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Lecture Notes - Essay1

The document provides an overview of the key elements of an essay, including: 1) It defines what an essay is - an exploration of a topic from a limited point of view meant to explain or elucidate an idea or perspective. 2) It lists the main elements of an essay such as the central idea, structure, evidence, and coherence. 3) It describes the different types of essays such as strict/impersonal and casual/familiar. 4) It outlines the basic parts of an essay as the introduction, main body, and conclusion.

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27 views

Lecture Notes - Essay1

The document provides an overview of the key elements of an essay, including: 1) It defines what an essay is - an exploration of a topic from a limited point of view meant to explain or elucidate an idea or perspective. 2) It lists the main elements of an essay such as the central idea, structure, evidence, and coherence. 3) It describes the different types of essays such as strict/impersonal and casual/familiar. 4) It outlines the basic parts of an essay as the introduction, main body, and conclusion.

Uploaded by

rieka red
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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DE LA SALLE LIPA

College of Education, Arts and Sciences


Languages and Literature Area

MODULE 3
Handout on Essay
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Essay

Essay comes from the French word, ESSAI, which means trial or test. It is a pose
composition of moderate length devoted to a single topic from a limited point of view. It
explains a provisional exploration or appraisal of a subject and likewise gives details, point of
view or anything that can be said on a point of view or anything that can be said on a particular
subject. Its purpose is to explain or elucidate a thought, a theory, inkling or a standpoint.

Essay serves as an ideal means for transforming human conditions as evoked in its
content. Because of its flexibility and brevity, it brings an attempt for reformation as exemplified
by the personal expression of thoughts and experiences of the writer.

Elements of Essay

A study of essay can be explored looking into its vital elements.

Gordon Harvey (1991) recommends the following for study;

A. Idea explores the general proposition or thesis that the essay argues about the topic whether it
is spelled out fully at the start or revealed gradually. It should be true but arguable and limited
enough in scope to be argued in short composition and with available evidence.

B. Motive identifies the reason for writing, which is suggested at the start of the essay and
echoed throughout. It establishes the reason why one has thought of the topic that needed taking
up and why the reader should care.

C. Structure forms the shape of the ideas, the sequence of sub topics and sections through which
the ideas are unfolded and developed. This takes place through the complementary activities of
convincing the reader and exploring the topics.

D. Evidence identify the facts or details, summarized or quoted, that one uses to support,
demonstrates and prove the main idea and sub ideas. They are ample, concrete and explicitly
connected to the idea.

E. Explanations are bits of background information, summary, context to orient the readers who
are not familiar with the text being discussed. It includes essential plot information, precise
locating of scene or comment, and setting up a quotation, telling who is speaking, in what
context and what the reader should be listening for in it.

F. Coherence shapes the smooth flow of argument created by transition sentences that show how
the next paragraph or section follows from the preceding one, thus sustaining momentum and
echoing key word or resonant phrases quoted or stated earlier.

G. Implication places speculation on the general significance of the particular analysis of a


particular text. One suggests issues of argumentation raised about the authors work generally
about work of its kind or about the way fiction or criticism works.

H. Presence points out the sensation of life in writing of a mind invested in and focused on a
subject, freely directing and developing the essay, not surrendering control to easy ideas,
sentiments or stock phrases.

General Types of Essay

1. Strict or Impersonal deals with serious topics that are authoritative and scholarly in
treatment. It reveals the writer’s mastery of the subject where its tone is dictated, characterized as
something detached, objective, clear, and straightforward.

2. Casual or Familiar deals with light, ordinary, even common place subjects in a language that
is bubbling, casual, conversational, friendly, often humorous, and appeals more to the emotion
than the intellect, touching on sensitivity first then the mind. The main source, the personality of
the author, is revealed in the style and treatment of the subject.

Basic Parts

1. Introduction hints or relates to the main thesis.

2. Main Body presents the discussion and illustration of the main ideas raised,

3. Conclusion presents the generalization or insights of the essay.

Major Patterns

1. Inductive Pattern presents ideas from specific points leading to a general principle or thesis.

2. Deductive Pattern develops ideas from general hypothesis to particular or specific proofs that
lead to a definite ending or conclusion.

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