Process Explanation

“How do you eat an Elephant? One bite at a time.” This statement means that when you are trying to do something that is overwhelming, just break it down into smaller manageable pieces, and deal with each piece one at a time. This allows you to “eat the elephant” in a way that can be managed. This same idea can be applied to many things, for example, writing an essay. How do you write an essay?  It can be daunting if you look at it as an entire process.  However, if you break it down into separate parts and gain information and understanding about each part, and then piece them together in the correct order, the process is not as difficult to undertake.

Rhetorical Tools

In order to write a good essay, you will need tools that give you the ability to give information to your audience in a way that they can understand it. These are called rhetorical tools and some of them include:

·      Narrative – writing in story form to connect with and grab the attention of the audience.

·      Cause and Effect – demonstrating the chain of events that lead up to a culminating event.

·      Compare and Contrast – creating a mental image for the audience by describing the similarities and differences of images etc.

·       Persuasive Theme – a theme or topic used to set a mood or create meaning.

·      Definitions – stating or describing words or terms used in the essay to create meaning for the audience.

Learning how to use and apply these tools gives you a process for getting the information to your audience and helps them to understand and follow what you are trying to say. Once you have the ability to use these tools, they can be applied in the process of writing your essay.

The Audience

Who exactly are you writing to? Knowing who your desired audience is helps you to be specific in the information you include. An understanding of their background is important in order to connect with them. Determine what they already know and what needs to be explained to them. What background information is needed to bring the audience up to speed and what isn’t? What level of information can the audience understand? These are all important things to consider as you write your essay.

The Topic

Decide on your topic, and gather all of the necessary information for that topic. Write down as much information as you can to just get it on paper and create a first draft. This will form the body of your essay.  Next, take all of the information needed and group them into categories that relate to each other. This helps the audience to understand each category as a whole, avoiding the confusion that can come from unrelated topics grouped together in the same paragraph. This process is called Classification and Division.

The Conclusion

Now that you have the body of the essay written and organized, it is time to write the conclusion. There is nothing worse than a riveting novel with the last page ripped out, leaving the reader to agonize and question, “How does it end?” The same can be said for your essay. The end of your paper should sum up the entire essay for the reader, explaining exactly how you came to your conclusion, leaving them with an ending to “your story,” and an understanding of how you got there.

The Introduction
 The purpose of the introduction is to grab the attention of your intended audience and give them and idea or “road map” to where the essay is going. One way to get the reader’s attention in the introduction is to begin with a short narrative that entices the reader into reading the rest of the essay. This is then followed by a brief explanation of what they will be reading throughout the body of the essay including your thesis statement.

Peer Review

At last, your essay is complete. You have spent hours researching, writing, and editing. There is one thing left. You need to borrow an “extra pair of eyes.” No, this doesn’t mean to grab your friend’s glasses and put them on.  This means that even the best author needs someone else to edit and give feedback on his or her work. It is important to have someone read through your essay to catch the small mistakes in your paper and point out what doesn’t quite make sense.

You have just learned the process of writing an essay! Taken one piece at a time, it doesn’t have to be the “elephant” you thought it was. Now go and give it a try, but remember – one bite at a time!