James Heffernan's 'Writing: A College Handbook'

Improved Essays
The thesis statement is a very, very important part of the essay. In their book entitled, Writing: A College Handbook" James Heffernan, John Lincoln, and Janet Atwill clearly explains the following: "A statement of thesis answers your exploratory question and expresses the main point of your essay my making a precise, specific assertion about the topic. A thesis statement expresses your unique insight or way of explaining a subject and often forecasts how you will develop and organize your text." A good thesis statement will lead right into the introduction. "The introduction comes first for the reader, but not necessarily first for the writer." The authors of this book further explain that the introduction is written and revised several …show more content…
"Diction consists of the words you choose. The choices you make establish your level of diction--that is, your level of formality. This may be high, low, in the middle, or mixed" . The level of diction is determined by whom you are communicating to. If addressing a friend, you probably will use a low to middle diction. If writing to a state representative or governor, a high diction is best to be chosen. An appropriate ending is very important. According to what I have learned from studying the text book for ENG101 English Composition I, options for concluding an essay are as follows: (1) Make the implications of your thesis explicit, (2) Echo your introduction in terms that widen its significance, (3) Recommend a specific course of action, (4) Answer a question posed by the introduction, (5) Reflect on the experience that the essay records, and (6) Reaffirm your thesis with a telling …show more content…
A baseball player studies his swing by watching it on video. A pitcher and the pitching coach will watch film to view if some sway of his body is announcing the pitch he is going to throw. The basketball player takes shots from particular places on the floor and views his form on video to understand any flaws in the form. A student writing an essay should never sit down and begin writing a few words of a paragraph and think all is well. Becoming a student of grammar, content, diction, rhetorical power, critical thinking, etc… helps to become a skilled

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