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Detailed Contents
Preface To the Instructor xii
Introduction Why We Learn to Write 1

Part 1 Understanding the Elements of Good Writing 7


1 Understanding the Audience, Understanding Yourself 8
Addressing Your Readers 8
Reflecting Yourself 10
Levels of Standard English Writing 12
Reading: Matthew McKinnon,
“The Needle and the Damage Done” 22
2 Understanding the Role of Reading as a Basic
Writing Component 23
Start with Good Reading Skills 24
Skimming 24
Scanning 25
A Note on Speedreading and Increasing Your Reading Speed 25
Summary 33
3 Understanding the Role of Critical Thinking 34
The Interpretive Critical Thinking Model 34
The Toulmin Method of Analysis 43

Part 2 Beginning the Writing Process 49


4 Organizing Your Work and Preparing for Writing 50
Think about Your Subject 50
Make Your Subject Significant 50
Make Your Subject Single 51
Make Your Subject Specific 52
Make Your Subject Supportable 52
Organizing Subject Ideas into Main Points 53
Generating Main Points: The Bottom-Up Approach 54
Generating Main Points: The Top-Down Approach 59
Testing Your Main Points 63
5 Developing the Main Points and Writing an Outline 66
Organizing Your Main Points 66
Preparing the Outline 68
Outline Format 69
6 Writing the Thesis Statement 74
Phrasing Your Statement of Subject 77
Phrasing the Main Points 78
Putting the Thesis Elsewhere in Your Paper 84

NEL v

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Part 3 Drafting Your Work 85
7 Understanding the Paragraph               86
What Does a Paragraph Actually Look Like? 86
How Does a Paragraph Function? 87
How Long Should a Paragraph Be? 88
Crafting the Topic Sentence 90
Developing the Topic 93
How Do You End a Paragraph? 101
8 Writing Introductions and Conclusions 102
The Introductory Paragraph 102
Getting and Holding Your Readers’ Attention 103
The Concluding Paragraph 109
9 Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Quoting 115
Summarizing 116
Paraphrasing 120
Quoting 123
Additional Suggestions for Writing 130
10 Developing Unity, Coherence, and Tone 132
Unity 132
Coherence 134
Tone 140
11 Choosing the Right Words 144
The Writer’s Toolkit 144
The Seven Deadly Errors of Writing 146
Reading: Russell Baker, “Little Red Riding
Hood Revisited” 157

Part 4 Understanding Common Writing Styles 161


12 Academic and Workplace Writing 162
Four Ideas to Consider as You Develop Your
Writing 162
Choosing an Overall Writing Strategy 163
Differences between Workplace and Academic
Writing 164
13 Analytical Writing: Process Analysis, Causal
Analysis, and Classification and Division 165
Analytical Writing 165
Process Analysis 165
Reading: Brian Green, “How To Play Winning Tennis” 168
Causal Analysis 170
Reading: Trina Piscatelli, “The Slender Trap” 171

vi Detailed Contents NEL

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Classification and Division 175
Reading: Alice Tam, “On-the-Job Training” 176
14 Persuasive Writing: Description, Narration, and Example 180
Description 180
Narration 182
Example 183
Putting Description, Narration, and Example to Use 185
Reading: Amanda van der Heiden, “Looking Both Ways” 185
15 Comparison and Contrast 188
Tips for Writing a Comparison or Contrast Paper 189
Readings: D’Arcy McHayle, “The Canadian Climate” 189
Aniko Hencz, “Shopping Around” 191
16 Argumentation 194
Choose Your Issue Carefully 194
Consider Your Audience 195
Identify Your Purpose 195
Organize Your Ideas 195
Tips for Writing Argumentation 198
Readings: Aliki Tryphonopoulos, “A City for Students” 198
Walter Isaacs, “Of Pain, Predators, and Pleasure” 200

Part 5 Writing Research Papers 205


17 Preparing for Research and Choosing a Research
Method 206
Tips for Writing a Research Paper 207
Ways of Doing Research 209
18 Formatting a Research Paper 214
Taking Good Research Notes for Informative Writing 214
Basic Formatting Guidelines 216
Formatting an MLA-Style Research Paper 217
Formatting an APA-Style Research Paper 218
Projecting an Image 220
19 Documenting Your Sources 221
Introduction: The Two-Part Principle of Documentation 221
The MLA Style 222
The APA Style 237
20 Writing in the Workplace: Memos, Letters, and Short
Reports 252
Memos 253
Letters 255
Short Reports 259

NEL Detailed Contents vii

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Part 6 Undertaking the Revision Process      
265
21 Rewriting Your Work 266
The Three Steps of Revision 267
Step 1: Rewriting 268
22 Editing and Proofreading Your Work 273
Step 2: Editing 273
Step 3: Proofreading 277
Working with Rubrics 278

Part 7 Readings                    
281
Richard Lederer, “How I Write” 283
Malcolm Gladwell, “How to Be a Success” 285
Rick Groen, “The Magic of Moviegoing” 289
Sara R. Howerth, “The Gas–Electric Hybrid
Demystified” 291
Victor Chen, “Justice and Journalism” 293
Olive Skene Johnson, “For Minorities, Timing
Is Everything” 294
Deenu Parmar, “Labouring the Walmart Way” 296
Gabor Maté, “Embraced by the Needle” 298
Rubi Garyfalakis, “No Sweat?” 301
Hal Niedzviecki, “Stupid Jobs Are Good to
Relax With” 305
Maria Amuchastegui, “Farming It Out” 309
Sam McNerney, “Is Creativity Sexy? The Evolutionary
Advantages of Artistic Thinking” 315
Navneet Alang, “Online Freedom Will Depend on
Deeper Forms of Web Literacy” 317
Scott Adams, “The Heady Thrill of Having
Nothing to Do” 319
Annie Murphy Paul, “Your Brain on Fiction” 321

Part 8 Workbook                                   323
23 A Review of the Basics                  
324
How to Use This Workbook 324
Cracking the Sentence Code 325
Solving Sentence-Fragment Problems 334
Solving Run-On Problems 340
Solving Modifier Problems 344
The Parallelism Principle 350
Refining by Combining 354

viii Detailed Contents NEL

Copyright 2016 Nelson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
24 Grammar 359
Mastering Subject–Verb Agreement 359
Using Verbs Effectively 367
Solving Pronoun Problems 378
25 Punctuation 395
The Comma 395
The Semicolon 404
The Colon 406
Quotation Marks 410
The Question Mark 412
The Exclamation Mark 412
Dashes and Parentheses 414
26 Spelling 419
Hazardous Homonyms 419
The Apostrophe 429
The Hyphen 435
Capital Letters 438
Numbers 443

Appendix A: List of Terms: A Vocabulary of Writing 448


Appendix B: Answers for Selected Exercises 458


Index 492

Readings:
Contents by Subject
Work and Leisure
Maria Amuchastegui, “Farming It Out” 309
Rubi Garyfalakis, “No Sweat?” 301
Brian Green, “How To Play Winning Tennis” 168
Hal Niedzviecki, “Stupid Jobs Are Good to Relax With” 305
Deenu Parmar, “Labouring the Walmart Way” 296
Alice Tam, “On-the-Job Training” 176

NEL Detailed Contents ix

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Learning and Education
Navneet Alang, “Online Freedom Will Depend on Deeper
Forms of Web Literacy” 317
Malcolm Gladwell, “How to Be a Success” 285
Sam McNerney, “Is Creativity Sexy? The Evolutionary
Advantages of Artistic Thinking” 315
Annie Murphy Paul, “Your Brain on Fiction” 321

Mainly Canadian
Maria Amuchastegui, “Farming It Out” 309
Victor Chen, “Justice and Journalism” 293
D’Arcy McHayle, “The Canadian Climate” 189
Hal Niedzviecki, “Stupid Jobs Are Good to Relax With” 305
Aliki Tryphonopoulos, “A City for Students” 198

Communication and Writing


Russell Baker, “Little Red Riding Hood Revisited” 157
Richard Lederer, “How I Write” 283

The Contemporary Scene


Victor Chen, “Justice and Journalism” 293
Rubi Garyfalakis, “No Sweat?” 301
Malcolm Gladwell, “How to Be a Success” 285
Aniko Hencz, “Shopping Around” 191
Gabor Maté, “Embraced by the Needle” 298
Sam McNerney, “Is Creativity Sexy? The Evolutionary
Advantages of Artistic Thinking” 315
Hal Niedzviecki, “Stupid Jobs Are Good to Relax With” 305
Trina Piscatelli, “The Slender Trap” 171
Olive Skene Johnson, “For Minorities, Timing Is
Everything” 294
Aliki Tryphonopoulos, “A City for Students” 198
Amanda van der Heiden, “Looking Both Ways” 185

Media and the Arts


Scott Adams, “The Heady Thrill of Having
Nothing to Do” 319
Victor Chen, “Justice and Journalism” 293
Rick Groen, “The Magic of Moviegoing” 289
Matthew McKinnon, “The Needle and the Damage
Done” 22

x Detailed Contents NEL

Copyright 2016 Nelson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Sam McNerney, “Is Creativity Sexy? The Evolutionary
Advantages of Artistic Thinking” 315
Annie Murphy Paul, “Your Brain on Fiction” 321

Science, Technology, and the Environment


Scott Adams, “The Heady Thrill of Having
Nothing to Do” 319
Navneet Alang, “Online Freedom Will Depend on
Deeper Forms of Web Literacy” 317
Sara R. Howerth, “The Gas–Electric Hybrid
Demystified” 291

Ethics and Morality


Maria Amuchastegui, “Farming It Out” 309
Rubi Garyfalakis, “No Sweat?” 301
Walter Isaacs, “Of Pain, Predators, and Pleasure” 200
Olive Skene Johnson, “For Minorities, Timing Is
Everything” 294

NEL Detailed Contents xi

Copyright 2016 Nelson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Preface:
To the Instructor
Essay Essentials with Readings, Enhanced Sixth Edition, is designed for all Canadian
post-secondary students who are learning to write academic and professional
prose. The book has been substantially revised and expanded to inclusively fit the
needs of students who want to succeed at school and who require the ability to
bring their developed writing skills to the workplace.

New to the Sixth Edition


The most significant change in the sixth edition is a major revision to the structure
of the book to accommodate courses that focus on integrating the study of writing
with detailed information on critical thinking and innovative ideas about relating
to audiences effectively. Other highlights of the new edition include the following:
● A new chapter on reading strategies (Chapter 2) will give students insight
on how to develop their analytical skills.
● An expansion of the chapter on writing the thesis statement (Chapter 6)
addresses the struggles students have with the process.
● Further discussion about persuasive writing has been added (Chapter 14)
to assist students in learning this important technique for both academic
and workplace writing.
● Coverage of the processes of revising, editing, and proofreading has been
expanded into two chapters: Rewriting Your Work (Chapter 21) and
Editing and Proofreading Your Work (Chapter 22).
● The number of printed readings has been pared to 15, in response to user
comments that the book was growing too long. Four new readings focus
on current and innovative topics. More readings will be available on the
Instructor Resource Centre in MindTap. (See the section on MindTap
later in the preface for more information.)
● A stronger emphasis on workplace writing has been introduced and can
be found in Chapter 20, which is devoted to workplace documents such
as letters and memos; as well, the overall function and form of profes-
sional writing is threaded into discussions throughout each chapter. No
matter what or where your students study, eventually they will need to
transfer their academic writing skills to the workplace. We have attempted
to help you and your students along that path by including some of the
most practical and useful professional formats and writing styles.
● Many of the exercises in the Workbook (Chapters 23–26) are new or
have been revised and updated to allow students at a variety of skill levels
to increase their understanding of grammar and mechanics.
● The presentation of the book has been improved, with a new design that
opens up the look of the textbook for a better student experience.
● A fully online learning solution, MindTap offers further readings and
supplements, allowing for more instructor choice and providing more
content about writing than could be included in the printed version of
the text.
xii Preface NEL

Copyright 2016 Nelson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Essay Essentials with Readings is divided into eight parts. Parts 1 through 6
explain, exemplify, and provide practice in planning, drafting, and revising trans-
actional prose, as well as in researching and writing properly formatted and docu-
mented essays and workplace material. Because most adults learn better and with
more satisfaction when they work with other learners, many of the exercises are
interactive.1 Some involve the whole class, but most are designed to be done in
pairs or groups, either in class or online.2
A principal goal of this book is to convince students that good writing involves
rewriting and editing. Part 6, Undertaking the Revision Process, has been adapted
to clarify the distinct but interconnected tasks of rewriting, editing, and proof-
reading, and we have developed new exercises to help students identify and exe-
cute these tasks. To reinforce our goal, we have incorporated many rewriting and
editing exercises throughout the text.
The questions following the essays and readings in Part 7 are designed to pro-
voke thinking and discussion as well as to promote students’ understanding of
structure and development. Teachers will find suggested answers to these questions
in the Instructor’s Manual available on the Essay Essentials website at www.nelson
.com/instructor.
Part 8, the Workbook, reviews the basics of syntax, grammar, punctuation, and
spelling. Many students will be required to work through this workbook on their
own; answers to the asterisked exercises are provided in Appendix B. Answers to
the Mastery Tests are provided in the Instructor’s Manual and on the Instructors’
page of the website. The four chapters of the workbook can be covered in any
order, but the information within each chapter is interdependent and should be
studied sequentially; competency in later parts of each chapter often depends on
mastery of the earlier material.
Appendix A includes a revised glossary containing all the words found in bold
throughout the text. These provide easy reference for students looking for defini-
tions and clarification of terms.
Inside the front cover is a Quick Revision Guide. We encourage students to
use it as a checklist to consult as they revise and edit their work. It also provides
an overall summary of the entire book and lists how each chapter illustrates the
main process of essay writing. Instructors can duplicate the guide, attach a copy
to each student’s paper, and mark ✓ or ✗ beside each item in the guide to identify
the paper’s strengths and weaknesses. This strategy provides students with specific
feedback in a consistent format. It also saves hours of marking time.

MindTap
MindTap for Essay Essentials, Enhanced Sixth Edition, is a personalized teaching expe-
rience with relevant exercises that guide students to practise and master their writing
skills, allowing instructors to measure skills and promote better outcomes with ease.
A fully online learning solution, MindTap combines all student learning tools—
readings, multimedia, activities, and assessments—into a single Learning Path that
guides the student through the curriculum. Instructors personalize the experience by

1 Answers to exercises marked with an asterisk are provided in Appendix B.


2These group exercises can be adapted to individual assignments if the instructor prefers or the
course requires.

NEL Preface xiii

Copyright 2016 Nelson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
customizing the presentation of these learning tools to their students, even seamlessly
introducing their own content into the Learning Path.

Acknowledgments
We thank the following reviewers who helped us with the content of this edition:
Maria Berrafati, Mohawk College
Thom Bland, Camosun College
Phillip Chaddock, Centennial College
John Lehr, George Brown College
Tanya Lewis, Langara College
Donna Mae Matheson, Georgian College
Ian Stanwood, Kwantlen Polytechnic University
Andrew Stracuzzi, Fanshawe College
We are thankful for the emphasis that the Language Studies department of
Mohawk College has placed on teaching critical thinking, as that work helped us
to realize the value of critical thinking and reading skills to the development of
the sound writing skills we focus on here. Years of fantastic articles used in exams
became excellent new readings in this text.
We are grateful to the publishing team at Nelson Education Ltd. Laura Macleod
and Lisa Berland saw this book through some serious reconditioning. Amanda
Henry and the sales team are always available for quick pick-me-ups. Finally,
Cathy Witlox and her supportive copy editing made all of these words gel together
into something really special.

xiv Acknowledgments NEL

Copyright 2016 Nelson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Introduction:
Why We Learn to Write
Writing can be a rewarding and career-enhancing skill. Unlike most of the skills
you acquire in a career program, however, writing is not job-specific. The writing
skills you learn from this book will be useful to you not only in all your college
or university courses but in every job you hold throughout your working life.
Prospective employers will assume that you, as a college or university graduate, are
able to write quickly and skillfully. As you progress through your career and climb
higher on the organizational ladder, you will write more, and your writing tasks
will become more complex. In any job, evaluations of your performance will be
based in part on your communication skills. Essay Essentials with Readings will teach
you to write standard English prose, the kind you can apply to any writing task.
The word essay comes from the French essayer, to try or attempt. Broadly speak-
ing, an essay is an attempt to communicate information, opinion, or emotion.
In college or university, an essay is an exercise that requires students to explore
and explain their own and others’ thoughts about a subject. In the larger world,
­essays appear in print and online newspapers and magazines as editorials, reviews,
opinion pieces, and commentaries on news and public affairs. In the workplace,
an essay structure can be used for any email, memo, letter, or report. It can even
form the backbone of a Prezi or PowerPoint presentation.
Thinking, organizing, and researching are fundamental to all practical writing You can learn to write
tasks. From this book, you will learn how to find and organize thoughts, to develop well through practice,
ideas in coherent paragraphs, and to express yourself clearly, correctly, and concisely. perseverance, and a
Once you’ve mastered these basics, you will have no difficulty adapting your skills willingness to believe
to fit the needs of your work environment to create business or technical r­eports, that writing skills
instructions, proposals, memoranda, sales presentations, commercial scripts, legal develop over time.
briefs, or websites. Those who can write competently are in high demand.
We have designed this book to guide you through focused learning and ­practice
to develop better writing skills. Because it is more fun and more efficient to learn
with others than to struggle alone, we have included many group-based exercises.
To make the writing process even more relevant to the workplace, we have also
introduced some applicable readings and useful examples of professional writ-
ing. Part 8, our interactive editing workbook, provides handy tools, rules, and
exercises to boost your sentence-writing skills and grammar. We strongly encour-
age you throughout your study to keep a list of the errors that you make most
frequently. Only by recognizing your writing weaknesses can you develop them
into writing strengths. If you follow the guidelines in this text, you will produce
effective essays in school and creditable communications in your career.

Online Supplements
Stay organized and efficient with MindTap—a single destination with all the
course material and study aids you need to succeed. Built-in apps leverage social
media and the latest learning technology. For example,

NEL Introduction: Why We Learn to Write 1

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●● ReadSpeaker will read the text to you.
●● Flashcards are pre-populated to provide you with a jump start for
review—or you can create your own.
●● You can highlight text and make notes in your MindTap Reader. Your
notes will flow into Evernote, the electronic notebook app that you can
access anywhere when it’s time to study for the exam.
●● Self-quizzing allows you to assess your understanding.
●● Digital versions of many of the activities are available on MindTap, as are
the exercises.

What the Symbols Mean


This symbol in the margin beside an exercise means the exercise is designed
for two or more students working together. Read the directions that intro-
duce the exercise carefully to find out how many students should participate
and what task is to be performed. Often you are instructed to begin work in
a pair or group, then to work individually on a writing task, and finally to
regroup and review your writing with your partner(s).

This symbol means “note this.” We’ve used it to highlight writing tips, help-
ful hints, hard-to-remember points, and information that you should apply
whenever you write, not just when you are dealing with the specific prin-
ciple covered in the paragraph marked by the icon.

This icon attached to an exercise means that the exercise is a mastery test
designed to check your understanding of the section of the chapter you have
just completed. The answers to these exercises are not in the back of the
book; your instructor will provide them.

The Process of Writing


Writing is a three-step process consisting of
1. planning or prewriting
2. writing (sometimes called drafting)
3. revising

The majority of this book explains the approach to writing that you will take when
you have already been told what to write about, called the conceptual ­approach. The
conceptual (or top-down) approach is the one you choose when you know what
you want to say before you begin to write. You identify your subject and main
points, and draft a thesis statement (a statement that provides your readers a pre-
view of the content of your paper). Research papers, business reports, and essay
questions on exams are examples of writing that requires a conceptual approach.
The experimental (bottom-up) approach is also useful and should be used
when you do not know ahead of time what you want to say. You discover your
thesis gradually, incrementally, through trial and error, and through several drafts.
Experimental writers often rely on prewriting strategies such as brainstorming and

2 Introduction: Why We Learn to Write NEL

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freewriting to kick-start the process. At times throughout the textbook, you will be
given exercises that allow you to use this approach, although we recognize that, at
both school and in the workplace, many topics have been thoughtfully planned
out for you ahead of time.
You should learn to use both approaches. Sometimes you will discover your
subject through writing; at other times, using top-down strategies will help you to
express clearly what you already know. If you are familiar with both ­approaches,
you can comfortably choose whichever is more appropriate for a particular­
writing task.

What Your Readers Expect


Whichever approach you use, your goal is to make your finished writing easy for
your audience to read and understand. To achieve this goal, you must meet your
readers’ expectations.
When your readers begin to read a piece of extended prose, they unconsciously
expect to find
●● a preview (in the introduction) of the content and organization of the
paper
●● paragraphs that contain the necessary content
●● a sentence (usually the first) in each paragraph that identifies its topic
●● unified paragraphs, each of which explores a single topic
●● connections (transitions) within and between paragraphs
Keep in mind that readers want to obtain information quickly and easily, without
backtracking. They rely on the writer—you—to make efficient reading possible.
Your readers will read more easily and remember more of what they have read
if you include a thesis statement to introduce them to the content and organiza-
tion of the paper and if you begin each paragraph with a topic sentence. If you do
not organize and develop your paper and its paragraphs in a clearly identifiable
way, readers will impose their own organization on it. The result will be longer
reading time, difficulty in understanding and remembering the content, or, worse,
the assumption that a paragraph or even the whole paper has a meaning other
than the one you intended.

How to Begin
Having a conversation with someone who never seems to get to the point is a tire-
some and frustrating experience. Similarly, an essay—or any other form of written
communication—that has no point and rambles on will turn readers off. So how
can you avoid boring, confusing, or annoying your readers? To begin with, you
need to have something to say and a reason for saying it. Very few people can
write anything longer than a few sentences from start to finish without taking
time to think about and plan what they’ll say. Prewriting will help you to plan and
develop your writing projects more efficiently. We will explore some prewriting
strategies in Chapter 4.
Once you’ve determined what you want to say, the next step is to arrange your
main points in the most effective order possible. If you organize your ideas care-
fully, you won’t ramble. As a general rule, the more time you spend on prewriting

NEL Introduction: Why We Learn to Write 3

Copyright 2016 Nelson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Writing an essay is like and planning, the less time you’ll need to spend on drafting and revising. Careful
building a house: if you planning will enable you to produce papers that your readers will find clear and
have a clear plan or understandable.
blueprint, you can construct
the house without having The Parts of an Essay
to double back or even
start all over again. A Most students come to college or university with some familiarity with the five-
good plan saves time. paragraph theme, the most basic form of essay composition, so we will start with
it and then move on to adaptations and variations of this basic format.
An essay, like any The beginning, or introduction, tells your reader the thesis (i.e., the single main
document, has a beginning, idea you will explain or prove) and the scope of your essay. If your introduction
a middle, and an end. is well crafted, its thesis statement will identify the points you will discuss in the
paragraphs that follow.
The middle, or body, consists of paragraphs that discuss in detail the points that
have been identified in the introduction. In a short essay, each paragraph develops
a separate main point and each should contain three essential components:
1. a topic sentence, which identifies the point of the paragraph
2. development, or support, of the topic sentence (supporting sentences pro-
vide the detailed information the reader needs in order to understand
the point)
3. a concluding sentence that either brings the discussion of the topic to a
close or provides a transition to the next paragraph
The end, or conclusion, is a brief final paragraph. Unless your essay is very short,
you summarize the main points to reinforce them for readers, and then end with
a statement that will give your readers something to think about after they have
finished reading your essay.
Think of this tightly structured form of prose not as a straitjacket that stifles
your creativity but rather as a pattern to follow while you develop the skills and
abilities you need to build other, more complex prose structures. As you seek out
and find the links between this type of academic format and workplace structures,
you will begin to see all that this deceptively simple form has to offer.
The following essay can serve as a guide, starting point, and reminder of what
a five-paragraph essay can do. The introduction contains a clear thesis. Each body
paragraph has a topic sentence, is well developed, and has a concluding sentence.
The conclusion is brief but leaves the reader with a thoughtful question. Consider
this essay as you read through the textbook—it is the kind of work you will want
to write before you move on to more complex prose.

Failing Better
Something I have learned over the past thirteen years of schooling is
what I call failing better. Failing better is a process of learning to grow
as a person, to feel better, as a result of failed attempts at a variety of
things. From school work to relationships, from D+ essays to fights
to lost friendships, failing better is a process I would recommend
to anyone. More than a process, failing better is a state of mind. By
focusing on seeing failure as a stepping stone, learning to use mistakes
to communicate better, and reflecting on how past challenges can

4 Introduction: Why We Learn to Write NEL

Copyright 2016 Nelson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
become future successes, failing better can work for anyone who feels a
need for a new way to look at life.
When you see failure, whether it be a bad grade or a failed cus-
tomer service interaction at work, always try to use it as a pathway to
something better. Give yourself some time to feel disappointed, but
try eventually to move past your emotions to consider what led to the
failed experience. You will have another paper to write and another
customer to please. The last time is in the past. Move forward and try to
think of failure as an opportunity not to be missed the next time.
When you feel that you have failed, communication is always a
great option. Is a bad grade a chance to talk to your teacher or professor
and get some new information? Sometimes that conversation can lead
you to grow in ways you might not have imagined. Asking a manager
how you could have better made the customer happy and really lis-
tening to the reply can set the tone for better interactions later. All in
all, you can learn, over time, that there is no such thing as failing.
Really, it is in reflection that failure can be transformed. Talk to
anyone about the past experiences that have been most important
to them. Sure, some of those things might be successes, but overall,
you will most likely find that what most people saw as failures—for
example, failed attempts at getting work or failures to make deadlines
—ended up being really pivotal and eventually positive moments. Make
any experience work for you!
Failing better, in the end, is looking back and seeing any experi-
ence as part of who you are and as an opportunity to imagine who you
might become.

NEL Introduction: Why We Learn to Write 5

Copyright 2016 Nelson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Copyright 2016 Nelson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Part 1
Understanding the Elements
of Good Writing
1 Understanding the Audience, Understanding Yourself
2 Understanding the Role of Reading as a Basic Writing Component
3 Understanding the Role of Critical Thinking

All good writing is well thought out, organized, and developed in such a way that the
person or people you are writing for understand the message you are trying to send.
And most good writing contains certain writing components, which we will discuss
throughout this book. These include skills like developing a clear outline and thesis
statement as well as considering the way your paragraphs and ideas fit together.
Grammar and some stylistic elements are also addressed. When you get good enough,
some of these writing components will come naturally to you. In Part I, we are going
to explore the following standard elements of good writing:
●● understanding the role that both you and your audience play in the commu-
nication process (Chapter 1)
●● reading about your topic carefully (Chapter 2)
●● thinking critically about what you have read before you start writing (Chapter 3)

NEL 7

Copyright 2016 Nelson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Understanding the
Audience, Understanding

1 Yourself
Chapter

Before you start writing—an essay, a report, an email message—you must


have something to write about (your subject) and someone to write for (your
audience). In order to produce a clear, effective message for your readers, you
must clearly know who they are. A seeming paradox exists in many high school
English classrooms as students walk around whispering about their papers: “You
know, you must write about what Mr. So-and-So wants in order to get a good
grade.…” In other words, many students have learned that writing for readers
and giving them what they want always offers benefits, be it better grades, a job
“Begin at the beginning,”
promotion, or simply a clearer dialogue between two parties. But learning to
the King said gravely,
write for only one audience is not enough. You need to develop a flexible writing
“and go till you come to
style that will allow you to adapt your writing to the various audiences you will
the end; then stop.”
encounter throughout your career. Your boss in the professional world will most
—Lewis Carroll, Alice’s
likely not care what Mr. So-and-So wanted at the beginning of each paragraph.
Adventures in Wonderland

Addressing Your Readers


Knowing your audience is essential to really writing well. As you plan, draft,
and revise your paper with your audience in mind, ask yourself the following
questions:
●● How old are your readers? Might the readers’ generation change their
perceptions?
●● What is their level of education?
●● What do they do for a living?
●● Are your readers busy, or will they be able to give your message a great
deal of consideration?
●● What is their cultural background? Their first language?
●● Do they have any other specific traits that might affect their perception
of what they are reading?
While you must be careful to avoid generalizing or stereotyping (for example,
assuming that women will be more likely than men to accept your position), the
answers to these questions do influence most people’s views, and you would be
wise to consider them before you begin to write, especially if you don’t know your
audience personally or they are hard to categorize.

8 Part 1: Understanding the Elements of Good Writing NEL

Copyright 2016 Nelson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
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