The Seven-Paragraph Essay

Tips for success !!

Click here to start the show

The Seven-Paragraph Essay

• Is a basic essay format which every student should know

• Has several formally-designated parts

• May be subjective or objective in nature

• Has a clear, single focus on an idea or subject

• Click here for next slide

The Seven Paragraph Structure

• First: Thesis statement and backgrounding• Second &Third: Points to support thesis, and supporting

information• Fourth: Strong point to support thesis and supporting

information• Fifth & Sixth: Points which seem like a rebuttal of the

thesis are presented, then refuted. Each has a topic sentence and supporting information, with a commentary which acts as a refutation and turns the points into support for the overall thesis of the essay.

• Seventh: Summary and concluding statement(s).• Click to next slide

The Seven-Paragraph Essay

Subjective Essay:

• Focuses on a personal idea or reaction and offers support

• Is author-driven; author appears as “I”

• May be personal and intense in style

• Click here for more

Objective Essay:

• Focuses on an idea or concept and offers support

• Is not author-driven but is idea-driven (the author does not appear as “I”)

• Uses formal academic style

• Click here for more

Subjective Writing

• Use the subjective style to show, inform, demonstrate, convince, compare, share or illustrate

• You may reveal yourself in the author position with phrases such as “ I believe”...” or “I have always enjoyed …”

• Click here for next slide• Click here to go back

Objective Writing

• Shares and supports an idea or point of view

• Is formal and closely follows academic writing conventions

• Is written in an objective (3rd Person) style, wherein the author does not reveal her/him self

• Click here for next slide

• Click here to go back

The Thesis Statement

• Every 7-paragraph essay has a central thesis statement which is to be investigated and finally supported or refuted

• The thesis statement is usually found in the first paragraph

• Click here for next slide

Thesis Statement

• The thesis statement must be written clearly. Do not make the reader guess about the point of the essay.

• The statement is phrased in the positive (affirmative): “Coffee is a beneficial drink”, NOT “Coffee is bad for you”.

• If the thesis may be negated with an unambiguous example or condition, it is disproven.

• Click here for next slide

Supporting Paragraphs

• The second, third and fourth paragraphs are usually arranged in order of ascending strength

• The fifth and sixth paragraphs present points which would seem to negate (deny) the thesis, but the author (that’s you) skillfully turns the points into support for the thesis

• Each paragraph has a topic sentence and support information, plus transitional devices

• Each paragraph is written in proper sentences• Click for next slide

Negation Of Your Central Thesis

• A thesis is almost always phrased in the positive• A single exception disproves the thesis. For

example, if you claim “Canadian Art is not collectable” in your thesis, it only takes one person collecting Canadian art to disprove it.

• The fifth and sixth paragraphs negate, but then are themselves negated, creating thesis support

• Click here to go back

Concluding a Seven-paragraph essay

• Conclusions may be stated in the positive or negative. The thesis may be proven or disproven, supported or not. Be honest and clear. If there is still room for debate, admit it.

• The final paragraph may contain a brief summary of the thesis and supporting information

• Click here to go back• Click here to go on

Presenting Your Essay

• Add a title AFTER the essay is written (let the title emerge from the content, not the other way around)

• Type it onto a good word processor and do spelling and grammar checks

• Double-check that every requirement of the assignor has been met

• Read it out loud to someone else to ensure the essay does what you want it to do

• Make necessary changes

• Do a title page and turn in your work

• Click for next slide

• Click to return to top

The End

• Return to the top

• Return to paragraph divisions

• Return to thesis statement

• Return to final check information

• The End.The End.

Transitional Devices

• These are ways to gently tie one idea or paragraph to another in sequence

• If one paragraph in an essay on agriculture ends with the idea that the use of horses declines where there are tropical diseases, the next paragraph needs to start with something like “Disease is not the only disincentive to tropical agriculture…”.

• In an essay on race relations in present-day Toronto, the support for one paragraph might mention the difficulty of many black youth who are constantly checked by police whilst driving. This has lead to the facetious charge of D.W.B. (driving while black). The next paragraph might begin with a mention that other groups might be similarly targeted, such as young Hispanic males or any vehicle with more than four youth in it at night.

• Click here to go back

Negating Paragraphs

• These paragraphs present information opposing the thesis. The opposition has support.

• Each point is then refuted by showing how it is not valid; thus the support of the central thesis is not weakened

• Click here for examples• Click here to go back

Negating Examples

• In an essay on speeding and public danger, the point may be raised that almost everybody speeds at least some of the time. This defense of speeding may be refuted by presenting facts such as the increased danger to everyone on the road by the selfish use of the accelerator, lane-changing and tailgating in traffic -- supported by accident and insurance statistics

• Click here to go back• Click here for another example

Negation (continued)

• An essay on Canadian culture may posit that there is no such thing, and use the support of historical immigration patterns which have created a bland cultural polyglot. This argument may be refuted by pointing out the valuing of individual cultures through such policies as Heritage Language instruction in schools and Saturday classes. The power of a blend of distinct ingredients does not always become a vanilla milkshake but may become a ratatouille, with many separate parts which together make up a strong whole.

• Click here to go back

The EndThank you. I hope this presentation

has been useful