Presentation Academic Essay Writing

Presentation: Academic Essay Writing
Date: April 4, 2019
Where: Universidad San Pablo Guatemala
By: Wil Jolicoeur, B.A., M.A., MDiv.
Website: www.willgetyouin.com
Email: info@willgetyouin.com
Ezekiel 37 and Academic Essays
The Valley of Dry Bones
37 The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and
set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among
them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very
dry. 3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” Like essays-how can you
make these come alive?
I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”
4
Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the
word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make
breath [a] enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make
flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will
come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
7
So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a
rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons
and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in
them. Like essays-moving from a simple structure to an “alive essay.
9
Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This
is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into
these slain, that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath
entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet (Ideal essay)—a vast army.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (1943): "What a man can be, he must be.” This quotation
forms the basis of the perceived need for self-actualization. This level of need refers to
what a person's full potential is and the realization of that potential. Maslow describes
this level as the desire to accomplish everything that one can, to become the most that
one can be. Essays!

Aristotle (384 BC): “Each human being is bred with a unique set of potentials that yearn
to be fulfilled as surely as the acorn yearns to become the oak within it.” Essays are the
acorns!
Short and Long-Term Goals:
They must be specific and match. Do you want to be successful specifically and if so, do
you short-term goals provide evidence of that. For example: God has a long-term goal or
plan for us but do our short-term goals provide evidence that we are working towards
God’s plan for us? Acorns or oak trees?
Academic essays and research follow this as well. Use this logic as well. Do you want to
write a great essay? If not, the quality of that essay will reflect your unclear long-term
goal.
1. Most important: Mirror and borrow writing styles from writers. When you
read, pay attention to how they use sentence structure. Memorize three essays
that you like and use some of that sentence structure.
2. Essays are templates that are simply modified
Harvard Writing: Keep your thesis prominent in your introduction. A good,
standard place for your thesis statement is at the end of an introductory paragraph,
especially in shorter (5-15 page) essays. Readers are used to finding theses there, so they
automatically pay more attention when they read the last sentence of your introduction.
Although this is not required in all academic essays, it is a good rule of thumb.
What is a Thesis?
A thesis statement is a sentence in which you state an argument about a topic and
then describe, briefly, how you will prove your argument.
This is an argument, but not yet a thesis: "The movie ‘JFK’ inaccurately portrays
President Kennedy."
This is a thesis: "The movie ‘JFK’ inaccurately portrays President Kennedy because
of the way it ignores Kennedy’s youth, his relationship with his father, and the
findings of the Warren Commission."

Structure of the Response Essay
The Analysis of an Argument fleshes out the argument with an introduction, three core
paragraphs dissecting and evaluating the argument, and a conclusion.
Paragraph 1 introduces your main ideas and your central thesis. This is the place to state
your overall argument in summary. You might want to write this last or come back to it
when you're done in order to revise it.
Paragraphs 2, 3, and 4 flesh out your analysis of the argument and propose counterarguments
and examples.
Paragraph 5 sums everything up. You might want to write this first. Your conclusion
should summarize your main points but also offer further insight into the nature of the
debate's logical dilemma.
Let's examine a potential sample argument you could encounter while taking the GMAT
and the strategies to craft a compelling response.
Example Argument
The trade-off between privacy and national security has been a hot topic since Edward
Snowden leaked information about the NSA surveillance program code named PRISM. In
the wake of the revelation that the government has surreptitious access to citizens'
private data, advocates of national security need to reinforce the value of American
patriotism. The threat of terrorist activity at home and abroad by such groups as Al-
Qaeda and ISIS outweighs the rights of American citizens outlined in the U.S.
Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Ask yourself the following questions:
What assumptions does the author make?
What are the argument's premises?
What examples does the argument mention?
Do not base your response on opinion. Whether or not you believe the argument is true,
your task is to explore alternative readings of the argument's premises and reveal the
logic (or lack of logic) in the argument's underlying assumptions.
Premises and Underlying Assumptions
The above argument is based on several premises, or propositions that appeal to the
veracity of the argument. The author clearly states that national security is more
important than individual privacy. The argument insists that American citizens need to
sacrifice their 'inalienable rights' for the country's safety. The author also mentions two
important documents that form the bedrock of American democracy: the Bill of Rights
and the U.S. Constitution. The argument insinuates that these documents are amendable
and (in the extreme) unimportant to the 21st century circumstances of national security.

Counter-arguments and Alternative Readings
A counter-argument to the pro-security debate takes the contrary position. An ACLU
lawyer might respond by stating:
It is the government's responsibility to protect its citizens, as stipulated in the
Constitution and Bill of Rights. These esteemed documents are important to uphold,
despite 21st century threats of domestic terrorism. We cannot sacrifice our inalienable
rights for a safety blanket. In the 'Declaration of Independence', our founding fathers
enumerated these inalienable rights in the Constitution with this unforgettable phrase:
'Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.' A federal agenda that favors national
security over privacy would harshly infringe on the rights of all American citizens.
Sample Analysis of an Argument Problem
Evaluate the argument and plan a response before you begin writing
• Organize your ideas and develop them fully
• Provide relevant supporting reasons and examples
Question:
The following appeared in the editorial section of a monthly business news magazine:
"Most companies would agree that as the risk of physical injury occurring on the job
increases, the wages paid to employees should also increase. Hence it makes financial
sense for employers to make the workplace safer: they could thus reduce their payroll
expenses and save money."
Discuss how well reasoned you find this argument. In your discussion be sure to analyze
the line of reasoning and the use of evidence in the argument. For example, you may need
to consider what questionable assumptions underlie the thinking and what alternative
explanations or counterexamples might weaken the conclusion.
You can also discuss what sort of evidence would strengthen or refute the argument, what
changes in the argument would make it more logically sound, and what, if anything,
would help you better evaluate its conclusion.
Answer
The following is an actual essay that received the highest rating:
This argument states that it makes financial sense for employers to make the
workplace safer because by making the workplace safer then lower wages could
be paid to employees. This conclusion is based on the premise that as the list of
physical injury increases; the wages paid to employees should also increase.
However, there are several assumptions that may not necessarily apply to this
argument. For example, the costs associated with making the workplace safe
must outweigh the increased payroll expenses due to hazardous conditions. Also,

one must look at the plausibility of improving the work environment. And
finally, because most companies agree that as the risk of injury increases so will
wages doesn't necessarily mean that all companies, which have hazardous work
environments, agree.
The first issue to be addressed is whether increased labor costs justify large
capital expenditures to improve the work environment. Clearly one could argue
that if making the workplace safe would cost an exorbitant amount of money in
comparison to leaving the workplace as is and paying slightly increased wages
than it would not make sense to improve the work environment. For example, if
making the workplace safe would cost $100 million versus additional payroll
expenses of only $5,000 per year, it would make financial sense to simply pay
the increased wages. No business or business owner with any sense would pay all
that extra money just to save a couple dollars and improve employee health and
relations. To consider this, a cost benefit analysis must be made. I also feel that
although a cost benefit analysis should be the determining factor with regard to
these decisions making financial sense, it may not be the determining factor with
regard to making social, moral and ethical sense.
This argument also relies on the idea that companies solely use financial sense in
analyzing improving the work environment. This is not the case. Companies look
at other considerations such as the negative social ramifications of high on-job
injuries. For example, Toyota spends large amounts of money improving its
environment because while its goal is to be profitable, it also prides itself on high
employee morale and an almost perfectly safe work environment. However,
Toyota finds that it can do both, as by improving employee health and employee
relations they are guaranteed a more motivated staff, and hence a more efficient
staff; this guarantees more money for the business as well as more safety for the
employees.
Finally one must understand that not all work environments can be made safer.
For example, in the case of coal mining, a company only has limited ways of
making the work environment safe. While companies may be able to ensure
some safety precautions, they may not be able to provide all the safety measures
necessary. In other words, a mining company has limited ability to control the air
quality within a coal mine and therefore it cannot control the risk of employees
getting Blacklung. In other words, regardless of the intent of the company, some
jobs are simply dangerous in nature.
In conclusion, while at first it may seem to make financial sense to improve the
safety of the work environment sometimes it truly does not make financial sense.
Furthermore, financial sense may not be the only issue a company faces. Other
types of analyses must be made such as the social ramifications of an unsafe
work environment and the overall ability of a company to improve that
environment (i.e., coal mine). Before any decision is made, all these things must
be considered, not simply the reduction of payroll expenses.