Building an Essay

Essays Made Easy--Building an Essay

Overview

An essay is a group of paragraphs clustered together to present and develop an idea for the reader. The structure of an essay in many ways is like the structure of a paragraph, which has a topic sentence stating the main idea and then several support sentences. The difference is that an essay presents a larger idea than a paragraph and develops it with support paragraphs rather than support sentences.

So just as sentences are the building blocks of the paragraph, paragraphs are the building blocks of essays. And just as a paragraph’s main idea is called a topic and is stated in the topic sentence, an essay’s main idea is called a thesis, and is stated in the thesis sentence, which is usually the final sentence of the first paragraph (the introductory paragraph) or ends the introduction of a longer essay.

One last thing to keep in mind is that writing an essay is not as difficult as we might think if we build our essay one paragraph at a time rather than try to write the whole essay at once.

Let’s work with an example. Let’s pretend we are writers for a gourmet foods magazine and that we are responsible for the monthly dessert article (an article is really an essay). One day as we are planning the next month’s article, our editor walks by and advises us not to write yet another article about one of the typical gourmet desserts such as chocolate mousse, crepes suzette, or baked Alaska. Rather, we are to write an article that introduces a new gourmet dessert.

As we struggle to come up with a new dessert, one of us, noticing another of us sipping on a McDonald’s milkshake, suggests that we might elevate the common milkshake to gourmet standards. We agree and begin the writing process.

Step #1—Brainstorm the idea

Thought process è Gourmet foods è Gourmet desserts è not the usual è hmmmm è common milkshake è elevate the common milkshake to gourmet food status.

Essay idea J All Milkshakes are made with milk, ice cream, and some sort of flavoring syrup. So let’s upgrade these ingredients to gourmet status by using Dryer’s ice cream, goat’s milk, flavoring syrups from Brazil.

Next we brainstorm the supporting details, paragraph by paragraph ð

Brainstorming results are listed in the boxes below ¤

A Why Goat’s milk brainstorming


Freshness date important—no preservatives
Pleasant aroma
Layers or levels of flavor
Has richness and texture

A Why Brazilian flavoring syrups brainstorming


Not “extracts” like those in U.S.
U.S. crystals don’t all absorb
No residue when mixed
More expensive but worth it

A Why Dryer’s ice cream brainstorming


Go with Dryer’s Satiny Vanilla for first try
Satin-smooth
Carries message
Blendable but taste doesn’t disappear

Next, we reorganize the details in the above lists to put them in the most effective order ò

Step #2—Reorganize supporting details for best effect, paragraph by paragraph

Reorganized paragraph details ð

Note than each detail below has been assigned the location (number) where it will be presented in the paragraph. We will rough out each paragraph using this new order of details.

WHY GOAT’S MILK PARAGRAPH

Details ò	Location ò
Freshness date important—no preservatives	This will be the final detail
Aroma	This detail will be second
Layers or levels of flavor	This detail will go third
Texture	This detail will go first

WHY BRAZILIAN FLAVORING SYRUPS PARAGRAPH

Details ò	Location ò
Not “extracts” like those in U.S.	This detail will go first
U.S. crystals don’t all absorb	This detail will be second
No residue when mixed	This detail will go third
More expensive but worth it	This will be the final detail

WHY DRYER’S ICE CREAM PARAGRAPH

Details ò	Location ò
Go with Dryer’s Satiny Vanilla for first try	This will be the final detail
Satin-smooth	This detail will be second
Carries message	This detail will go first
Blendable but taste doesn’t disappear	This detail will go third

E Now we decide on the best order for these support paragraphs, and we are ready to fill out the Essay Planning Sheet ò

Step #3—Fill out the Essay Planning Sheet

ESSAY PLANNING SHEET

^{First list your support
paragraph topic names in the order you decided on in Step #2.}

^{Let’s try this order}ò

Dryer’s Ice Cream

Goat’s Milk

Brazilian Flavorings

Note: The ¶ symbol is the symbol for a paragraph.

¶^{1—The thesis sentence is a one-sentence statement of your
essay’s point. It is usually a good
idea to place it at the end of the introductory paragraph (Paragraph
#1). This paragraph is also referred
to as the thesis paragraph and
consists of lead-in sentences followed by the thesis sentence.}

^{Now let’s write our thesis sentence only. (We’ll add the introductory sentences
later.)}

Two types of Thesis Sentences:

Choice #1 is what’s called an Analytical Thesis Sentence because it lists the names of the support paragraph topics.

Here’s our essay’s thesis stated in the analytical thesis sentence format ¤

$ The perfect gourmet milkshake requires Dryer's ice cream, goat's milk, and Brazilian Syrups.

Choice #2 is what’s called an Inferential Thesis Sentence because it does not list the names of the support paragraph topics. (The support is inferred, hence the name inferential.)

Here’s our essay’s thesis stated in the inferential thesis sentence format ¤

$ The perfect gourmet milkshake requires special ingredients.

E Next we draft the support paragraphs using our topic sentences and the reorganized list of details

¶^{2—Supporting
Point #1 with the details listed in order. (This is labeled}¶^{2
(Paragraph #2) because}¶^{1 (Paragraph #1) is our introductory or
thesis paragraph.)}

Topic Sentence ¤

The first ingredient is ice cream.

List of Supporting Details ¤

DRYER’S ICE CREAM PARAGRAPH

Carries message

Satin-smooth

Blendable but taste doesn’t disappear

Go with Dryer’s Satiny Vanilla for first try

¶^{3—Supporting Point #2 with the
details listed in order}

Topic Sentence ¤

The second ingredient is goat's milk.

List of Supporting Details ¤

GOAT’S MILK PARAGRAPH

Texture

Aroma

Layers of flavor

Freshness date important—no preservatives

¶^{4—Supporting Point #3 with the
details listed in order}

Topic Sentence ¤

The final ingredient is the flavoring syrup.

List of Supporting Details ¤

BRAZILIAN FLAVORINGS PARAGRAPH

Not “extracts” like those in U.S.

U.S. crystals don’t all absorb

No residue when mixed

More expensive but worth it

Step #4—Use the completed Essay Planning Sheet to write your body paragraphs (please see essay)

Step #5—Write your introduction

What about the sentences before the thesis sentence (the introductory sentences)?

The first three or four sentences are introductory sentences leading to your thesis sentence, which ends the paragraph. Generally these sentences should create interest in your idea or establish its importance so the reader will want to continue reading. As weird as it sounds, write these introductory sentences AFTER you have completed the rough draft of the essay’s body paragraphs.

One way of creating an introduction is to write a sentence for each narrowing of the topic

Narrowing sequence from brainstorming è

Gourmet foodsè Broad

Gourmet dessertsè

not the usualè

hmmmmè

an ordinary milkshakeè

elevate the lowly milkshake to gourmet food status. Narrow

Sample Introduction

Do you ever wonder how to complete that perfect gourmet meal? Many gourmet food fanciers can create delicious appetizers followed by mouth-watering main courses, only to disappoint their dinner guests by serving one of the overused gourmet desserts such as Baked Alaska, Chocolate Mousse, or Crepes Suzette. The next time you prepare a gourmet meal for your friends and family, why not try something different? Surprise your guests with a common dessert elevated to gourmet stature--the milkshake. The perfect gourmet milkshake requires Dryer's ice cream, goat's milk, and Brazilian Syrups. (Analytical thesis sentence)

Step #6—Write your conclusion

Writing Your Conclusion

When writing the conclusion assume that you have convinced your readers—that they now agree with your thesis; in other words, they now accept your position. So write a few closing sentences to recommend action and/or do a bit of cheerleading.

How’s this? ¤

Sample Conclusion

So the next time you spend countless hours planning and preparing that perfect gourmet meal for your guests, do not disappoint them by serving one of the "expected" desserts; instead, serve something different--the gourmet milkshake. Your guests will not be disappointed.

COMPLETED ESSAY

(Note: I’ve given you two examples of thesis sentences and underlined each body paragraph’s topic sentence)

“The Milkshake” Essay

The first ingredient is ice cream, but not just any ice cream will do. More than any other ingredient, the ice cream carries the milkshake's "message" to your dinner guests. Therefore, gourmet milkshake ice cream must have a satin-smooth flush to it. It must be creamy, yet not too heavy or rich. It must easily blend with the other ingredients, but not lose its personality. It must have a hint of impertinence without being overpowering. Fortunately Dryer's ice cream admirably fulfills these requirements. If this will be your first gourmet milkshake creation, use Dryer's Satiny Vanilla. Later you can experiment with other Dryer's flavors to more finely tune your creations.

The second ingredient is goat's milk. Most over-the-counter milkshakes, even those made at finer creameries, are loaded with cow's milk. Though cow's milk provides a good thinning agent for a common milkshake, only goat's milk has the richness and texture to elevate a milkshake to gourmet status. Goat's milk has an elegant aroma that captivates the senses. In addition, goat's milk settles into layers of creaminess, making each new taste different from the last. Thus, as your guests are enjoying this dessert, it will radiate unique levels of flavor. Fortunately, goat's milk is readily available at finer markets. Be sure to check the freshness label since goat's milk will not have the preservatives that pasteurized cow's milk has.

The final ingredient is the flavoring syrup. Though many American specialty food companies make flavorings suitable for common milkshakes, these domestic syrups fall far short of providing the quality a gourmet milkshake deserves. Most domestic syrups are produced through an "extract" process with the flavoring typically in concentrated form. As this concentrate mixes with the base, not all flavor crystals are absorbed. This unabsorbed residue can destroy the syrup's flavor consistency, rendering most domestic flavoring syrups unreliable. Brazilian syrups, however, are made with whole flavorings rather than extracts. Once these whole flavorings are blended with their respective bases, they do not separate. This ensures the continuity of taste a gourmet milkshake deserves. Though Brazilian flavorings are more expensive and not as readily available as are their American counterparts, they are well worth the extra expense and effort.

Sample Essays