Writer’s Workshop 1.2 What Makes a Good Essay

Writer’s Workshop 1.2: What Makes a Good Essay

GOOD ESSAYS will include:

1. Introduction: a thoughtful, creative, non-cliche introduction that focuses the reader into the subject of the essay generally and specifically, leading us to the primary thesis
2. Thesis: a comprehensive thesis (often incorporated into a non-trivial introduction).
3. Relevant Content: presentation of relevant content (NOT a comprehensive summary of such content, but a brief and necessary summary)
4. Direct Evidence: such relevant content will likely include (and must include in this class) relevant and interwoven direct quotations
5. Analysis of Evidence: an analysis of that content (and quotations as used) that aims to show how that content justifies the thesis
6. Multiple Paragraphs: such presentation of relevant content and its analysis will be present in a multi-paragraph format (usually one introduction paragraph, numerous body paragraphs depending on the length of the assignment and the necessary depth of the argument, and one conclusion paragraph).
7. Conclusion: A conclusion that reflects your thesis and summarizes the argument that was made, perhaps also including further ramification of the thesis if true.
8. Works Cited: All sources must be cited using either in-text or footnoted citation, including the aurthor(s) and location ID (page number – or paragraph or line number if unpaginated – or time stamp if a video or audio source).
9. Proper grammar, spelling, syntax, and professional language (absence of colloquialisms and platitudes).

We will present a lesson on each of the first eight components. Since grammar and syntax are quite expansive, these materials have been given in a seperate course on grammar.

The ultimate point of most essays is to justify the merit or truth of some subjective hypothesis (opinion), not simply state one’s unqualified opinion. Weaker or more novice essays will usually only provide summary of content and/or the statement of unsubstantiated opinions. The presentation and justification of ideas might take different forms based on the style and genre of the essay.

How to Parse a Writing Prompt:

Below, I give a hypothetical writing prompt. Writing prompts are designed to get you to write about an issue or topic generally and specifically. They usually contain multiple parts and sometimes ask various questions, but it is important to remember that you are writing ONE essay, not a series of short answer responses. Consequently, any questions within a writing prompt are there not to all be comprehensively answered, but to “prompt” your thinking and provoke some ideas. A skill to learn is to be able to identify what is the primary issue to address and what are the prompting questions one may considering in addressing the topic at hand.

Ultimately, understanding the structure and expectation of such given writing prompts from a teacher or superior will help you to formulate your own questions and research topics in later classes.

In a writing prompt, there are generally three to four parts with the fourth part being optional: Context, Considerations, Task, Addendum. This of these parts as a “zoom-in” process on a map; at each level we are getting closer and closer to our specific subject. However, we do not need to start too far zoomed out. Consider the City of Gainesville as our subject; then, we could begin at the level of the globe or even the solar system, but this seems a bit too abstract and unnecessary distant from our subject – there are many things in the globe and solar system are are wholly unrelated to Gainesville. Thus, we need to find the right starting magnification to give ourselves and our reader enough context. For the City of Gainesville, then, the zoom-out level of the United States might be the maximum zoom-out to consider; we might then zoon into Florida, since there are perhaps numerous Gainesville across various states. Then, while Florida gives us a lot of specific context, we then do need to get to Gainesville directly, ignoring Miami and St. Petersburg, since they are quite distant from Gainesville in Florida. This is how essay prompts and abstracts generally work.

1. CONTEXT: 

The Context introduces the topic and perhaps directs one to sources that should or could be used to address the topic; the context may give some rhetorical questions that point to a more specific issue but are in themselves too broad to reasonably answer in a short essay (e.g. "what is the meaning of life, or is all life without purpose?" or "is climate change happening, or are we fruitlessly attempting to stop a change that really does not exist?). Attempting to answer such questions is not really the task, and one should begin to attempt recognizing epistemological and rhetorical questions that present a fundamental issue but clearly cannot be answered in a three to five paragraph short essay.

2. CONSIDERATIONS: 

The Considerations are some additional questions that one might consider addressing when contemplating the issue that was presented in the context. These usually begin to narrow the issue and provoke you to think more and more specifically about the topic (e.g. "Is the meaning of life the same for everyone? Has it remained constant throughout recorded history? Does one's purpose depend on how they were raised and possibly out of their conscious control?"). Such considerations usually pose broad questions, but not as broad as the contextualization. These questions might help guide one’s research on the specific topic or questions being asked. Perhaps one could address one of these questions in the essay given the subsequent "task," but still these are huge topics which cannot all reasonably be addressed in a short-form essay. Begin to recognize these "narrowing" questions that "prompt" your thinking, but do not prescribe a "task."

3. TASK: 

The Task is your actual task in completing the writing prompt. The task might ask you to address one thing specifically from the context or considerations but will not generally expect you to answer everything or anything from the context/considerations. Usually, the task wants you to answer something specifically within some kind of constraints (e.g. using some specific sources). One uses their contemplation of the issue from the context and considerations to begin answering the task, but the task is not usually the context and considerations themselves.

4. ADDENDUM:

Sometimes there is an Addendum to the task. An addendum is some additional task or constraint which one much do or follow to fully complete the given task, such as a presentation of the final essay to peers.

Let’s consider this hypothetical writing prompt:

CONTEXT:
In class, we have discussed how pursuing a meaningful purpose in life is a fundamental human motivation and an essential part of the human experience. But where does such meaning come from, if it exists at all?

CONSIDERATIONS:
What goals should provide direction to our existence? And in searching for a purpose, how can one tell right from wrong, or does it even matter?

TASK:
Drawing on the content from Joel Kupperman’s “Six Myths” and Hermann Hesse’s “Siddhartha” as well as your own personal experience, express your views on what is worth pursuing in life and what is worth seeking.

ADDENDUM:
Give a list of five people you consider your role models.