|
||||||||||
|
Subscribe to the Absolute Write Newsletter and get the Agents! Agents! Agents! report free! Click here.
|
Win a 1-year subscription to Writer's Digest by subscribing to Absolute Markets-- all paying markets for your writing. Click here. |
|
| |||||||||||||
|
|
Getting Started (Part 13): Understanding Essays By Joanne D. Kiggins
Before jumping into writing an essay, you should understand its composition and know what type of essay you’ll write.
Regardless of type, when you write an essay, you should always write toward a purpose. Essays should be unified and coherent so your ideas clearly and smoothly connect from one paragraph to the next to entice and stimulate the reader’s interest.
Parts of an EssayAlong with a title and a thesis statement, an essay has three main parts: a beginning, or introduction; a middle, or body; and an ending, or conclusion. Each part of the essay serves a very important function.The title should in some way reveal the topic, the writer’s main point, and spark the reader’s interest. It should also reflect the tone of the essay and show the reader whether your essay will be formal and serious or informal and casual. Formal or informal, choosing an enticing title to grab the reader’s attention can make the difference in whether he or she will read on.
Sample Topics and Titles for Essays I’ve Written and PublishedTopics Titles Recovering from a stroke "Perseverance" Agoraphobia "Living Inside an Outside World" A day at the racetrack "I Was a Jockey…Well, for Ten Minutes"
The introduction should set the tone and include a thesis statement, which informs the reader of the purpose of the essay. The first few paragraphs of an essay form the introduction. It normally begins with a general, interest-grabbing remark that will identify the topic, establish your tone, and show if you intend to be formal or informal. The introduction leads the reader from the broad view of your topic to the purpose of your writing. Normally you will define the thesis statement with a single sentence at the end of the introduction.
The thesis statement is the heart of your essay. It controls the type of essay you are writing, expresses the main point of your essay, and indicates subtopics, which will be explained in the body of the essay.
The thesis statement shows the reader if the essay is to express an opinion-- expository essay; state an impression-- descriptive essay; or offer a truth-- personal experience essay. We’ll discuss each type of essay later.
The body, or paragraphs following the thesis statement, should contain examples, facts, details, and reasons that support the purpose of the essay. The body and central portion of your essay develops and explains the thesis statement and subtopics or issues mentioned in your opening paragraphs. The number of body paragraphs varies according to the amount of examples, facts, and details you have available to support your main idea and purpose for the essay.
The conclusion, normally the last few paragraphs, closes the essay by gently reminding the reader of the purpose without being repetitive. By this we mean you need to once again point out the purpose of the essay, but this time by adding significant remarks and an eloquent ending sentence that clinches it. Every conclusion to every essay should bring the reader to a satisfying end.
Now that you know the basic parts of an essay, let’s…
Tango with Your Topic
One of the most important steps in writing your essay is finding a topic that appeals to you. Pick a topic that you can identify with, you have experience in, know something about, and one that entices you to explore your interests.
The choices of topics are endless. Subjects can be anything from whom you consider the best political candidate to why your neighbor should clean up his yard. Ideas aren’t buried unless you’re a mole tunneling underground. Consider a piece on how moles tear up yards. Or look at your own experiences: My most recent essay, "Surgical Lights? A Writer’s Awakening," was a bit of humor about how a surgery, sedative, and a prescription reminded me to let my mind open and my writing flow.
Managing Your Main PointOnce you have picked a topic, you need to narrow it down to a specific idea that you are able to defend, explain, or demonstrate with examples. Define your audience. Who do you think would be interested in reading your essay? Once you have decided on your audience, determine the purpose and main point of your essay.
Brainstorm for examples, details, facts, and reasons to develop and support your main point.
What main point to do want to accomplish with the essay? Make a list of main points to consider for your topic. Each main point you list should suggest a different purpose. List questions leading to possible main points. Each question you list should be answered with examples, details, and facts that will support your main point. Each of the answers will be a subtopic within the body of your essay. All the supporting information should be organized in an orderly fashion with each subtopic having its own paragraph.
Unity and coherence are characteristics of any piece of writing, whether an essay, article, short story, novella, or novel. In essay writing, unity and coherence are essential. You have a limited window to grab and keep the attention of the reader, so you want to make sure your essay is written in a logical order and smoothly connects from one paragraph to the next.
The purpose of writing any essay is to engage the reader, keep him captivated, and leave him waiting to read your next piece.
Now that you know the basics of essay writing, pick a topic and get ready to write a piece that will satisfy you and your audience.
Checklist for an Essay
Whether your essay astounds, angers, or helps the reader grow and understand, if you’ve left the reader anxious to read more of your work, then your essay has accomplished its purpose.
Next month we’ll discuss the different types of essays.
Joanne will accept questions by e-mail about writing from readers and answer those questions in her column.
E-mail Joanne: joannedkiggins@comcast.net Visit her site at http://home.comcast.net/~joannedkiggins
Joanne Kiggins has published more than 2,500 articles. She was award
recipient of the 1990 Woman of the Year for Beaver County, Pennsylvania, for her
accomplishments in her community and excellence in journalism.
An excerpt from the mystery suspense novel she is currently writing, Unearthed, placed her in the top ten finalists of the Absolute Write Idol contest. Her co-authored romance novel Unforgettable Journey placed fifth in the Grand Beginnings romance contest in March 2005. Her essay,"Perseverance," is published in the Absolute Write Stories of Strength anthology written in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, for which 100% of the profits will be donated to various disaster relief charities.
For more columns by Joanne Kiggins, please click here.
|
Sponsored links 
Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer! How to find a book publisher |
Text on this site Copyright © 1998-2007
Absolute Write, all rights reserved.
|
