English
nkg-iv
week8_day1_intros.pptxENG 101 – Fall 2016
Alex Lowry, Marymount University
Observation Essay – Intros & Conclusions
Introduction
Function
What does it do?
It should:
engage the reader
inform them of your topic and what to expect in your essay
Form
How does it do it?
3 Main Features of the Introduction
Eye catcher sentence
Topics Sentence
Thesis Statement
The rest of the introduction can be exposition or background information not found in any of the body paragraphs.
Eye catcher
This should be your first sentence
It should introduce your main topic
It should also interest and engage your reader
Some possibilities for a good eye catcher include
Question (e.g. Have you ever … ?)
Anecdote (a short short story)
Definition
Surprising fact
Statistic
Quote
Eye catcher
In your example essay, find the eye catcher.
What kind of eye catcher is it?
Note that although this author, who is an excellent writer and a former professor of mine, uses a question as an opening eye catcher, I have noticed a trend among students to use a question. They see it as easier, but often their question is banal, obvious or ineffective as an eye catcher, or inappropriate for the audience. So be careful if you choose to use a question as an eye catcher… Make sure it is biting, poignant and highly relevant to your thesis. Remember that this is an essay, not a feature article, so try to avoid the hallmarks of cuteness.
In fact, please avoid using a question as an eye catcher, unless you run that question by me first.
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Topics Sentence
The Topics Sentence should not immediately follow the Eye catcher
It should, rather, immediately precede the Thesis Statement, which comes last
The Topics Sentence should include ALL THREE of your sub-topics in one sentence
These should be presented to the reader in the order they will follow in the BODY paragraphs
Now, find the Topics Sentence in the example essay, and circle it.
It will be okay if you combine the thesis statement and topics sentence into a longer compound sentence.
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Thesis Statement
Thesis statement should follow the Topics Sentence*.
The thesis statement should reveal your subject and what you plan to say about it
The thesis statement should feature the subject plus one of the following:
FEATURE: What is special about the topic?
FUNCTION: What is the purpose of the essay? (e.g. maybe you want to make a recommendation …)
FEELING: How do you feel about the subject?
^^^^^**^^^^^
* It is OK if the order is reversed.
**NOTE: The aspects of the thesis statement listed above are relevant to the OBSERVATION ESSAY, but all of them will not always be appropriate—it depends on the type of essay. In general, FUNCTION will be appropriate regardless of the type of essay.
Thesis Statement
Find the Thesis Statement in the example essay and draw a star next to it ★
What kind of Thesis Statement is it? (Feature, Function or Feeling?)
Thesis Statement
Start with this*, because it will drive everything else
Think about what you want to say about your subject before you start writing your Thesis Statement
Once you’ve written a good Thesis Statement
make adjustments to your Outline
then, begin writing the rest of your Introduction
*We’ve already considered the thesis statement, and by now you should have a pretty good one
We’ve already considered the thesis statement, and by now you should have a pretty good one
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The Body
The Body of your essay will feature three paragraphs
Each of these will be based on one of the topics you chose for your outline
Begin each body paragraph with a topic sentence that informs the reader of what the paragraph will be about
Within the body paragraph, try to incorporate transitional words to make the paragraph flow better.
NOTE: transitional words go at the beginning of a sentence
Observation Essay: First Draft
due next writing class
bring to class
length: 4 pages, MLA style (2x spaced)
the focus is on organization and form
include eye catcher
include topics sentence
include ** thesis statement **
use your cluster/outline as a guide
