5904LHS Week 3

The Body of Essays

 Discusses subdivided topics one-by-one
 Number of BPs depends on number of
sub-topics/issues/main ideas
 Two main components:
 Description
 Analysis (explanation)

Structuring Academic Texts

Modified 07/18

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The Body of Essays Common Errors

Essay topic:
Examine the links between social class and health status. Too much description with no evaluation or
analysis.
Description:
A summary of the evidence of class and its effects on health
status. For example, the working class have a lower life
expectancy partly due to the nature of manual work.
Analysis:
One might analyse the descriptive evidence through a review of
the major theories which attempt to explain why there are
links between class and health.

Source: http://www.fujibakery.com.my/breads/plain-bun/

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Body Paragraphs

 What is the basic purpose?

o To discuss one clearly identifiable topic,
concept, idea or argument.

 What is the structure of a good body

paragraph?
o One topic sentence + multiple supporting
sentences
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2198034/Britains-biggest-burger-The-8in-high-sandwich-containing-3-000-calories-Red-Dog-Saloon.html

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 TOPIC SENTENCE
= organisations is because it helps to create
TOPIC + CONTROLLING IDEA
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SUPPORTING SENTENCES
• Develop the controlling idea.
• Prove the controlling idea.
• Argue for/about the controlling idea.
• Provide evidence/data for/about the controlling idea.
• Cite literature related to controlling idea.
• Illustrate the controlling idea with examples.
(... etc ...)
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A helpful strategy for developing the
controlling idea in a paragraph is TEEL:
Topic sentence (topic + controlling idea)
Explain
Evidence and Example (citation)
Link (refer back or sum up main idea - optional)
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Another reason communication is central to
shared meanings.
SUPPORTING SENTENCES
Common Errors:
•Contradict the topic
sentence.
•Depart from the topic
sentence.
The changing consumption of media has also had an impact on how
crime is perceived and reported. The increasing use of the Internet,
social media and television for information as opposed to print media
has resulted in a simplification of crime reporting. The competition for
‘air-time’ and attention means that often only the most extreme or
strange stories of ‘predatory’ crime (Surette as cited in Hayes &
Prenzler, 2014) are reported. This ‘mediated’ view, then, constructs
the frames through which the public thinks about crime. Such frames
are constructed subjectively to perpetuate the values and ideologies
(albeit unconsciously) of media outlets (journalists, editors, CEOs
etc.) through the stories that are selected and the way that they are
reported (Hayes & Prenzler, 2014), and also to meet the perceived
expectations and interest of their potential audience. In other words,
their newsworthiness. However, they are presented in such a way
that they can appear to be objective, factual representations of reality.
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 The Body of Essays
Body Paragraph Organisation
 Transition signals needed between
paragraphs in the body 1. Chronological Order
 Single words 2. Logical Division of Ideas
Furthermore
However 3. Comparison and Contrast Order
 Phrases 4. Cause and Effect Order
On the other hand
 Sentence structures

Not only is there….there is also…

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Chronological Order Chronological Order

How many chronological steps are there?
The settlement at Barambah was originally conceived in
1899 when William Thompson set up an informal
Christian mission for local Aborigines. The Queensland
state government took over formal control of the site in
1904 and established a reserve for Aborigines. The
reserve was called Barambah until 1932 when its name
was changed to Cherbourg. Thousands of Aborigines
from across the state were removed to Cherbourg until
the 1960s. They were governed by White
superintendents until 1966, when an Aboriginal council
was set up with Jack O'Chin as Chairman.
(Davis & McKAy, 1996)
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The settlement at Barambah was originally conceived
in 1899 when William Thompson set up an informal
Christian mission for local Aborigines. The
Queensland state government took over formal
control of the site in 1904 and established a reserve
for Aborigines. The reserve was called Barambah
until 1932 when its name was changed to
Cherbourg. Thousands of Aborigines from across the
state were removed to Cherbourg until the 1960s.
They were governed by White superintendents until
1966, when an Aboriginal council was set up with
Jack O'Chin as Chairman.

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Chronological Order Chronological Order

A topic sentence for chronological For example:

order should: 1. The field of criminology has developed

 Identify the topic rapidly in the past ten years.

2. The process of analysing speech patterns in
 Indicate the paragraph will be organised
in chronological order political campaigns has become much easier
the process of
since the development of speech analysis
the evolution of software.
the development of

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3

Logical Division of Ideas
 Relateditems according to some
common quality
 Groups discussed in order (importance)
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Logical Division of Ideas
Health problems in space
Physical health Mental health
lack of no surgery bone anxiety loneliness/ interpersonal
medical deterioration boredom
treatment
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If you are planning to buy a personal computer,
you should know some of the basic similarities and
differences between PCs and Macs. First of all,
both PCs and Macs are composed of the same
elements: a CPU, the electronic circuitry to run
the computer; memory (hard and/or floppy disk
drives) for storing information; input devices such
as a keyboard or mouse for putting information
into the computer; and output devices such as a
monitor, printer, and audio speakers for
conveying information. They also have the same
uses: PCs are used to communicate on computer
networks, to write (with the help of word
processing and desktop publishing software), to
track finances, and to play games. Macs are
likewise used to communicate, write, calculate,
and entertain.
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Living aboard a space station in orbit around the Earth for
months at a time poses problems for astronauts' bodies as
well as for their minds. One major problem is maintaining
astronauts' physical health. Medical treatment may be days or
even weeks away, as there may not be a doctor on board.
Illnesses such as appendicitis or ulcers, routinely treated on
Earth, could be fatal in space because of the delay in getting to
a doctor. Furthermore, surgery may be impossible because
blood would float around inside the operating room. Another
health problem is the potential for bone deterioration. In a
weightless environment, the body produces less calcium.
Astronauts must exercise at least three hours a day to
prevent bone loss. A second major problem is maintaining
astronauts' mental health. Being confined for long periods of
time in dark and hostile space undoubtedly produces anxiety.
Loneliness and boredom are other psychological concerns.
Finally, how can astronauts "let off steam" when interpersonal
conflicts develop? It is clear that space-station duty will
require astronauts who are not only physically but also
mentally strong.
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Comparison and Contrast Order
Analysing similarities or
differences between two
or more things.
conflict
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There are some differences, however. Whereas
you will find more PCs in business offices, you will
find more Macs in classrooms. Although Macs
are the computers of choice of people who do a
lot of art and graphic design in their work, PCs
seem to be the choice of people who do a lot of
"number crunching." Finally, there is a difference
in the availability of software, vendors, and service
for the two computers. In general, there is a lot
of PC-compatible software, but relatively little
Mac software. Furthermore, for a Mac, you
must purchase your machine and get service from
a Macintosh-authorised dealer, whereas many
different computer stores sell and service PCs.
(Oshima and Hogue 1999: 65-66)
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 Comparison and Contrast Order Cause and Effect Order

 Ways to put comparison and contrast  Usescausal logic

paragraphs together in an essay:
 Found in most academic writing
 Block organisation

– similarities in one block “Causal logic establishes and explains the links
– differences in another block between situations and their outcomes, events and
 Point-by-point organisation their results, evidence and its proofs.”
– sentence-by-sentence comparisons within (Davis and McKay 1996: 86)
paragraphs

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When the Black Plague spread throughout Europe in the

14th century and resulted in the deaths of between 40%
and 60% of the population its cause was not readily
known. Some people thought it was caused by unholy
Next Week
living or a punishment for tolerating heretics. Others felt
it was because of a bad alignment of planets and stars.
Still others thought its origin was bad smells or miasma.
More modern theorists have posited that the black
Analysing Assessment Tasks
plague was transmitted to humans from rats by fleas.
Although this theory was previously debated, it has
recently been proven that the plague was most likely a
strain of the bacterium Yersinia pestis (Haensch, 2010).
Therefore, it is most likely that the source of the plague
was in fact fleas.

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