ESSAY WRITING: UNDERSTANDING ARGUMENT THROUGH FORM
The essay structure confuses student writers. Sometimes the problem is simply no previous exposure to the format, but more often students just do not understand the format. Struggling to make my students understand that paragraphs are not about the number of sentences and essays are not about the number of paragraphs, I realized I had to make them grasp that both elements of the essay are tools for argument.
Argument is not the first thing on most students’ minds. If anything, the students I worked with struggled with the idea of disagreeing with their professors since the primary goal of any student is a high grade. The essay contains sentences, and paragraphs that share some similarities in design; however, they are just tools for presenting a clear argument. Every argument needs specific direction, examples, explanations and future thinking to enlighten readers to the individual’s opinion. To facilitate the argument concept, I designed an essay format to guide them through the process of writing.
FORMAT FOR ESSAY UNITY
INTRODUCTION PARAGRAPH the primary purpose is to motivate readers. The topic sentence immediately discusses the essay topic by giving information and/or the background for your argument. The Introduction paragraph ends with your Thesis Statement -- a complete sentence that states exactly what is needed for the reader to understand the thesis immediately. As my ENG 101 teacher taught, “one arguable fact boiled down to a single sentence.”
BACKGROUND PARAGRAPH: This paragraph may not be needed. Determine if your reader needs the fundamentals of the topic before you start your argument.
BODY OF THE ESSAY: Each paragraph addresses the ideas present in the thesis statement in the order stated. So, your thesis statement will determine the number of issues you need to write. This will help you determine the topic for each paragraph, and identify the areas from which quotations, examples and proof are needed to support your argument. Each paragraph will include the following information:
* 1) INTRODUCTION OR TOPIC Sentence presents the main idea of the Paragraph. Be specific. The topic should define and/or explain the paragraph argument. BODY OF THE PARAGRAPH presents your supporting details. Be specific: do not use generalizations. Support the topic sentence with an
* 2) Example and an 3) Explanation of the example along with a definite opinion.
* 4) Summarize the argument point you discussed and moves on to the
* 5) TRANSITION OR CONCLUDING SENTENCE is the end of the paragraph. This closes the current paragraph and/or moves reader’s attention to the next paragraph.
CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH: This is where you summarize the argument you have made in the preceding paragraphs, and provide future thinking. Think of it as the sum of your argument; the final paragraph will restate your thesis statement with the supporting details you have used, and suggest future thinking for the key argument.