Essay One

Getting To Know You

Purpose

The purpose of this assignment is to focus on writing a solid introduction with a strong thesis statement, on seeing body paragraphs as discrete blocks of information that cohere to form a greater image than what they initially formed, and on crafting a successful conclusion that allows the essay to get wrapped up rather than just end.

Assignment

Write a Thesis-Driven essay that explores four different aspects of your identity. You may choose from the following: your racial heritage; your sex / gender identity; your understanding of yourself; your understanding of how others see you; a defining experience / event; a defining activity. Write a solid Introduction with a strong Thesis Statement. Write one Body Paragraph for each aspect of your identity in the Body of your essay. Write a competent Conclusion that Restates (w/o repeating) the Thesis Statement.

Ways to Proceed

Introduction

Your Introduction is most likely the most important aspect of your essay. Usually, any essay will have a general Topic for discussion. Your Thesis Statement is what you wish to say about the given topic. Think of it like this. . . .

Topic: The subject about which you want to write.

Thesis Statement: What you have to say about the Topic.

A good Introduction introduces the topic for discussion and leads up to a strong Thesis Statement. Use one of the various forms of introductory strategies to introduce the Topic: Truncated; Narrative; Striking Quotation; Startling Statistic; Definition; Question. After you introduce the topic for discussion, your task is to gradually narrow down the scope of your paragraph until you reach your Thesis. This is where a great deal of the artistry in writing takes place. If you craft your Introduction well, it will definitely make writing the rest of the essay easier.

Thesis Statement

This is the definitive statement in your essay that declares to the reader what you intend to say about the topic. A well written Thesis will possess THREE inherent characteristics that demand of you as a writer to: Predict your position on the Topic for discussion; Control the scope of the paper; and Obligate you as a writer to prove your position on the topic.

1. PREDICT
2. CONTROL
3. OBLIGATE

Examples of some strong Thesis Statements for this assignment:

My identity is made up of many diverse interests and backgrounds.

A diverse number of backgrounds and interests help forge my identity.

A diversity of backgrounds and interests have helped to make me the person I am today.

Body Paragraphs

Like pieces of a mosaic, each individual body paragraph has a unique shape and form unto itself.

However, when taken as a whole, these individual body paragraphs coalesce to form an image that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Hence, writing body paragraphs for an essay should help you to learn how to stay focused on ONE topic for a body paragraph, while it will also help you to learn how to string together a bunch of thematically linked paragraphs until you create that "larger picture" for your paper.

Conclusion

A good conclusion artfully RESTATES (without repeating) the Thesis Statement. It should NOT begin with phrases like "In conclusion" or "To sum up" if you want it to be an ARTFUL conclusion. Here's a couple of techniques that work for concluding the essay in an artful manner. . . .

"What If. . . ."

Sometimes asking yourself the question "What if" I or the reader had never encountered this essay? How would our understanding of the topic be different? By asking these questions, you should be able to craft a conclusion that starts with a couple of sentences like these:

"If we never never ask ourselves the question, 'Who am I?' then we can never truly know who we are. By exploring aspects of our identity, and how they're made up, we see not only who we are, but also what is our place in society. . . . etc."

These kinds of statements allow us to restate without repeating the Thesis Statement.

"Now that. . . ."

Another successful technique is to ask the question, "Now that" I have written this essay, and now that my readers have read this essay, what have we learned about the topic?" By asking questions like this one, you should be able to craft a conclusion that starts with a sentence or two:

"Now that we have explored various aspects of our identity, we see how it is actually part of a complex process of interwoven perspectives. We understand that it is not only important how we see ourselves, but also how others perceive us. . . . etc."

This technique also allows you to start a conclusion that Restates (without repeating) the Thesis Statement.

Try one or both of these techniques the next time you reach the conclusion of an essay to see how they may help you in crafting an artful conclusion.

Criteria for Evaluation

Your essay should be typed, double-spaced, with one inch margins (top, bottom, right, left), 12 point standard font (Times New Roman, Arial, Calibri, etc.). Length should be about four (4) pages. You will be expected to develop a thesis driven essay that focuses on various aspects of your identity. You will be expected to make general statements that develop and explicate a pervasive theme in the story. Moreover, you need to support these statements in paragraph form throughout the body of the essay, citing examples from your personal experiences whenever appropriate. I will be paying special attention to focus, development and structure (essay, paragraph, and particularly sentence). I will note grammar and spelling errors as well. Make sure that your essay is well focused and structured for this assignment. Proper MLA citation and documentation is an absolute necessity for this paper. Good luck on this assignment!