part V essay writing

Part V. Essay Writing

This chapter focuses on the steps in writing an effective essay: 1. Begin with a point, or thesis.

2. Support the thesis with specific evidence. 3. Organize and connect the specific evidence. 4. Write clear, error-free sentences.

I. Begin with a Point, or Thesis

Your first step in writing is to discover what point you want to make and to write that point out as a single sentence. There are two reasons for doing this. You want to know right from the start if you have a clear and workable thesis. Also, you will be able to use the thesis as a guide while writing your essay. At any stage you can ask yourself, \the thesis as a guide, the danger of drifting away from the point of the essay is greatly reduced. 1. Understanding Thesis Statements

In Chapter 1, you learned that effective essays center around a thesis, or main point, that a writer wishes to express. This central idea is usually presented as a thesis statement in an essay's introductory paragraph.

A good thesis statement does two things. First, it tells readers an essay's topic. Second, it presents the writer's attitude, opinion, idea, or point about that topic. For example, look at the following thesis statement:

Owning a pet has several important benefits.

In this thesis statement, the topic is owning a pet; the writer's main point is that owning a pet has several important benefits.

Exercise

For each thesis statement below, single-underline the topic and double-underline the main point that the writer wishes to express about the topic.

EXAMPLES Our company president should be fired for three main reasons. The Internet has led to new kinds of frustration in everyday life.

1. Our cafeteria would be greatly improved if several changes were made.

2. Celebrities are often poor role models because of the way they dress, talk, and behave.

3. My first night as a security guard turned out to be one of the most frightening experiences of my life.

4. SUVs are inferior to cars because they are harder to control, more expensive, and dangerous to the environment.

5. The twentieth century produced three inventions that dramatically changed the lives of all Americans.

6. Stress in the fast-food workplace has led to serious physical, psychological, and emotional problems for employees.

7. Advertisers target young people in order to market cigarettes, alcohol, and adult movies. 8. Living in the city has certain advantages over living in the suburbs.

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9. Before moving away from home, every person should have mastered certain

key skills.

10. Independent \and pop\stores are superior to larger chain stores for a number of reasons.

2. Writing a Good Thesis I

Now that you know how thesis statements work, you can prepare to begin writing your own. To start, you need a topic that is neither too broad nor too narrow. Suppose, for example, that an instructor asks you to write a paper on marriage. Such a subject is too broad to cover in a five-hundred-word essay. You would have to write a book to support adequately any point you might make about the general subject of marriage. What you need to do, then, is limit your subject. Narrow it down until you have a thesis that you can deal with specifically in about five hundred words. In the box that follows are (1) several general subjects, (2) a limited version of each general subject, and (3) a thesis statement about each limited subject.

General Subject Marriage Family Television

Honeymoon Older sister TV preachers

Limited Subject

Thesis

A honeymoon is perhaps the worst way to begin a marriage.

My older sister helped me overcome my shyness. TV evangelists use sales techniques to promote their messages.

My husband and I have several effective ways of disciplining our children. Players' high salaries are bad for the game, for the fans, and for the values our children are developing.

Children

Disciplining of children

Sports

Players' salaries

Exercise:

Sometimes a subject must go through several stages of limiting before it is narrow enough to write about. Below are four lists reflecting several stages that writers went through in moving from a general subject to a narrow thesis statement. Number the stages in each list from 1 to 5, with 1 marking the broadest stage and 5 marking the thesis. List 1

____ Teachers ____ Education ____ Math teacher

____ My high school math teacher was incompetent. ____ High school math teacher List 2

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——Retail companies

——Supermarkets

——Dealing with customers ——Working in a supermarket

——I've learned how to handle unpleasant supermarket customers. List 3 ____ Bicycles

____ Dangers of bike riding ____ Recreation

____ Recreational vehicles

____ Bike riding in the city is a dangerous activity. List 4

____ Camping

____ First camping trip

____ Summer vacation

____ My first camping trip was a disastrous experience. ____ Vacations

3. Writing a Good Thesis II

When writing thesis statements, people often make mistakes that undermine their chances of producing an effective essay. One mistake is to simply announce the subject rather than state a true thesis. A second mistake is to write a thesis that is too broad, and a third is to write a thesis that is too narrow. A fourth error is to write a thesis containing more than one idea. Here are tips for avoiding such mistakes and writing good thesis statements. (1) Write Statements, Not Announcements The subject of this paper will be my parents.

I want to talk about the crime wave in our country.

The \

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