Elements Of The Essay
Páginas: 15 (3607 palabras)
Publicado: 11 de septiembre de 2011
University of Puerto Rico
College of General Studies
English Department
The Elements of the Essay
Revised and expanded 2007 by Prof. Dorsía Smith
Revised and expanded 2002 by
Prof. Myrna I. Zavala
Revised 1995
Intermediate Committee:
Prof. Rosemary Cruz
Prof. Joan RuIlán
Prof. Myrna I. Zavala,
Level Chairperson
I. The Whole Essay
An essay is a prose composition thatvaries in length from fairly brief to quite long. Essays may attempt to discuss a topic, convince the reader of a thesis, or simply communicate a personal experience or belief. Any topic, no matter how trivial, can be the subject of an essay. Indeed, the essay enjoys a freedom that other forms of literature do not have, for it does not require the intensity of drama, the compression of poetry, or theextension of the novel. As a result, it is a very flexible literary form.
There are four types of essays: narrative, descriptive, expository, and argumentative. A narrative essay tells a story. A descriptive essay describes a person, place, or thing in vivid detail. An expository essay explains information about a topic. An argumentative essay defends a position on some issue and tries topersuade the reader to accept the writer’s view.
The controlling idea of an essay is often referred to as its central thought or thesis. This central thought is an idea, opinion, or attitude about the topic of the essay that is developed through all the sentences and paragraphs in the essay.
A well-written, unified essay is the product of careful organization and smooth transitions, not onlywithin a particular paragraph but also among the various paragraphs and major sections of the essay.
An essay may be described as formal or informal, depending upon the author’s style (manner of writing) and its tone and content. A formal essay establishes a distance between writer and reader; it is fairly impersonal and objective. In addition, it is usually written in the third person point ofview (he, she, it, they). An informal essay is personal and subjective; it makes the reader feel the author is speaking directly to him/her. An informal essay is commonly written in the first person point of view (I, me, my).
II. The Paragraph
A. Main Idea & Topic Sentence
The basic unit of an essay is the paragraph, a group of related sentences that develop a main idea. Most paragraphs,whether long or short, have a topic sentence, supporting sentences, and a concluding sentence.
The topic sentence tells the reader what the paragraph is about. A good topic sentence does more than introduce the subject of the paragraph; it also states an idea about or an attitude toward the subject as well. This idea or attitude about the topic is called the main idea. All sentences in theparagraph should relate to and develop the main idea of the paragraph.
Some paragraphs do not have a topic sentence. In this case, we say the main idea is implied—not expressed nor made explicit—and the reader must infer the main idea of the paragraph.
Supporting sentences help develop the topic sentence by presenting evidence (in the form of facts, reasons, definitions or examples) to back up themain idea. Most often factual details are used to support the main idea of a paragraph. Such details may be facts from resource material (magazines, journals, books), or they can come from personal observations.
Transitional sentences are used to connect two sentences within the paragraph. They serve as transitions from one detail or idea to the next. The use of transitional words like theexpressions “furthermore,” “thus,” “in addition,” guide or lead the reader from one idea to the next. Another way to move from one detail to the next is by combining sentences. Combining sentences and adding transitions make the ideas and sentences easier to follow.
The concluding sentence brings the paragraph to an end and often restates the main idea in different words. Words and phrases such as...
College of General Studies
English Department
The Elements of the Essay
Revised and expanded 2007 by Prof. Dorsía Smith
Revised and expanded 2002 by
Prof. Myrna I. Zavala
Revised 1995
Intermediate Committee:
Prof. Rosemary Cruz
Prof. Joan RuIlán
Prof. Myrna I. Zavala,
Level Chairperson
I. The Whole Essay
An essay is a prose composition thatvaries in length from fairly brief to quite long. Essays may attempt to discuss a topic, convince the reader of a thesis, or simply communicate a personal experience or belief. Any topic, no matter how trivial, can be the subject of an essay. Indeed, the essay enjoys a freedom that other forms of literature do not have, for it does not require the intensity of drama, the compression of poetry, or theextension of the novel. As a result, it is a very flexible literary form.
There are four types of essays: narrative, descriptive, expository, and argumentative. A narrative essay tells a story. A descriptive essay describes a person, place, or thing in vivid detail. An expository essay explains information about a topic. An argumentative essay defends a position on some issue and tries topersuade the reader to accept the writer’s view.
The controlling idea of an essay is often referred to as its central thought or thesis. This central thought is an idea, opinion, or attitude about the topic of the essay that is developed through all the sentences and paragraphs in the essay.
A well-written, unified essay is the product of careful organization and smooth transitions, not onlywithin a particular paragraph but also among the various paragraphs and major sections of the essay.
An essay may be described as formal or informal, depending upon the author’s style (manner of writing) and its tone and content. A formal essay establishes a distance between writer and reader; it is fairly impersonal and objective. In addition, it is usually written in the third person point ofview (he, she, it, they). An informal essay is personal and subjective; it makes the reader feel the author is speaking directly to him/her. An informal essay is commonly written in the first person point of view (I, me, my).
II. The Paragraph
A. Main Idea & Topic Sentence
The basic unit of an essay is the paragraph, a group of related sentences that develop a main idea. Most paragraphs,whether long or short, have a topic sentence, supporting sentences, and a concluding sentence.
The topic sentence tells the reader what the paragraph is about. A good topic sentence does more than introduce the subject of the paragraph; it also states an idea about or an attitude toward the subject as well. This idea or attitude about the topic is called the main idea. All sentences in theparagraph should relate to and develop the main idea of the paragraph.
Some paragraphs do not have a topic sentence. In this case, we say the main idea is implied—not expressed nor made explicit—and the reader must infer the main idea of the paragraph.
Supporting sentences help develop the topic sentence by presenting evidence (in the form of facts, reasons, definitions or examples) to back up themain idea. Most often factual details are used to support the main idea of a paragraph. Such details may be facts from resource material (magazines, journals, books), or they can come from personal observations.
Transitional sentences are used to connect two sentences within the paragraph. They serve as transitions from one detail or idea to the next. The use of transitional words like theexpressions “furthermore,” “thus,” “in addition,” guide or lead the reader from one idea to the next. Another way to move from one detail to the next is by combining sentences. Combining sentences and adding transitions make the ideas and sentences easier to follow.
The concluding sentence brings the paragraph to an end and often restates the main idea in different words. Words and phrases such as...
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