Professor Newton
Disc 1311
July 12, 2016
The Right Way to Write
Writing an essay can be daunting, but understanding the correct steps in the process can relieve stress and set the student on the proper path. Student's have been taught numerous ways on how to develop a paper and picking the correct one can be challenging. Some people may write well in high school, but when they get to college they find out their methods are conflicting to the professor's. Joan Arbery’s article “Some Thoughts Concerning Academic Essays" has caused me to consider the experiences that I have had writing academic essays. I agree with Arbery's methods because she offers a clear and concise outline on how to construct and organize an argument …show more content…
However, this did not answer the prompt. I spent too much time focusing on an individual's learning and what helps somebody learn instead of discussing the qualities of a great teacher.
With this in mind, Joan Arbery says to "have something definite and purposeful" (Arbery 153) to say in a claim and also that "the argument has to be something that answers the question: Who cares; so what; where do you stand?" (Abery 153). College professors want to know more about the claim and see opinions backed up with specific language that tells the reader a person's position on the topic. This is why stronger points in the claim lead to stronger body paragraphs.
Also, there is a correlation between the claim and body paragraphs. Arbery states: “ the body paragraph should always use some form of evidence. It is called a body because it acts like one. The topic sentence and clincher are the overarching skeleton. The evidence acts as organs if you will – the proof of life” (Arbery 154). Visualizing the topic and closing sentences as a skeleton will allow me to be able to fill body paragraphs with meat or evidence. In other words, the use of reasons, examples, names, numbers, and senses will give the reader insight to my claim. As discussed earlier, going off topic in the claim such as that in my essay about a great teacher made my body paragraphs lack evidence. If I had a strong claim I would have had more direction and focus in my body paragraphs to back up the