Introduction to Composition

ESSAY STYLES:
Notes compiled from
-Tom Humble, AP Presenter and
-Internet Guide to Critical Writing

The five-paragraph essay is one type of classification paper. What was so magical about the number five anyway?
Nothing, really. In analyzing literature, however, students often find examining moments in the beginning, middle,and end of a novel or play makes good structural sense. One can do a thorough analysis of the manner in which anidea, a theme, image, etc. affects the entire piece of literature. At some point in history, a teacher may have insistedon three body paragraphs as a way of insuring that students thought through their ideas thoroughly. Three body paragraphs is not a mandatory number for all topics.

In this structure, the writer anticipates the reader's major objections to an argument and deals with them in the concession section. Let's say you set out to prove that some novel is still relevant in this day and age. Yourreader's most effective argument against you would be that the book was old-fashioned, dated. Therefore, you anticipate that objection and deal with it before turning to the assertion, evidence which you feel proves the opposite.

Body Paragraph #1 (in which you discuss the major points your critics might make)

Body Paragraph #2 (in which you then, in the same order, dismiss those points by asserting that your view of things on each point is a better way to interpret the book)

Remember: Always work outward from the topic to a structure. If you begin with a structure and try to make a topic fit it, you may find some of your ideas won't fit into the structure. If you find yourself in such a mess, you'll know you need to find another structure which fits your topic.

-similar to literary analysis BUT states thesis which asserts characters dominant impression upon the reader; supports this impression by: actions, thoughts, physical description, quotes,others' reactions

Let's say you were asked to write an essay on the way in which two authors treated the same theme, say, people in times of economic hardship, perhaps Dickens in Hard Times and Steinbeck in The Grapes of Wrath. First, you would need to think of your sub-topics. In this essay, those might be setting (milltowns in Victorian England, the Dustbowl during the Depression in the U.S.A.), characters, and events. Your essay would then have one of two structures.
The simpler one is:

In the section on Steinbeck, you would be comparing and contrasting his use of those elements with Dickens' way.
A more sophisticated structure, but one which some writers have difficulty handling effectively, would be:

Don't forget that, in writing this paper, you are analyzing something you've set up in the introduction that Dickens writes better about people in a tough economic situation, for example, or that Steinbeck is a more realistic writer than Dickens and keep that focus always before your reader in the body paragraphs.

**AP TERMS TO KNOW:**
Tone terms tone shift from paragraph to paragraph Diction-related terms connotation denotation colloquial hyperbolic and oratorical cliche circumlocution stereotypical jargon level of diction specialized diction slang euphemism dogma paucity of qualifying adjectives adverbs modifying adjectives words "A," "B," and "C" to modify "D" Syntactical terms clause phrase compound sentence short simple sentences parallel constructions parallelism balanced sentence structure inversion ellipsis interjection	Logical terms thesis main thesis antithesis argumentation sarcastic interpretation authorial aside aesthetic quality point of view first person immediacy concrete evidence rhetorical question author as impartial arbiter exaggeration imperious recommendation assertion qualify authoritarianism extended metaphor addressing audience overstatement generalization citations from well known authorities dramatic incident contrasts of opposites syllogism ad hominem argument compare and contrast cause and effect extended analogy anecdotal narration extended definitions fact and assumption chronology of events Reading terms interpretation of lines infer/inference imply/implication fact/opinion context implicit explicit inherent	Figurative language terms irony allusion simile and metaphor mixed metaphor metaphorical language analogy personification allegory paradox heroic dimension satire Conventional uses of language reference ("master" in lines 14-27 refers . .) ambiguous reference antecedent of "it" in lines 11, 12, and q24 dangling participles person shift verb tense shift The phrase in context helps establish can be interpreted as suggests that is probably intended to The function of the phrase this quoted sentence the primary function of the second paragraph the word "then" in paragraph seven this metaphor the fifth paragraph to whole essay this sentence in the paragraph Speaker's primary purpose perspective attitude use of images created impression assumption that the audience is

LANGUAGE RESOURCES

(How to organize your analytical essay?)

FIRST: Read the passage once; identify the speaker, situation, tone, and purpose.

NEXT: Scan for the following; after finding these devices--ask yourself how they relate to the purpose of the speaker.

organization of passage:
-is there one unifying image
-parallelism
-deductive or inductive argument
-what is the sentence structure
style:
-diction (connotative, denotative, euphemisms, pejoratives)
-imagery (metaphors, sensual imagery,personification) -syntax
binary qualities-
-repetition
-contrast
-analogy
-irony
-paradox
-oxymoron
-ambiguity
-antithesis
-complexity
attitude
-point of view
-satire
-tone
support
-personal test.
-expert test.
-tradition
-appeals
-logical fallacies: ad hominem, begging the question, either-or fallacy, false analogy, hasty generalization, non sequitur, post hoc argument, questionable authorization, red herring
verbal level
-denotation (lit)
-connotation(fig)
-figurative language: metaphor, simile , understatement, euphemism, hyperbole, personification, onomatopoeia, apostrophe, epithet

TYPES OF SENTENCE STRUCTURE:

-Given to me by a member of the AP online discussion

1. subject verb
1a. s v ; however, s v
1b. s v , but s v; s v
1c. s v; s v; s v .

2. s v do or sc ; s do or sc

3. independent clause : independent clause.
general statement (idea) : specific statement (example).
Example:
Little Red Riding Hood lied: wolves don't eat grandmothers; they eat elk, bison, and deer.
No one, however, would deny that George Patton did what generals were
primarily expected to do: he won battles.

4. a series without a conclusion
a, b, c
a and b and c
a, b, and c

5. a and b, c and d, e and f (paired items)

6. an introductory series of appositives
appositive, appositive, appositive--summary word s v
Example:
The petty, the fallen, the cowardly--each played a role on the stage of Cervantes' vast human drama.

7. an internal series of appositives or modifiers
s appos. appos. appos. v
Example:
The necessary qualities for political life --guile, ruthlessness, and garrulity--he learned by carefully studying his father's life.
7a. s appositive v
Example:
A sudden explosion--artillery fire--signaled the beginning of a barrage.
A familiar smell, fresh blood, assailed his jungle-trained nostrils.

8. dependent clauses in a pair or in a series (at beginning or end of
sentence)
If....., if......, if......, then s v
When......, when......, when..... s v
s v that....., that........
Example:
When he smelled the pungent odor of pine, when he heard the chatter of jays interrupting the silence, when he saw the startled doe, the hunter knew he had reached the center of the forest.

9. repetition of a key term
s v key term or repeated key term
s v key term -- repeated key term
s v key term, repeated key term
Example:
She was a good mother, providing a good home for her good children.
He was a cruel brute of a man--brutal to his family and even more brutal to his friends.
9a. variation: same word repeated in parallel structure
s v repeated key word in same position of the sentence
Example:
The government is of the people, by the people, and for the people.

10. emphatic appositive at end, after a colon
s v word: the appositive (the second naming).
Example:
Anyone left abandoned on a desert should avoid two dangers: cactus needles and rattlesnakes
10 a. a variation: appositive
s v word -- the appositive (echoed idea or second meaning)
Example:
The relatively few salmon that make it to the spawning grounds have another old tradition to deal with --male supremacy.

11. interrupting modifier between s and v
s, modifier, v
s -- modifier -- v
s (modifier that whispers) v
Example:
A small drop of ink, falling like dew upon a thought, can make millions think.
11a. a full sentence as an interrupting modifier
s (a full sentence) v
s --a full sentence -- v
Example:
Juliet's famous question--early in the balcony scene she asks, "Wherefore art thou, Romeo?" --is often misunderstood; she meant not "where" but "why."

12. introductory or concluding participles
participial phrase , s v
s v , participial phrase
Example:
Guarding us with their powerful guns, the heavily armed soldiers at the Rio
conference looked ominous.
The heavily armed soldiers guarding us with their powerful guns at the Rio
conference looked ominous.

13. a single modifier out of place for emphasis
Modifier , s v
Example:
Frantically, the young mother called for help.
The general demanded absolute obedience, instant and unquestioning.

14. prepositional phrase before s v
Example:
Into the arena rushed the brave bulls to defy death and the matador.
Into the valley of death rode the six hundred

15. object or complement before s v
Example:
His kind of sarcasm I do not like.
Up went the steps, band went the door, round whirled the wheels, and off they
rattled. (Charles Dickens, THE OLD CURIOSITY SHOP)
15a. complete inversion of normal pattern
object or complement or modifier v s
Example:
Down and the street and through the mist stumbled the unfamiliar figure.

16. paired construction
Not only s v , but also s v
Just as s v , so too s v
The more s , the more s v
Example:
The more the Texas Ranger searched through the Hill Country, the more elusive the trail of train robbers became.

16a. a paired construction for contrast only

A " this, not that" or "not this but that" construction
Example:
Genius, not stupidity, has limits.
The judge asked for acquittal --not conviction.
I believe that man will not merely endure; he will prevail.

17. dependent clause as a subject or object or complement
s (dependent clause as subject) v
s v (dependent clause as object or complement)
Example:
How he could fail is a mystery to me.
He became what he aspired to be.

18. absolute construction (nouns plus participle) anywhere in sentence
absolute construction , s v
s, absolute construction , v
Example:
His blanket being torn, Linus cried on Charlie Brown's shoulder.
The storm, its fury abated, lights the way.

19. the short simple sentence for relief or dramatic effect
s v
Example:
But then it happened.
Jesus wept.
The buck stops here.

20. A short question for dramatic effect
(Interrogative word) auxiliary verb s v ?
interrogative word standing alone ?
question based solely on intonation ?
auxiliary verb s v ?
Examples:
Why did he go?
What?
James flunked modern dance?
Have you guessed?
20 a. the deliberate fragment
Example:
Now, on with the story.
Fair enough.
All to no avail.
But how?

A Few Names of Other SENTENCE STYLES:

A.The segregating style of serial structure "One ring is always bigger
than three. One rider, one aerialist, is always greater than six."
B.The freight-train sentence in serial structure--paratactic "In a week or
two, all would be changed, all (or almost all) lost; the girls would wear
makeup, the horse would wear gold, the ring would be painted, the bark
would be clean for the feet of the horse, the girl's feet would be clean
for the slippers that she'd wear. All, all would be lost."
C.The triadic sentence in serial structure "Out of its wild disorder comes
order; from its rank smell rises the good aroma of courage and daring; out
of its preliminary shabbiness come the final splendor."
D.The centered sentence in hierarchic structure "The last time I visited
New York, it seems to have suffered a personality change, as though it had
a brain tumor as yet undetected."