2. narrow the topic
3. show the importance of the topic
4. set the tone
Look at the example on p.75.
The Body: story
1. the teller’s point of view (example on pp.76-77)
4
Sample Essay
The Stamp Incident
I can never forget the stamp incident which happened when I was a primary school pupil.
My best friend whose nickname was Apple was a stamp-collector. He tried every way to get stamps and spent every penny he had on them. Once he obtained a beautiful or precious stamp he would be more than happy. I was always his companion in his search for stamps.
Apple ran to me with stamps in his hand and tears in his eyes. We both cried bitterly. From then on. Apple never collected any more stamps; neither did I.
Description: painting a verbal picture of a person, place, object or scene
Exposition: providing information by explaining, defining, analyzing, illustrating or comparing
Argumentation: persuading or convincing
through evidence or hemotional appeal
1
They are often used in combination, especially narration and description, and exposition and argumentation.
mutilated bodies of her father and one of her brothers on her doorstep. They were among the many victims of the war. Colan’s husband was much older than she, and he soon succumbed to the vigorous demands of field work and mental strain, leaving Colan alone with her two small children. Many of the town’s people helped her, and she was able to produce enough on the small farm to feed her family. Shortly after the turn of the century, her daughter married and went to America. After a few years Colan’s daughter sent her some money to come to the United States. Colan had lived in the United Sh tates for thirty years. 14
Her name was Colan Hobart. When she was a young woman, her homeland was invaded by foreign troops. She had been keeping house for her father, brothers, husband and her two young children. One day she returned from the mh arket and found the 13
16 Types of Essays Four major types of essays:
Narration: giving an account of an event or a series of events—stories, biographies, histories, news items, narrative poems, etc.
Read the example essay “Very Cold and Alone” and do the first two exercises.
Read the following essay and make some comments on the plot and language.
h
A few days later, our teacher asked Apple to go to her room and gave him many stamps.
h
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With a melancholy expression on her face, she told Apple that she once had a friend who was a stamp-collector too, but she had lost him forever, so the stamps she had collected for him were no longer useful.
That evening he hurried to my home and
almost dragged me out of the house to the
h
6
corner of a street and showed me a letter.
It was in a man’s handwriting. In the letter the man implored our teacher to forgive him and asked her to meet him at the gate of Shanlin Park at eight that evening. If not, he’d take it that she would never forgive him, and it meant the end of their relationship.
2. the events/plot
3. focus on the central theme (example on pp.77-
78)
h
3
4. details / plot / storyline (example on p.78)
The Conclusion
reconfirmation of the central idea
Narration
tell a story from one’s experience
decide on a thesis sentence
subject / attitude
Look at the examples on pp.74-75.
The Introduction
functions
h
2
1. attract the reader’s attention
h
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One day Apple whispered to me mysteriously that he had found a most wonderful stamp on a letter addressed to our young arithmetic teacher, who was a very pretty and kindhearted girl. Apple wanted that stamp so badly that he said if he couldn’t get it, he wouldn't be able to eat or sleep. Then the idea of stealing occurred to him, and he couldn’t get rid of it. I was frightened and begged him not to do that. He showed signs of much hesitation, too. Without saying any more words, he left.
We were completely at a loss. Too frightened to go to the teacher, we decided to go to the meeting place ourselves.
When we arrived at the park, we found at the gate a tall young man with glasses, walking back and forth as if he was waiting anxiously for someone. He looked at his watch from time to time. I did not know how long we had been there. Finally the man left, looking very worried and disappointed.