Norma J. Honaker ENGL 1020-904 Essay Guidance June 9, 2015 Thoughts on the Upcoming Writing Assignment: Applying What You Already Know About Writing...

Norma J. Honaker

ENGL 1020 -904

Essay Guidance

June 9, 2015

Thoughts on the Upcoming Writing Assignment : Applying What You Already Know

About Writing to This Assignment

One is not born a writer. First, one must understand the expectations of the audience: in any

profession or field of study, there exists rules guidelines for how to do common things. In

academia, especially within the undergraduate community, we share an idea of what an “essay”

is and what it does. Importantly, this being and this doing come about naturally by following a

process that begins with understanding your purpose.

The first step in completing any writing assignment is to review the assignment sheet, so that

you ensure you’re answering the question asked. The essay prompt also includes the boundaries

of the requirement, such as minimum word length and the format required. Failing to meet such

requirements can result in g rade reductions or even failure; however, a fully formed essay that

consists of the natural moves expected of an argument will m eet these minimum requirements.

You essay should have a clear beginning, middle, and end. The introduction, or opening

paragraph, should open with a hook or attention grabber that engages your audience and gives

that audience some idea of your topic’s relevance. Hooks can be important quotations , statistics,

or even metaphors; on the other hand, hooks are not simply vague generalizations. For example,

1,000 words cannot adequately claim and prove anything that has happened “since the beginning

of time,” and to make such a claim is just silly. Th e introduction should be more than three

sentences because you’ll need to provide background information (specifically, t his as what is

necessary to set up what you ’re about to discuss) and a thesis, which is your controlling thought

for the entire essay. Honaker 2

Think of a thesis statement, the central claim, as a formula: claim + reason . Consider this

example: women should be allowed to serve in combat units because some women soldiers can

meet the physical requirements and their presence would fill critical shortages. Notice how I’ve

chosen “because” to represent the + from my formula ; alternately, I can use “in order to.” I

expect that the body of such an essay would prove how some women meet the physical

requirements of the infantry, and I might even show how there are men in the Army who cannot.

Another major move in the body woul d be to show that there is a shortage (using statistics) and,

perhaps, that enough women are physically qualified who could fill these shortages (again,

probably using statistics) . An essay on a literary topic follows the same basic structure. Make a

cla im about what a particular text is doing: Ironically, Bradford’s history of the religious colony

presents not a portrait of perfection here on earth, but a truthful record that reveals the religious

still present in a very secular world . That is my claim, and I’ll need to provide evidence from the

Bradford text that SHOWS that claim to be true. Now, I also need a reason, because having a

reason (something of a greater significance) is what differentiates the thesis from simple fact.

I’ll turn to the prom pt for that (that’s the easiest, though often not the most sophisticated, way to

compose a reason): Ironically, Bradford’s history of the religious colony presents not a portrait

of perfection here on earth, but a truthful record that reveals the religiou s still present in a very

secular world in order to communicate an idea of paradise lost. Now, this thesis is really rough,

but it’s good enough to start my essay. I’ll want to return to it and tweak it when revising.

The body of the essay consist s of body paragraphs. Topic sentences and transitions between

paragraphs are not just “high school” concerns; they are necessary to create fully functional body

paragraphs. These topic sentences are like sub - or mini -thesis statements: they make smaller

claims that ultimately prove your thesis statement. In fact, think of the functions that a given Honaker 3

paragraph performs: (1) asserts, (2) p rovides e vidence from the text, and (3) a nalyzes that

evidence in order to prove the assertion. I ask you not to build your essay on quotations you

thought were cool when reading the text. Such essays are usually choppy and weakly argued ,

because you’re not thinking about the thesis when you select evidence . Lastly, don’t forget to

establish the relationships between yo ur paragraphs. The entire essay is building momentum to

prove your thesis, and each paragraph is a part of that. Transitions are like road signs for these

relationships: addition, negation, conclusion, comparison, contrast, and the like.

When conclu ding your essay, keep in mind that it is a wrap up of the entire essay. All of your

evidence should have been presented, but you can certainly continue to expound on how each of

your subordinate ideas work together to prove your thesis. Don’t forget to r estate your thesis.

Also, apply the same sophistication to the conclusion that you employed in the introduction. It’s

not a hook, but it is a statement that addresses the greater significance of your essay and your

ideas and observations. Sometimes, I t hink of this greater significance as answering a “so what”

question: why have you just written this essay.

After you’ve finished your draft essay, please take a few minutes to clean up your format,

grammar, mechanics, and even your ideas. If you can sit and write the required three or four

pages, that’s great; however, you really should take a break before rereading your work. You

will always find something that requires tweaking. Don’t forget to make sure your essay flows

logically (you’ll have to determine your own organization — chronological or topical, biggest

idea first or last). And, you may even find that you need to adjust your thesis statement: since

writing is thinking, you may have proven something slightly different from your original ide a.

Good luck! [Total number of words : 853]

Honaker 4

WARNING: Save your essay as Yourlastname_Essay1.docx. I will not open files that are

saved in other formats, such as .wps or .odt. The ETSU computers do not have software

that will read those files, and I am not willing to download software onto my home

computer to read such files. You CAN save your essay as a .doc or .docx file in the odt

program, so there is no excuse for failing to use the correct file format. If you submit a file

in a format other th an .doc or .docx, you will receive a 0 for that assignment (since I cannot

grade it).