ENG ESSAY

5

Unit V

Lesson 7: The Body of the Illustration Essay

Introduction

In Unit II, Lesson 6, we discussed the structure of a general body paragraph. A body paragraph generally has four main parts: a point sentence, illustration sentences, explanation sentences, and concluding sentences. There is usually a transition either at the end of one paragraph, leading into the next, or at the beginning of the next paragraph.

· Point sentences (topic sentences) provide one aspect of support for the thesis statement.

· Illustration sentences (supporting sentences) provide evidence, illustrations, examples, etc. that support the point that is made in the point sentence.

· Explanation sentences (supporting sentences) provide explanation for the illustration sentence. Often, writers will assume that their illustrations are self-explanatory, but this is not the case; the reader needs your interpretation of the materials to understand how you are deriving the relationship between this piece of evidence and its support for the point sentence.

· Concluding sentences wrap up the paragraph by bringing the idea full circle. As with other conclusion sentences, the conclusion sentence of the body paragraph should reiterate the point of the paragraph (the main idea) in light of the evidence provided. In the case of a developed essay with several paragraphs, a concluding sentence can also act as a transition to the next paragraph containing the next point or aspect being presented (such as with the example below).

· Transitions are sentences, phrases, clauses, or single words that provide a logical connection between ideas inside paragraphs and within a paper. We will discuss more about transitions later on in this lesson.

Asserting Your Points

Whether you are writing your essay using the single-example or the multiple-example model, you want to be sure that your three aspects or points are represented, one aspect or point per paragraph. It is important to be organized with your thoughts and to consider the reader at all times.

In the example below, you can see that the structure can be complex in that there are multiple kinds of sentences working within the paragraph to perform different jobs. Each sentence should do a job, do the job well, and lead back to the main point (the aspect or point being expressed) of the paragraph. Paragraphs are built around three items: (1) the point, (2) the illustration, and (3) the conclusion/transition. The rest of the sentences work to connect these elements with each other and with the thesis of the paper.

Thesis statement for the entire paper: Social networking has more negative effects than positive by draining people’s time, impacting job stability and opportunities, and diminishing face-to-face interactions.

· Point 1: Social networking can be a drain on a person's time.

· Example of Point 1: According to Adler (2014), people spend more time on social networks than on any other kind of website or on any other activity on the Internet.

(Point Sentences – PS, Illustration Sentences – IS, Explanation Sentences – ES, Concluding Sentences – CS, Transitions – T)

(PS) While the effects of social networking can be extremely damaging, like in the cases of social networking addiction, the most basic issue is that social networking can be a drain on a person's time. (ES) As mentioned, the demands of maintaining one’s social networks can cause an individual to spend more time updating his or her status than living the life he or she is posting about (Ellison, Vitak, Gray, & Lampe, 2014). (T) Certain social networks are worse than others for demands on a person’s time. (IS) Social networks like Facebook, for example, require that the individual not only posts about his or her life, but also interacts with others to sustain relationships. According to Adler (2014), people spend more time on social networks than on any other kind of website or on any other activity on the Internet. (ES) That means that people are spending more time liking and sharing than they do shopping or researching. (T) One must ask when people find time for anything else—especially with the advent of mobile applications that enable users to check their social networks from a handheld device. (CS) Even those who have social networking accounts but who may not participate in them often are at risk of the negative effects of social networking.

Supporting Each Point with a Detail or Example

As we have discussed throughout this unit, each aspect or point (depending upon whether you are writing a single-example or multiple-example respectively) must be supported by an illustration of some kind. You may recall from Lesson 1 of this unit that there are a number of illustration types.

Precise illustrations: This type of illustration points to one specific case in which something occurred. The case does not have to be the only case, but the case highlights one instance thoroughly.

· Types of illustrations (examples):

· Historical moments—events, happenings, important people, etc.

· Examples from professionals and field experts

· Personal accounts—narratives about an individual’s personal life experience (note: personal accounts cannot come from the writer)

General illustrations: This type of illustration is generic, meaning that it can apply to the majority of situations, but not all. A general illustration often asks the reader to generalize a given cause and effect in order to relate it to a larger outcome.

· Types of illustrations (examples):

· Statistics

· Results from scientific studies

· Analogies—a comparison between things that helps with the understanding of the first item being compared (e.g., the heart is like a pump)

Hypothetical illustrations: These illustrations are ones that are typically created by the writer. However, they are also the ones that the writer might borrow from a professional, expert source. A hypothetical illustration suggests a scenario that is extremely likely based upon observed trends.

Note: Because hypothetical illustrations are hypothetical, they can be a compilation of other illustration types. There is no set type of hypothetical illustration.

Incorporating Transitions

If point, illustration, explanation, and concluding sentences are the bricks of a paragraph, then transitions are the mortar that holds the wall together. Transitions are sentences, phrases, clauses, or single words that provide a logical connection between ideas inside paragraphs and within a paper. Without transitions, your work will seem disconnected, disjointed, and lacking. Sometimes your writing can seem abrupt, as though it jumps from one idea to the next without a segue because you do not have proper transitions in place.

You may also think about transitions as a way that you can show the reader the links you as the writer see between these elements. Of course, your audience will not know all of your thoughts, the process you took to write the paragraph, or the reasoning you used. Therefore, utilizing transitions makes it easier for the reader to understand the overall flow of your ideas.

Transitions come in a few different forms: transitions within paragraphs, transitions between paragraphs, and transitions between sections of a paper. As noted above, transitions can also come as whole sentences, as parts of sentences, or as single words.

Transitions within paragraphs: The job of these transitions is to connect ideas within a paragraph. In this way, these transitions perform a very important function in that they ensure that your paragraph is communicating the main elements and the connections between these main elements. These types of transitions are usually a word, phrase, or clause. Sometimes the transition can be an entire sentence.

Transitions between paragraphs: Each paragraph in a paper is a collection of thoughts that forwards and develops one idea or one part of one idea. When people discuss paragraphs, it is usually in terms of how they affect the overall organization of the paper. Transitions between paragraphs function to link the different ideas from each paragraph to one another. Usually these types of transitions are a sentence or two long at the most.

Transitions between sections of a paper: When writing a full research paper or a manuscript, authors use transitions between the sections of their work. Sometimes these are a sentence long, but many other times the transition is a paragraph that moves the reader from the previous section to the next one. You might think about these types of transitions when writing your paper in EH1020, English Composition II.

Transition Words

Transition words can be attached to the beginning of a sentence to create a sense of movement between ideas. Transition words, like all other transitions, reveal a connection between the previous idea and the next idea. The more precise a transition word, the better as the most precise word will reveal the most accurate relationship. Let’s look at some examples. The lists below are not exhaustive, and they do not contain all possible transition word groupings:

a. Additional support/evidence: actually, additionally, again, also, alternatively, and, as a matter of fact, as well as, besides, either, equally important, further, furthermore, in addition, indeed, in fact, let alone, nor, not only/but also, not to mention, moreover, much less, on the one hand/on the other hand, or, then, to say nothing of, too, what is more

b. Cause and effect: accordingly, as a consequence, as a result, as long as, because of, being that, consequently, due to, for fear that, for the purpose of, for this reason, granted, hence, if/then, in consequence, inasmuch as, in order to, in the event that, in the hope that, in view of, lest, seeing that, since, so, so long as, so much so that, so that, to the end that, therefore, thus, when, whenever, while, with this intention, with this in mind

c. Conclusion/summary: after all, all in all, all things considered, altogether, as can be seen, as has been noted, as shown above, briefly, by and large, definitely, finally, for the most part, in any event, in a word, in brief, in conclusion, in either case, in essence, in fact, in short, in sum, in summary, in the end, in the final analysis, generally speaking, given these points, obviously, on balance, on the whole, ordinarily, overall, thus, to conclude, to summarize, to sum up, ultimately, usually

d. Consequence: accordingly, as a result, for this reason, consequently, forthwith, if not, if so, in that case, hence, henceforth, otherwise, that being the case, then, therefore, thereupon, thus, under the/those circumstances

e. Continuation/numerical/order/sequence: first, second, third, etc.; afterwards; before; eventually; finally; at first; first of all; for a start; initially; next; then; previously; subsequently; to begin with; to start with

f. Contrast: albeit, although, although this may be true, besides, be that as it may, but, contrarily, conversely, despite, different from, even so, however, in contrast, in spite of, instead, nevertheless, nonetheless, notwithstanding, of course/but, on the contrary, on the one hand/on the other hand, rather, regardless, still, unlike, whereas, yet

g. Emphasis/example: another key point, as an illustration, by all means, certainly, chiefly, especially, explicitly, even, for example, for instance, for one thing, for this reason, frequently, important to realize, including, indeed, in detail, in fact, in general, in other words, in particular, in this case, like, most compelling evidence, must be remembered, namely, notably, on the positive/negative side, particularly, point often overlooked, significantly, specifically, such as, surely, surprisingly, that is to say, to be sure, to clarify, to demonstrate, to emphasize, to enumerate, to explain, to illustrate, to point out, to put it another way, to put it differently, to repeat, truly, with attention to, with this in mind

h. Introduction: as, as an illustration, by way of example, especially, for example, for instance, for one thing, including, in particular, like, notably, particularly, such as, to illustrate

i. Purpose: for the purpose of, for fear that, for this reason, in order that, in order to, in the hope that, lest, so, so as to, so that, to that end, to the end that, with this in mind, with this intention

j. Similarity: additionally, again, also, comparatively, correspondingly, coupled with, equally, equally important is/are, in addition, in a like manner, in light of, in the same way, likewise, moreover, not only/but only, not to mention, similarly

k. Time: about, after, afterward, all of a sudden, as long as, as soon as, at last, at the present time, at the same time, at this instant, before, by the time, currently, during, earlier, eventually, from time to time, formerly, further, henceforth, immediately, in a moment, in due time, instantly, in the first place, in the meantime, later, meanwhile, next, now, now that/then, occasionally, once, presently, recently, shortly, since, simultaneously, straightaway, subsequently, then, to begin with, until, until now, up to the present time, without delay, when, whenever

Review

1. A body paragraph generally has four main parts: a point sentence, illustration sentences, explanation sentences, and concluding sentences.

2. There is usually a transition either at the end of one paragraph, leading into the next, or at the beginning of the next paragraph.

3. Paragraphs are built around three items: (1) the point, (2) the illustration, and (3) the conclusion/transition. The rest of the sentences work to connect these elements with each other and with the thesis of the paper.

4. Transitions come in a few different forms: transitions within paragraphs, transitions between paragraphs, and transitions between sections of a paper.

5. Transition words help you to reveal relationships between different ideas: (a) additional support and evidence; (b) cause and effect; (c) conclusion and summary; (d) consequence; (e) continuation, numerical, order, and sequence; (f) contrast; (g) emphasis and example; (h) introduction; (i) purpose; (j) similarity; and (k) time.

References from Example

Adler, E. (2014). Social media engagement: The surprising facts about how much time people spend on the major social networks. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/social-media-engagement-statistics-2013-12

Ellison, N. B., Vitak, J., Gray, R., & Lampe, C. (2014). Cultivating social resources on social network sites: Facebook relationship maintenance behaviors and their role in social capital processes. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 19, 855-870. doi:10.1111/jcc4.12078