The Example Essay

This next essay will be an example essay on the topic of forgiveness. Some things to know about an example essay (as stated in "40 Model Essays"):

1. The main purpose of an example essay is to make the general specific and the abstract concrete.
2. You can have a single extended example. This is where you might use a solid and solitary narrative to make your example concrete (i.e.: You offered your sibling forgiveness after she broke your iPod, you forgave the driver of the car who side-swiped you, you forgave yourself for being unrealistic in terms of your athletic ability while injured.)
3. You can draw from multiple examples. This will help you illustrate the range covered by your generalization. (i.e.: Generalization: Forgiveness is not practiced the US. Examples: teachers hold a grudge after you've been disciplined for cheating; former inmates are treated as second class citizens even after serving their time; insurance companies hold accidents against you for 7-10 years.) If using multiple examples, you want to make sure you order the examples in order of importance and impact. This of it as creating a climax. Don't lead with the strongest example as your essay will only fizzle from there.