Essay writing summary 31 Jan

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 6

Welcome! 

Road map

• BBC One Minute World News
• Reading list
• Essay writing 

BBC One minute world news

• Watch the clip
• What are the two/three topics that are being discussed? 
• What is your idea/opinion about .....be prepared to talk about them! 

www.bbc.com

How?

• Planning
• Shaping
• Drafting
• Revising
• Editing/proofreading
• Hand in

Planning

• purpose, audience, tone
• choose your topic that you care about/know about/like
• develop a thesis statement
• think! / gather information

Thesis statement

'It tells your readers what your essay's topic is and indicates what you will say about this topic', 'direct and straightforward'.

The Wadsworth Handbook, p. 43. 

Examples

• In this essay, I will discuss the impact of the environmental movement on college campuses. 
• The use of ethanol should be discontinued because it has caused worldwide food shortages. 
• Despite its limitations, Wikipedia can be a valuable tool for locating reliable sources. 

Thesis statement

• Can people reasonably disagree?
• Can you formulate an antithesis?
• Can you support your TS by evidence?
• Does your TS make your position clear to your readers? 

Framework

Introduction with your thesis statement

• anecdote, reason you chose the topic, background

Body: your actual argument

• one topic per paragraph
• argument in support
• argument in support
• refutation of opposing argument 

conclusion

Framework

Introduction with thesis statement:  40

Body: 

• background: 75
• argument in support: 75
• argument in support: 75
• refutation of opposing argument 75

Conclusion: 40

Total: 380 words 

www.student.unsw.edu.au

Drafting

• Take your framework
• Focus on the top sentences
• Write your paragraphs 
• Add an introduction with your TS
• Add a conclusion 
• Add a title

Coherence

A paragraph and its larger entity, the essay, are coherent when all its sentences/ paragraphs clearly relate to one another.

Coherence

• arranging details
• transitional words/phrases/sentences
• parallel structures
• repeating key words and phrases

Questions?