7. RELEVANT
STEPS TO OBSERVE WHEN WRITING AN ESSAY:
1. TOPIC
e.g. : ‘Living in Ceilândia’
-
The general idea of the subject
being discussed
-
It’s too broad. It’s broader than the topic
sentence.
-
It doesn’t have to be made of a
subject and a verb.
-
It doesn’t have to express an
opinion.
2. THESIS STATEMENT
e.g.: Living in Ceilândia might be very exciting and dangerous, but I
love it.
- It’s broader than
the topic sentence.
- It states all the
main ideas discussed in all the composition.
- It’s related to all
the paragraphs.
- It usually comes in
the introduction paragraph and in the last sentence.
-The thesis statement
should be a statement someone can disagree with.
-It should not simple
announce the topic, but it should express an attitude, an opinion.
-It should be a
complete sentence (subject + verb + complement)
-It should not be a
question.
-It expresses the
controlling idea for the whole paragraph.
3. TOPIC SENTENCE
e.g.: 1. Living in Ceilândia might be very exciting
2. Living in
Ceilândia might be dangerous;
3. I like to live in Ceilândia
-It limits the topic.
Each paragraph has its own topic sentence.
-It has to state an
opinion. It introduces the main idea of the paragraph.
-It tells what the
paragraph is about. Often suggests how the paragraph will be developed.
-Since it expresses an
opinion, it usually has an adjective, an adverb or a modal verb.
-It’s a complete
sentence with a subject and a verb.
-It has to be
specific, narrowed down. (instead of writing about all kinds of violence in all
the world, it’s
better to be more specific).
-The topic sentences
in all the paragraphs must be related to the thesis statement.
4. CONTROLLING IDEA
e.g.: might be very exciting
- It’s the opinion stated in
the topic sentence. It’s usually the adjective, adverb or modal verb mentioned
in the topic sentence. (e.g. dangerous).
- All that is written in the
paragraph must be related to the controlling idea.
-It´s never a fact
(something obvious or that cannot be argued on the contrary)
5. SUPPORTING SENTENCE
because the people are very friendly, there places to visit like ‘Casa
do Cantador’, the flea market in ceilândia center and many Faculties and a
shopping center.
-The examples: quotation, stories, facts, statistics,
anecdotes, details, etc, used to support or reinforce the opinion stated in
the topic sentence.
-
Each paragraph should contain at least three
supporting sentences.
-
Should be presented in a logical order (e.g. of time)
7. CONCLUDING SENTENCE
The last sentence in
each paragraph which summarizes, or
restates the main idea of that paragraph in a different way.
6. KEYWORDS / IDEAS
e.g.: there are a lot of places to visit, landmarks, touristic
atractions, etc
-All the words, ideas
or synonyms repeated along the composition to cause an emphatic effect.
Take notes:
DO
·
“you”, “we”, “people” ,“he / “she”, “men” /
“women”, when making generalizations. Use “one” instead. Eg. Women might feel
insecure. (One might feel insecure).
·
The use of “I think” and the verb
“get”, except when it’s part of an expression, e.g., get dressed. Find
the most suitable synonym for the context.
·
Contracted form of verbs, such as:
isn’t, can’t, doesn’t, etc.
The
use of “but”, “so” in the beginning of
sentences. Use however, nevertheless, also, moreover, consequently ...
DO
* Use transition words that link ideas between
sentences (transitions) or within a sentence (conjunctions)
To indicate the progression of ideas or to
provide orderly connection between the ideas (coherence). E.g.:
Coordinating conjunctions: (they link ideas
between independent clauses) and, but, yet, or, nor, so, for...
Subordinating conjunctions: (they link ideas
between an independent and a subordinating clause)
To show :a cause, a reason: because, since
To show condition: if, unless, provided that,
as long as
To show time: when, before, after, as, since,
whenever, while, until
To show place: wherever
To show contrast / concession: although,
though, even though, even if, whether or not, while
To show manner: as if, as though
To show purpose / result: so (that), in order
(that)
