Transcript File
The Essay Engineer 3 “GERS TEER C” The Easy Way to Write Essays Designed for: *Expository Essays *Argumentative Essays * Descriptive Essays * Instructional Essays * Almost ANY Essay The Essay Engineer is… • “A Math Formula for Writing Essays” • Originally Designed for Engineers – (People who HATE to write.) • Very User-Friendly • A “Turn-Key Simple” System A Snapshot... • G- General Thesis Statement • E - Explanation • R - Reduce • S - Specific Thesis • • • • T - Topic Sentence E - Explanation E - Evidence R - Restate/Relate Statement C - Conclusion GERS - The Intro Paragraph This opening paragraph makes a general assertion, the General Thesis Statement, then narrows the focus to a more specific assertion, the Specific Thesis Statement. GERS • G - General Thesis Statement - The big, general assertion. This is the ‘universal’ statement that tells what the paper will be about. • “There are many great sports that can be played for free.” GERS • E - Explanation - Explains and if necessary expands the GTS. • “Some of these sports are Olympic or professional, but some are strictly for fun and skill-building.” GERS • R - Reduce - The transition point from General to Specific. • “However, one of the greatest sport ever for building skills is pigeon punchin’.” GERS • S - Specific Thesis Statement - This is where the writer tells the readers exactly what the essay will discuss. • “Pigeon punchin’ is great because it sharpens reflexes, builds coordination, and is free!.” • (These three topics will now be expanded and explained in their own paragraphs.) 3 TEER • TEER is the body of the essay. • The exponential “3” represents the three paragraphs in the body of the essay. • Each point in the STS gets its own paragraph. TEER • T - Topic Sentence - Here the writer expands on an idea from the STS above. • “Pigeon punchin’ is a great way to sharpen reflexes.” EER T • E - Explanation - Here the writer explains the Topic Sentence: • “In other words, people who play pigeon punchin’ will have faster reflexes and shorter reaction time in other sports.” TE ER • E - Evidence - Okay, prove what you just said: • “A young Kansas boy named John invented pigeon punchin’, and he grew up to be the greatest highschool quarterback in Kansas history, and went on to a full college scholarship.” TEE R • R – Restate/Relate: Here’s where the writer sums up the paragraph, and relates it all back to the specific thesis statement: • “His experience is proof that pigeon punchin’ is a great skill-building sport.” C - Conclusion • C – Conclusion: Just as the opening paragraph brought the essay from General to Specific, this paragraph should take the essay from Specific to General. Just ‘invert the first paragraph’. • “Because it sharpens reflexes, builds coordination, and is free, pigeon punchin’ is one of the greatest sports in America. There are many sports, but pigeon punchin’ is definitely one of the best.” To Sum up... • GERS TEER C is a simple, useful method • It is easy to use, easy to learn • It fits practically any essay • Even ‘non-writers’ can just ‘plug their ideas in and design an essay’ For Discussion…. • • • • • District 49 should require uniforms The legal driving age should be raised to 18 High school should require an exit exam The legal drinking age should be raised to 25 D49 should institute a high-school naptime. (the Sizemore Amendment) The President… • • • • • Who was the best president ever? Who was the worst president ever? Give three reasons to support your position. Follow the Blueprint Choose a president NOT from your lifetime! – (That rules out Obamanation, Shrub I or II, and Slick Willy. This is ENGLISH, not POLI SCI) Choose best OR worst – not both So what would YOU change about VRHS? •Would you add a sport? •Would you add an academic program? •Would you cancel one of them? •Is there some rule you would add or subtract? Using the Essay Engineer, write a 5-paragraph essay on what change you would implement. •Be sure to use evidence to support your position •Look beyond your own interests •DON’T use 1st or 2nd-person pronouns (I, you, me, our, etc…) Sacking Middle School Football Many changes are being considered in Falcon District 49. As the district grows, the administration is considering many changes to make the district as safe and effective as possible. However, the concept of eliminating middle school football is a concept that deserves to be considered. Three reasons for eliminating middle school football are; it is too expensive, it is too dangerous, and it is too damaging to students’ futures. First, middle school football is too expensive. That is money that could be much better spent elsewhere. For the price of one football team, complete with pads, helmets, uniforms, and other equipment, the school could have a soccer team, a baseball team, and a softball team. Many more students would be involved so eliminating the football team would benefit more people. Second, middle school football is too dangerous. Too many students suffer long-term injuries. A middle-school student’s skeleton joints have not yet fused, so he stand a much bigger chance of suffering an injury that would have been less likely if he was only 1-2 years older when it occurred, and his still-growing skeleton has less chance of recovering. That’s why football should be reserved for high school only. Finally, middle school football damages too many students’ futures. Too many students develop too narrow a focus for their own good. Middle-school students convince themselves that they will be the next Brett Favre or the next Shannon Sharpe, and they decide that football is more important than anything, including academics. But it never occurs to them that only one in 1,500,000 middle school players will grow up to even get a tryout with an NFL team, and that’s only if they graduate college. Therefore, football causes some middle school students to focus on the wrong path. Because it is too expensive, too dangerous, and too distracting, middle school football should be eliminated. There are many changes the school board is considering, but this one definitely deserves thought. Role Model… • Who is the best role model in the entertainment industry? • (Entertainment can include music, sports, and movies) • Who is the worst role model in the entertainment industry? • CHOOSE ONE OR THE OTHER • Give three reasons to support your position. • Follow the Blueprint Best Invention • What is the most important invention since the year 1011? • Was it the computer? The telephone? The telegraph? The car? The Railroad? A way of controlling electricity? A way of controlling fire? The airplane? Atomic power? Indoor plumbing? Antibiotics? The toothbrush? The refrigerator? The lightbulb? • Give three reasons to justify your answer. WHY was it the most important? Be persuasive. Best Invention • Hints…. • Remember, the wheel and the house are a LOT older than 1000 years. • Fire and electricity are not inventions. • Think – was there some previous invention that made your first choice possible? • If you choose what I would have chosen, take an extra ten points. The Chosen… • R – However, Chaim Potok’s novel The Chosen is an interesting story because… • R - However, Chaim Potok’s novel The Chosen is a rather uninteresting story because… • Choose one and give three reasons why.