Chapter 17

Chapter 17

The Shape of the Essay: How Form Embodies Purpose

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Chapter overview

• Uses the term “essay” to describe a broad category of writing

• Considers form as referring to two aspects (the visual look of a text and its psychological dimension)

• Examines three patterns of organization

• Looks at introductions, endings, and ways to help connect the parts of the body


Essay

• Some debate about the term “essay.”

• Some limit it to essays with a personal voice, while others argue for a more open form.

• “The defining feature of the essay will be its openness and the flexibility it gives writers to shape their thoughts, feelings, and experiences into written form” (521).


Two aspects of form

• The visual look of a text refers to its layout. This includes paragraphs, headers, bullets, font styles, and pagination.

• Its psychological dimension refers to the mindset created by the writer, which in turn creates a series of expectations.


Three patterns of organization

1. Top-down order—possibly the most familiar. The main point is presented early on and then developed, pp. 523 and 533.

2. Culminating order—almost the opposite; the main point is not stated directly until later on in the essay, but builds up to it, pp. 526-572 and 533.

3. Open form—lets the reader connect the ideas on the basis of dominant impressions, pp. 527-532 and 534.


Sample readings

• “I Shop, Ergo I Am: The Mall as Society’s Mirror,” Sara Boxer, 523-525 (top-down)

• “Minneapolis Pornography Ordinance,” Ellen Goodman, 526-527 (culminating)

• “Los Angeles Notebook,” Joan Didion,528-532 (open)


Connecting ideas

• Topic chains—sample page 539

• Transitions—three kinds, pp. 540-541.

• Temporal (time)—the next day, that morning

• Spatial (helps locate people and things)—around, in the back, at the front, above

• Logical—first, second, next, finally


Psychological dimension

• Unity: A document has a central point, focus

• Coherence: The ideas lead logically from one point to the next

• Topic sentences generally appear at the beginning of a paragraph


Techniques for development

• Narration: Tells a story

• Description: Create word pictures of a scene or a person

• Definition: Provide the meaning of a term or a concept


Techniques, continued

• Classification: Sorts things or people into groups or categories

• Comparison and contrast: Looks at how two things are alike or different


Student Companion Website

• Go to the student side of the Web site for exercises, chapter overviews, and links to writing resources for this chapter:

http://college.hmco.com/pic/trimbur4e

Chapter 17

Documents

Transcript of Chapter 17