How to Write An Essay (IV)

Profª. Drª. Bárbara de Fátima.

 Proofread the Final Draft

I- Look for careless errors such as misspelled words and incorrect punctuation and capitalization.

 

Punctuation

Apostrophe  (´)

Brackets  [ ]

Colon  (:)

Comma  (,)

 Dash  (_)

Ellipses  (...)

Exclamation Point   (!)

Hyphen (-)

Parentheses   ( )

Period  (.)

Question Mark   (?)

Quotation Marks (“;” ) 

Semicolon  (;)

 

Capitalization 

(From Webster's II New Riverside University Dictionary)

This section discusses and illustrates the basic conventions of American capitalization.

Capitalize the following:

1. The first word of a sentence: Some spiders are poisonous; others are not. Are you my new neighbor?
2. The first word of a direct quotation, except when the quotation is split: Joyce asked, “Do you think that the lecture was interesting?” “No,” I responded, “it was very boring.” Tom Paine said, “The sublime and the ridiculous are often so nearly related that it is difficult to class them separately.”
3. The first word of each line in a poem in traditional verse: Half a league, half a league,/Half a league onward,/All in the valley of Death/Rode the six hundred.—Alfred, Lord Tennyson
4. The names of people, of organizations and their members, of councils and congresses, and of historical periods and events: Marie Curie, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, an Elk, Protestant Episcopal Church, an Episcopalian, the Democratic Party, a Democrat, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the U.S. Senate, the Middle Ages, World War I, the Battle of Britain.
5. The names of places and geographic divisions, districts, regions, and locales: Richmond, Vermont, Argentina, Seventh Avenue, London Bridge, Arctic Circle, Eastern Hemisphere, Continental Divide, Middle East, Far North, Gulf States, East Coast, the North, the South Shore. Do not capitalize words indicating compass points unless a specific region is referred to: Turn north onto Interstate 91.
6. The names of rivers, lakes, mountains, and oceans: Ohio River, Lake Como, Rocky Mountains, Atlantic Ocean.
7. The names of ships, aircraft, satellites, and space vehicles: U.S.S. Arizona, Spirit of St. Louis, the spy satellite Ferret-D, Voyager II, the space shuttle Challenger.
8. The names of nationalities, races, tribes, and languages: Spanish, Maori, Bantu, Russian.
9. Words derived from proper names, except in their extended senses: the Byzantine Empire. But: byzantine office politics.
10. Words indicating family relationships when used with a person's name as a title: Aunt Toni and Uncle Jack. But: my aunt and uncle, Toni and Jack Walker.
11. A title (i.e., civil, judicial, military, royal and noble, religious, and honorary) when preceding a name: Justice Marshall, General Jackson, Mayor Daley, Queen Victoria, Lord Mountbatten, Pope Bento XVI, Professor Jacobson, Senator Byrd.
12. References to specific presidents and vice presidents of the United States, but lower case references that are general: Vice President John Adams went on to become our second president.
13. All key words in titles of literary, dramatic, artistic, and musical works: the novel The Old Man and the Sea, the short story “Notes from Underground,” an article entitled “On Passive Verbs,” James Dickey's poem “In the Tree House at Night,” the play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Van Gogh's Wheat Field and Cypress Trees, Beethoven's Emperor Concerto.
14. The in the title of a newspaper if it is a part of the title: The Wall Street Journal. But: the New York Daily News.
15. The first word in the salutation and in the complimentary close of a letter: My dear Carol, Yours sincerely.
16. Epithets and substitutes for the names of people and places: Old Hickory, Old Blood and Guts, The Oval Office, the Windy City.
17. Words used in personifications: When is not Death at watch/Within those secret waters?/What wants he but to catch/Earth's heedless sons and daughters?—Edmund Blunden
18. The pronoun I: I told them that I had heard the news.
19. Names for the Deity and sacred works: God, the Almighty, Jesus, Allah, the Supreme Being, the Bible, the Qu'ran, the Talmud.
20. Days of the week, months of the year, holidays, and holy days: Tuesday, May, Independence Day, Passover, Ramadan, Christmas.
21. The names of specific courts: the Supreme Court of the United States, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
22. The names of treaties, accords, pacts, laws, and specific amendments: Panama Canal Treaty, Treaty of Paris, Geneva Accords, Warsaw Pact countries, Sherman Antitrust Law, Labor Management Relations Act, took the Fifth Amendment.
23. Registered trademarks and service marks: Day-Glo®, Comsat®.
24. The names of geologic eras, periods, epochs, and strata and the names of prehistoric divisions: Paleozoic Era, Precambrian, Pleistocene, Age of Reptiles, Bronze Age, Stone Age.
25. The names of constellations, planets, and stars: Milky Way, Southern Crown, Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, Polaris.
26. Genus but not species names in binomial nomenclature: Rana pipiens.
27. New Latin names of classes, families, and all groups higher than genera in botanical and zoological nomenclature: Nematoda. Do not capitalize derivatives from such names: nematodes.
28. Many abbreviations and acronyms: Dec., Tues., Lt. Gen., M.F.A., UNESCO, MIRV.

II- Errors are harder to spot on a computer screen than on paper. If you type your paper on a computer, print out a copy to proofread. Remember, spell checkers and grammar checkers don't always catch errors, so it is best not to rely on them too much.

How to Write An Essay (III)

 Profª. Drª. Bárbara de Fátima.

  Revise the First Draft

1.      Try to set aside your draft for a day or two before revising. This makes it easier to view your work objectively and see any gaps or problems.

2.      Revising involves rethinking your ideas, refining your arguments, reorganizing paragraphs, and rewording sentences. You may need to develop your ideas in more detail, give more evidence to support your claims, or delete material that is unnecessary.

After you have written your first draft, you will need to revise it. Read your draft carefully to make sure that it is well organized.

1.      Remember, an essay is a group of related paragraphs about one main idea. The introduction states the main idea. The body paragraphs contain the subordinate ideas that support the main idea. The conclusion restates the main idea and indicates the end.

Essay	Introduction	main idea
	Body	supporting idea supporting idea supporting idea
	Conclusion	main idea,  the end

2.      If ideas don't flow in a logical sequence from paragraph to paragraph, move the paragraphs around until your main points fall into a clear pattern. For example, you may want to organize your ideas chronologically, according to how things happened from start to finish in time, or you may want to talk about your ideas in order of their importance.

3.      Of course, you should organize your ideas in an outline long before you sit down to write. If you need to, you can change your outline as you write your essay.

4.      Just as an essay is made up of related paragraphs that develop a central point, a paragraph is made up of related sentences that develop a central point. If a sentence in a paragraph does not provide evidence for the main idea of the paragraph, delete it, rewrite it, or move it to another paragraph.

Paragraph	Topic Sentence	main idea
	Supporting sentences	supporting idea supporting idea supporting idea supporting idea supporting idea

5.      Check to make sure you have not accidentally left out an important point. If so, add a sentence or paragraph to clarify your meaning or provide further evidence for your main point.

6.      Check to make sure that all your subordinate ideas support the main idea. If you have accidentally included something that does not support the main idea, delete it.

Sample Revision

The two paragraphs below compare the two main characters in the novel The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken.

The main idea of the first paragraph is that Bonnie comes from a wealthy family and is spirited, especially in defense of others. Note that the actual topic sentence comes in the middle of the paragraph ("Although the family had a lot of money, Bonnie was not spoiled."). Sentences that don't relate to this main idea have been deleted. An incident from the book was added at the end to give support to the idea that Bonnie is not afraid to act when she sees one person treat another person badly.

Bonnie Green had been raised in a wealthy aristocratic family in the north of England. She lived with her parents Sir Willoughby and Lady Green on a large country estate. The family lived on a large estate and had servants. Bonnie had her own maid. Lady Green was a very sick woman and had been in delicate health. Her doctor ordered Sir Willoughby to take her to a warmer climate so that she could get better. Sir Willoughby was a very cheerful and robust man. Although the family had a lot of money and servants, Bonnie was not spoiled. She was basically a good and generous child. She did have a temper, though, and could act very impulsively. Once, when Miss Slighcarp the haughty governess hit Bonnie's maid, Bonnie responded by throwing a pitcher of water at the governess. In this situation, Bonnie reacted angrily without thinking because someone she cared for, her maid, had been hurt.

The second paragraph focuses on Sylvia, who lives with her poor aunt and is meek. All of the sentences in this paragraph support the topic sentence "Sylvia was very different from Bonnie." Specific examples from the book prove that Sylvia was poor (she didn't have enough food or heat) and timid (she was afraid of the man and the wolves).

Sylvia was very different from Bonnie. Sylvia's parents died when she was very young. She lived in London with her Aunt Jane. Aunt Jane was very poor and they often didn't have enough to eat. It was also very cold in their apartment because they couldn't afford to heat it. Sylvia was a very timid and quiet delicate child. She helped Aunt Jane sew her own clothes before she took On the train journey to her cousin Bonnie's, she felt shy about eating her meager sandwich in front of the strange man who sat across from her. Despite the fact that she was very cold on the train, she was afraid to complain. She was also afraid of the The train journey was long and uncomfortable. Sylvia was very cold and there were wolves outside the train. Sylvia was very glad to finally arrive at her cousin Bonnie's.

Finally, note that the first paragraph flows naturally into the second. When you are comparing two characters, it is logical to describe the first character and then the other without any intervening paragraphs on a different topic. The third paragraph might be about why Sylvia goes to live with Bonnie, or it might be about what happens after Sylvia goes to live with Bonnie.

3.      Read your paper out loud. This sometimes makes it easier to identify writing that is awkward or unclear.

4.      Have somebody else read the paper and tell you if there's anything that's unclear or confusing.

How to Write An Essay (II)

Profª. Drª. Bárbara de Fátima.

 Write a First Draft

1.      Every essay or paper is made up of three parts:
1. 1 Introduction
1. 2 Body
1. 3 Conclusion 

2.      The introduction is the first paragraph of the paper. It often begins with a general statement about the topic and ends with a more specific statement of the main idea of your paper. The purpose of the introduction is to 
2.1  let the reader know what the topic is;
2.2  inform the reader about your point of view;
2.3  arouse the reader's curiosity so that he or she will want to read about your topic. 

3.     The body of the paper follows the introduction. It consists of a number of paragraphs in which you develop your ideas in detail. 
3.1  Limit each paragraph to one main idea. (Don't try to talk about more than one idea per paragraph.)
3.2  Prove your points continually by using specific examples and quotations.
3.3  Use transition words to ensure a smooth flow of ideas from paragraph to paragraph.

Transition Words and Phrases

Transition words and phrases help establish clear connections between ideas and ensure that sentences and paragraphs flow together smoothly, making them easier to read. Use the following words and phrases in the following circumstances.
To indicate more information: Besides Furthermore In addition Indeed In fact Moreover Second...Third..., etc.	To indicate an example: For example For instance In particular Particularly Specifically To demonstrate To illustrate
To indicate a cause or reason: As Because Because of Due to For For the reason that Since	To indicate a result or an effect: Accordingly Finally Consequently Hence So Therefore Thus
To indicate a purpose or reason why: For fear that In the hope that In order to So So that With this in mind	To compare or contrast: Although However In comparison In contrast Likewise Nevertheless On the other hand Similarly Whereas Yet

To indicate a particular time frame or a shift from one time period to another:
After Before Currently During Eventually Finally First, . . . Second, . . ., etc. Formerly Immediately	Initially Lastly Later Meanwhile Next Previously Simultaneously Soon Subsequently
To summarize: Briefly In brief Overall Summing up To put it briefly To sum up To summarize	To conclude: Given these facts Hence In conclusion So Therefore Thus To conclude

4. The conclusion is the last paragraph of the paper. Its purpose is to
4.1  summarize your main points, leaving out specific examples;
4.2  restate the main idea of the paper.

How to Write An Essay (I)

 Profª. Drª. Bárbara de Fátima.

 
Establish Your Topic

1.      Your teacher may assign you a topic or ask you to choose from among a few topics. The assignment may contain certain key words that will suggest the content and structure of your essay. For example, you may be asked to:

          1.1  Analyze

                1.2 Argue

                1.3 Compare and contrast

                1.4 Describe

                1.5 Discuss

                1.6 Summarize

2. You may be asked to find a topic on your own. Most people find this difficult. Give yourself plenty of time to think about what you'd like to do. Trying to answer questions you have about a particular subject may lead you to a good paper idea.

1.  What subject(s) are you interested in?

2.  What interests you most about a particular subject?

3.  Is there anything you wonder about or are puzzled about with regard to that subject?

4. Be sure your topic is narrow enough so that you can write about it in detail in the number of pages that you are allowed. For example, say you are asked to write a 1-page essay about someone in your family. Since you only have a limited number of pages, you may want to focus on one particular characteristic of that person, or one particular incident from that person's life, rather than trying to write about that person's entire life. Having a narrow focus will help you write a more interesting paper.

Too general: My sister.

Revised: My sister is my best friend.

Similarly, you may be asked to write a 5-page paper about volcanoes. Again, since you only have a limited number of pages, you may choose to focus on one particular volcano or one particular eruption, rather than trying to talk about volcanoes in general.

Too general: Volcanoes of the world.

Revised: The eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in June 1991.

4. One method for narrowing down your topic is called brainstorming. Brainstorming is a useful way to let ideas you didn't know you had come to the surface.

4.1 Sit down with a pencil and paper, or at your computer, and write whatever comes into your head about your topic, no matter how confused or disorganized.

4.2  Keep writing for a short but specific amount of time, say 3–5 minutes. Don't stop to change what you've written or to correct spelling or grammar errors.

4.3 After a few minutes, read through what you have written. You will probably throw out most of it, but some of what you've written may give you an idea you can develop.

4.4  Do some more brainstorming and see what else you can come up with.

Organize Your Ideas

1. Develop an outline to organize your ideas. An outline shows your main ideas and the order in which you are going to write about them.
1.1 Write down all the main ideas.

1.2 List the subordinate ideas below the main ideas.
1.3 Avoid any repetition of ideas.

Develop an outline to organize your ideas. An outline shows your main ideas and the order in which you are going to write about them.

Sample Essay Outline

Competitive Swimming, an Ideal Sport for Kids

1.      Introduction

2.      Competitive swimming provides same benefits as other sports

2.1  It is good exercise and builds muscular strength

2.2  It promotes cooperation among team members, especially in relays

3. Competitive swimming provides some additional benefits
4. Swimming is an important skill that can be used forever

4.1  There is a reduced risk of injury

4.2  Each swimmer can easily chart his or her own progress

5. My personal experience as a competitive swimmer

           5.1  I enjoy working with my coach

  5.2  I've made a lot of friends on the swim team

    6.    Conclusion

Sample Research Paper Outline

The Conquest of Mt. Everest

I- Introduction

II- Background Information

A- Location of Mt. Everest
B- Geography of the Surrounding Area
C- Facts about Mt. Everest
1. Height of the mountain
2. How the mountain was named
2.1 Peak XV
2.2 Joloungma (Tibetan name)
2.3 Sagarmatha (Nepalese name)
3. The number of people who have climbed Everest to date

III- Major Explorers Covered in this Paper

A- Sir Edmund Hillary
1. First to reach the summit (1953)
2. Led a team of experienced mountain climbers who worked together
B- Tenzing Norgay and the Sherpas
1. Norgay was an experienced climber and guide who accompanied Hillary
2. Sherpas still used to guide expeditions
C- Rob Hall
1. Leader of the failed 1996 expedition
2. Led group of (mainly) tourists with little mountain climbing experience

IV- The Impact Expeditions have had on Mt. Everest and Local Community

A- Ecological Effects
1. Loss of trees due to high demand for wood for cooking and heating for tourists.
2. Piles of trash left by climbing expeditions
B- Economic Effects
1. Expedition fees provide income for the country
2. Expeditions provide work for the Sherpas, contributing to the local economy.
C- Cultural Effects
1. Introduction of motor vehicles
2. Introduction of electricity

V- Conclusion

How to Write An Essay

Profª. Drª. Bárbara de Fátima.

Definition 

An essay is a short piece of writing that generally shows the author's view on a particular subject. There are many different kinds of essays, including narrative, descriptive, and persuasive. The following steps, however, can be used to write any kind of essay.

Narrative Essay

The first important thing to remember about a narrative essay is that it tells a story. The author may write about

• an experience or event from his or her past;

• a recent or an ongoing experience or event;

• something that happened to somebody else, such as a parent or a grandparent.

The second important thing about a narrative essay is that the story should have a point. In the final paragraph, the author should come to an important conclusion about the experience that has just been described.

Read this sample narrative essay, and then read the notes below.

Sample Narrative Essay

Learning something new can be a scary experience. One of the hardest things I've ever had to do was learn how to swim. I was always afraid of the water, but I decided that swimming was an important skill that I should learn. I also thought it would be good exercise and help me to become physically stronger. What I didn't realize was that learning to swim would also make me a more confident person.

New situations always make me a bit nervous, and my first swimming lesson was no exception. After I changed into my bathing suit in the locker room, I stood timidly by the side of the pool waiting for the teacher and other students to show up. After a couple of minutes the teacher came over. She smiled and introduced herself, and two more students joined us. Although they were both older than me, they didn't seem to be embarrassed about not knowing how to swim. I began to feel more at ease.

We got into the pool, and the teacher had us put on brightly colored water wings to help us stay afloat. One of the other students, May, had already taken the beginning class once before, so she took a kickboard and went splashing off by herself. The other student, Jerry, and I were told to hold on to the side of the pool and shown how to kick for the breaststroke. One by one, the teacher had us hold on to a kickboard while she pulled it through the water and we kicked. Pretty soon Jerry was off doing this by himself, traveling at a fast clip across the short end of the pool.

Things were not quite that easy for me, but the teacher was very patient. After a few more weeks, when I seemed to have caught on with my legs, she taught me the arm strokes. Now I had two things to concentrate on, my arms and my legs. I felt hopelessly uncoordinated. Sooner than I imagined, however, things began to feel "right" and I was able to swim! It was a wonderful free feeling - like flying, maybe - to be able to shoot across the water.

Learning to swim was not easy for me, but in the end my persistence paid off. Not only did I learn how to swim and to conquer my fear of the water, but I also learned something about learning. Now when I am faced with a new situation I am not so nervous. I may feel uncomfortable to begin with, but I know that as I practice being in that situation and as my skills get better, I will feel more and more comfortable. It is a wonderful, free feeling when you achieve a goal you have set for yourself.

1. The sample essay begins with a general statement, "Learning something new can be a scary experience." This statement introduces the subject of the essay, which is a particular learning experience that the author had. The use of "I" in the essay indicates that what is being described is a personal experience.

2. The essay is essentially a story about something that happened. The author gives sufficient details about the people, place, and events so that the reader gets a clear idea of how the author feels about them. In the essay, the author "stood timidly" and the teacher "smiled" and was "patient." These words indicate the author's fears and the sense of security provided by the teacher who helped the author get over her fear.

3. In the final paragraph of the essay, the author reflects on the larger meaning or importance of the experience described. The author concludes that learning to swim has helped her to feel more confident about herself in other new situations. The idea that self-confidence comes from conquering your fears is something that all people can relate to. This is the point of the story.

4. The essay is well-organized. After the introduction, the author describes the experience as it happened in time – going to the pool the first day, having the first lesson, and the result of the subsequent lessons. The author might have chosen, however, to talk about the things she learned in order of their importance or difficulty.

5. The writing in an essay should be lively and interesting. Try to engage the reader's interest by adding details or personal observations. Sharing personal thoughts and details invites the reader into author's world and makes the story more personal and more interesting.

Descriptive Essay

The purpose of a descriptive essay is to describe a person, place, or thing in such vivid detail that the reader can easily form a precise mental picture of what is being written about. The author may accomplish this by using imaginative language, interesting comparisons, and images that appeal to the senses.

Read this sample descriptive essay, and then read the notes below.

Sample Descriptive Essay

I have always been fascinated by carnival rides. It amazes me that average, ordinary people eagerly trade in the serenity of the ground for the chance to be tossed through the air like vegetables in a food processor. It amazes me that at some time in history someone thought that people would enjoy this, and that person invented what must have been the first of these terrifying machines. For me, it is precisely the thrill and excitement of having survived the ride that keeps me coming back for more.

My first experience with a carnival ride was a Ferris wheel at a local fair. Looking at that looming monstrosity spinning the life out of its sardine-caged occupants, I was dumbstruck. It was huge, smoky, noisy and not a little intimidating. Ever since that initial impression became fossilized in my imagination many years ago, these rides have reminded me of mythical beasts, amazing dinosaurs carrying off their screaming passengers like sacrificial virgins. Even the droning sound of their engines brings to mind the great roar of a fire-breathing dragon with smoke spewing from its exhaust-pipe nostrils.

The first ride on one of these fantastic beasts gave me an instant rush of adrenaline. As the death-defying ride started, a lump in my throat pulsed like a dislodged heart ready to walk the plank. As the ride gained speed, the resistance to gravity built up against my body until I was unable to move. An almost imperceptible pause as the wheel reached the top of its climb allowed my body to relax in a brief state of normalcy. Then there was an assault of stomach-turning weightlessness as the machine continued its rotation and I descended back toward the earth. A cymbal-like crash vibrated through the air as the wheel reached bottom, and much to my surprise I began to rise again.

Each new rotation gave me more confidence in the churning machine. Every ascent left me elated that I had survived the previous death-defying fall. When another nerve-wracking climb failed to follow the last exhilarating descent and the ride was over, I knew I was hooked. Physically and emotionally drained, I followed my fellow passengers down the clanging metal steps to reach the safety of my former footing. I had been spared, but only to have the opportunity to ride again.

My fascination with these fantastic flights is deeply engrained in my soul. A trip on the wonderful Ferris wheel never fails to thrill me. Although I am becoming older and have less time, or less inclination, to play, the child-like thrill I have on a Ferris wheel continues with each and every ride.

1. The subject of the sample essay is fairly ordinary—a ride on a Ferris wheel. The author makes it interesting, however, by comparing the Ferris wheel to a monstrous creature.

2. The author makes good use of fresh and varied vocabulary. For example, in the first paragraph alone, she uses verbs that create excitement like "fascinate," "amaze," and "terrify." In the second paragraph she uses a variety of terms to describe the machine such as "monstrosity," "mythical beast," "amazing dinosaur," "fire-breathing dragon."

3. The author uses her senses to describe the scene—how the ride looks, sounds, smells, and feels. The ride is "huge, smoky, noisy" and its engines "drone" like the roar of a dragon. On the ride, she gets a "rush of adrenaline" and a "lump in her throat," she feels immobile and then weightless.

4. The essay is well organized. The introduction begins with a general statement, "I have always been fascinated by carnival rides," and ends with a more specific statement of what the essay will be about, "the thrill and excitement of a carnival ride keeps me coming back for more." The body of the essay is composed of several paragraphs that describe the Ferris wheel, the way it seems from the ground and the way it feels to ride on one. The conclusion restates the main idea of the essay, that the author continues to find carnival rides thrilling and exciting.

Persuasive Essay

The purpose of a persuasive essay is to convince the reader to agree with your viewpoint or to accept your recommendation for a course of action. For instance, you might argue that the salaries of professional athletes are too high. Or you might recommend that vending machines be banned from your school cafeteria. A successful persuasive essay will use evidence to support your viewpoint, consider opposing views and present a strong conclusion.

Some people worry that adopting a school uniform policy would be too expensive. However, there are ways to lessen the cost. For example, in Seattle, Washington, local businesses help to pay for uniforms at South Shore Middle School. In Long Beach, California, graduating students donate or sell their old uniforms.

Use evidence to support your viewpoint. Statistics, facts, quotations from experts and examples will help you to build a strong case for your argument. Appeal to the reader’s sense of logic by presenting specific and relevant evidence in a well-organized manner.

Consider opposing views. Try to anticipate the concerns and questions that a reader might have about your subject. Responding to these points will give you the chance to explain why your viewpoint or recommendation is the best one.

Present a strong conclusion. All your evidence and explanations should build toward a strong ending in which you summarize your view in a clear and memorable way. The conclusion in a persuasive essay might include a call to action.

TIP: Use a pleasant and reasonable tone in your essay. Sarcasm and name-calling weaken an argument. Logic and fairness will help to keep it strong.