that way and how that feeling
affected your behavior.

a. Structure: The standard essay format(5 paragraph) is often appropriate in

reflective essays. Introductions typically show an event or series of events,
eventually narrowing in on the main aspects of your critical analysis. Body
paragraphs break down different points of analysis, often by introducing new
content and examining it within the context of your essay.
 b. Content: It guides you to critical analysis. Tell a story only if it has meaning
to you or led to some meaningful change. For example, a story about your
first job interview allows you to analyze how and why you acted in a
particular way.

A reflective essay explains how the events shaped you. Though youll still need to
tell your story in a reflective essay, it will only be a small part of your paper. In other
words, dont spend too much time explaining the details of the events. If you do,
you wont have enough space to reflect.

A Narrative essay, usually seek to recount experiences or lay out personal

opinions in a clear, logical and impactful way without explicit close analysis. For
example, a narrative essay would simply recount the trip to the doctors office and
the way you felt throughout your visit.

a. Structure: Narrative essays typically contain more flexible structures but still
include strong introductory and concluding paragraphs. Body paragraphs in
narrative essays can vary considerably and should flow more like a novel
than a research essay. If your narrative essay is telling a story, it should
contain story elements such as plot, characters and settings
b. Content: Narrative essays contain elements that help tell a story or establish
a perspective. For example, you might write about the furniture in a room to
help set a scene, even if that furniture is not of critical importance to the
overall narrative.

STRUCTURE

A. Introduction: it should present the topic, how it will be developed. It should

contain the thesis statement. Finally, it should be interesting.
o Funnel: the opening statement is general, then supporting statements
make less general points and lead to the specific topic that is stated
in the thesis statement.
o Turnabout: It opens with a few sentences summarizing a point of
view that is actually the opposite of the writers own thesis. In this
kind of exposition, the writer set the opponents view for attack.
o The dramatic entrance: a dramatic, humorous or interesting opening.
One way of achieving this entrance is by describing a scene that
introduces your reader to the subject of your essay.
 B. The body: It has developmental paragraphs, they have the function of
explaining, illustrating, discussing or proving the thesis statement. The main
idea should be stated. They should have coherence and cohesion.
C. Conclusion: It wraps up the discussion, bringing the developing paragraphs
to a logical end. It can restate the main points. It can restate the thesis. It
should never bring up a new topic. A conclusion that does not simply restate
the thesis, but readdresses it in light of the evidence provided.

Punctuation

It is necessary to make sentence meaning clear.

There are three punctuation marks that you can use at the end of a sentence: the
period, the exclamation mark and the question mark.

Drafting

To make an outline can be a helpful guide for you to use as you write a paragraph.
In an outline, you put your ideas in the order in which you will write about them.
Then when you write the rough draft, refer to your outline. Doing so will Help you to
stay on the topic and to write a well-organized paragraph. This is what a simple
outline looks like:

Topic sentence

a. Main supporting sentence

b. Main supporting sentence
c. Main supporting sentence
Etc.