Meeting 1

EXPLORING AN ESSAY
A. What is an essay?
“Any short composition in prose that undertakes to discuss a matter, express a point of
view, or persuade us to accept a thesis on any subject.” (Abraham in Jock, 2007:6). It
means that a variety of topic can be elaborated into a good essay. A writer can express
their important things, ideas, concept in short writing.

An essay is a short collection of paragraphs that presents fact, opinions, and ideas about
a topic. Topic can range from a description of a visit to the beach to a hike in the
Himalayas to an argument for or against nuclear energy (Keith, [Link]., 2015:4). The
description above means that the writer can freely express their ideas or thought based
on certain topic. The topic can start from the simplest one to complex writing. It can be
description or to persuading some societies.

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 (Albraight, [Link]., 2020).

B. The Shape of the Essay

For many of today’s students, an essay is five to seven paragraphs of prose writing that
explains or persuades. The actual length of the body of the essay is not particularly
relevant. What is important is that students understand the general overview of the
essay. I like to begin with a picture. My students know that I promote visualization, so it
doesn’t come as a surprise to most of them that I have a Picture of an Essay (page 10)
up my painter’s smock. In class, I just draw a bunch of lines on the board. As this is a
teacher reference, I jazzed up my artistic rendition to create what you see on page 10—
but the essence is the same. I take students through my Picture step-by-step.

1. The introductory paragraph is relatively short. On a classroom whiteboard I

draw my lines in green to symbolize Go. It is the beginning and invites the
reader to proceed. The concluding paragraph—in red to symbolize Stop—is
also quite short.
2. The body paragraphs are longer than either the introduction or conclusion.
The left margins are as straight as an arrow, as a teacher’s path to the coffee
machine, or as a Sunday-school teacher’s sense of humor. While the right
margins are as crooked as a dog’s hind leg, a politician’s promise, or a
principal’s path to the point he is trying to make, they are straight enough to
centre the writing as would a picture frame. Arrows join the paragraphs,
showing that the preceding one is connected to the latter.
3. The sentences in blue on my classroom whiteboard are the topic sentences.
Topic sentences, in individual paragraphs, will have been taught earlier in the
year and in previous grades. When I am drawing and coloring the essay
picture, I will remind students of the concept of a topic sentence, but won’t
dwell on it until we look at some exemplars (see pages 56–57) (Jock, 2007:7).
There is other theory about part of an essay. Here it is:
1. Introduction. Here you’ll mention the topic of your essay and its thesis. As
you know, essays can’t live without a thesis; so, a thesis statement in your
outline will help you support it in each paragraph of your essay body.
2. Body paragraphs. There will be a minimum three paragraphs in your essay’s
body, so make sure to include each one in the outline. For each paragraph,
write down a topic sentence with an argument relating to your thesis and
 mention all the support: data, facts, examples, and other evidence you’ll use
to prove the topic sentence of this paragraph.
3. Conclusion. Wrap up your essay here. Restate your thesis and summarize
the goal of your paper.
([Link],2015)
An essay has three main parts: an introduction (introductory paragraph), a body (at least one,
but usually two or more paragraphs), a conclusion (concluding paragraph). The chart shows you
how the parts of a paragraph correspond to the part of an essay (Oshima, Alice, 2014).
It is a composition of over five hundred words that consists of an introduction, conclusion, and
body. The introduction and conclusion are usually only one paragraph each, and the body of
the essay is at least three paragraphs, but can often be more.
1. 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 favourited 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. In some cases, however, the plan of development is omitted. For
example, a thesis that claims, “Education can be a key to socioeconomic security”
doesn’t state how the essay will be developed, but still advances a central idea.
2. 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.
3. 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 (Albraight, [Link]., 2020).

C. The Essay Outline

There are several things to be concerned in making an outline of an essay:
1. Possible topics of interest
2. Narrowing topics for individual essay
3. Practicing with the form of an outline
 4. A first look at research (drafting).
EXERCISE

1. This activity will sharpen your sense of the parts of an essay. “Coping with Old Age” has
no indentations starting new paragraphs. Read this essay carefully, and then double-
underline the thesis and single-underline the topic sentence for each of the three
supporting paragraphs and the first sentence of the conclusion. Write the numbers of
those sentences in the spaces provided at the end.

Coping with Old Age

1
I recently read about an area of the former Soviet Union where many people live to be well
over a hundred years old. 2Being 115 or even 125 isn’t considered unusual there, and these old
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people continue to do productive work right up until they die. The United States, however,
isn’t such a healthy place for older people. 4Since I retired from my job, I’ve had to cope with
the physical, mental, and emotional stresses of being “old.” 5For one thing, I’ve had to adjust to
physical changes. 6Now that I’m over sixty-five, the trusty body that carried me around for years
has turned traitor. 7Aside from the deepening wrinkles on my face and neck, and the wiry gray
hairs that have replaced my brown hair, I face more frightening changes.
8
I don’t have the energy I used to. 9My eyes get tired. 10Once in a while, I miss something that’s
said to me. 11My once faithful feet seem to have lost their comfortable soles, and I sometimes
feel I’m walking on marbles. 12In order to fight against this slow decay, I exercise whenever I
can. 13I walk, I stretch, and I climb stairs. 14I battle constantly to keep as fit as possible. 15I’m also
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trying to cope with mental changes. My mind was once as quick and sure as a champion
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gymnastic. I never found it difficult to memorize answers in school or to remember the names
of people I met. 18Now, I occasionally have to search my mind for the name of a close neighbour
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or favourite television show. Because my mind needs exercise, too, I challenge it as much as I
can. 20Taking a college course like this English class, for example, forces me to concentrate.
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The mental gymnast may be a little slow and out of shape, but he can still do a back flip or
turn a somersault when he has to.

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Finally, I must deal with the emotional impact of being old. 23Our society typecasts old people. 24We’re
supposed to be unattractive, senile, useless leftovers. 25We’re supposed to be the crazy drivers and the
cranky customers. 26At first, I was angry and frustrated that I was considered old at all. 27And I knew that
people were wrong to stereotype me. 28Then I got depressed. 29I even started to think that maybe I was a
cast-off, one of those old animals that slow down the rest of the herd. 30But I have now decided to rebel
against these negative feelings. 31I try to have friends of all ages and to keep up with what’s going on in
the world. 32I try to remember that I’m still the same person who sat at a first-grade desk, who fell in love,
who comforted a child, who got a raise at work. 33I’m not “just” an old person. Coping with the changes
of old age has become my latest full-time job. 35Even though it’s a job I never applied for, and one for
which I had no experience, I’m trying to do the best I can