Essay Introduction

The Essay

If you can write a good paragraph, you should be able to write a good essay (composition). The difference is that the essay requires(требует) more material and more planning. The principles of unity and coherence are basically the same.

A paragraph has	An essay has
A topic sentence	An essay sentence
A controlling idea	A (essay) thesis statement
Every sentence supports the topic sentence and the controlling idea	Every paragraph supports the essay sentence and the essay statement
Basic materials of a paragraph development are details, reasons, and illustrations	Basic materials of an essay development are paragraphs of details, reasons, and illustrations
Sentences are composed and arranged in a plan of major and minor supports	Paragraphs are composed and arranged in a plan of major and minor supports
Sentences are linked together with appropriate means of coherence	Paragraphs are arranged and linked together with appropriate means of coherence

Most academic writing is longer than one paragraph. In fact, paragraphs are usually building blocks(строительнные блоки) for essays. An essay is a group of paragraphs about one topic. Like a good paragraph, a good essay is unified and coherent. To achieve unity and coherence in both you can use the same techniques. You can classify essays and paragraphs according to the same purposes (process, cause/effect, etc.), but an essay contains more details and examples than a paragraph. Therefore, it is a larger piece of writing(это больший кусок информации).

To guide(руководство) readers through a piece of writing presented in an essay, a writer can provide(обеспечит) four basic kinds of signals:

(1) Thesis and forecasting statements, to orient the readers to ideas and organization; (2) paragraphing, to group related (взаимосвязанный) ideas and details;

(3) cohesive devices, to connect ideas to one another and bring about coherence and clarity;

(4) transitions, to signal relationships or shifts in meaning.

Each essay has three major parts: an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. These parts correspond to the three major parts of the paragraph, but they are longer. An essay’s introductory paragraph contains some general statements about the essay topic as its thesis statement (тезис, положение, тема очерка, сочинения ) or its main idea.

Each paragraph in the body(текст) of an essay supports the thesis statement. Each contains a topic sentence and major, and minor supporting sentences that are linked together coherently and that develop the essay topic.

The essay’s conclusion, like the paragraph’s concluding sentence summarizes the essay’s main ideas and brings it to an end.

The thesis statement of an essay is similar in purpose to the topic sentence of a paragraph. It presents the topic and the controlling idea for the whole essay. The thesis statement also often acts as a guide to other important information:

(1) the purpose and corresponding organizational structure of the essay

(2) the writer’s point of view or opinion about the topic

To help readers find their way in a written work, the writer can provide two kinds of orienting information: thesis statements that declare (объявлять)the main point and forecasting(прогнозирование) statements that, in addition to stating the thesis, previews the way the thesis will be developed.

The thesis statement is usually a single statement that declares the essay’s main idea. Like the focus of a picture the thesis statement directs the reader’s attention to the one idea that brings all the other ideas and details into perspective.

A further important decision is where to place the thesis statement. Most readers expect to find some information at the beginning of the text that will give them a context for the essay. They expect essays to open with thesis statements, and they need such statements to orient them, particularly if they are reading about a new and difficult subject. A thesis statement placed at the beginning of an essay helps give readers a sense of control over the subject, enabling(позволяющие) them to anticipate(предвидеть) the content of the essay and more easily understand the relationship between its various ideas and details.

In short, informal essays and in some argumentative essays, a writer will give a direct statement of the thesis at the end. Such a thesis is designed to bring together the various pieces of information or evidence introduced(представить доказательства) in the essay; in many cases, a concluding thesis is also used to point the way toward (указать путь к)future developments(будущие события).

A special kind of thesis statement, a forecasting statement not only identifies the thesis but also gives an overview of the way that thesis will be developed.

Some thesis statements mention the subtopics that will be treated in the essay. Each of these subtopics then becomes a separate paragraph in the body of the essay. Other thesis statements do not provide the subtopics, but they indirectly say what they will be. The thesis statement is the “key” to the essay. Without this key it is difficult to unlock the meaning of the essay.

Direct Thesis Statement: The financial problems that small residential arts colleges face are the direct result of a decrease in the number of college-age students nationwide, an increase in the proportion of those students who prefer technical and professional training over the traditional arts and the rapid and far-reaching effects of the distance educational movement.

Indirect Thesis Statement: There are a number of causes for the financial problems that small residential arts colleges face.

Read the thesis statements and answer the questions:

1. Four major components make up the marketing mix of any successful business: the product itself, the product price, the means of product distribution, and the means of product promotion.

- What is the topic of this essay?

- What subtopics will be discussed?

- Is this a direct or indirect thesis statement?

- How many paragraphs will there be in the body of this essay?

- Does the writer express an opinion in this thesis statement? If so, what is it?

2. Depression strikes an increasing number of people each year and its effects can be devastating.

- What is the topic of this essay?

- Is this a direct or indirect thesis statement?

- What is the purpose of this essay?

3. You only have to scratch the surface to see how damaging competitive sports are to the overall psychological development of children.

- What is the topic of this essay?

- Is this a direct or indirect thesis statement?

- Does the writer express an opinion in this thesis statement? If so, what is it?

Essay Introduction

The introduction is what readers read first, so it is very important. The introduction presents the essay topic in general. In addition, through the thesis statement, the introduction guides the reader to the essay’s organization and purpose. The introduction should also include a “hook” (крючок, приманка). Something that attracts readers’ attention and makes them want to read further(дальше).

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14