ESSAY STRUCTURE

ESSAY STRUCTURE

1. THE PARTS OF AN ESSAY

   • Introducing the argument, analyzing data, raising counterarguments, concluding.
     • Introduction and conclusion
       • have fixed places, but other parts don't.
     • Counterargument
       • may appear within a paragraph as a free-standing section, as part of the beginning, or before the ending
     • Background material
       • appears at the beginning of the essay, between the introduction and the first analytical section
     • ANSWERING QUESTIONS
       • What?
         • Examine your evidence demonstrating the truth
           • this section comes early in the essay, often directly after the introduction.
       • How?
         • Indicates whether the claims of the thesis are true
           • This section usually comes after the "what, may appear just about anywhere in an essay
       • Why?
         • Explains its own significance
           • This section comes the essay end

2. means fashioning a coherent set of ideas into an argument

3. MAPPING AN ESSAY

   • Examining your thesis and anticipating what a reader needs to know, and in what sequence, in order to grasp and be convinced by your argument as it unfolds.
     • TIPS TO MAKE YOUR MAP
       • State your thesis in a sentence or two
         • saying why it's important to make that claim.
       • indicate elements of evidence
         • This will start you off on answering the "what" question.
       • Begin each of the following sentences like this: "The next thing my reader needs to know is . . ." Once again, say why, and name some evid

4. SIGNS OF TROUBLE

   • A common structural flaw is the "walk-through" also labeled "summary" or "description"
     • The structure is more from sources than own
     • The thesis is more descriptive than argumentative
     • Be wary of paragraph openers that lead off with "time" words ("first," "next," "after," "then") or "listing" words ("also," "another," "in addition")
       • indicate that an essay's thesis and structure need work