Tohoku University 2012-2013
Assignment and Essay Guidelines
You will be writing four essays with your group on various topics. A short video on
each topic will be provided, and you may use your own sources and personal
knowledge to complete the essays. Each month, your group will email your essay to
your English writing tutor, Tara Gabsi at taragabsi@gmail.com, and she will provide
corrections and feedback in order for you to improve your English writing skills.
Planning Your Essay:
Outlining: After you've learned enough about your topic and thought about
supporting points, it is a good idea to draw a preliminary outline of the main
ideas you are going to address within the essay. These can be categorized
numerically or alphanumerically, whatever works best for you. Just make sure
there is a logical progression of the ideas in the outline. (You do not need to
submit your outline to the tutor; this is for you and your group to plan your essay
and help you organize it well).
Organizing and Structuring Your Essay:
The Thesis Statement / Introduction Paragraph: This is the most important part
of any well-written essay. Usually limited to one or two sentences, the thesis
statement is the main idea, or topic, of your essay. An essay without a strong and
clearly defined thesis statement is like a ship without a captain. The essay will
drift aimlessly without a clear direction. The thesis statement is the leader of
your essay, because every other word written afterward is there to support it.
Before you ever begin research and writing of your essay, you must come up
with a solid thesis statement. It is usually placed early in the text, at the end of
the first paragraph. This first paragraph is called the introduction paragraph,
because it introduces the topic of your essay.
Supporting Paragraphs: As said before, everything written after the thesis
statement is there to support it. The ideas you choose to support your thesis
statement need to be separated into paragraphs. Each paragraph will develop
one, and only one, supporting idea or point. These ideas need to be supported
within the paragraph, not just stated. Back up your ideas with additional
information about them. Also, be sure to make smooth transitions between each
of your supporting paragraphs, don't just jump from one idea to the other.
Conclusion / Summary Paragraph: This is the last paragraph in your essay. Here
you will summarize the main points and ideas and let the reader know the essay
has come to an end. Do not repeat your thesis statement word for word,
however. Restate your thesis in a new manner, with different words. If needed,
provide an opinion or suggestion about the subject of your writing.
T. Gabsi 11/08/12
Tohoku University 2012-2013
Finishing Up:
Once you've completed your writing, it is very important you go back over it to
search for any mistakes. Never turn in an essay without thoroughly proofreading
it first. If possible, let someone else read it and check it over as well. It is often
difficult to notice the errors within your own writing. Don't rely on computer
grammar and spellchecker programs to do this for you, as they often miss glaring
mistakes. Search for misspellings and grammar mistakes, and make sure your
essay follows the proper format.
You can read more about expository essays here:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/685/02/
REQUIREMENTS
 Your essay must be about 1000 words in length.
 Essay must be typed in a Word document using 12-point size font and be
double-spaced.
 Remember to give your essay a unique and creative title. Do not call it the
“Expository Essay Assignment” or “Essay 1”.
 Include the date and the names of all group members on the top of the essay,
and make sure that all group members are contributing equally to the
assignment.
 Please email your essay to taragabsi@gmail.com by the due dates.
 Be sure that your writing is original and not copied from any other sources;
this is called “plagiarism”. Also do not use translation programs, as they are
not accurate.
 You may email Tara Gabsi if you have any questions about the assignments.
ESSAY DUE DATES: Essay 1: November 25, Essay 2: December 25, Essay 3:
January 27, and Essay 4: February 21
T. Gabsi 11/08/12