Writing an "A" Essay

GEO 101 World Human Geography
Spring 2011
Writing an "A" Essay

Geography
Matters!

Writing well is an essential skill both in the University and in the “real world”. One of the important aims of World Human Geography is to provide opportunities for writing.

We understand that students in this class will possess a wide range of writing skills. The purpose of this appendix is to provide a blue print for writing a good essay.

The purpose of the essays in this class is for you to express yourself about topics in readings and in class. To do that, you will need to write clearly and carefully.

· Take a position in your writing. A good essay is one that stakes out a claim and then supports it. Essays that take no positions are boring.

· Assume that your reader is intelligent, but that she or he may not have necessarily read or heard all that you have. Thus, you will need to tell your reader enough so that she or he will know what you are talking about, but not so much that she or he gets bored or feels talked down to.

· Be sure to support your assertions with both logic and information. For your reader, many things will not be as self-evident as they are to you. Be sure to tell your reader why you are saying what you are saying. Always ask the question of yourself, why is this important? Then answer that question in your essay.

· Always read your essay out loud before you turn it in. If you were hearing it for the first time, would it make sense to you? Have you expressed yourself as clearly as possible?

· Always proof-read everything you turn in. Typographical errors, spelling mistakes, and bad grammar prove very frustrating for your audience.

Essays should be at least five paragraphs (and two to three pages long). They must be typed or word-processed. (Untyped essays will not be accepted.) The font must be 12 pt; and there must be 1 inch margins on all sides. And, finally, essays must be handed in on time. (See the schedule of due dates and keep track of them; late essays will not be accepted.)

Specific goals and requirements for each essay are in the individual recitation chapters. Be sure to read these requirements carefully, and be sure that your completed essay adequately addresses the points it needs to.

On the next page is a blueprint for a good essay. This blueprint provides a format for a good, disciplined essay. There is also plenty of room for individual creativity. While following this blue print will not guarantee an "A", not following it may mean a grade less than an "A".

Blueprint for Short Essays

Introductory Paragraph	Get the readers attention! Tell the reader what the paper is about End with a clear thesis statement	You may use more than one paragraph here if necessary. This paragraph should make your reader want to read on.
First Central Paragraph	This paragraph supports the first main idea of your thesis statement Start with a clear topic sentence Give specific support for your thesis statement	You may use more than one paragraph for each thesis idea, if necessary. These paragraphs should convince your reader of your points.
Second Central Paragraph	This paragraph supports the second main idea of your thesis statement Start with a clear topic sentence Give specific support for your thesis statement	You must have at least three supporting paragraphs in your essay. Each should tackle a different aspect of your thesis statement.
Third Central Paragraph	This paragraph supports the third main idea of your thesis statement Start with a clear topic sentence Give specific support for your thesis statement	Be sure you don't just repeat yourself in these paragraphs. Their purpose is to develop ideas. The body of these paragraphs should support both the topic sentence and the thesis statement.
Conclusion	Reword your thesis statement Provide a clincher that sums up your argument	By this time your reader should be convinced of your case.

To check that you've written a short essay see the Grading Guide for Short Essays

Why Write a Five Paragraph Essay?

You may ask, "Why am I being asked to write a very structured five paragraph essay? After all people don't really write this way do they?" The answer is that engaging in this kind of writing exercise helps you to practice supporting arguments with evidence and that people do actually write using the basic format of the five paragraph essay. Anyone can argue a point, but the only way to convince a fair minded reader that an argument is correct is to support it with evidence. Writing a structured five paragraph essay helps you to focus on this skill. Furthermore it helps you to polish your writing by forcing you to think about how you structure your paragraphs and your overall paper using a thesis statement and topic sentences. As you get better at writing this will become second nature to you, but students who are still developing writing skills need explicit practice. If this already is second nature, the practice will not hurt and may even make you conscious of ways that you can improve.

As to the question of whether or not people actually write this way, the answer is that they do! On any given day a newspaper editorial will take the general form of a five paragraph essay (though it may have more or fewer paragraphs). Notice that some of the articles we read this semester have the general form of this essay assignment (with more paragraphs). Finally, you may find in your future studies or profession that you will be required to write within a highly structured framework. Written work in law school and the legal profession, lab reports or articles in science, and grant proposals are all forms of writing that may be highly structured and follow a specific and standardized formula. If you don't follow the formula you are not likely to succeed in your writing task. Did you notice that the "How to Write This Essay" section above is a three paragraph version of a five paragraph essay (without the intro or conclusion) and that this section is a two paragraph version of the five paragraph essay? As you read on below, note how I cite my sources when I supply evidence or quote something. Be sure you do that in your essay.