محمد شاهر
مشرف ومراسل السنة الأولى
عدد الرسائل : 1981
الدولة : Syria
الكلية : Faculty of Arts
السـنة الدراسية : second
النشاط : 2739
تاريخ التسجيل : 10/02/2011
 |  موضوع: تعبير و استيعاب part3  2011-05-24, 02:34 | |
| Basic
Essay Structure 
On the Written portion of the TOEFL, you will be asked to write an essay
that is more than one paragraph long. The reason for this is that in U.S. academic
culture, essays need to be several paragraphs long in order for students to
express their ideas clearly and for instructors to determine whether or not
students understand the material.
Knowing how to organize your ideas in such long
essays is very important for academic success.
Generally, academic essays have a similar format.
They are at least five
paragraphs long, although often they are much longer. Also, the
basic structure of each of these paragraphs is the same as that which we have
already studied. In addition, the paragraphs in the U.S. academic
essay can be divided into three basic kinds: (1) the introductory
paragraph, (2) the body paragraphs, and (3)
the concluding paragraph.
The Introduction
The first paragraph of the academic essay is the one that
is usually the most different from the basic paragraph that we have studied.
In Lessons #1 and #2, we saw that a basic paragraph had a topic sentence as
its first sentence, followed by supporting sentences with supporting details,
and these (sometimes) followed by a concluding sentence.
In the multi-paragraph academic essay, however, the
structure is a little different. Like the basic paragraph, the introductory
paragraph opens with a very general
statement about the topic,
and is often followed by some supporting examples, but the paragraph then
finishes with a narrow statement about the topic. This narrow statement is
called the main thesis. Here is a short example of an introductory paragraph:
Throughout human history, the physical
universe has often presented dangers to explorers. For example, when primitive humans
left their tribal villages to search for food and water, they risked death
or injury from dangerous animals. Later, when people sailed the oceans in search
of new lands for settlement or trade, many died in terrible storms. Similarly,
the ocean of outer space has many dangers, but it also has several unique challenges for
explorers.
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Notice how the first sentence, Throughout human history, nature has often presented dangers to explorers,is a very general statment about the topic, which is dangers in
exploration. The next two sentences give some supporting examples of this initial sentence. However, the third sentence of the
paragraph gives an example that contrasts in some way with the previous two
sentences. Then, the final sentence does something new: It
introduces a specific example of the general topic. This specific
topic is the main thesis of the entire essay; that is, the rest of the
essay will focus on this specific topic, which in this case is several
unique challenges for explorers.
This main thesis functions like the topic sentence
of the basic paragraph, which we have studied in Lessons #1 and #2. It is
the most important sentence of the essay.
Notice how the main thesis is worded. It includes the
phrase, several unique challlenges.This raises a question in the
reader's mind, namely: "What are these challenges?" The reader will
find out what some of the challenges are in the body of the essay,
which we will study next.
The Body
The body portion of the essay is the largest portion.
Typically, it has three paragraphs, but it might have two paragraphs and of
course it can have many more than three. Each of these paragraphs usually has
a topic sentence and several supporting sentences, just like the basic
paragraph we have studied. Here is an example of three body paragraphs (which
together continue the essay that we have started studying above):
One of the challenges that is unique to
space is the fact that space is a vacuum, which is a risk for various
reasons. First, in a vacuum there is no atmosphere
and therefore no air pressure. Without air pressure, the human body has no
oxygen to sustain itself. After too many minutes without oxygen, a person
would lose consciousness and eventually die. Also,
in a vacuum a person's blood will gradually begin to boil. Finally, without an atmosphere, the rays of
the Sun can cause radiation poisoning.
Another difficulty that is unique to outer
space is the presence of meteors and micro meteors. These are pieces of
rock and metal that are left over from the formation of the solar system.
Many of these objects travel at very high speeds. Under the Earth's blanket
of air, people are usually protected from metor impacts. However, in space,
people and spaceships are vulnerable to collisions with meteors. It is true
that the chance of metor impacts is relatively small, but if even a small
micrometeor happens to collide with a spacecraft, it could cause serious
damage.
A
third special
challenge involved with the environment of space involves the fact that it
is very difficult to find life-sustaining water off the Earth. For example,
the planet Mercury, which is closest to the Sun, is too hot to have water,
so space travelers must take water from Earth if they want to visit
Mercury. A similar situation exists on the planet Venus, second from the
Sun. This planet is likewise too hot for water to exist. Similarly, the
fourth planet, Mars, is too cold and dry, although there may be some water
frozen at the north and south poles of the planet.
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(Note that usually we do not put extra spaces between
individual paragraphs, as has been done above. The spaces between the
paragraphs above are only for study purposes.)
Recall that the main thesis statement of this essay said, Similarly, the ocean of outer space
has many dangers, but it also has several unique challenges for explorers. You can see how the body of the essay is organized
according to the challenges that are mentioned in the main thesis. The first
body paragraph discusses the dangers of space vacuum,
the second body paragraph gives information about meteors, and the third paragraph mentions the fact that water is very difficult to find on other planets.
The Conclusion
The concluding paragraph does not always appear in
an academic essay. In particular, on the Written portion of the TOEFL, which
lasts 30 minutes, there may not be enough time for you to include a formal
concluding paragraph. However, here is an example of a concluding paragraph
for you. Notice how it summarizes the main points of the preceding body
paragraphs:
There
are other difficulties involved with space exploration, but these are three
of the most important ones. In summary, without adequate air pressure, the unprotected human body
may be seriously harmed in a vacuum. In addition, meteors can threaten
human life and damage spacecraft. Finally, the lack of water in space means
that human life may have a difficult time surviving on other planets. As
one can see, the challenges of space travel are rather different from
terrestrial dangers.
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Here is another example of a concluding paragraph:
As mentioned above, the Earth's natural environment has often presented
dangers to explorers. Dangerous animals, vast oceans, and violent weather
have presented risks to humans. However, the new frontier of outer space,
with its vacuum, meteors, and lack of water, presents unique challenges to
people who desire to explore it.
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Note: If you want to see the above essay in its entirety,
click here.
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