Dear all,

I hope you’ve all gotten off to great starts on this long holiday weekend.  For those of you who wish to write an expository essay for your first assignment, please read the assignment description below.  I’ll check back with you tomorrow at 11am to answer preliminary questions.  The first draft of this assignment is due on Tuesday, July 4, at 1pm.

Best,

Eric

The Expository EssayRWG D2 Summer 2006 

The expository essay is an essay that informs and explains.  In doing so, it has a main idea or thesis as well as subpoints related to the main idea that are supported and developed with evidence. This assignment asks you to write a 2-3 page essay (typed, double-spaced) that informs and explains a topic of your own choice.   

Your audience for this essay is the class, and your purpose is to select a topic of great personal interest and to explain and inform us about your topic.  Your language should be formal, clear, descriptive, and precise for your chosen audience. Your evidence will come from the texts you research and from your own personal knowledge and insight.  The essay should be 2- 3 pages (typed, double-spaced) in length. 

                Your essay will contain the following elements:

                Paragraph 1—Introduction and context/background for your topic and the main idea about your topic 

                Paragraph 2—Subpoint 1 and evidence

                Paragraph 3—Subpoint 2 and evidence

                Paragraph 4—Subpoint 3 and evidence

                Paragraph 5—Conclusion that answers the question “So what?”  (For example, Why should I care?  What should I do?  Why have I learned?)

                What the expository essay is:

1) a means of going beyond the literal content of the source

2) a tool n to explore ideas from academic sources by making a point and supporting and developing that point through exposition

                What the expository essayt is not:

1) a mere expression of personal, unsupported ideas/opinions

3) a text that only summarizes sources

(Adapted from the Purdue OWL)

Invention, the Child of Necessity: Getting Papers Started

Getting a paper started is tough for every writer; it’s especially hard for a student writer who doesn’t get to pick her own subjects: first she must learn about a broad subject area; then, she must find some topic within that broad area to write about, always with limited space and time. And if all this isn’t enough, writers also have to develop their own ideas about their topic and explain those ideas with concrete support. 

Does this sound familiar? Does it sound impossible? There are many ways to go about “inventing” a short paper; what follows is one very practical process that gets results:  

            1.Locate a subject: Your subject will depend on the kind of writing you are doing; if a subject has been assigned, make sure you know what it is (i.e., read the assignment sheet), and learn something about it (i.e., do your home work). Inventing a paper on a subject about which you know nothing is tough.             2.Focus on a narrow topic: Use the invention techniques described below to figure out what specific topics are within your subject area; once you have some specific options, commit to a good one. Don’t waffle.             3.Come up with a controlling idea: No one can do this for you! Use invention techniques to help you see what you think about your topic. Again, after you have some options, pick an idea and stick to it.              4.Generate concrete examples that you can use to develop your paper: Concrete examples and reasoning are the heart of a paper. With your topic and controlling idea in mind, use invention techniques strenuously; push your thoughts beyond generalizations to concrete examples. The clause, “I hate potatoes,” is general; “the texture, color, and flavor of potatoes does nothing for me,” is a more concrete statement.  

Invention Techniques

           
Reading: use your notes on other people’s ideas to jump start your own ideas, but be careful not to plagiarize.             Brainstorming: spend five minutes just listing ideas and then sort the list.             Freewriting: spend ten minutes writing about your subject or topic, reread your writing, and circle the topics or examples that you find in it.             Journalist’s Question: consider your subject or topic and answer the questions who, what, when, where, why, and how; sort your answers, and make a list.             Journal Writing: keep a journal as you study your topic; reread it and circle the topics and examples that you wrote about.             The Many Parts Strategy: list out the parts of your subject or topic and ask of each one, “What is the use of this part or what are the consequences of this part?” Sort your answers, and you have a list.              

Mapping: 

Thesis Statement Definition: the thesis is usually considered the most important sentence of your essay because it outlines the central purpose of your essay in one place. A good thesis will link the subject of an essay with a controlling idea. Consider, for example, the following thesis: People in the past spent a great deal of effort protecting themselves from witches. 

Subject: people feared witches 

Controlling Idea: people spent a great deal of effort protecting themselves 

Position: 

In a short essay, a thesis statement appears at, or near, the end of the introductory paragraph of the paper so that readers know the topic of the essay before they see the writer’s statement of the central purpose of the essay. This way the first paragraph helps the reader understand why the writer is writing. 

Purpose: 

A thesis should be narrow in focus in order to allow the fullest exploration of its issues as possible, and it should reflect the type of paper that follows, whether it be persuasive or informative. Narrowing the focus of the thesis may require posing questions about it to yourself before committing to a final version. 

Process: 

What follows is a method for writing thesis statements that many writers have found useful.  

1. Decide what you are writing about:             A clear, concise thesis statement does more than outline the subject in question; it makes the reader aware of the writer’s stand on the subject in question, connecting a subject with a controlling idea. 2. Think about all the elements your paper will deal with:             A thesis generally consists of a subject that contains within itself a number of smaller facts; the topic sentence of eachparagraph that makes up the body of the paper should refer (in some clear way) back to the ideas contained within the thesis statement in order to keep the paper from digressing. 3. Think about the purpose and tone of your paper: A thesis statement should contain the main point of the paper and suggest to the reader a direction that the paper will take in exploring, proving, or disproving that main point. 4. State your main point in a sentence or two:             A good writer can assert the main idea of a short, coherent essay briefly. Instead of rambling, be as straightforward as possible. 5. Revise your thesis as you develop your paper:      A final version of a thesis statement will only be available after a draft of the paper it is a part of has been completed. The focus of the paper may change and evolve over the period it is written in; necessarily, the thesis statement should be revised to reflect the alterations in the paper.  

Few writers finish a paper writing about the exact topic they begin with. While you write a paper, your main point may change. As you’re finishing, make sure your thesis statement has changed along with the subject and controlling ideas of your paper. 

Organization

When writers talk about organization, they are talking about arranging thoughts systematically in an orderly, functional way in order to create a harmonious or united action. Your paper should be arranged so that your purpose is clear, your thesis logically stated and developed, and your final conclusion plainly drawn from the preceding material.  

The Informative/Expository Essay

The informative paper basically states “This is way things are. This is how they work. This is how to use them.” This kind of paper will often be organized in one of the following ways:            Codified order: Present information and ideas in a sequential or other logical orderA potato can be fried, baked, or boiled.            Definition: Arrange the information around a definition.Good potatoes are the product of planning, preparation, and presentation.            Classification: Arrange examples in varietiesTwo types of potatoes are sweet and red.            Comparison: Demonstrate similarities between two or more people or things.Julienned and sliced potatoes are alike in . . .             Contrast: Demonstrate differences between two or more people or thingsJulienned and sliced potatoes differ in . . .  

Crafting Paragraphs

Just what exactly are we talking about here?A paragraph is a group of sentences that are related to each other because they all refer to a controlling idea; this idea is often expressed in a topic sentence, a sentence that functions in a paragraph much like a thesis statement functions in a paper. Paragraphs work together to develop the controlling idea established by the thesis. Consider the following example: 

Thesis statement People in the past spent a great deal of effort protecting themselves from evil potatoes.            Topic sentence for a typical paragraph Anti-evil-potato devices were understandably numerous since every bad thing that happened could be blamed on the power of an evil potato.Subject of paragraph Anti-evil-potato devices  Relation to controlling idea People’s fear of evil potatoes forced them to devise equipment to keep evil potatoes away.  

O.K. So, why do I want one? 

The paragraph is a unit of organization and development. This structure is used to fully explore set of sub-topics that a thesis statement suggests. Each paragraph develops a specific idea that supports the thesis statement; it also connects that idea to theother ideas presented in the paper. Paragraphs can develop and unify a set of ideas in many different ways: writers must simply make sure that their reader understands how all the paragraphs in a paper work together to achieve the writer’s purpose. 

Where am I supposed to put this thing when I get one? 

Hopefully, you will collect several of these items into a paper of some kind. How you store your paragraphs is very important. Each paragraph must be separated from the others by means of indentation. Remember that each paragraph must also relate itsdistinct idea about the thesis to the ideas developed in other paragraphs. (No paragraphs about Han Solo and Princess Leia in a paper about the soil conditions of
Ireland during the famine.) 

Where can I get some? 

Unfortunately, you still have to produce these things yourself. What follows is largely based on information from The Allyn & Bacon Handbook; often, writers go through this “process” after they have completed a draft.       Decide what the paragraph will deal with: Since each paragraph begins with a specific purpose (to explore a distinct sub-topic of the thesis), each topic sentence shouldbe specific and clear. The organizational pattern of your paper (based mainly upon the type of paper you are writing) will help you decide what issues you should deal with and in what order to deal with them.        Think about all the issues that this paragraph should deal with: Each sentence within a specific paragraph must support the idea posited by the topic sentence. As you reflect on a particular paragraph, ask yourself, “What are the issues involved in this topic? How does this relate to my overall controlling idea? Do my sentences adequately explore this topic sentence?”        Think about the purpose and tone of your paragraph: Each paragraph must provide a thorough analysis of its topic. If a paragraph provides information that is not directly related tothe thesis, revise or eliminate the extraneous information. Ask yourself whether each paragraph contributes to the focus and tone of the entire paper and follows the map laid out in your thesis.        Be efficient with your sentence development in your paragraph: A paragraph is not a paper. Each paragraph represents a separate step towards a general conclusion about your topic. To thatend, each paragraph should develop its idea with as many (or as few) sentences as necessary to make its point clear. Many of you have heard that a paragraph can be considered a “miniature essay” in which there is an introduction (topic sentence), some supportive materials (the sentences of the paragraph), and a conclusion (a concluding sentence). This structure works, but keep in mind that regardless of sentence length or number your main goal is efficiently and completely examining individual ideas.        Revise your paragraph organization as you develop your paper: It may be that your thesis will change as you develop your paper; consequently, topic sentences for your paragraphs mustchange with it. Don’t hesitate to discard vague or tangential ideas in favor of more direct ones. Also, make sure each paragraph moves your paper toward its goal, whether it be informative or persuasive. Finally, make sure each paragraph is part of a logical sequence of ideas that are linked by transitions.Believe it or not there are more than one type of paragraph. You may want to investigate some of the intricacies of the introduction and conclusion varieties. 

Revision  

Revision tends to be divided into two categories, changes that alter the meaning of a text and changes that leave meaning intact.  Think of how many changes you can make to a piece of writing.Since there are so many things a writer can do to a text and, often, so little time, it makes sense to make those changes that will make the meaning of your writing more clear to a reader. There are, of course, lots of ways to figure out how to revise a particular piece of writing; every writer is different. What follows is a method that works, either on a whole paper or on aparagraph.  

   1.Finish a draft or at least part of a draft before you consider revising–otherwise you may never get anything finished.    2.Reread your draft and decide what issues you need to focus on. Always start with the most serious meaning-blocking      issues and work down; always make notes on the draft that you read, and consider getting another reader’s opinion–maybe even aWriting
Center tutor’s opinion.     Levels to consider:          subject & purpose           shape           paragraphs           sentences           format    3.Focus on a single issue.    4.Maintaining your focus, talk or write through potential solutions to places where communication breaks down; often problems and solutions are easier to find with the help of an objective reader.   5.Sketch in solutions and write them up.    6.Repeat steps 1 through 5 as often as necessary.  Revision Checklist  Words like thesis, organization, paragraph, coherence, and comma splice, don’t exist just to make your life miserable. All of these terms define the effects of a piece of writing. That is, a paper with a well-defined thesis lets a reader know where it’s going; a well-organized paper is one that enables a reader to get from beginning to end without getting lost. Your handbook or aWriting
Center tutor can help you describe the effects of your writing (probably using terms like those listed above), but only you can decide to make your writing more meaningful or effective. A revision checklist like the following one can help you write a better paper, but only if you understand what makes effective writing and are willing to make changes. Check your draft for the following devices:     subject     thesis      unified information      tone      organizational pattern      transitional words      introduction & conclusion      coherent information  Paragraphs  

     topic sentences      examples      warrants      transitional words  

Sentences  

     complete sentences      sentence variety      transitional words  

Format  

     special punctuation      page setup      documentation  

Checking for these devices is one way of making sure that your paper sticks to and develops a single idea. Of course, a list cannot replace your commitment to communicating with an audience. If you are not trying to affect your reader with an idea or two, perfect structure and grammar will only go so far. 

 Revision Exercise 

Look at a piece of writing that you are revising. Work through each of the steps, starting at the top and moving down the list. Make sure that you determine carefully where ommunication breaks down and how you can go about reestablishing it. Sketch in a solution before setting off on a re-write. 

Basic MLA  

In MLA documentation style, you acknowledge your sources by keying in brief parenthetical citations in text and corresponding this with an alphabetical list of work you have cited at the end of the paper.      Making In-text Citations      Preparing a Work Cited List  

In-text citations 

There are two ways by which to acknowledge your source. You may wish to quote or parapharase. Look at the following examples.  

Direct Quotation 

 Author in text                Stewig stresses that logic “must pervade any fantasy from the beginning and end”(399).  Author in reference                Recognizing this need, it may be declared that ì logic must pervade any fantasy from beginning and ending (Stewig 399). 

Paraphrase or Summary 

 Author in text                Stewig stresses the need for logic in children’s fantasy (399)  Author in reference                The need for logic in children’s fantasy has been recognized (Stewig 399).