Abstract

ZAMBRANO-VALENCIA, Juan David; CARO LOPERA, Miguel Ángel  and  PARRA HOYOS, Edwin Leandro. Towards the forms and functions of the mini-essay. sophia [online]. 2019, vol.15, n.2, pp.71-78. ISSN 1794-8932.  https://doi.org/10.18634/sophiaj.15v.2i.944.

The present reflection paper, derived from an investigation into academic literacy and its implications for teacher training, investigates the possible forms and functions of the mini-essay, a discursive genre that is currently making its way as a didactic option in the production of argumentative texts. Based on definitions of essay widely recognized by academic tradition, the article risks various conjectures regarding the mini-essay as a hybrid form in which a thesis is exposed and argued, for the purpose of laying the groundwork for its defense. Likewise, this work explores its possible functions within the framework of docere, movere and delectare. These approaches, resulting from qualitative interventions from the Research Action Design, respond to a didactic concern that finds in the mini-essay, both a genre to teach to argue, and a writing strategy that enables a dialogue between key concepts such as theme and rheme, own words and other people’s words, logos and pathos, convincing and persuading.

Keywords : Essay; didactic; literature; Mini-Essay; argumentative text.

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