FONG ELA 9 ESSAY WRITING An essay is a piece of writing that discusses a particular subject or theme, one in which the writer presents a certain point of view. There are generally two different kinds of essays. A) INFORMAL ESSAY-its purpose is to inform in a more casual, often more entertaining way. Humour and the first person point of view (“I”) is used. An informal essay is more personal. B) FORMAL ESSAY-its purpose is to persuade the reader that an opinion is valid and worthwhile. The arguments appeal to the objective and critical mind. It relies upon organization, logic, and coherence. Formal essays tend to use formal language. A five paragraph essay is divided into three parts-introduction, body, conclusion. INTRODUCTION-the introduction is at least five sentences in length. It should begin with a broad, general statement that introduces your topic and grabs the reader’s attention. To engage the reader, one of the following methods may be used: 1) Ask a question that relates the reader to the focus of the essay. Eg. On average, how many hours do you spend in front of the television in a week? 2) Use a fact or statistic. When using a fact/statistic, the writer should include the source to validate the information. Eg. According to a 1999 poll, Canadians spent on average 22.7 hours a week watching television. 3) Use a famous quote or a quote by a famous person. Eg. “The television, that insidious beast, that Medusa which freezes a billion people to stone every night, staring fixedly, ...” (Ray Bradbury, The Golden Apples of the Sun ) 4) Use an anecdote-relate a brief, often personal, story related to the topic. Eg. As a viewer, I was always sensitive to the interruptions in regular television programming due to an emergent news event. It was through the medium of television that I was initially informed about the tragic deaths of John Lennon and Princess Diana. Like it was yesterday, I remember coming home from a birthday party on a Saturday night to turn on the television only to see the mangled remains of the car of which Princess Diana had been a passenger. The introduction should give an indication as to the focus of each of the three body paragraphs. Generally, the introduction narrows to the thesis statement, the main argument of the essay. By looking at the thesis statement, the reader knows the purpose of the essay. BODY-in a five paragraph essay, there are three body paragraphs that develop the thesis statement. Each body paragraph begins with an introductory/topic sentence and ends with a concluding sentence. The body is the substance/content of the essay; therefore, the body paragraphs are the longest. All of the supporting details in the body paragraphs relate back to the thesis. When discussing your supporting details, assume the reader is not familiar with the subject, whether it is a story, novel, movie, personal experience, etc. CONCLUSION-restate your thesis and important points (the focus of each of the body paragraphs). Generally, the thesis is restated as the first sentence of your conclusion followed by the focus of the body paragraphs. The last sentence of the essay is broad in focus again. It may involve asking the reading to take some kind of action. In a wellwritten essay, the writer will use different words to reiterate the same points.
