Essay Writing

MEETING 10

INTRODUCTION TO ESSAY DEVELOPMENT

A. GOALS OF STUDY
At the end of this lesson, students are expected to be able to:
10.1 Know patterns of essay development.
10.2 Know point of view in writing.
10.3 Know the common purposes of writing.

B. MATERIAL DESCRIPTION

Goals of study 10.1:

Know patterns of essay development.

Patterns of Essay Development

Traditionally, essay writing has been divided into the following
patterns of development:

1. Description
A description is a verbal picture of a person, place, or thing.
2. Narration
In narration, a writer tells the story of something that happened.
3. Exposition
• Cause Effect
• Comparison and Contrast
In exposition, the writer provides information about and explains a
particular subject. Pattern of development within exposition include
analyzing causes and effects, comparing and/ or contrasting and
defining a term or concept.

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4. Argumentation
In argumentation, a writer attempts to support a controversial point or
defend a position on which there is a difference of opinion.

Goals of study 10.2:

Know point of view in writing.

Point of view in writing

When you write, you can take any of three approaches, or points of
view: first-person, second-person, or third-person.
a. First-Person Approach
In the first person approach – a strongly individualized point of
view – you draw on your own experience and speak to your audience
in your own voice, using pronouns like I, me, mine, we, our, and us.
The first person approach is most common in narrative essays
based on personal experience. It also suits other essays where most of
the evidence presented consists of personal observation.
Here is a first – person supporting paragraph from an essay on
camping:
First of all, I like comfort when I’m camping. My GMC motor
home, with its completely equipped kitchen, shower stall, toilet,
double bed, and color television, resembles a mobile motel room. I can
sleep on a real mattress, clean sheets, and fluffy pillows. Next to my
bed are devices that make me feel at home: a radio, an alarm clock,
and a TV remote-control unit. Unlike the poor campers huddled in
tents, I don’t have to worry about cold, rain, heat, or annoying insects.
After a hot shower, I can slide into my best nightgown, sit comfortably
on my down-filled quilt, and read the latest best-seller while a
thunderstorm booms outside.

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b. Second-Person Approach
In the second person approach, the writer speaks directly to the
reader, using the pronoun you. The second-person approach is
considered appropriate for giving direct instructions and explanations
to the reader.
c. Third-Person Approach
Third-person approach is by far the most common point of view in
academic writing. In the third person, the writer includes no direct
references to the reader (you) or the self (I, me). Third person gets its
name from the stance it suggest-that of an outsider or “third person”
Here is the paragraph on camping, recast in the third person. Note
the third person pronouns their, them, and they, which all refer to
campers in the first sentence.
First of all, modern campers bring complete bedrooms with them.
Winnebagoes, GMC motor homes, and Airstream trailers lumber into
America’s campgrounds every summer like mobile motel rooms. All
the comforts of home are provided inside. Campers sleep on real
mattresses with clean sheets and fluffy pillows. Next to their beds are
the same gadgets that liter their night tablets at home – radios, alarm
clocks, and TV remote-control units. It’s not necessary for them to
worry about annoyances like cold, heat, rain or buzzing insects, either.
They can sit comfortably in bed and read the latest best – sellers while
a thunderstorm booms outside.

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Goals of study 10.3:

Know the common purposes of writing.

Writing for a Specific Purpose and Audience

The three most common purposes of writing are to inform, to
entertain, and to persuade.

C. QUESTIONS FOR EXERCISE/ ASSIGNMENTS

1. What are the four types of writing?
2. What kind of paper are you going to write?
Answer these following questions!
a. What kind of paper are you going to use:
- Do you need to research other’s ideas?
- Should it be entirely your own ideas?
- Should you compare your ideas with someone else’s ideas?
b. What is the length of the paper?
- Your teacher will tell you (in most cases) page numbers
- If no length is, you need to make sure you have the
appropriate paragraph length - At least four well-developed
paragraphs
c. Will you inform, persuade, or entertain us?
- Inform example: Write an essay explaining how to make a
peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
- Persuade example: Write an essay explaining to us why
PB&Js are the best sandwiches to eat for lunch.
- Entertain example: Write an essay explaining your favorite
memory of the time you ate a PB&J sandwich. HINT!

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d. Who is the audience?

- Most cases- teachers or peers. You will write differently for
these audiences! More serious for teachers, maybe more
humorous for peers.
- Specific audiences - usually with persuasion, but you write to
address that particular group Example: Teens or Female
Teens.
e. What point of view are you writing from?
- Your point of view? (First person)
ü Straight from your mind
ü Pronouns- I, me, mine, we, our, ours
- Writing/ speaking directly to the reader? (Second person)
ü Pronoun- you
- No direct approach? (Third person) **Best choice when writing a
formal essay! **
ü Not talking to anyone directly.
ü Don’t use I, you, but you use just general terms.
ü Pronoun- Their, them, they.
3. Know your subject!
a. Write about something that interests you.
b. Write about things you already know about/ how to do.
c. If you have NOT had direct experience, you should have indirect
experiences:
- Knowledge gained through reading, thinking, or talking
- NO EXPERIENCE - you need to research the topic. If you
have no experience whatsoever with the topic, make it up!
Example: Tell us about your first experience riding a roller
coaster. Never done it? Write about how scared you were
leading up to the ride. You’ve seen movies or T.V. shows
about roller coasters, so you’ll be able to use that background
knowledge.

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D. REFERRENCES

Langan, John. 1996. College Writing Skills: Fourth Edition. The McGraw-Hill
Companies, INC.
Types of essay development. Retrieved in August 26, 2019. Available online
at https://slideplayer.com/slide/2550869/

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