Freshman composition teachers often assign descriptive and narrative essays. They're a favorite first-assignment, but what is a narrative essay and is it the same thing as a descriptive essay? It depends on who you talk to, but I think most teachers would tell you that although narratives and descriptive essays have similar characteristics, they are technically different genres (types of writing). Let's discuss them both! What is a descriptive essay? A descriptive essay asks the writer to describe something, usually a(n)...
I almost always suggest students organize their descriptive essays spatially, which means breaking up their subject into a sections. For example, if I were going to describe a restaurant, I might have one body paragraph about the welcome desk, the second describing the left-hand side of the dining room, the third about the center, and (maybe) a final body paragraph about the right-hand side of the dining room. What is a narrative essay? A narrative essay is extremely similar to a descriptive essay. It, too, requires you to paint a picture with words by using all five senses. The difference, however, is a focus on the experience being told. The word "narrative," after all, is a fancy word for "story." Your goal in writing a narrative is to paint a story with words. You will
This is probably the most challenging aspect of the narrative essay because we're used to having introductions that lead into our subjects, guideposts that tell our readers what to expect in each paragraph, etc. Instead, be creative! Let the timeline of your narrative help you organize your specific details, and allow plot points to guide you as you draft. How do you write a descriptive essay or narrative? For both genres (types of writing) you will want to... Start with a specific subject Most of the time, we think the bigger the subject, the more words we can write. This, however, is a myth. The smaller your subject (or topic choice) the easier it is to come with ideas for your essay. For example, you would not want to choose China as your subject for a descriptive essay. It's too big! Instead, choose a specific location, like
The same is true for a narrative. You would never want to choose my two years in the army as your subject or your entire childhood. These timelines are too long for a short and simple narrative assignment. In fact, if you think about it, you would need an entire book to cover these timelines. Instead, choose a specific moment in time. I suggest
When you choose a long timeline, you inevitably end up skipping around or omitting details simply so you can "get through" the story. Readers will feel rushed and confused. Slow down! It's okay (and preferred) to focus on a single day or hour. You will have enough ideas to write your paper. I promise! A word of caution: When choosing a subject for your narrative essay, be careful not to choose something too personal or emotional. Remember, you may be doing peer review, so your classmates will read your story--- as well as your instructor. Use all five senses Remember, the five senses are
I suggest you spend some time brainstorming each and see what you can come up with! Most of the time we rely on our sight, which is a good start--- but don't forget to include other sensory details, like smell and sound. These will make your descriptions more vivid! When using the five senses, be as specific as possible, so instead of saying the place smelled terrible, you might say, "the hotel smelled of dirty socks and day-old noodles." For narratives, you can utilize action as well as dialogue! So, instead of saying something like, my mom gets annoyed when I don't clean my room, you might try, My mom wrinkled her nose as she entered into my room and said, "I don't know how you stand being in this room. It's a pig sty!" Show, don't tell This is especially important in narratives because we often wish to convey emotions in our stories, but you will also want to use this trick in descriptive essays as well. "Show, don't tell," basically means to be as specific as you can and trust your readers to pick-up on the emotions behind images and ideas. So, instead of saying, my sister was mad at me, you'd want to describe what she did that shows she was mad. For example, "I hate you!" my sister yelled and stomped down the hall, slamming her bedroom door behind her. Can you see how the second one shows she's mad without me even telling you that? Always comb through your drafts for emotions or ideas that are "told" to the reader and see if you can flesh them out with action, vivid descriptions, or dialogue. Adhere to any special requirements from the teacher Teachers often have special requirements, so review your assignment instructions carefully. Some teachers, for example, may ask you to include a thesis statement in your narrative essay, while most do not. This thesis will likely need to sum up or give your "overall impression," which simply means to say in one sentence (after giving the set up for your story) what you learned from the experience. Or, you may be asked to reflect on the narrative at the end, which means you will include your closing thoughts after you've concluded your story, often as its own paragraph. Again, read your instructions or talk to your teacher. Concluding tips
When it comes to narrative essays, make sure you organize by beginning, middle, and end. I strongly suggest you establish the setting (location) for your story by describing the sights, sounds, and smells (etc) as you introduce key players, thoughts, and dialogue into your narrative. As always, remember that writing is a process. It's okay if you don't "get it" the first time. We often discover our "stories" as we write, so be open to multiple drafts or versions of your essay before turning in your final draft. Also, don't be afraid to reach out to a writing tutor. We understand the challenges of the writing process and the common pitfalls while writing in this genre. Oftentimes, we're able to pick up on errors (big and small) simply because we're not as emotionally attached to your writing as you are. Let me know in the comments if these tips were useful, and best of luck!
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Freshman composition teachers often assign students rhetorical analysis essays, but what is a rhetorical analysis? And how do you write one? Let's start by learning the difference between a summary and an analysis because the number one mistake I see students making when attempting this genre (type of writing) is that they end up summarizing and never get around to analyzing. This often results in a poor grade or a comment from the teacher asking you to "redo" the assignment. The other mistake I see students making with this genre is that they feel compelled to respond to their text, either in favor or against what the author/speaker is saying. That isn't a rhetorical analysis, either. What is an analysis? Well, we know it is not a summary. In other words, you should not break-down your text (article, video, ad, whatever) chronologically in your analysis essay. You may need to summarize---as part of your writing process or briefly in your introduction---before getting to your analysis, but the summary of whatever you're supposed to be analyzing is not the same thing as actually analyzing it. We also know that a rhetorical analysis isn't a response or reply to the author or speaker, so try your best to keep your opinions about the issue or topic to yourself. To analyze means to study something carefully through a process of examination. Therefore, at the heart of every analysis is an argument (or opinion) about how well an author achieved his or her stated (or implied) purpose. In other words, for a rhetorical analysis, you need to decide
What does rhetorical mean? It comes from the word "rhetoric," which simply means "persuasive writing or speaking." We often use rhetoric when we craft our own arguments. In a rhetorical analysis, however, our job is to study the way someone else attempted to persuade. We must decide if their chosen strategies for persuasion worked or not. Typically for these assignments, you'll be given or asked to choose an opinionated article, short video, or ad--- basically anything that attempts to persuade. To analyze, you will need to identify various techniques or rhetorical appeals used by the author or speaker. Learning about various appeals (techniques) authors and speakers often use for persuasion can help with this. Your teacher will likely provide a list of rhetorical appeals along with definitions, but you can also check out the brief video below. It summarizes the three most common appeals: logos, ethos, and pathos. How do I write a rhetorical analysis essay? As with any essay, you will need all the parts of a typical college essay: an introduction, body, and conclusion; however, before you stress about your thesis, topic sentences, organization and grammar, take a deep breath and read through the following steps specific to writing a rhetorical analysis essay: Step 1: Read/watch and annotate Too often I meet with students who are so anxious to turn in their essay for a grade that they do a poor job reading/watching the thing they need to analyze and annotating it. Sometimes they completely skip this step. (Yikes!) The truth is, you cannot successfully analyze anything you're unfamiliar with, so get familiar with your text, whether it is a scholarly or opinionated article, video, ad etc. I suggest you read through your text or watch your video at least 3-5 times. The more times, the better! Be sure to annotate. In other words, take notes:
Step 2: Identify author's purpose/ message Why did the author(s) write this text, do you think? Or what were the author(s) hoping to accomplish when they recorded their message? Who is their audience? (eg. college students, parents, teachers...?) Do they challenge their readers to make a change or think differently about a topic? What is the author's (or speaker's) thesis statement? And, no, you do not need to do outside research to discover these answers. (So no googling for "answers," please. It won't help you as much as you may think!) I admit that some teachers may ask for a research component to a rhetorical analysis, but not usually. Instead, ask yourself what you (as a reader or audience member) "get out" of this text. Be as specific as possible. So, instead of saying "this text is about restrictive gun laws," you might say "the author wants his/her audience to consider how restrictions on gun ownership is in violation to the second amendment, and he/she wants us to cut back on these restrictions in Texas." You don't have to agree with the author(s)! For now, we're simply looking for what the author(s) are saying or what they are attempting to persuade their readers to believe or do. Step 3: Look for and identify rhetorical appeals Writing rhetorical analysis essays are particularly challenging because oftentimes (especially for hot topics like abortion, gun control, etc) we already have our opinions formed before we read the article or watch the video. We may either already agree with the author or speaker, so it makes it "easy" to be persuaded or we do not agree with the author or speaker and no matter what he/she says, we'll never be persuaded. Forget your personal bias! In fact, don't worry about the topic being discussed for a moment. Instead, focus on the techniques used by the author or speaker:
Step 4: Develop an analysis-focused thesis Your thesis should tell readers your opinion about how well the author achieved his/her purpose and/or how. Having such an argument (opinion), remember, is at the heart of a rhetorical analysis essay. Doing this ensures that you are indeed analyzing (and not simply summarizing or responding with bias), which will result is a better grade for this genre. So, for example, you might say something like
Check out the brief video below if you need a refresher on thesis statements, but remember that the best place to put your thesis is usually the last sentence in your introduction. Concluding Tips
I get that you want to do the thing that will be graded, but believe me when I say how much better your analysis will be if you take the time to study your text and the appeals used in it. This will also ensure that you don't simply summarize and lose points for not analyzing. As always, remember that writing is a process. It's okay if you don't "get it" the first time. We often discover our opinions as we write, so be open to multiple drafts or versions of your essay before turning in your final draft. Also, don't be afraid to reach out to a writing tutor. We understand the challenges of the writing process and the common pitfalls while writing in this genre. Oftentimes, we're able to pick up on errors (big and small) simply because we're not as emotionally attached to your writing as you are. Let me know in the comments if these tips were useful, and best of luck! Freshman composition teachers often assign students literary analysis essays, but what is a literary analysis? And how do you write one? Let's start by learning the difference between a summary and an analysis because the number one mistake I see students making when attempting this genre (type of writing) is that they end up summarizing and never get around to analyzing. This often results in a poor grade or a comment from the teacher asking you to "redo" the assignment. What is an analysis? Well, we know it is not a summary. In other words, you should not restate plot points or events while drafting your analysis essay. You may need to summarize---as part of your writing process or briefly in your introduction---before getting to your analysis, but the summary of whatever you're supposed to be analyzing is not the same thing as actually analyzing it. To analyze means to study something carefully through a process of examination. Therefore, at the heart of every analysis is an argument (or opinion) about how well an author achieved his or her stated (or implied) purpose. In other words, you need to decide
What makes it a literary analysis? Literary describes the type of writing you are analyzing. Typically for assignments like this, you'll be given or asked to choose a short story, poem, song, or some other kind of creative writing for the purpose of analyzing. To analyze, you'll need to identify various techniques or literary devices used by the author. Learning various devices (techniques) authors commonly used will help with this. Your teacher will likely provide a list of possible devices, but you can also check out this website of 45+ literary devices. How do I write a literary analysis essay? As with any essay, you will need all the parts of a typical college essay: an introduction, body, and conclusion; however, before you stress about your thesis, topic sentences, organization and grammar, take a deep breath and read through the following steps specific to writing a literary analysis essay: Step 1: Read and annotate Too often I meet with students who are so anxious to turn in their essay for a grade that they do a poor job reading and annotating. Sometimes they completely skip this step. (Yikes!) The truth is, you cannot successfully analyze anything you're unfamiliar with, so get familiar with your text, whether it is a short story, poem, song, etc. I suggest you read through your text at least 3-5 times. The more times you can read it, the better! Be sure to annotate. In other words, take notes while you read:
Step 2: Identify purpose or theme Why did the author write this text, do you think? Is there a lesson (theme) to be learned? What is it? And, no, you do not need to do outside research to discover these answers. (So no googling for "answers," please. It won't help you as much as you may think!) I admit that some teachers will ask for a research component to a literary analysis, but not usually. Instead, ask yourself what you (as a reader) "get out" of this text. Be as specific as possible. So, instead of saying "this text is about freedom," you might say "the lesson in this short story is to never take your freedoms for granted." Step 3: Look for and point out literary devices used by the author As mentioned earlier, the thing that makes your essay an analysis is your argument (opinion) of how well you think the author did at expressing his/her purpose or message in the text. You can form whatever opinion you want about the author's decisions (techniques for writing), but you need to back up it up. To do this, you'll need to be familiar with the types of literary devices used by the author and be able to identify these literary devices as they are used in the text. I suggest breaking up your body paragraphs by different devices, so maybe a paragraph on symbolism, another on personification, etc. But it's up to you how you support your opinion. Just make sure you point out and share how the author attempted to achieve his/her purpose. Step 4: Develop an analysis-focused thesis Your thesis should tell readers your opinion about how well the author achieved his/her purpose and/or how. Having such an argument (opinion), remember, is at the heart of a literary analysis essay. Doing this ensures that you are indeed analyzing, and not simply summarizing your text, which will result is a better grade for this genre. So, for example, you might say something like
Check out the brief video below if you need a refresher on thesis statements, but remember that the best place to put your thesis is usually the last sentence in your introduction. Concluding Tips
I get that you want to do the thing that will be graded, but believe me when I say how much better your analysis will be if you take the time to study your text and take the time to learn about literary devices that may show up in your text. This will also ensure that you don't simply summarize and lose points for not analyzing. As always, remember that writing is a process. It's okay if you don't "get it" the first time. We often discover our opinions as we write, so be open to multiple drafts or versions of your essay before turning in your final draft. Also, don't be afraid to reach out to a writing tutor. We understand the challenges of the writing process and the common pitfalls while writing in this genre. Oftentimes, we're able to pick up on errors (big and small) simply because we're not as emotionally attached to your writing as you are. Let me know in the comments if these tips were useful, and best of luck! (Don't) Picture your audience in their underwear: building audience awareness for persuasive essays12/9/2020 The last week or so, I've helped over a dozen writers with their argumentative/persuasive essays, so I thought I'd take a moment and record some advice I've said to pretty much all of these students. First of all, I don't like the term argumentative. It makes it sound like you're supposed to yell at your audience. Trust me. We don't want that. Instead of thinking of your assignment as an argumentative essay (even if your teacher calls it that), think of it as a persuasive essay. (They're the same thing anyhow!) We want the audience to really consider what you're saying and be persuaded. That's the ultimate goal of any "argumentative" essay. In order to do that, you need to do a few things. Picture your audience, but not in their underwear! Maybe you've heard the advice to picture your audience in their underwear? This is usually in reference to overcoming stage fright, which happens most often when giving an important speech to a group of people. Although similar, writing a persuasive essay is different from giving a speech. I like telling students to imagine their audience in the form of a friend (one person!)-- someone they might want to sit down and have a cup of coffee with (or cocoa in my instance, since I don't drink coffee). But you do not need to picture them in their underwear. Make this a friend you trust, someone you consider intelligent, and someone you'd like to keep your friend. Your goal is to persuade (get your point-of-view across to them) without belittling or making them so angry they never want to speak to you again. This person will have a completely opposite view point as you. They'll have questions, concerns, interests, and feelings about your topic. "Listen" to them. This will help you keep your friendship. I find that as students "picture their audience" in this way, their tone will be kinder as they respond to questions and concerns from their oppositions. Overall, they have a more mature argument. Teachers sometimes drill into us that we need to take a stance, take a stance... and yes, we do need to take a stance... (Or say what we believe and never waver from it!) But in doing so, we often forget that we're persuading, not just saying what we believe. There's a really awesome video (which I'll post below) where Ellen Degeneres defends her friendship with former President George W. Bush. They have complete opposite points of view when it comes to politics, lifestyle choices, etc. But they're friends! And that's okay. Your job in a persuasive essay may not be to tell your friend everything you believe or persuade them to your political party. Instead, you may want to start small and convince them in one point of your stance. (More on that in a moment!) To do that successfully, you need to know your audience (your friend) and where they stand on an issue and why.
Informed doesn't mean what my sister told me or what I read on social media. I think most of us know this, but it's easy to get fired up about the latest meme or headline we read online. Being informed means going to credible sources. For this, I recommend using your school's library database. When becoming informed on an issue, make sure you're looking at both sides of the argument. I think too often we think we need to find a bunch of quotes to support our ideas, and that is one way of doing it. But it's much better to go into that researching process with an open mind. I often tell students that if you want your audience to listen to your ideas, you need to first listen to theirs. Either way, make sure you're looking at recent articles that will help you see where we're at on a particular issue right now. Whenever possible, narrow down your search. Too often we think we need a BIG issue in order to write a 3-4 or even 5-6 page argumentative paper. The opposite is true. The more narrowed your topic---your issue, your stance--- the easier it is to support it and write about it. This leads me to my final piece of advice for this blog post... Give your readers a reasonable request I won't go too much into thesis statements here, but I think most of us can agree that you need to have a purpose for anything you're writing, but that purpose is especially important for persuasive essays. In your thesis statement or claim, you should clearly state what you want the reader to do or think differently by the time they finish reading your essay. Oftentimes I see students making several claims or asking their readers to make huge changes. Maybe they think that if they ask for something big it will be more impressive. Or maybe they don't think much about what they want their readers to do. (It goes back to that audience awareness we talked about earlier!) But if you don't say what you want your readers to do, then it can easily turn into a ramble or rant. No argument. No persuasion. Instead of asking your readers, for example, to ban all cars everywhere (because we want to stop pollution), ask them to consider walking more often. Instead of asking your readers to abolish all animal testing, consider a specific product that you know does animal testing and encourage your readers not to support this company. That kind of thing! Whatever it is, make it a reasonable request. It's possible that your audience, despite doing all these things, will (still!) not be persuaded. That's okay! But at least you can know you've given it your best effort.
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