ESSAY

RESEARCHING AND WRITING A THESIS AND OUTLINE FOR AN ESSAY

 UNDERSTAND THE THEORY:
THE WORD ESSAY IS DERIVED FROM THE FRENCH WORD ESSAYER, WHICH MEANS "TO TRY." THE
FIRST PERSON TO USE THE TERM WAS THE FRENCH AUTHOR MICHEL DE MONTAIGNE. HE BELIEVED
THAT WRITING THIS KIND OF TEXT WAS JUST AN ATTEMPT TO ORGANIZE HIS THOUGHTS.
NOWADAYS, AN ESSAY IS DEFINED AS A WRITTEN COMPOSITION ON A SPECIFIC SUBJECT,
WHICH PRESENTS YOUR POINT OF VIEW IN AN EDUCATED AND PROVEN MANNER. IT MUST HAVE
AN INTRODUCTION, A BODY, AND A CONCLUSION. BEFORE WRITING AN ESSAY, YOU MUST
RESEARCH YOUR TOPIC, SO THAT YOU DISCOVER WHAT YOUR ARGUMENTS WILL BE. EVERY
ESSAY NEEDS A THESIS STATEMENT AND VARIOUS SUPPORTING DETAILS TO SUSTAIN IT. IF YOU
APPLY THE WRITING SKILLS YOU LEARNED IN PREVIOUS CHAPTERS, YOU WILL NOT ONLY TRY TO
ORGANIZE YOUR THOUGHTS, BUT CERTAINLY SUCCEED AT DOING SO.
 PLANNING:

1. REVIEW THE DIFFERENT SKILLS EXPLAINED IN THE PREVIOUS WRITTEN EXPRESSION SECTIONS.
2. REFLECT UPON THE READING FROM THIS CHAPTER, “ON THE DECAY OF THE ART
OF LYING,” PAYING ATTENTION TO THE WRITER’S PURPOSE AND THE TECHNIQUES
HE EMPLOYED TO ACHIEVE IT.
3. WATCH OR READ NEWS STORIES. SELECT A CURRENT ISSUE THAT SHOWS LYING CAN BE
HARMFUL.
 DEVELOPING:

1. USE FREEWRITING OR BRAINSTORMING TO GET MORE IDEAS CONCERNING THE SITUATION

YOU SELECTED.
2. RESEARCH THE TOPIC.
3. WRITE A THESIS STATEMENT DEFENDING THE IMPORTANCE OF TELLING THE TRUTH. REMEMBER
YOU CAN EDIT YOUR THESIS STATEMENT AS YOU DEVELOP THE ESSAY.
4. OUTLINE THE SUPPORTING DETAILS THAT MAY SUPPORT YOUR THESIS STATEMENT.
 WRITING:

1. WRITE YOUR THESIS STATEMENT IN ONE COMPLETE SENTENCE. INCLUDE YOUR THESIS STATEMENT
IN AN INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH.
2. REFER TO YOUR OUTLINE AS A GUIDE TO ORGANIZE YOUR ESSAY. USE TRANSITIONAL WORDS
AND PHRASES TO SHOW THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EACH PARAGRAPH.
3. DEVELOP EACH SUPPORTING DETAIL IN A DIFFERENT PARAGRAPH; GIVE EXAMPLES TO VALIDATE
YOUR THESIS STATEMENT. ILLUSTRATE HOW TELLING THE TRUTH WOULD HELP SOLVE THE CURRENT
SITUATION YOU CHOSE AND HOW IT IS HELPFUL TO ERADICATE OTHER SOCIAL PROBLEMS.
4. WRITE A CONCLUSION PARAGRAPH. IN IT, REVIEW THE IDEAS PRESENTED IN THE ESSAY. ALSO,
PROVIDE ONE LAST REFLECTION THAT GIVES YOUR READERS A SENSE OF COMPLETION.
 EDITING:

✓ MY ESSAY HAS A CLEAR AND ENGAGING INTRODUCTION, A DEFINED BODY OF ARGUMENTS,

AND A STRONG CONCLUSION THAT RESTATES THE MAIN IDEA AND GIVES A SENSE OF
COMPLETION.
✓ MY FINISHED WORK HAS A CLEAR AND IDENTIFIABLE THESIS STATEMENT; SUPPORTING DETAILS
THAT VALIDATE MY THESIS STATEMENT; AND FACTS THAT ILLUSTRATE MY POINT.
✓ MY WORK FOLLOWS A NATURAL PROCESS OF EXPOSITION AND ARGUMENTATION THAT
EXPRESSES MY POSITION.
✓ I USED APPROPRIATE, CLEAR, AND PRECISE LANGUAGE, AND SYNTAX.
 ESSAY TYPES:

• ARGUMENT / PERSUASION:
• MY TOPIC IS _____________, AND I BELIEVE _____________. MY BELIEFS ARE CORRECT BECAUSE ____________.

• CAUSE AND EFFECT:

• THE CAUSE IS ___________, AND THE EFFECTS ARE ___________.
• THE EFFECT IS ____________, AND THE CAUSES ARE __________.

• SUMMARIES:
• IN (TITLE OF PIECE,) THE MAIN IDEA IS ______________.
 ESSAY TYPES

• CLASSIFICATION:
• THE LARGE GROUP IS ______________, AND THE SMALLER CLASSIFICATIONS ARE ________________.

• COMPARISON / CONTRAST:
• THE IDEAS THAT I AM GOING TO COMPARE ARE: ______________. THE SIMILARITIES ARE ______________,
AND THE DIFFERENCES ARE ___________.

• CRITICAL ANALYSES / EVALUATION:

• THE FOLLOWING ARE STRONG POINTS: __________. THE FOLLOWING ARE WEAK POINTS: ___________.
 TYPES OF ESSAYS:

• DESCRIPTION / ILLUSTRATION:
• THIS IS THE TOPIC THAT I’M DESCRIBING / ILLUSTRATING _________.

• NARRATION:
• DURING THIS ____________, I LEARNED ___________.

• RESEARCH PAPERS:
• THIS IS MY TOPIC, AND THE CLAIM I AM MAKING IS __________.
 WHEN RESEARCHING EVALUATE YOUR SOURCES:

• RELEVANCE
• AUTHOR
• CREDIBILITY
• PUBLICATION DATE
• AUDIENCE
• LENGTH
OUTLINE SAMPLES: