The Rough Draft: Issues

The Issues section of an essay is the real heart of the essay. The Background Information prepares the reader for your discussion; the Issues section discusses the Why or How.

As I said in class, human beings learn through experiences. In order to explain yourself to others, especially in writing, it helps to use a personal experience, so the reader will know exactly what you mean. You may see yourself as "good friend," and you may feel that a "good friend" means "being there" for someone, but what does "being there" mean?

"I see myself as a good friend. When Tito, my close friend of ten years needed a place to stay for three months, I let him stay in the spare room. We spent a half day cleaning out the room, and I had to store six boxes of junk in the corner of my own bedroom, but that is what friends are for."

In this example, notice how the general or vague statement (I am a good friend) is followed by a short specific example of an experience you remember about when you were a good friend. This example lets the reader decide for themselves what you mean by "good friend."

Letting readers decide for themselves from your experiences keeps their reading experience from being boring.

The Issues section may include several short experiences (as the example above), but I ask that in the first essay, you include at least one longer example. The Issues section should be the longest section in the essay.