The essay below demonstrates the principles of writing a basic essay. The different parts of the essay have been labeled. The thesis statement is in bold, the topic sentences are in italics, and each main point is underlined. When you write your own essay, of course, you will not need to mark these parts of the essay unless your teacher has asked you to do so. They are marked here just so that you can more easily identify them.
This is a very generalized example. It lacks embedding,
"A dog is man's best friend." That common saying may contain some truth, but dogs are not the only animal friend whose companionship people enjoy. For many people, a cat is their best friend. Despite what dog lovers may believe, cats make excellent house pets as they are good companions, they are civilized members of the household, and they are easy to care for.
In the first place, people enjoy the companionship of cats. Many cats are affectionate. They will snuggle up and ask to be petted, or scratched under the chin. Who can resist a purring cat? If they're not feeling affectionate, cats are generally quite playful. They love to chase balls and feathers, or just about anything dangling from a string. They especially enjoy playing when their owners are participating in the game. Contrary to popular opinion, cats can be trained. Using rewards and punishments, just like with a dog, a cat can be trained to avoid unwanted behavior or perform tricks. Cats will even fetch!
In the second place, cats are civilized members of the household. Unlike dogs, cats do not bark or make other loud noises. Most cats don't even meow very often. They generally lead a quiet existence. Cats also don't often have "accidents." Mother cats train their kittens to use the litter box, and most cats will use it without fail from that time on. Even stray cats usually understand the concept when shown the box and will use it regularly. Cats do have claws, and owners must make provision for this. A tall scratching post in a favorite cat area of the house will often keep the cat content to leave the furniture alone. As a last resort, of course, cats can be declawed.
Lastly, one of the most attractive features of cats as house pets is their ease of care. Cats do not have to be walked. They get plenty of exercise in the house as they play, and they do their business in the litter box. Cleaning a litter box is a quick, painless procedure. Cats also take care of their own grooming. Bathing a cat is almost never necessary because under ordinary circumstances cats clean themselves. Cats are more particular about personal cleanliness than people are. In addition, cats can be left home alone for a few hours without fear. Unlike some pets, most cats will not destroy the furnishings when left alone. They are content to go about their usual activities until their owners return.
Cats are low maintenance, civilized companions. People who have small living quarters or less time for pet care should appreciate these characteristics of cats. However, many people who have plenty of space and time still opt to have a cat because they love the cat personality. In many ways, cats are the ideal house pet.
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Write an essay that analyzes the rhetorical choices Adams makes to achieve her purpose of advising her son.
On January 12th, 1780, Abigail Adams wrote a letter to her son, John Adams. In this letter, she advises her son on his search for knowledge and helping his country by traveling. In this letter, she uses many rhetorical strategies in order to serve her purpose of advising her son. Abigail Adams uses ethos, character, and historical events to advise her son on his voyage to France.
In the third paragraph, a clear example of ethos is provided by Abigail Adams using a conversation she had with an author. She states that she is talking with an author and provides advice comparing her son's journey to a river trying to improve its quality. This provides credibility with her son that someone that is well-educated and versed helped give her this advice, allowing her son to be more open to listening to this inciteful knowledge that could help him. Another way she uses ethos is by using her role as her son's mom in order to get him to listen and take in her advice. For example, in the second paragraph, she states, "You, however, submitted to my advice, and, I hope, will never have occasion yourself, nor give me reason, to lament it." She states how John submitted to her advice and she is very glad, but he needs to do great things with this opportunity. She uses her previous conversation of her telling her son to go on this voyage to remind him that as her mother, he must fulfill his potential and not make her regret her decision. By reminding John of her previous advice in her parental role, she establishes their relationship and her maturity that even though John is smart, he still needs to apply himself and take advice from someone more experienced than him. She uses outside advice from a credible source and her parental role as a mature, experienced mother to show John why he should take in these helpful suggestions.
Along with providing credibility in her advice, Abigail Adams also uses character to help serve her purpose. For instance, After establishing credibility in the second paragraph, she states, "Your knowledge of the language must give you greater advantages now than you could possibly have reaped whilst ignorant of it." In this example, she is stating that John has been gifted knowledge greater than he ever could imagine, which he does not yet understand. She then goes on to state that as he gets older, his understanding will open. She tells her son this to show him how gifted and intelligent he is, and how as her mother, she wants her son to grow to his potential and use his knowledge for good. She then goes on to state when talking about the war that, "It is not the clam of life, or the repose of a pacific station, that great characters are formed." She demonstrates a very insightful quote that has a very deep meaning behind it. She is implying that character is not built in the easy times, or the "still calm of life." Character is built when times are tough. This shows her son that he needs to use this tough time to manifest his character and live to the great standards his mother has for him. She uses character in order to tell him how he needs to use this rough situation to become a great man. This advice clearly must have influenced him due to the fact he persevered through the American Revolution, and later became the 2nd ever president of the United States, which shows just how much character he had built over the years.
When speaking of character, she further supports her advice by using historical events to help provide examples of the concepts she is speaking about. For example, when talking about when great character is formed, she says, "would Cicero have shone so distinguished an orator had roused... by the tyranny of Catiline, Verres, and Mark Anthony?" She uses an example of the Roman Empire to illustrate her claim that character is built when times are tough. By providing an example of how the tyranny from the people allowed Cicero to rise up and show the world his great oration skills, she shows John that he needs to similarly use these tough times to show the world how intelligent and talented he is. She also uses the American Revolution as a way to further support her examples of character. She states how the citizens who fought illustrate great courage and how they protected the liberties of their people. This shows him how people demonstrate character in rough times allowing John to visualize from known historical examples.
All in all, the rhetorical devices of ethos, character, and historical events helped serve Abigail's purpose. She used these devices to help guide her son on his journey of not only going to France, but also growing as a human being and becoming a great man. This advice ultimately helped shape him and let him live up to his potential of leading the people of America and fighting for liberties in the Revolution.
