Expository+Essay+notes

Essay notes – Author’s theme – The author’s statement about a topic. Essay writer’s thesis includes: The thesis of an essay is the controlling idea for the entire essay. Introduction (first paragraph) – Start with something to introduce the idea to your reader. Body paragraphs (3) Conclusion – Rules for academic writing:
 * Steinbeck – Dreams don’t come true.
 * Fairy tales – Dreams do come true.
 * Same topic, different theme.
 * A topic
 * An opinion
 * May be a little story, an example, a broad idea on the general topic.
 * Ideas narrow, focusing on this essay.
 * Intro will include the name of the author and the text under discussion.
 * Lead the reader to your thesis.
 * End intro with thesis.
 * All follow the same pattern
 * Start with a topic sentence (the main idea for this paragraph)
 * This must support the thesis.
 * Give context for your example from the text.
 * Put your first example //inside// your own sentence.
 * Follow the example with an explanation of how this supports the topic sentence.
 * Ex.: When George and Slim are talking about Lennie, Slim says the other men “come in and get their bunk and work a month, and then they quit and go out alone” (39). This makes it clear that solitary travelers are expected on the ranch.
 * Use two examples in each body paragraph to show you’re explaining a pattern.
 * At the beginning of the next paragraph, use a transition to show your reader you are changing topics.
 * Start with a restatement of the thesis (same idea, not quite the same words).
 * Broaden out from the thesis to include how this idea affects other things, or how it relates to issues now. This is where to include related ideas that may not fit under your thesis.
 * No “I, me, I think, in my opinion”
 * ** Don’t ** use contractions
 * Don’t retell the story.
 * Stick to your thesis!