Material (1)
Have you tapped into your personal and cultural memory to build an argument that supports your thesis?
Your MATERIAL is the collection of bricks that make your essay; it can include stories, memories, references, concepts, facts, statistics, quotes, etc. What you actually include is a personal decision, an idiosyncratic reflection of your life and taste. When you write from a place of vulnerability, humility, and authority, you write something only you can write. (This is the goal of an essay.) There are two types of silos you draw Material from: personal memory and cultural memory—or, Experience (1.1) and References (1.3). One is an exclusive reservoir that makes your essay singular, the other a shared reservoir that anchors your idea to the larger circumstance we’re all entangled in. It’s not enough to fill an essay with vulnerable, exotic ideas for their own sake; your Material should support your Thesis (2). This means you don’t just select something for its own power, but for the connections and relationships it forms with all the other bricks. To fully explore your Thesis, you want to craft a good Argument (1.2). This means you need Material that (a) supports your Thesis, (b) refutes it, and (c) synthesizes the clash. Think of yourself as a curator, not a collector—every brick must earn its place.
Experience (1.1)
EXPERIENCE is the lived events, emotions, and insights that a writer draws upon to personify their thesis. It is the most relatable kind of Material (1). You invite your reader to see biographical moments in cinematic quality, to know your interiority
Argument (1.2)
ARGUMENT is the art of gathering and interrogating your Material (1) to explore diverging points of view, to transcend tribalism, and to arrive at nuanced conclusions. To build a balanced argument, consider the concept of “dialectics”: a synthesis is achieved through understanding a
References (1.3)
REFERENCES are the diverse array of sources, allusions, and citations that essayists weave through their work to create context, support arguments, and show authority. It is a type of Material (1) that is familiar to others in our culture. This ranges in