The Right Way To Say By Joan Arbery Analysis

Joshua Shelmire
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
in order to have a strong and coherent essay.
Arbery explains, "The first rule of thumb: always complete the assignment and format it properly. The teacher always notices formatting first" (Arbery 153). The problem with a lot of students when they enter college is that they do not understand how the professor wants an essay formatted. Each department has different standards and different ways they want their heading, page number, word count, citations, and style presented. Asking a professor how they would like the essay formatted could help a student in the long run.
Because I concur with the way Arbery says to form an introduction - starting broad and general then lead to specifics and details - many of my introductions turn out strong. Good writers use a hook to grab a reader's attention to start their essay. The times that I wrote down a well thought out hook to start my papers typically led to my introduction finishing with a strong claim. For example, in one of my papers in English 1300 concerning the impact of the loss of emotions by the character Alex, my hook stated: "What we see is what we are. When we look at films we see a visual representation of our human condition. Their stories appeal to our emotions and allow us to relate to the experiences that we have had." This led to me finishing with a powerful claim which stated: "Although his loss of emotions strengthens his policing activities, it causes a negative impact on his family and ability to survive." Unfortunately, throughout my education career, I have been told many ways to construct a claim. I was taught that a claim is what my paper is about and that it should lay out three points which should be the topic of each paragraph. Using this method made my paper bland and incoherent because I did not assert anything that was "brave or daring" (Arbery 153). Merely, I only wrote what to expect in the next paragraphs and did not take a stand or form an opinion on the prompt. For example, in one of my essays in English 1300 the prompt asked to explain what three attributes are important for a great teacher to have to be considered great. In my thesis I went off topic and said that since everyone has been taught to do things by somebody, whether it be a parent or teacher. Having a passionate, experienced, and faithful individual in a person’s life is important qualities needed to help aid in one's learning.
Furthermore, in the following paragraphs I introduced a great teacher in my past, and I explained why he was so great.
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
claim.
In the same fashion, a well developed body should have unity, coherence, and support. All the sentences should be focused on the argument in a logical order showing evidence while using smooth transitions between points. In high school I was taught to have eight sentences in each paragraph. The first sentence was to be the topic sentence, followed by a quote or idea. The third and fourth would be commentary to the first two sentences, while the fifth and sixth sentences would talk about another aspect of the quote or idea. Finally, the last two sentences in the paragraph would bring closure and a transition to the next paragraph. Constructing body paragraphs in that manner is insufficient according Arbery. She has shown me that using specific and concrete details will convince the reader of my thesis.
The introduction, claim, topic sentences, transitions, clinchers, body paragraphs, evidence, and conclusion are all parts that can be improved by the methods in Arbery’s article “Some Thoughts Concerning Academic Essays". Her key information on how to write a paper is important for college students. Educated and sophisticated individuals in the workforce and in higher education want to make sure their colleagues can communicate in an appropriate manner. This piece of writing can help those aspiring to sharpen and modify their writing styles. It is good for people to recognize their weakness in writing and to take into account the recommendations of a college professor. Moreover the art of writing is a gift, but those who work on it can succeed as well.