Thesis & Structure, Function & Form

As my regular readers may notice, I've found a new design for my blog. I thought the crashing wave was appropriate, since the purpose of my blog is to give you writing tips to keep you from "crashing" in your writing. Speaking of tips, on to today's blog!

Essays have structure, not necessarily the five-paragraph, three-reason structure taught in many high schools, but still variations on that basic structure. A thesis statement tells the reader what subject the whole essay covers, and topic sentences tell the reader what area of the whole the writer discusses in each paragraph. If I were to write an essay on fruits, I might begin by letting the reader know the situation, i.e., what is important about fruit.

After a general introduction to the concept of fruit, I might write a thesis that specifies the benefits of bananas, mangos, and coconuts with the emphasis I’ve chosen - vitamins, taste, nutrition in general, or something else. I then devote one paragraph to each fruit in the order I mention them in my thesis and conclude, calling for more attention to fruit in the diet, perhaps.

College essays often require a more complex structure or form due to the subjects students discuss and the varied purposes of essays - to argue, to describe, to analyze, to explicate (the list is long).

If I were to write on the validity of requiring a driving test for new motorists, my essay might require only one full paragraph between the introduction and conclusion, or it might take five or six body paragraphs to include all the reasons for or against mandatory driving tests.

A five or ten-page research paper is not likely to be limited to five paragraphs either. Due to the topic and the number of pages required, it is probable that the paper will consist of many more than five paragraphs.

An important part of writing is the logic of the structure via paragraphing. If I am writing a research paper decrying the use of animals in scientific studies, I might divide my paper into two paragraphs on the historical use of animals in experiments, another two paragraphs on science and animals in present day, and three paragraphs on how to achieve the same scientific ends without using animals in experiments before I conclude with a zinger of an idea to save animals.

My introduction informs the reader about the overall subject area (the use of animals to test drugs or procedures); and near the end of the introduction, my thesis might read as follows: Historically, scientists have used animals to test new drugs and surgical procedures; but the time has come to end the vile practice and protect animals from such painful experiences. My thesis guides the reader to both the subject area and basic order of the discussion in the paper. I might not even specifically mention the main areas of discussion (history, tests, and animal rights), but instead write a strong thesis that states that animals should never be used as subjects of experiments. I don’t have to be specific. My topic sentences - which begin paragraphs - focus the reader’s attention on one unified part of the whole of my essay.

Essays require structure, and each essay requires a structure that fits the subject and purpose of the essay. Form may well follow function when writing for given, specific assignments. Or is that function following form?

See you next time the breeze is cool, the sun is up, and the waves roll into view! My next entry is coming soon. ‘Til then, hang ten!