1. The Essentials of Writing
Presented by C. M.
Herrington, MAA, MAT
Bilgi University ELP
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2. The Structure of the Essay
All essays have 3 major parts: THE INTRO, BODY AND
CONCLUSION.
• Title : States the topic and captures the readers’ interest.
Structure of
Essay
• Presents the writers’ subject and thesis
Introduction • Grabs the readers’ interest
• Explains and supports the thesis with details and further develops
ideas.
Body • Presents the supporting details in a clear sentence.
• Reemphasizes the thesis and reflects on the larger significance of
the topic.
Conclusion • Draws the essay to a satisfying close.
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3. Thesis Statement
It expresses the main idea in an essay and the
writer’s point of view.
It is usually one sentence long and consists of
two parts. The first part states the topic and the
second part, the writer makes some point about
the topic (controlling idea)
It should be specific in order to limit the topic to
make it manageable . A thesis that is too general
is NOT effective.
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4. 3 Examples of Thesis Statements
Examples
The advantages of living in a new culture far
exceed the disadvantages.
The most effective way to reduce discrimination
is to teach young children to be open minded
and tolerant of differences.
The study of cultural differences in verbal
communication style involves three main types
of expression: direct vs. indirect, formal vs.
informal, and logical vs. emotional.
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5. The Most Common Type of
Introduction
There are many ways
to introduce a topic.
The common type of
General Statement
introduction starts with
a general statement
about the Limiting
Sentences
subject, clarifies or
limits the topic in one
ore more Thesis
sentences, and then Statement
states the thesis of
the essay in the final
5 sentence.
6. Example of an introduction where the
movement is from general to specific.
The ways in which people communicate differ
General
significantly around the world. What people stateme
say, how they say it, and what they mean nt
when they say it depend on the standards and
customs of their society. People in some Limiting
Sentence
cultures, for example, tend to say things
s
directly, whereas those in other cultures speak
indirectly. Some cultures value formal means
of communication, while other societies prefer
the informal; some cultures stress emotional Thesis
expression, and other emphasize logical stateme
expression. These variations in the forms and nt
functions of verbal communication, reelecting
culturally learned values, often lead to
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intercultural conflict and misunderstanding.
7. Ways to Capture Your Reader’s
Interest
As a provocative
question.
Use an engaging
quotation.
Make an unexpected
or controversial
statement.
State a common belief
and then declare a
contrary view.
Offer a striking
7 example
8. What to Avoid in an Introduction
Don’t blatantly announce
your intent. Avoid
statements such as “In this
essay, I will analyze…”.
Don’t apologize. Avoid
statements as “ I am not an
expert...
Don’t make promises you
can’t fulfill.
Don’t create an
introduction that is too long
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or too short.
9. Body Paragraphs
In the body, you present and develop your main
points. Each body paragraph explains, clarifies, or
illustrates the thesis.
•Look at the example of a topic sentence for the
reading in your course packet on page 12.
Characteristics of Body paragraphs
1. Clarity. The main point and supporting details of the paragraph are
clear.
2. Unity. All sentences relate to the main idea of the paragraph and
support the topic sentence.
3. Development. The paragraph provides enough detail and has
some logical pattern of organization.
4. Coherence. The sentences are logically connected to each
other, and the ideas flow smoothly.
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10. The Conclusion
It effectively What to avoid in a Conclusion
reemphasizes the 1. Don’t simply repeat your thesis. It’s
importance of your more effective to leave your readers
thesis, and brings with one or two provocative thoughts to
the essay to a think about.
logical close.
2. Don’t introduce a new idea that needs
more development.
3. Don’t announce what you have done. It
may sound mechanical.
4. Don’t create a conclusion that is too
long or too short. There needs to be
balance.
5. Don’t apologize. Apologies weaken the
impact of your ending.
6. Don’t end in an abrupt manner. It
should end smoothly.
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11. The Writing Process (see course handouts page
113-124)
Brainstorming/Assessing the writing
situation: reflecting on the
subject, one’s attitude toward the
subject, purpose, audience, sources
of available information, and the
writing assignment.
Exploring and planning:
discovering, refining, finding support
for and organizing ideas.
Writing/Drafting: expressing and
developing ideas and supporting
details in rough form.
Revising: rethinking and rewriting
drafts to improve the
content, focus, and structure.
Editing and proofreading: checking
for effective word choice and
sentence structure and for correct
grammar, spelling, punctuation, and
mechanics.
Publishing / Final draft
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12. Checklist for Assessing the Writing
Situation (p.112)
Subject
Writers attitude toward the subject
Purpose
Audience
Sources of available information
Writing assignment
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13. Exploring and Planning (113-118)
After assessing 1. Brainstorming
the writing
situation and 2. Freewriting
before your first
draft, experiment 3. Clustering
with one or more
of the prewriting
4. Journalist’s
strategies. This Questions
helps you
discover 5. Outlining
ideas, and figure
out with part of
6. Keeping a Journal
the subject will
be your
focus, and find
details to
support your
13 points.
14. Writing/ Drafting
As your write your first
draft, keep your materials
nearby so that your can easily
refer to them.
Start by writing an intro in
which you present your topic
and thesis .
Next, write the body
paragraphs, present your
major pints and details that
support them.
Finally, write a
conclusion, reflect on the topic
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and bring the essay to a logical
15. Revising
Revision means more
than correcting the
grammar, spelling, pu
nctuation and
mechanics. It involves
a whole process of
“re vision,” seeing
again- rethinking and
reshaping the content.
To revise an essay, a
writer
adds, deletes, rearran
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ges and rewords
16. Revising: Checklist (see page 120-121)
1. Content Leave enough time to
2. Audience revise your essay.
3. Purpose Ask someone to read and
respond to the
4. Tone content, organization and
5. Title development.
6. Clarity Read your rough draft
7. Unity aloud.
8. Coherence Start with large revisions-
9. Developme and later focus on
nt sentence level changes.
10. Organizatio Keep revising your essay
n until your are satisfied
with the
content, clarity, unity, cohe
rence, development, and
organization.
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17. Editing and Proofreading
Editing involves looking closely at individual sentences for
technical correctness- grammar, spelling
punctuation, mechanic-and effective word choice.
Editing Checklist (see p.123)
1. Word Choice- avoid redundancy, use the most
accurate, effective words to convey meaning.
2. Sentence structure- Avoid sentence fragments and run on
sentences. Vary the sentence structure and length.
3. Grammar-Is the grammar correct? Are all the sentences
grammatically complete? Are the parts of speech and word
order are correct?
4. Usage- Is the spelling, punctuation ,capitalization and
paragraph indentation correct?
5. Citations of sources- Ideas taken from sources, paraphrased
or quoted resources are properly cited.
6. Essay format- Have you followed all formatting requirements
17 for the essay by using the correct font size, type, line
spacing, margins and page numbering.
18. Writing with Sources-the amount and type of
source material will depend on your topic, audience and purpose.
Reasons for including
references:
The give background
information to help the
readers understand your
ideas.
They provide examples and
other details to support a
point you are making or to
counter an argument.
They enhance your
credibility by providing
evidence from specialists
you’re the subject area.
The indicate to your reader
where to find further
information about your
18 subject.
19. Types of Sources-Sources are either primary
or secondary.
1. Primary sources
are firsthand, or
original
materials, includi
ng eyewitness 2. Secondary sources
accounts of include materials
events, docume that
nts, diaries, lette describe, analyze, o
rs, speeches, TV r comment on a
shows, movies, primary source.
photographs, an
d original
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research.
20. Evaluating Sources (see p.126-127)
1. Relevance- Think about how closely related to
your topic it is, or if the source is too general or
too specialized for the topic, purpose or audience.
2. Reliability- how accurate, complete and unbiased
is the info?
3. Currency- How recent is the info.
4. Authorship- Who is the author of the source, and
what are his or her qualifications about the
subject? Is the author associated with a special
interest group that might compromise the
objectivity of the source.
5. Purpose and Audience- What is the purpose of
the sources-to inform, persuade, or entertain ?
Who is the intended audience for the source?
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21. Documenting Sources (p.128-131)
Keep a working Bibliography- this is a list of all the sources that you might use for your
paper.
It will help you to organize your research later.
Information to Record in a Working Bibliography
Book Article Website
Name of author(s) Name of author(s) Name of author(s)
Title of book Title Title
Place of publication Volume and issue number Name of website
Year of publication Date of publication Date of publication or last update
Volume, edition, and translator’s Page number on which the article Page, paragraph, or section
name , if relevant appears. numbers.
Editor or sponsoring site, Date
website was accessed, Full
electronic address, or URL.
*In your major (social sciences)you will be required to use APA
21 (American Psychological Association) documentation style to cite
sources.
22. APA Documentation Style
APA is an author year
system that cites a
writer’s sources listed
alphabetically by the
author’s last names.
See your course book
on page 131 for
examples.
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23. Avoiding Plagiarism
The act of plagiarizing: To avoid it you should
the copying of another consult your instructor or
person's ideas, text, or librarian , or refer to a
other creative work, and writing style manual. If
presenting it as one's you follow the guidelines
own, especially without below you can reduce the
permission. Though chance of your
plagiarism in and of itself plagiarizing.
is not illegal, it is usually Take accurate summary
frowned upon; and many and paraphrase notes.
cases of plagiarism Make sure that your
involve illegal copyright language is not too
violation. close to the
Plagiarism, intentional or original, change both
unintentional, is a a type the wording and the
of intellectual theft and sentence structure. Use
can have serious your own words and
consequences ranging don’t mix the author’s
23 from failure on an language with your
assignment to expulsion