Examination — The Essay: From Notion to Draft

1.What does an essay, at minimum, owe its reader?

2.A writer wants to work from the subject 'social media.' Which is the best-narrowed question to build a single essay on?

3.Turn the subject 'school start times' into a one-sentence working thesis a reader could reasonably dispute. Write the sentence.

4.Which sentence is an arguable claim, rather than a plain fact or a matter of taste?

5.Which revision genuinely sharpens the vague thesis 'Pollution is a serious problem'?

6.A paragraph argues that a new bus route saved commuters time, then its fourth sentence praises the drivers' friendliness. What is wrong, and the fix?

7.A paragraph offers three facts showing a new park lowered nearby crime. Write a single topic sentence that names the paragraph's claim.

8.Match each transition to the logical relation it signals between sentences.

9.These are the body paragraphs of an argument that a town should build a bike lane, shuffled. Put them in the order that builds the case most persuasively.

1. ⋮⋮For all these reasons, the council should approve the lane this spring. ↑ ↓
2. ⋮⋮The lane would cut car–bicycle collisions, which the town names as its first safety goal. ↑ ↓
3. ⋮⋮Critics object that the lane removes parking; but those spaces sit empty most days. ↑ ↓
4. ⋮⋮It would also raise the number of residents who commute by bicycle. ↑ ↓

10.The four sentences of one body paragraph have been shuffled. Put them in the order that makes a single unified paragraph.

1. ⋮⋮Reported thefts on the block fell by a third in the year after it opened. ↑ ↓
2. ⋮⋮The new park seems to have made its block safer, not just livelier. ↑ ↓
3. ⋮⋮Fewer empty lots, it appears, left crime fewer places to hide. ↑ ↓
4. ⋮⋮That safety, more than the greenery, is the strongest case for building the next one. ↑ ↓

11.You must establish the exact year a particular law took effect. Which kind of evidence settles it best?

12.Claim: the after-school tutoring programme raised graduation rates. Which fact actually supports it?

13.A writer drops a quotation into a paragraph and moves straight on. In one sentence, name what the writer must still do with that quotation before continuing.

14.The parts of a well-handled quotation have been shuffled. Put them in the order a writer should present them.

1. ⋮⋮Explain how the quotation supports the paragraph's claim. ↑ ↓
2. ⋮⋮Introduce the source and why it is worth quoting. ↑ ↓
3. ⋮⋮Give the quotation itself. ↑ ↓

15.What must an essay's introduction do, above all?

16.Which is the strongest kind of conclusion?

17.In one sentence, describe how to reverse-outline a draft and what it is for.

18.In revision you find a paragraph you love that does not serve the essay's claim. What should you do?

19.Which sentence is in the plainest style without losing the meaning?

20.Without looking back: in one sentence, what is the difference between an essay and a report?