Posted: August 31st, 2015

English

English

Paper details:
Narrative/ descriptive essay of 750-1000 words No research sources should be used for this assignment. The ideas and descriptions must be your own. Please read these instructions carefully. This assignment requires some critical thinking, Assignment: 1. (In response to Atwood). Describe how a place with which you are familiar has been changed due to population growth or urban/suburban development. What have been the major impacts on this place? Be sure to illustrate your ideas with specific details and examples. Try to use some of the descriptive techniques you’ve observed in the work of the authors we’ve read in this unit. Essay Structure Introduction: The purpose of the introduction is to orient your reader and create interest in the paper. In a short paper, the introduction is usually one paragraph, and your precise subject should be apparent from the very beginning. In a longer paper, it may take two or three paragraphs to introduce your exact subject, though all the information should be relevant to your thesis. Don’t be too general in your introduction; make specific and meaningful statements. Thesis: Your thesis is a brief overview of the central concepts of your paper. It may be written in one sentence, or it may take two or more sentences, depending on the length and complexity of the paper. If you’re responding to an essay question, the thesis should be a direct answer to that question. The thesis is usually stated at the beginning of your paper, at the end of the introduction, and it is then developed throughout the body of the essay. In each paragraph, you should be advancing the ideas in your thesis and showing your reader how the information you’re presenting refers back to your central concepts. Some essays may lead up to the thesis instead (like this more creative, narrative/descriptive assignment). Body paragraphs: Each body paragraph should develop your thesis a bit further. In order to do this effectively, you need to “look back” to your original statement. Try to pick up the key words in your thesis as you’re moving forward in your paragraphs, and show how these words gain new meaning with the additional information you’re presenting. Also “look ahead” to the coming paragraphs; remember that you have a destination for your reader, and make sure that goal influences what you’re saying. Develop your paragraphs with specific details and examples. In general, write paragraphs of about 5-8 sentences, and make sure all the information about a certain aspect of your topic is grouped together in one part of the essay. Aim for 2 to 3 paragraphs per page. (Note: do not try to write a “5 paragraph essay,” as this will not be suitable for the length of most university assignments). Topic sentences: The first sentence of each body paragraph will usually give a clear idea of the overall content of that paragraph and will show how it supports the thesis. This is called the topic sentence. Not every paragraph begins this way, but in most academic papers authors advance their arguments strongly in the first sentence or two of each paragraph. This technique provides a helpful “signpost” to the reader. A paragraph may also build up to its topic sentence at the end. Each paragraph should function as a unified whole with a particular point to make; each is a carefully shaped piece of the larger design of the paper. Don’t try to cover too much in one paragraph—if a new topic appears, see where it fits into another paragraph or develop it in a new paragraph. Conclusion: Most essays have one paragraph of conclusion, though a longer essay may have more than one. The main purpose of the conclusion is to “look back” over the essay as a whole, though not at every point. Focus on the key issues you want your readers to remember best, and present them in a lively and interesting way. Don’t repeat points you’ve already made in exactly the same language. Try to step back and place your ideas in a slightly broader context at the end. “Avoiding Plagiarism”