1. Essay
 An organized piece of writing that focuses on a
single topic
 Introductory Paragraph → beginning →
introduction
 Body → supporting ideas
 Concluding Paragraph → ending
 Organized around a THESIS
↓
 develops from all the main ideas in the supportive BODY
paragraphs
 What we are writing about

2. Thesis Statement
 A sentence that states the thesis in the introductory
paragraph
 In between general and specific
 At least three main ideas to discuss and develop
giving structure and organization
 A precise thesis statement is the key to develop and
effective essay

3. Introductory Paragraph
 Introductory Paragraph → First part → reader’s
first contact with the topic from the writer’s
perspective
 Influence the audience to keep reading → first
evaluation
 Interesting general background on the topic
 Thought provoking quotation → a question, a
supportive fact or puzzling statement
 Bridge that connects the attention getty sentence to
the thesis statement
 Last sentence in the paragraph is more important
idea of the essay → the thesis statement

4. Body
 Set of paragraphs that develop the idea expressed in the
thesis statement with major details
 List of supportive ideas, arranged in logical order, with
major details to develop in each paragraph
 Its numbers depends on the topic complexity and
purpose
 Short essays contain between three to five
 Each paragraph should be unique and include different
facts and opinions, but all unified around a main idea
and arranged coherently
 Provide the content of the essay
 Use signal vocabulary for transitions between sentences
and paragraphs

5. Concluding Paragraph
 Purpose → to leave the reader with a positive
impression and sense of completeness and
inclination to think about the topic
 Short and single paragraph
 Without extra information on the topic
 Should follow logically from the body of the essay
 Restatement of the thesis in different words → clarification
 Use signal words : In conclusion, In summary, In closing
 Some thought provoking comment about the topic
with the writers opinion, judgment or
recommendation

6. Signal Vocabulary
 For Examples: for example, for instance, to illustrate
 For Chronological Order: the three steps
are, first, secondly, next, finally
 Additional Points: Furthermore, In
addition, Also, Moreover
 Opposing Ideas: On the other hand, In
contrast, Although, however
 For Similar Ideas: likewise, similarly, in comparison
 For Exception: However, nevertheless, but, yet, still
 For Emphasis: above all, finally, more importantly
 For Understanding: in other words, in essence, briefly
 For Summarizing: In conclusion, to sum up, for these
reasons, in a nutshell
 For Exams: Remember this, this is important, this could be
on the test

7. Revision and Editing Process
 Reviewing and rewriting to make ideas more
logical, understandable and interesting
 Leave material behind, add information or rearrange
 Through reading and collaboration, reading to keep in
mind the purpose audience, careful read multiple times
 Through collaboration to check what the reader
thinks→ find problems , suggestions , improvement to
the organization, clarification of
ideas, grammar, punctuation, spelling and usage
 The final draft should be as neat and as correct as
possible

8. Types of Essays

9. Analysis Essay
 Describes HOW and WHY its elements function
 Is NOT just summarizing (the what)
 Think about how each part of something contributes
to the whole

10. Argumentative Essay
 Suggests specific ways of doing something
 Presents a well-reasoned argument o a debatable
topic
 Tells others how you think things should be
 Cite experts who agree with you to support your
position
 Provide facts, evidence, statistics to support your
position
 Argument and refute the opposite side

11. Persuasive Essay
 Use evidence and good reasons to convince others to
agree with your point of view or oppinion
 Research on the topic to obtain facts and evidence to
support ideas
 The thesis statement should contain 3 elements:
 What the essay will be about
 Where the author stands on the issue
 Briefly explain why

12. Cause and Effect Essay
 Cause → what happened? What are the reasons
 Effects → What is the result? What are the
consequences?
 A scenario in which one action or event caused
certain effects to occur
 Identifies and explains why things turned out the
way they did

13. Comparison and Contrast Essay
 Comparison → consider similarities
 Contrast → consider differences
 Makes connections and/or expresses differences
between two things
 Tell something the reader do not know. Avoid
writing about obvious differences and similarities
 Ways of organizing the paper:
 Chunking: placing all the information for each subject in one
place and then using similarities as transitions
 Piecing: give information for each subject in each paragraph

14. Definition Essay
 Defines a word that has a complex meaning and that
is disputable, or that means different thing to people

15. Narrative Essay
 Relates an event that happened
 Tells a story in a way that the audience learns a
lesson or gains insight
 Use concrete details so that the reader visualizes that
is happening
 Elements:
- Characters - Conflict
- Events - Resolution
- Setting - Theme

16. Descriptive Essay
 Describes person, objects, events so vividly that the
reader feels that he could reach out and touch it
 Use all 5 senses to describe the setting, characters
and plot of a story

17. Division and Classification Essay
 Division Essay:
 Develops a topic that might tend to be underestimate or
oversimplify, or that people might not know much about it.
 Classification Essay:
 Develops a topic that has been misplaced
 An analysis to classify , organize or support information into
appropiat categories