Class: 4th Semester, English

Course Title: Writing-IV

Topic: ESSAY
Prepared & Delivered: Faisal Habib Afridi
Lecturer in English, Higher Education Department,
Khyber Pakhunkhwa

ESSAY WRITING
Introduction
A speech has two parts. You must state your case and you must prove it. You cannot
either state your case and omit to prove it, or prove it without first having stated it;
since any proof must be a proof of something and the only use of a preliminary
statement is the proof that follows it.
Aristotle

The word ESSAY is derived from the French word ‘essai’ meaning ‘attempt’ or
‘test’. The term was coined and used by Michel De Montaigne, a French
Philosopher, for the first time in the late 16th century. An Essay is a focused piece
of writing that develops an argument or narrative based on evidence, analysis and
interpretation. An essay is a piece of writing that develops a topic in five or more
paragraphs, including an introductory paragraph that states the thesis, three or more
supporting paragraphs that develop the topic, and a concluding paragraph.

Differences between an Essay and a Paragraph

An essay is simply a paper of several paragraphs, rather than one paragraph, that
supports a single point. In an essay, subjects can and should be treated more fully
than they would in a single-paragraph paper. Unlike paragraphs that are usually
developed using one mode of writing, like description, essays are usually developed
using several modes of writing to support the single point.
The main idea or point developed in an essay is called the thesis statement or thesis
sentence (rather than, as in a paragraph, the topic sentence). The thesis statement
appears in the introductory paragraph, and it is then developed in the supporting
paragraphs that follow. A concluding paragraph closes the essay.

THE CONSTITUENTS OF AN ESSAY

What Aristotle has to say about a speech applies equally to a modern academic essay:
the introduction states your proposition or answer, and the body of the essay justifies
that answer.

OUTLINES: (Outlining an Essay)

An essay is considered incomplete without outlines. Outlines can constitute a useful

summary-in-advance of the ground you propose to cover. There is no headings or
subheadings in an Essay. There are always outlines and sub-outlines in an essay.
Outlines are useful not because they provide you with a fixed structure for the essay,
but because they give you a provisional structure that can be changed and modified
as your conception of the essay gradually matures.
An outline is a list of the information you will put in your essay.

An outline…..
 Begins with the essay’s thesis statement.
 Shows the organization of the essay.
 Tells what ideas you will discuss and shows which ideas will come first,
second and so on.
 Ends with the essay’s conclusion.

Writing an outline before you write an essay will…….

 Show you what to write before you actually begin writing.
 Help you make your essay well organized and clearly focused.
 Keep you from forgetting any important points.

Imagine your selection: although you don’t see it, it supports your body. In the same
way, although a reader won’t see your outline. Making an outline in advance will
support your essay by providing its structure. In fact, adding more information to an
outline is called ‘fleshing it out’ (to provide more information).
1. The introductory paragraph is the first paragraph of the essay. The
introduction is best seen as a microcosm of the essay as a whole. The
introductory paragraph is the sum total of the entire essay. It is a like a trailer
of a movie. Its purpose is to lead the reader to the thesis statement in an inviting
and interesting way that will encourage the reader to continue reading. The
introductory paragraph of an essay should start with several sentences that attract
the reader’s interest. It should then advance the central idea, or thesis, that will be
developed in the essay. The thesis often includes a plan of development—a
“preview” of the major points that will support the thesis. These supporting points
should be listed in the order in which they will appear in the essay. Such a thesis
might assert, “Winter is my favorite season because I like the weather, the holidays,
and the sports,” leading to an essay that has a paragraph about weather, followed by
a paragraph about the holidays, and so forth.

Introductory Paragraph
Functions of the Introduction
A well-written introductory paragraph performs four important roles:
1. It attracts the reader’s interest, encouraging him or her to continue reading the
essay.
2. It supplies any background information that the reader may need to understand
the essay.
3. It presents a thesis statement. This clear, direct statement of the main idea of the
essay usually appears near the end of the introductory paragraph.
4. It indicates a plan of development. In this “preview,” the major supporting points
for the thesis are listed in the order in which they will be presented. In some cases,
the thesis and plan of development appear in the same sentence. However, writers
sometimes choose not to describe the plan of development.

THE MIDDLE

His knowledge is extensive, various, and profound. His mind is equally distinguished
by the amplitude of its grasp, and by the delicacy of its tact.
Macaulay, of Hallam’s Constitutional History of England

The middle of your essay is the introduction writ large. But there is in the middle a
major shift of emphasis away from bald propositions and conclusions towards the
careful working-out of arguments and the balancing of interpretations with the
evidence you call upon to support them. To justify the case presented in your
introduction is to develop arguments, to deploy evidence, to evaluate the strength of
counterarguments and apparent counterevidence, and to demonstrate their relevance
to the question with which you began. In all this your aim is to show not so much
that the answer you have decided on is the right answer, but that it is a reasonable
point of view to hold.

2. Support paragraphs (sometimes called body paragraphs) provide evidence that

the thesis is valid. An acceptable college essay must have at least three well-
developed support paragraphs. Each support paragraph should flow logically to the
next support paragraph. This is often accomplished by the careful use of transitional
expressions. Many essays have three supporting points, developed at length over
three separate paragraphs. However, more developed essays require four or more
body paragraphs to support the thesis. This is very common in essays with thesis
statements that omit a plan of development. Each of the supporting paragraphs
should begin with a topic sentence that states the point to be detailed in that
paragraph. Just as a thesis provides a focus for the entire essay, the topic sentence
provides a focus for a supporting paragraph.

THE ENDING

[In the Epilogue] you must make the audience well-disposed towards yourself . . .
Aristotle

3. The concluding paragraph is the final paragraph of the essay. Its purpose is to
give the reader a sense that the essay has come to a satisfying conclusion. By this
point, the reader should have the feeling that everything the essay needed to say has
been said.
The concluding paragraph often summarizes the essay by briefly restating the thesis
and, at times, the main supporting points. In addition, the writer often presents a
concluding thought about the subject of the paper.
WHAT IS A THESIS STATEMENT?

A thesis statement gives the main idea of an essay. In thesis statement, we discuss
two important things: an issue and approach towards that issue.
The thesis statement of an essay tells what the writer intends to prove, defend, or
explain about the topic. It may show the writer’s viewpoint toward the topic or show
how the writer intends to treat the topic. We say that the thesis has a controlling idea.
This most important sentence is usually placed in the penultimate line or at the end
of the introductory paragraph. Every essay addresses a broad general topic, such as
writing. A thesis statement, however a full sentence that narrows the topic
specifically to what the essay is about, such as the beginning stage of writing. It also
makes clear the writer’s position on or claim about that topic. Often the thesis
statement gives a preview of the subdivisions or subtopics to be developed in the
body of the essay. Develop your central argument (your argument, evidence, detail
(examples) and statistical facts) must support your Thesis Argument.
This central idea is usually presented as a thesis statement in an essay’s
introductory paragraph. A good thesis statement does two things. First, it
tells readers an essay’s topic. Second, it presents the writer’s attitude,
opinion, idea, or point about that topic. For example, look at the following
thesis statement:
Owning a pet has several important benefits.
In this thesis statement, the topic is owning a pet; the writer’s main point
is that owning a pet has several important benefits.

Sample thesis statement: All-day kindergarten programs benefit

children in several important ways.

Do not confuse a thesis statement with a title or a simple fact. A title is usually a
phrase, not a complete sentence.

Sample title: The Advantages of All-Day Kindergarten

A fact is something known for certain. It can be verified. A fact does not
suggest a personal viewpoint
Sample fact: Very few kindergartens in the United States
offer a full day of instruction.
CREATING AN EFFECTIVE THESIS STATEMENT
NARROWING THE SCOPE OF THE TOPIC
Student writing suffers when the chosen topic is too general. A good writer must
recognize when the topic needs to be narrowed or qualified so that the material will
fit the length of an essay (which is often only a few paragraphs long) and also fi t the
writer’s knowledge and experience. Consider the following example:

General topic: Swimming

A writer decides to write something about swimming, but the topic swimming seems
too general for an interesting essay, so the writer thinks about how to limit or qualify
that topic.

To limit the topic, the writer chooses a different term that covers a smaller part of
the topic and thus narrows the scope.

Limited topic: Floating

To qualify the topic, the writer adds a descriptive word or phrase to the general
topic. This change will also result in narrowing the scope of the topic.

Qualified topic: Swimming two hours a week

CHOOSING A CONTROLLING IDEA THAT CAN BE SUPPORTED

The controlling idea is what you want to show or prove about your topic. It is your
point of view. A controlling idea must be something you can defend. Often this
controlling idea is expressed by an adjective such as beneficial, difficult, or unfair.
The writer who narrowed the scope of the topic swimming to either floating or
swimming two hours a week may have chosen the following italicized words as the
controlling ideas for an essay.
Topic: Swimming
Narrowed topic: Floating
Possible thesis statement: Learning to float at the age of twenty was a terrifying
experience.

Qualified topic: Swimming two hours a week

Possible thesis statement: Swimming two hours a week can dramatically
change a person’s health.

PLANNING FOR THE STRATEGY OF DEVELOPMENT

Sometimes the strategy of development is included in the thesis statement. The
reader recognizes the strategy by the use of specific words that signal the strategy:

description (sight, sound, taste, advantages, disadvantages

smell, touch) causes, effects, reasons, why
example, anecdote definition, meaning, analysis
classify, groups, types, kinds persuasion, argument
comparison, contrast process, steps, stages, how to

Study the following thesis statement:

Studying in a group can sometimes be more helpful than studying alone.

Now look at the thesis sentence again and analyze its parts.
General topic: studying
Qualified topic: studying in a group (contrasted to studying alone)
Controlling idea: more helpful
Strategy of development: contrast

Here the writer has not used the word contrast in the thesis, but it is clear that a
contrast will be made between studying alone and studying in a group.

Composing the Thesis Statement

General Topic: Community Services
Qualified topic: Community Services for Senior Citizens in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Controlling idea: Explain the different types of services available.
Strategy of development: Classification
Thesis Statement: The community services available to senior citizens in Ann
Arbor, Michigan, can be classified into three major groups: services to deal with health, housing,
and leisure.
 References
Albright, Z. L. & Langan, J. (2020) Exploring Writing Paragraphs and Essays.
McGraw-Hill Education, New York.

Langan, J. (2010). College Writing Skills. The McGraw-Hill Companies, New

York
Taylor, G. (2009). A Student’s Writing Guide, How to Plan And Write Successful
Essays. Cambridge University Press.

Zemach, D. E. & Rumisek, L.A. (2005). Academic Writing, from Paragraph to

Essay, Macmillan Education.