Supplementary material

ESSAY
WRITING
 What is an Essay?
 An essay is a group of paragraphs
written about a single topic and a central
main idea.
 It must have at least three paragraphs,
but a five-paragraph essay is a common
length for academic writing.

Taken from: Academic Writing from Paragraph to Essay, Zemach, D. & Rumisek, L. Macmillan 2005
The Structure of an Essay
 The Introduction: Explains the topic with
general ideas. It also has the thesis statement and
comes at or near the end of the paragraph.

 The Main body: Explain and support the thesis

statement.

 The conclusion: Summarises or restates the

thesis and the supporting ideas of the essay.

Taken from: Academic Writing from Paragraph to Essay, Zemach, D. & Rumisek, L. Macmillan 2005
The Thesis Statement
 The thesis statement is the sentence that
tells the main idea of the whole essay.
 It can be compared to a topic sentence,
which gives the main idea of a paragraph.
 It usually comes at or near the end of the
introductory paragraph.

Taken from: Academic Writing from Paragraph to Essay, Zemach, D. & Rumisek, L. Macmillan 2005
The Introduction…
 … is usually five to ten sentences.
 … catches the reader´s interest.
 … gives the general topic of the essay.
 … gives background information about
the topic.
 … states the main point (thesis
statement) of the essay.

Taken from: Academic Writing from Paragraph to Essay, Zemach, D. & Rumisek, L. Macmillan 2005
How to make an introduction interesting

 Include …
 …interesting facts or statistics.
 … a personal story or example.
 … an interesting quotation.

Taken from: Academic Writing from Paragraph to Essay, Zemach, D. & Rumisek, L. Macmillan 2005
The thesis statement

Taken from: Academic Writing from Paragraph to Essay, Zemach, D. & Rumisek, L. Macmillan 2005
Thesis Statements for Logical
Division of Ideas
 The thesis statement of a logical division
essay often indicates the number of
suptopics.
 Ex: Inflation has three causes.
 It may even name the specific subtopics:
 Ex: Inflation has three causes: excessive
government spending, unrestrained consumer
borrowing, an increase in the supply of paper
money.

Taken from: Writing Academic English, Oshima, A & Hogue, Pearson Longman, 2006
Writing an Outline
I. Introduction
. First main idea
II

III. Second main idea

IV. Third main idea
V. Conclusion
 Outlining information for the
paragraphs
I. Introduction
•

II . First main idea A. First supporting point

• 1. First detail
• 2. Second detail

B. Second supporting point

• 1. First detail
• 2. Second detail
Outlining an Essay

Taken from: Academic Writing from Paragraph to Essay, Zemach, D. & Rumisek, L. Macmillan
2005
Supporting paragraphs

Taken from: Academic Writing from Paragraph to Essay, Zemach, D. & Rumisek, L. Macmillan
2005
Concluding PARAGRAPH
 The conclusion has three purposes:
 It signals the end of the essay starting
with a transition signal.
 It reminds your reader of your main
points by summarizing your subtopics or
paraphrasing your thesis.
 It leaves your reader with your final
thoughts on the topic.
Taken from: Writing Academic English, Oshima, A & Hogue, Pearson Longman, 2006
Techniques for a memorable
Conclusion:

 Make a prediction
 Suggest results or consequences
 Suggest a solution, make a
recommendation, or call for action
 Quote an authority on the topic

Taken from: Writing Academic English, Oshima, A & Hogue, Pearson Longman, 2006