What is an essay
Content
What is an essay? An essay is a short piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author Parts of an Essay Essentially an essay consists of three major parts: y y y The introduction The main body The conclusion
Each of these parts has a function. The introduction is intended to lead the reader into the topic and clarify what the essay will specifically deal with. It usually consists of one paragraph, but this depends on the length of the essay and the amount of background information the context requires. The introduction will contain a key sentence (or, if necessary, more than one) that represents the thread running through the whole essay. This sentence is called the thesis statement. The main body deals with the major ideas that support the thesis statement. Each main idea is presented in a separate paragraph ("one notion, one paragraph") and developed with supporting ideas in the form of explanations, definitions, or similar, and illustrated with examples where appropriate or necessary. The conclusion brings the reader back to the purpose of the essay and draws all the points together before making a final comment on the result of the discussion/ argument. Often this final comment will point towards some consequence the discussion may have for the future or make some observation about what the discussion has revealed on a general level. A thesis statement: y y y tells the reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion. is a road map for the paper; in other words, it tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper. directly answers the question asked of you. A thesis is an interpretation of a question or subject, not the subject itself. The subject, or topic, of an essay might
y y
be World War II or Moby Dick; a thesis must then offer a way to understand the war or the novel. makes a claim that others might dispute. is usually a single sentence somewhere in your first paragraph that presents your argument to the reader. The rest of the paper, the body of the essay, gathers and organizes evidence that will persuade the reader of the logic of your interpretation.
Examples: The DLSU and FEU fought the UAAP finals for many reasons, some of which were the same and some different.
Each of these parts has a function. The introduction is intended to lead the reader into the topic and clarify what the essay will specifically deal with. It usually consists of one paragraph, but this depends on the length of the essay and the amount of background information the context requires. The introduction will contain a key sentence (or, if necessary, more than one) that represents the thread running through the whole essay. This sentence is called the thesis statement. The main body deals with the major ideas that support the thesis statement. Each main idea is presented in a separate paragraph ("one notion, one paragraph") and developed with supporting ideas in the form of explanations, definitions, or similar, and illustrated with examples where appropriate or necessary. The conclusion brings the reader back to the purpose of the essay and draws all the points together before making a final comment on the result of the discussion/ argument. Often this final comment will point towards some consequence the discussion may have for the future or make some observation about what the discussion has revealed on a general level. A thesis statement: y y y tells the reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion. is a road map for the paper; in other words, it tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper. directly answers the question asked of you. A thesis is an interpretation of a question or subject, not the subject itself. The subject, or topic, of an essay might
y y
be World War II or Moby Dick; a thesis must then offer a way to understand the war or the novel. makes a claim that others might dispute. is usually a single sentence somewhere in your first paragraph that presents your argument to the reader. The rest of the paper, the body of the essay, gathers and organizes evidence that will persuade the reader of the logic of your interpretation.
Examples: The DLSU and FEU fought the UAAP finals for many reasons, some of which were the same and some different.
