Read-Think-b4-u-Write

When writing a problem/solution essay, your biggest challenge is to get readers to take action. As a writer, how can you accomplish this? Writers must give the problem presence. Authors can get readers to  see and feel  the problem by using anecdotes, startling quotes, stats, photographs and emotional appeals ( pathos ). Writers must appeal to the values and interests of decision makers. Appeal to idealism or how your solution will benefit the decision maker. Appeal to the values of the audience. Show how the benefits outweigh the costs - especially if it's free. What have you got to lose? Writers must overcome people's resistance to change. In order to do that, sometimes you have to emphasize the seriousness of the problem (give it presence). Stress the benefits of solving the problem and the lost potential if no action is taken. Show that risks are minimal and negative consequences unlikely. Writers must predict consequences. Do not over promise. You must persuade ...

An essay introduction is just like a personal introduction . . . and yes, it is an art.  They are both a first impression and quickly determine whether you want to read a paper or engage with a person. Let's look at seven standard types of introductions that you can use in ANY essay.  Since I have found examples to be the best teachers, let's look at seven introductory paragraphs for a single thesis statement: Two types of students who attend college are the eighteen-year-old who just graduated from high school and the returning student who seeks a new career. A Personal or Fictional Anecdote As I walked into my first college class, I wondered who would be sitting to my right or left. I remember fearing that everyone would stare at me because I was an "older" student. I soon realized that while many teens were in the class, I was not the only student who had waited a number of years before seeking a college education.  Two types of students who attend college...

Robert Atwan, the founder and creator of the Best American Essays series, has read a lot of essays. “To my mind,” writes Atwan, “the best essays are deeply personal (that doesn’t necessarily mean autobiographical) and deeply engaged with issues and ideas. And the best essays show that the name of the genre is also a verb, so they demonstrate a mind in process–reflecting, trying-out, essaying.” As a college writer now specializing in essays you might want to take a look at Atwan's choices for style and organization. Here's his list of the Top Ten Essays Since 1950 along with links to online versions of five of the Top Ten Essays Since 1950: >James Baldwin, “Notes of a Native Son,” 1955. "Against a violent historical background, Baldwin recalls his deeply troubled relationship with his father and explores his growing awareness of himself as a black American." >Norman Mailer, “The White Negro,” 1957. "An essay that packed an enormou...