The Essay

1
The Essay
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Methods of Developing an Essay

• Narration
• Tell a story to illustrate a main idea (thesis)
• Description
• Appeal to the senses
• Exposition
• Informative writing
• Argumentation
• Seeks assent, advises or moves the reader to act

3
Narration

• Tells a story
• Focuses on events, actions
• Shows narrators (writers) response to the event
• Has a beginning, middle, and end
• Use of character, setting, conflict, dialogue etc.

4
Description

• Tells how something looks, feels, sounds, smells,
  or tastes.
• Creates a dominant impression on the reader.
• Rarely used in isolation, often in conjunction
  with other methods.

5
Exposition

• Most familiar to you
• Term papers
• Exam
• Types
• Cause and effect
• Comparison
• Process
• Definition
• Example

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Argumentation and Persuasion

• Argumentation
• Creates us vs. them position
• Divides audience
• Shows strength of position on issue
• Persuasion
• Attempts to unify audience
• Asks them to act in some way

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Mixing Methods

• Most effective writing will use more than one
  method to develop ideas.
• Most essays will have one dominant method.