tailieunhanh - Writing great essays part 10

If you are in school, your teachers often will present you with a topic question in the form of an "essay question." Your job is to answer that query and to organize an argument using the available sources. In this case, you may turn directly to Chapter 3, "How to Write a Thesis Statement." | Chapter 6 How to Structure an Argument In this chapter we show you how to structure your essay using inductive and deductive reasoning. If you have not read Chapter 5 How to Use Reasoning we suggest that you do so now. First you need to identify the method of analysis that you plan to use in your essay. To do this consider the kind of topic question that you have chosen to ask. Did you seek to develop a new solution that explains a given set of facts Did you focus on the definition of a word term or concept Did you try to identify the cause or the effect of a specific event Your choice determines the structure of your argument. Next you should read carefully through the following examples. In each case we describe the reasoning process that you will use to develop a logical analysis. We also show you how to turn your analysis into a written argument. Never forget that the point of writing an essay is to convince your reader that your point of view is correct. The only way to do this is to organize a clear and logical argument. I. What Is a Method of Analysis A method of analysis represents a particular approach to the essay. Various methods include definition description process analysis comparison causation and narration. For information on how such methods are used to formulate topic questions see Chapter 2. 53 Copyright 1999 The McGraw-Hill Companies. Inc. Click Here for Terms of Use II. How to Develop Your Analysis To develop your analysis ask yourself a series of questions. A. DOES YOUR TOPIC QUESTION REQUIRE YOU TO APPLY EXISTING KNOWLEDGE TO A GIVEN BODY OF INFORMATION Often a topic question requires you to identify a theory or set of basic principles and use it to solve a specific problem. In this case you want to use deductive reasoning to organize your thinking. EXAMPLE Topic question Does a theory or set of basic principles explain a given event or situation EXAMPLE Does Sigmund Freud s theory of human sexuality explain the internal conflict experienced