Rhetorical Forms - The Basics
So you have to write an essay. Maybe you don't even like to write. Well, I'm going to give you some info that will hopefully save you from boredom and a poor grade. Also, you'll learn some vital concepts that will help you in all of your coursework and might just help you at work.
I'm going to focus on four widely used essay forms: narrative, comparison, cause/effect, and argument. There are many others, but these four are the foundation. You can combine any of these four to express just about anything.
There is a separate page for each of these essays, but I will show you briefly how each type can help you express a single idea in different ways.
Let's say you have this topic: skiing.
Okay, you can go in many different directions with a broad topic like skiing. For instance, if you wrote a narrative essay, it could be about a skiing accident that changed your attitude about that activity. The thesis statement for your narrative essay might be: What occurred when I skied for the first time convinced me that skiing was not the sport for me. Interesting, right? It should be. This thesis makes readers want to know what happened. Readers get excited about hearing a story. Your ability as a writer should include making anything you write be interesting and captivating, and narrative essays can help build that skill.
You might be interested in comparing skiing to something else like surfing. In both sports you are standing on top of something that is gliding across the surface. Falling in both sports can be dangerous, and both activities require precise body control, balance, and judgement. Therefore, your thesis statement in your comparison essay might be: There are a few interesting similarities between skiing and surfing. You might focus on differences instead, or you might compose an essay that describes similarities and differences. Some professors refer to similarities as "comparisons" and differences as "contrasts," but you don't need to worry about the different terms.
Moving on, you might want to write about the reasons people ski or about the health benefits of skiing. If you write about the reasons, you are focusing on causes. If you explore the benefits of skiing you are focusing on effects. One possible thesis statement for an essay that centers on causes could be: A few reasons people enjoy skiing are connecting with the outdoors, enjoying an individualized activity, and improving coordination. Not bad, right? This is called a stated thesis because the reasons are clearly mentioned. Readers will know what topics will be in the body paragraphs of the essay.
Lastly, you might want to create an argument that centers on skiing. Perhaps you found evidence that it is a very dangerous sport and you feel that young children should not be allowed to ski. On the other hand, maybe you found evidence for the opposite point of view and you think that more schools should offer competitive skiing as one of their extra-curricular options. Either way you have an opinion you want others to accept, and that is the basis of an argument essay. Your thesis might look like this: Public high schools should offer competitive skiing as an extra-curricular option for the following reasons.
There is a separate page for each of these essays, but I will show you briefly how each type can help you express a single idea in different ways.
Let's say you have this topic: skiing.
Okay, you can go in many different directions with a broad topic like skiing. For instance, if you wrote a narrative essay, it could be about a skiing accident that changed your attitude about that activity. The thesis statement for your narrative essay might be: What occurred when I skied for the first time convinced me that skiing was not the sport for me. Interesting, right? It should be. This thesis makes readers want to know what happened. Readers get excited about hearing a story. Your ability as a writer should include making anything you write be interesting and captivating, and narrative essays can help build that skill.
You might be interested in comparing skiing to something else like surfing. In both sports you are standing on top of something that is gliding across the surface. Falling in both sports can be dangerous, and both activities require precise body control, balance, and judgement. Therefore, your thesis statement in your comparison essay might be: There are a few interesting similarities between skiing and surfing. You might focus on differences instead, or you might compose an essay that describes similarities and differences. Some professors refer to similarities as "comparisons" and differences as "contrasts," but you don't need to worry about the different terms.
Moving on, you might want to write about the reasons people ski or about the health benefits of skiing. If you write about the reasons, you are focusing on causes. If you explore the benefits of skiing you are focusing on effects. One possible thesis statement for an essay that centers on causes could be: A few reasons people enjoy skiing are connecting with the outdoors, enjoying an individualized activity, and improving coordination. Not bad, right? This is called a stated thesis because the reasons are clearly mentioned. Readers will know what topics will be in the body paragraphs of the essay.
Lastly, you might want to create an argument that centers on skiing. Perhaps you found evidence that it is a very dangerous sport and you feel that young children should not be allowed to ski. On the other hand, maybe you found evidence for the opposite point of view and you think that more schools should offer competitive skiing as one of their extra-curricular options. Either way you have an opinion you want others to accept, and that is the basis of an argument essay. Your thesis might look like this: Public high schools should offer competitive skiing as an extra-curricular option for the following reasons.