Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks support
Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.
Chapter 2 – The Building Metaphor
Building the House
Writing an essay is a lot like building a house. In fact, it really IS building a house. As essay is a metaphor for a certain kind of mental construction. The steps are essential and must be engaged thoroughly, methodically, and without rushing through to the end.
Procrastination is a killer. Taking short cuts will diminish the quality of the final product. And the strength of each step is largely dependent on the strength of the ones before it. Also, each choice will contribute to the strength and/or weaknesses of the steps that come after.
An essay, like a house, is an integrated, interdependent set of complementary technologies meant to produce reliable results if followed properly. There is room for creativity and individual expression, cultural and personal variation, but only after the basic elements of building the structure are secure:
Land Prep (Research & Free Writing)
The first step in the construction process is getting the land ready. This includes clearing the area, digging trenches and making sure utilities are installed. In essay writing, this is the research process. This is when we brainstorm, free write, and gather research on topics of interest as we lay the groundwork for what comes next: our thesis.
The Footings & Foundation (Thesis)
Building a good foundation requires a lot more than digging a hole and pouring some concrete into forms. It must be tailored to its site like a custom suit, taking into account soil conditions, water tables, even the quality of the backfill. And it is the very structure upon which the rest of the house is built. Absolutely nothing that comes next will matter if the foundation isn’t solid. Like the foundation, it needs to be as specific for the particular project as possible; and also like the foundation, it will lay the groundwork for absolutely everything that comes next.
Framing (Pattern of Development)
In the framing step, the “bones” of the home start to come together. Framing includes the floor joists, subfloors, and studs that form the walls and roof trusses. Here is where the very shape of the house begins to take shape. In writing, this is the pattern of development. It is where you decide how your body paragraphs are going to flow one to the next. This larger pattern will determine what spaces are for what functions in the house. In the essay, this is where we decide the larger pattern and shape our writing will take. Thus determining the purpose and function of the various parts.
Plumbing & Electrical (Paragraphs)
Once the home is framed, subcontractors will start installing the home’s major systems, including plumbing pipes, electrical wiring and heating and cooling ducts. These are the systems that move air, water and electricity through the home and make everything flow. In an essay, these are your sentences and paragraphs