Types of Essay Development

1. Types of Essay Development Taken from College Writing skills

2. Four types of writing: • Description • Verbal picture of person, place, thing • Narration • Tells a story of something that happened • Exposition • Explanation about a particular topic • Process, cause and effect, comparing, contrasting, defining a term, classifying into categories • Persuasion • Support a controversial point or defend a position/opinion These are the two types you’ll see on FCAT

3. What kind of paper am I writing? What you need to consider when writing an essay 1. What kind of paper is this? Do I need to research other’s ideas? Should it be entirely my own ideas? Should I compare my ideas with someone else’s ideas? Make sure you understand what the teacher wants you to do before you begin writing

4. What kind of paper am I writing? 2. What is the length of the paper? • Your teacher will tell you (in most cases) • Page numbers • If no length is given (like on the FCAT) you need to make sure you have the appropriate paragraph length • At least four well-developed paragraphs

5. What kind of paper am I writing? 3. Will you inform, persuade, or entertain us? Inform example: Write an essay explaining how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Persuade example: Write an essay explaining to us why PB&Js are the best sandwiches to eat for lunch. Entertain example: Write an essay explaining your favorite memory of the time you ate a PB&J sandwich. HINT!

6. What kind of paper am I writing? 4. Who is the audience? • Most cases- teachers or peers • You will write differently for these audiences! • More serious for teachers, maybe more humorous for peers • Specific audiences- usually with persuasion, but you write to address that particular group • Example: Teens  Female Teens 

7. What kind of paper am I writing? 5. What point of view are you writing from? • Your point of view? (First person) • Straight from your mind • Pronouns- I, me, mine, we, our, ours • Writing/speaking directly to the reader? (Second person) • Pronoun- you • No direct approach? (Third person) • **Best choice when writing a formal essay!** • Not talking to anyone directly • Don’t use I, you, but you use just general terms • Pronoun- Their, them, they

8. Know your subject! • Write about something that interests you • Write about things you already know about/how to do • If you have NOT had direct experience, you should have indirect experiences • Knowledge gained through reading, thinking, or talking • NO EXPERIENCE- you need to research the topic

9. What if I don’t know the topic given by FCAT? If you have no experience whatsoever with the topic given by FCAT… make it up! Example: Tell us about your first experience riding a roller coaster. Never done it? Write about how scared you were leading up to the ride. You’ve seen movies or T.V. shows about roller coasters, so you’ll be able to use that background knowledge.

10. Answer the following questions in your notes What type of writing appeals to you the most and why? Descriptive, narrative, persuasive, or expository? Do you think it’s easier to write to inform, persuade, or entertain your reader? Explain why. What point of view is the best to use when writing a formal essay?