Four basic steps in essay writing

bronchitis._____________________________The food choices in the cafeteria were unappetizing.______________________Our neighbor’s family room has a lot of electronic equipment.____________________PracticeChange vague, indefinite sentences into sharp, specific ones.	Example: 	She works hard all summer.	All summer, Eva sorted peaches and blueberries in the hot noisy canning factory.The test was difficult.________________________________________________The students were bored._________________________________________________The room needs cleaning_________________________________________________A vehicle blocked traffic._________________________________________________The child started to cry.	_________________________________________________The importance of adequate details - The adequate development uses enough specific details to support the subpoints in supporting paragraphs. - The mistakes that students often make:+ wordiness, repetition and generalities. -> to avoid such stupid mistakes -> giving reasons, examples, facts, statistic, quotations, personal experiencesThe third step:organize and connect the specific evidenceCommon methods of organization1. Time order: Details are listed as they occur in time. 2. Space order: This is used in description. When you describe, you should choose one direction and maintain it (from far to near or near to far, from right to left or left to right, from the top to bottom or vice verse, from inside to outside or vice verse)3. Emphatic order: This is used when your ideas are not equal in weight. You have 02 ways to present your ideas: from most important to least important or from least important to most important. However, the most important idea is often left to the end to make a greater impact to the readers.4. The order of interest: The details are arranged according to your interest. You can put the less interesting detail then the more interesting one, or vice verse. 5. The order of familiarity: More obvious detail to less obvious detail, or vice verse.6. Categorical: Details are arranged by dividing the topic into parts or categories. Transitions- Transitions are signals that help readers follow the direction of the writer’s thought.Additional signals: one	in additionfirst of all	moreoversecond	furthermorethe second reason	finallyalso	nextanotherandTime signals:First	asThen	beforeNext	whileThen	meanwhileAfter	soonNow	finallyDuring	Space signals:Next to	acrossOn the opposite side	to the left, to the rightAbove	belowNearbyChange-of-direction signals:But	howeverYet	in contrast, on the contraryAlthough, though	otherwiseStill	on the other handIllustration signals:For example 	for instance	specificallyAs an illustration	onceSuch as Conclusion signals:Finally,	As a result,In conclusion, 	Indeed,In summary	In brief,In a nut shell,	In short,	last of all ThusConsequently	We can see that 	It is clear that These examples show that There can be no doubt that The evidence suggests that Introductory paragraphA well-written Introductory paragraph have these roles:1. It attracts the readers’ interest.2. It supplies the background information needed to understand the essay.3. It presents the thesis statement.4. It indicates a plan of development. The plan presents the major points that support the thesis. Common method of Introduction: Begin with a broad, general statement of your topic and narrow it down to your thesis statement.	Ex: Bookstore shelves today are crammed with dozens of different diet books. The American public seem willing to try any sort of diet, especially the ones that promise instant, miraculous results. And authors are more than willing to invent new fad diets to cash on this craze. Unfortunately, some of these fad diets are ineffective or even unsafe. One of the worst is “Palm Beach diet”. It is impractical, doesn’t achieve the results it claims, and is a sure route to poor nutrition.Start with an idea or situation that is the opposite of the one you will develop.	Ex: We live in an era where TV is the international pastime. Since the invention of the TV set, people have been spending more of their free time watching television than doing anything else. Many of the television addicts feel that this particular pastime is not a bad one; indeed, they argue that people can learn a great deal watching television. I'm sure that if you look long and hard enough, you can probably find some programs that are educationally motivating. However, for the most part, I say that watching television is a waste of time.Explain the importance of your topic. If you can convince your reader that the subject in some ways applies to them, or is something they should know more about, they will want to keep reading.Ex: Diseases like scarlet fever and whooping cough used to kill more young children than any other cause. Today, however, child mortality due to disease has been almost completely eliminated by medical science. Instead, car accidents are the number one killer of our children. And most of the children fatally injured in car accidents were not protected by car seat, belts, or restrains of any kind. Several steps must be taken to remedy this serious problem.Use an incident or brief story.	Ex: Early Sunday morning the young mother dressed her little girl warmly and gave her a candy bar, a picture book, and well – worn stuffed rabbit. Together, they drove downtown to a Methodist church. There the mother told the little girl to wait on the stone steps until the children began arriving for Sunday school. Then the young mother drove off, abandoning her five-year-old because she could not cope with being a parent anymore. This incident is one of the thousands of cases of child neglect and abuse that occur annually. Perhaps the automatic right to become a parent should no longer exist. Would – be parents, instead, should be forced to apply for licenses granting them the privilege of raising children. Ask one or more questions. These questions will make the readers think about the possible answers, or you may plan to answer the questions yourself.	Ex: What is love? How do we know that we are really in love? When we meet that special person, how can we tell that our feelings are genuine and not merely infatuation? And, if they are genuine, will these feelings last? Love, as we all know, is difficult to define. But most people agree that true and lasting love involves far more than mere physical attraction. It involves mutual respect, the desire to give rather than take, and the feeling of being wholly at ease.6. Open with a quotation pertinent to the topic.	Ex: “Fish and visitors” wrote Benjamin Franklin, “begin to smell after three days.” Last summer, when my sister and her family came to spend their two – week vacation with us, I became convinced that Franklin was right. After only three days, I was thoroughly sick of my brother - in – law’s corny jokes, my sister’s endless complaints about her boss, and their children’s constant invasions of our privacy.Concluding paragraphEnd with a summary and final thought.Include a thought-provoking question or short series of questionsEnd with a prediction or recommendationEssay exampleA vote for McDonald’s	For my birthday this month, my wife has offered to treat me to dinner at the restaurant of my choice. I think she expects me to ask for a meal at the Chalet, the classiest, most expensive restaurant in town. However, I’m going to eat my birthday dinner at McDonald’s. When I compare the two restaurants, the advantages of eating at McDonald’s are clear.	For one thing, going to the Chalet is more difficult than going to McDonald’s. The Chalet has a jacket-and-tie rule, which means I have to dig a sport coat and tie out of the back of my closet, make sure they’re semiclean, and try to team out the wrinkles somehow. The Chalet requires advance reservations. Since it is downtown, I have to leave an hour early to give myself time to find a parking space within six blocks of the restaurant. The Chalet cancels reservations if a party is more than ten minutes late. Going to McDonald’s, on the other hand, is easy. I can feel comfortable wearing jeans or a warm-up suit. I don’t have to do any advance planning. I can leave my house whenever I’m ready and pull into a doorside parking space within fifteen minutes.	The Chalet is a dimly lit, formal place. While I’m struggling to see what’s on my plate, I worry that I knock one of the fragile glass vases off the table. The waiters at the Chalet can be uncomfortably formal, too. As I awkwardly pronounce the French words on the menu, I get the feeling that I don’t quite live up to their standards. Even though the food at the Chalet is gourmet, I prefer simpler meals. I don’t like unfamiliar food swimming in dead-white sauce or cover with pie pastry. Eating at the Chalet, as to me, is less enjoyable than eating at McDonald’s. McDonald’s is a pleasant place where I ell at ease. It is well lighted, and the bright-colored décor is informal. The employees serve with a smile, and the food is easy to pronounce and identify. I know what I’m going to get when I order a certain type of sandwich.	The most importance difference between the Chalet and McDonald’s, though, is the price difference. Dinner for two at the Chalet, even one without the appetizers or desserts, would easily cost $50. And the $50 doesn’t include the cost of parking the car and tipping the waiter, which can come to an additional $10. Once, I forgot to bring enough money. At McDonald’s, a filling meal for two will cost around $10. with the extra $50, my wife and I can eat at McDonald’s five more times, or go to the movies five times, or buy play-off tickets to a football game.	So, for my birthday dinner celebration, or any other time, I prefer to eat at McDonald’s. It is convenient, friendly and cheap. And with the money my wife save by taking me to McDonald’s, she can buy me what I really want for my birthday-a new Sears power saw.