A FORMS OF ESSAY

A. Formal
B. Informal (Personal)
A FORMS OF ESSAY
A. Formal Essay – more carefully
organized and more serious
A FORMS OF ESSAY
B. Informal (Personal) Essay – written
in casual, conversational style.
B Types of Essay
A.

B.
Exposition
Narration
C. Description
D. Argumentation
B Types of Essay

A. EXPOSITION – its primary purpose is to

define, classify, or analyze an idea, give
direction, define a term, show similarities
or difference, to classify causes and effects
and interpret facts.
B Types of Essay

B. NARRATION – presents an orderly

sequence of events in time.
B Types of Essay

C. DESCRIPTION – the representation of

an image or impression in words designed
to reveal the appearance, nature or
attributes of the person or thing under
discussion.
B Types of Essay

D. ARGUMENTATION – aims to persuade

or convince the readers
C ESSAY STRUCTURE
A.

B.
Introduction
Thesis Statement
C. Body
D. Conclusion
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Your introduction should attract the reader’s
interest, present the thesis statement, and
indicate a plan of development
I have absolutely no luck with apartments. No, that's not
exactly true. The apartment in which I live is lovely, and I
like it a lot. The problem rests with the apartment building
itself. OK, let's narrow that down further. I have no
complaint with the actual combination of concrete, bricks
and mortar that makes up the apartment building. If I am
completely honest, I must say that I have no luck with
neighbors.
13
I seem to be cursed with noisy neighbors. They are
perfectly nice people, but seem to have a different concept
of noise pollution than I do. I can divide these noisy
neighbors into three main categories: the Music Lovers, the
Decorators, and the Building Inspectors. Although very
different, they are bound together by a common goal — to
drive me slowly but surely insane.

14
 FUNNEL

1
In a funnel introduction, the opening statement
is general, then supporting statements make
less general points and lead to the specific topic
that is stated in the thesis statement.
I remember my dad grumbling about water going
everywhere as he put the hose back in place. He
had the hose in just the right position, and if we
hadn't been playing with it, the rink would have
been flooded by now.

16
To us kids, the thought of having our own ice rink
to skate on was too exciting to make us stop and
think about the hose. If it was a really cold night,
then maybe by tomorrow morning we could start
skating!

17
 ANECDOTE

2
An anecdote is a short story about something
that happened, which illustrates the point you
want to make in your essay. Using a story at
the beginning of an essay is an effective way to
interest the reader.
An increasingly popular area of research in the
field of education revolves around individual
learning styles. It is generally acknowledged that
not every student will learn in the same way, as
they all have their individual strengths,
weaknesses and interests.

19
In order to provide effective instruction, teachers
must be aware of the different ways in which their
students learn, and plan lessons that will enhance
the learning experience in their classrooms.

20
 SURVEY

3
The writer gives readers an overview of the
information contained in the essay. A survey
arouses the reader’s interest by giving the
reader a chance to agree or disagree with an
opinion stated by the writer.
They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Absence also makes the eyes see more clearly. At
least, it makes your eyes see once-familiar things in a
new light. If you have lived in a city all your life, it
becomes so familiar to you that you don't really see it,
certainly not in the same way that a visitor would.

22
I spent five years living in Asia, and when I returned to
Canada, I saw my native country with the eyes of a
visitor. Things that once were very familiar to me
looked strange, even foreign. Changes had, quite
naturally, occurred, but so gradually that the average
resident perhaps did not even notice.

23
 QUOTATION

4
A well-chosen quotation adds credibility to an
essay because it is familiar to the reader and its
truth has been recognized for many years.
But I, with my tourist's eyes, was struck by the
marked differences in day-to-day Canadian life.
While I had been away, Canada had discovered
coffee.

25
Who would willingly plunge into water that never
gets warmer than ten degrees Celsius?
Surprisingly, many British Columbian scuba divers
jump at this opportunity twelve months a year.

26
This may surprise many divers who only consider
the sport in the context of the white sand beaches,
cloudless skies, and tepid azure waters of the
Caribbean or Southeast Asia; when one thinks
"diving", one naturally thinks "tropics".

27
 QUESTION

5
Asking a question at the beginning of an essay
can be used to intrigue the reader, or it can set
the tone for the essay.

It is best to use Information Questions rather

than Yes/No Questions.
It's everywhere you look. Dispensed on almost
every street corner and found in almost every
home. Cups of it are held in the hands of workers,
students, homemakers and movie stars.

29
North Americans love their coffee. What is it about
this brew that makes it so popular?
In North America today, coffee is not only a
physical stimulant; it is also a fashion accessory
and the focal point of many social functions.

30
 SETTING THE SCENE

6
Creating a mental picture for the reader helps
introduce essays. Using words that describe
how things smell, look, feel, sound and taste
raises the reader’s curiosity and draws the
reader to read more.
TOEFL and TOEIC are acronyms frequently heard
in the field of English language study, but what are
they? TOEFL, or Test of English as a Foreign
Language, is an academic test of a student’s level
of listening, reading and writing.

32
Although TOEIC is a test of English as well, it is
more specifically a Test of English for International
Communication. Both these tests evaluate
students’ English proficiency, but they are
completely different in nature, content and focus.

33
 DEFINITION

6
When a difficult or unknown term is going to be
used throughout the essay, defining that term
can serve as an introduction to the essay.
 DEFINITION

6
The following example explains the two
acronyms TOEFL and TOEIC, as well as giving
more information about the tests. Definition
paragraphs define difficult terms or ideas, which
are used throughout the essay.
Less Effective
Introduction
Slavery was one of the greatest tragedies in
American history. There were many different
aspects of slavery. Each created different kinds of
problems for enslaved people.

37
 Less Effective Intro:
The Placeholder
Introduction.
1 When you don’t have much to say on a given
topic, this intro exist s just to take up the
“introduction space” in your paper.
This kind of weaker introduction contains several
sentences that are vague and don’t really say
much.
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
discusses the relationship between education and
slavery in 19th century America, showing how white
control of education reinforced slavery and how
Douglass and other enslaved African Americans viewed
education while they endured.

39
Moreover, the book discusses the role that
education played in the acquisition of freedom.
Education was a major force for social change with
regard to slavery.

40
 Less Effective Intro:
The Restated Question
Introduction.

2 Restating the question can sometimes be an

effective strategy, but it can be easy to stop at
JUST restating the question instead of offering a
more specific, interesting introduction to your
paper.
 Less Effective Intro:
The Restated Question
Introduction.

2 The teacher wrote your question and you will be

reading many essays in response to it—he or she
does not need to read a whole paragraph that
simply restates the question.
Webster’s dictionary defines slavery as “the state
of being a slave,” as “the practice of owning
slaves,” and as “a condition of hard work and
subjection.”

43
 Less Effective Intro:
The Webster’s Dictionary
introduction.

3 This introduction begins by giving the dictionary

definition of one or more of the words in the
assigned question.
 Less Effective Intro:
The Webster’s Dictionary
introduction.

3 If you want to open with a discussion of an

important term, it may be far more interesting for
you (and your reader) if you develop your own
definition of the term in the specific context of
your class and assignment.
Since the dawn of man, slavery has been a
problem in human history.

46
 Less Effective Intro:
The “Dawn of Man”
Introduction.

4 This generally makes broad, sweeping

statements about the relevance of this topic since
the beginning of time, throughout the world, etc.
It may employ cliches—the phrases “the dawn of
man” and “throughout human history”, etc.
Frederick Douglass wrote his autobiography,
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An
American Slave, in the 1840s. It was published in
1986 by Penguin Books. In it, he tells the story of
his life.

48
 Less Effective Intro:
The Book Report
Introduction.

5 This is what you had to do for your elementary

school book reports. It gives the name and author
of the book you are writing about, tells what the
book is about, and offers other basic facts about
the book.
THESIS STATEMENT
THESIS STATEMENT
A thesis statement is “a short summary of the
main idea, purpose, or argument of an essay
that usually appears in the first paragraph.”
THESIS STATEMENT
A strong thesis statement is the backbone of a
well-organized paper, and helps you decide
what information is most important to include
and how it should be presented.
What is a good thesis statement?

“Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most

influential figures of the American civil rights
movement. His moving speeches and nonviolent
protests helped unite a nation divided by race.”
53
This example lays out the writer’s basic argument
(King was an important leader of the American
civil rights movement), offers two areas of
evidence (his speeches and nonviolent protests),
and explains why the argument matters (united a
divided nation).
54
 Explanatory Thesis
Statement

1 It is based solely on factual information. It doesn’t

contain personal opinions or make claims that are
unsupported by evidence.
It is also called an expository thesis statement.
“The life of the typical college student is
characterized by time spent studying, attending
class, and socializing with peers.”

The paper that follows should:

 Explain how students spend their time studying, attending
class, and socializing with peers
56
The core components of a healthy lifestyle include
a nutritious diet, regular exercise, and adequate
sleep.

57
A. The number of the school shooting on the US is
growing.

B. In 2018 there were 37 school-related shooting,

comparing to 2 in 1900 and 17 in 2008, leading us
to believe that the numbers are growing every
year. 58
 Argumentative Thesis
Statement

2 In an argumentative essay, the writer takes a

stance on a debatable topic.
It allows the writer to take a position about a
subject and to convince readers of their stance.
“High school graduates should be required to take a year
off to pursue community service projects before entering
college in order to increase their maturity and global
awareness.”

The paper that follows should:

 Present an argument and give evidence to support the claim that
students should pursue community projects before entering college
60
Shakespeares’s Taming of the Shrew uses humor,
disguise, and social roles to criticize the lack of
power women had in Elizabethan England.

61
A. Physical abuse is unacceptable in all
relationships.

B. Because physical abuse is unacceptable in any

relationships, society should have third-party
organizations that can help people in need of
protection. 62
A. Building a US-Mexico border wall will be tough on the
budget.

B. Launching the project as big as border wall should be

postponed, if not banned in time when we struggle with
gun control and school shooting, lack of health and
social care programs, as well as overall economy
decrease.
63
A. Dog-owners should be thrown to jail for walking with
their dogs. Owning a certain pet is not the reason for
detention.

B. Dog-owners who ignore federal laws and restriction

concerning public appearances of the dogs should
undergo a more strict punishment.
64
 Analytical Thesis Statement

3 It analyzes, or breaks down, an issue or idea into

its different parts. Then, it evaluates the topic
and clearly presents the order of the analysis to
the reader.
“An analysis of the college admission process reveals one
challenge facing counselors: accepting students with high
test scores or students with strong extracurricular
backgrounds.”

The paper that follows should:

 Explain the analysis of the college admission process
 Explain the challenge facing admissions counselors 66
The school’s policy to start its school day an hour
later revealed three related benefits: students
were more alert and attentive in class, had a more
positive about school, and performed better in
their coursework.

67
A. There are a lot of race-related crimes. The
numbers are always high.

B. An increasing number of racial crimes stems

from the growing number of radical organizations
encouraged by the current governor. Here a
potential reason can be found. 68
BODY OF ESSAY
The body develops the central idea or the thesis
statement in the introduction.

It provides supporting statements, the order, and

the connections that your reader will need to
understand your essay and to follow your
arguments. 70
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
• A conclusion is what you will leave with
your reader
• It “wraps up” your essay
• It demonstrates to the reader that you
accomplished what you set out to do
• It provides the reader with a sense of
closure on the topic
The well-known biologist Paul Ehnlich has said that
“Mankind is breeding itself into oblivion.” Civilization is
finished, he has warned, unless the population growth
is drastically reduced. Change in the tax structure that
might cure the population explosion in the States are
urgently needed to maintain its civilization or to prevent
it from perishing altogether.
73
1 QUOTATION
“Extreme! Unnecessary powers? Is it really that urgent?
Let us not kid ourselves. Our birthright as Americans, if
its is independence. It’s up to us to see that we don’t sell
that birthright for a barrel of oil.”

75
 RHETORICAL
2 QUESTION
My idealized dream is that one day soon, perhaps by the
time my sons bring their girlfirends home, we will
somehow have altered our entire culture, creating a new
model where women are treated as the competent,
intelligent being they are, and where respect and power
are shared by men and women alike. How to create such
a world? I know where it might begin – with our self-
respect and awareness. 77
3 SUMMARY
An unstable economic and political situation in
Southern Philippines, hesitant investors, oil price,
kidnapping, drug trafficking and threat to lives of
leaders are the major problems the country is
facing. Let us make this country great once again.

79
4 CALL TO ACTION
As individual, no city or town official like the trash
of the metropolis be dumped in his place. Smokey
Mountain, San Mateo Landfill, Semirara Island do
not like the idea. Officials of the different cities of
Manila find it difficult to look for new places to
dump metro waste.
81
If this problem won’t find solution in the most early
time possible, the day will come that all around us
will be garbage. There will be garbage in our
stairway, streets, yards, markets, schools, offices,
and garbage in the places where we get our food
and water.
82
5 WARNING
It will no longer take many years before we attain
the kind of society we dreamed of. There will be no
more beggars on the streets. There will be no more
slaves.

84
6 FORECAST
We would find this life interesting if we would only
devote ourselves to useful activities. We would find
contentment if we would only count our blessings.

86
7 SUGGESTION
Man has done what he has to do but still does not
feel happy. He has almost everything he wants but
still does not feel fulfilled. Is it strange then to think
that man does not have satifaction?

88
8 QUESTION