Title: Threes in Essays, Paragraphs and Sentences
Course: English 4A SU15 > Section: Writing and Research Resources

Introduction

“Form ever follows function.” -Louis Henri Sullivan

Academic articles are usually:

Expository: essay as teacher;
Persuasive: essay as lawyer;
Research: essay as explorer.

"No piece of writing is worth much if it does not move along, conducting the reader into some new region of information or argument." - Richard D. Altick, Preface to Critical Reading. 5th edition.

© Amanda Graham. Posted 3 September 1998. Used with Permission.

Essay

Essay - a unit concerned with one argument only

Introduction | Body | Conclusion
often the last thing written

 establishes topic of essay

 tells how the topic will be developed

 makes the main categories and logic of the argument visible

 conventionally at the beginning of the article

 awakens interest of reader

 written at a high level of generality
presentation of ideas and data that support them

 combines high-level abstraction, generalizations, paraphrased source material, quotations, details

 a succession of paragraphs that explain, elaborate, develop and/or support the thesis

 in social sciences and sciences may consist of specifically required sections

 structure will depend on discipline because each has different sorts of results to present
like introductions; more general than the rest of the essay

 the high levels of generality interpret the data found in the body

 confirms the reader's understanding of the argument

 doesn't repeat the introduction; relies on reader's new grasp of the ideas of the paper

 conventionally located at the end of the paper

Paragraph

Paragraph - a unit concerned with one topic only

Topic Sentence | Elaboration, Development Amplification, Refining, Support | Rounding off statement, Transition Device, Summary, Link to Next Paragraph
may serve one or more paragraphs

can, for effect, be anywhere in the paragraph

 contains indication of controlling idea/topic; what aspect of the topic will be discussed

may continue the idea from the previous paragraph
needs enough information to enlighten and convince the reader

all sentences should relate directly to the controlling idea
usually related to topic sentence

 shows the advances made in the paragraph

provides a summary, establishes the point of departure for the next paragraph

rounds-off topic for use later

Sentence

Sentence - a unit concerned with one idea only

Simple Sentences

Initial Constituent (Beginning/Subject) | Core (Middle/Verb) | Final Constituent (End/Object)
usually links up with preceding sentence/context is the starting point of what is to come often the subject but can also include modifying adjectives | generally the main verb clause alone, but can be an entire clause | generally contains most important part of the sentence's message: the focus; houses prominent information can be a single adverb, usually the object of the sentence; can be a clause

Complex Sentences

Initial Subclause | Main Clause | Final Subclause
delineates the discourse domain; that is, it sets the stage and alerts the reader to the context that will be needed to read the rest of the sentence provides orientation to the mess of words that follow | core message unit; this is usually the important part | presents information that elaborates on the core message; specifies or further narrows the new information