Writing an Essay

[Guest]

Hello all.

Well next week i have to write a 500 word essay answering a question from the book we read in English, but i was away the lesson my teacher went through how to properly write and essay and all i got was a page of notes....

So I was wondering, What tips do you have when writing an essay?

This will not only help me but others who have to write their first formal essay as well!

clozo

[hugemonkey]

I had much trouble in essay writing but I eventually found that by sticking to a method I could do it.

Since this is your first essay you probably won't be winning any awards but if you keep it simple and focused you should get a good result.

I would suggest a 5 paragraph essay format. It goes like this:

I. Introduction

A. Intro sentence (builds interest)

B. Thesis sentence (states what you want to say or prove)

C. State what type of evidence (generally) you have to back up thesis.

1. Reason 1 (without specifics)

2. Reason 2 (without specifics)

3. Reason 3 (without specifics)

D. Sentence that leads you into 2nd Paragraph

II. First Reason

A. Say why reason 1 back your thesis

B. Give specific evidence (1 or 2 sentences)

C. Write sentence that states your interpretation of the evidence and leads you into the next paragraph (1 or 2 sentences)

III. Second Reason

A. Say why reason 1 back your thesis

B. Give specific evidence (1 or 2 sentences)

C. Write sentence that states your interpretation of the evidence and leads you into the next paragraph (1 or 2 sentences

IV. Third Reason

A. Say why reason 1 back your thesis

B. Give specific evidence (1 or 2 sentences)

C. Write sentence that states your interpretation of the evidence and leads you into the next paragraph (1 or 2 sentences

V. Summary

A. Restate you thesis using terms that you used in the previous three paragraphs maybe like you are asking a question.

B. Sum up you evidence to clearly show how it directly proves your thesis (3 sentences)

C. Restate your thesis but this time connecting the dots and state explicitly that it is so.

You should have no problem making this the two 1/2 or so double spaced pages that you need. If you are too short then add more evidence, too long focus on something more specific.

Good Luck

[Guest]

Hello all.

Well next week i have to write a 500 word essay answering a question from the book we read in English, but i was away the lesson my teacher went through how to properly write and essay and all i got was a page of notes....

So I was wondering, What tips do you have when writing an essay?

This will not only help me but others who have to write their first formal essay as well!

clozo

The simplest, easitest, most effective way to right an essay is not to worry about the rules. Simply act like your talking to someone.

Step 1.

Find out everything you possibly can about your subject. This way you will be an expert on your topic and the words will flow freely as you write/type/talk into a recorder.

Step 2.

Find the quickest way to record your thoughts. See which you can do the fastest: Print, type or speak.

Step 3.

Actually starting your essay will be the hardest part. Everybody has their own unique way of writing. A good essay has 3 things

1. An important characteristic of an essay is flow. Just like in a real conversation or thought process, a good essay requires a gradual smooth transition of the subject. This is a skill that if applied correctly, should make it possible to transition from "Man vs. Nature" to "LeChatlier" to "The Apocalypse."

2. You also want to add a little bit of flavor to your essay. You want a little bit of sarcasm, a little bit of emotion here and there, until it actually sounds like the text is talking to you.

3. Concession: When you are doing a persuasive essay, it is always good to look at the arguments against your point of view. You bring them to light, and then you bash their pitiful arguments into the dust!

Notice: When you actually start writing your essay, keep writing until you are finished. It is hard to pick up on the old line of thought if you put it to bed for the night.

Step 4

Revision: After you have pounded out your essay, then you can start worrying about grammatical errors, misspellings, punctuation, etc.

Step 5

Read your essay to yourself. Does it sound like a good essay? If not you just better hope your not in AP.

Oh, and make sure your conclusion actually brings closure to the conversation. If it doesn't feel done, edit it.

P.S, please put your first draft of the essay up on the site for appraisal, and don't mind interjecting insults about the characters, after all it's only a book.

Edited June 25, 2009 by Romulus064

[Guest]

Wow thanks guys, I'm going to save this into a document for the future.

Well the actual final essay has to be written in class (we have 1 hr). We are allowed to take in a page of bullet points.

I'll do a draft tomorrow and post it and you can critique it for me seeing as my teacher is being slack and not checking anoyones .

[Guest]

The above are actually fairly decent ways to write an essay, but the best way in my opinion to get the highest quality finished product is the following:

1. Create a thesis. This is the central point of your paper, the reason why you are writing it in the first place.
2. Choose a style format. For most essays assigned as homework, this isn't an issue. It's assigned to you.
3. Create an outline. For most high school / college level papers the best format is the 5 paragraph essay.
4. Create a rough draft. This is where you format your arguments into a cohesive statemtent.
5. Refine the rough draft. This is where you remove any extra statements. Anything that is redundant or doesn't help your argument goes away.
6. Create a final rough draft. This is where you go in depth on the paper and remove any grammatical errors you find.
7. External proofreading. This means get someone else that is the same level of competence or greater to read your essay.
8. Repeat 4-7 with different proofreaders giving you input 2-5 times. The number of times you do this should be based on your due date.
9. Create a rough final draft. This is where everything should be formatted properly and all of your statements should be to the point and make sense.
10. Refine rough final draft. This is where you take a final look at the flow and structure of your essay and try to make sure that it's easily readable and keeps the reader engaged.
11. Create a final final draft. This is where you go through with a fine tooth comb and evaluate every grammatical structure and punctuation.

The paragraph structure should be as follows:

• Introduction: Five sentences. State your thesis, each of your three main arguments and a lead-off sentence, each in their own sentence.
• P1: Restate your first main argument. Add three to five collaborating facts and a lead-on sentence, each in their own sentence.
• P2: Restate your second main argument. Add three to five collaborating facts and a lead-on sentence, each in their own sentence.
• P3: Restate your third main argument. Add three to five collaborating facts and a lead-on sentence, each in their own sentence.
• Conclusion: Restate your thesis in different words. Summarize each paragraph in it's own sentence. Use a strong finishing statement that leaves the feeling of a solid end.

Any of the essay formats here are acceptable, this is just my preferred method of writing an essay. This method is very, very time consuming. Allow approximately six weeks to two months to complete this process.

Keep in mind that you should never, ever repeat exactly the same sentence ever in a paper, and if you are able to, try not to use the same word in a single paragraph unless it is a common word such as 'a' 'an' or 'the'.

A note on text: Use a serif font. This is a font that has little leaders going from one letter to the next. The readability of your paper will improve greatly.

Edited December 16, 2009 by Medji

[peace*out]

in an essay, you should restate the question. for ex: if the question is 'why is brain den so cool?' you would say 'brain den is cool because...' and continue onward from there.

[Guest]

my teacher taught me this :

Introduction: state what you're going to talk about

Paragraph 1,2,3 : Talk about it

Conclusion : repeat what you just talk about.( summarize)

Believe it or not, this got me through 7 grade with and A+ for writing

Edited September 5, 2010 by EvilCookie

[Guest]

hello, everyone!

I'm a sophomore student and I have problems with writing my essay. For these two days I've written really bunch of my late essays and now I'm TOTALLY out of ideas. I still have two "writer's choice" papers to do.

I really need some hints how to rehab my fantasy or smt. Any advise how to restart my brain are welcomed.

Thank you in advance

[Thalia]

Uber_Krueger- You could try writing about

• something that happened during your vacation.
• how you met your best friend and things that have happened.
• one of the assignments I ahve been given in the past is to look at a picture and make up a story about it. For example, I picked a picture of Vesuvius erupting and wrote a story about a girl who was in Pompeii when it erupted. Just pick something and do a google image search.

Hope this helps.

[kestrelknight]

It really depends on what sort of teacher you have. If they're easy-going, make jokes or tend to go off-topic, you'll be fine with the second answer given.

If you have a teacher who likes making people conform to rules, always gives homework no matter what, or hates it when people joke or are casual, go with the first answer given.

The biggest tip I can give is this: ALWAYS APPEAL TO THE PERSONALITY OR WHOEVER WILL BE MARKING YOUR PAPER. If you don't know their personality, always go with a more formal approach, and don't use slang (like kids, instead of children).

[Aaryan]

It really depends on what sort of teacher you have. If they're easy-going, make jokes or tend to go off-topic, you'll be fine with the second answer given.

If you have a teacher who likes making people conform to rules, always gives homework no matter what, or hates it when people joke or are casual, go with the first answer given.

The biggest tip I can give is this: ALWAYS APPEAL TO THE PERSONALITY OR WHOEVER WILL BE MARKING YOUR PAPER. If you don't know their personality, always go with a more formal approach, and don't use slang (like kids, instead of children).

Dude, this thing was posted in 2009. I think her essay is LONG overdue by this point.

[kestrelknight]

It really depends on what sort of teacher you have. If they're easy-going, make jokes or tend to go off-topic, you'll be fine with the second answer given.

If you have a teacher who likes making people conform to rules, always gives homework no matter what, or hates it when people joke or are casual, go with the first answer given.

The biggest tip I can give is this: ALWAYS APPEAL TO THE PERSONALITY OR WHOEVER WILL BE MARKING YOUR PAPER. If you don't know their personality, always go with a more formal approach, and don't use slang (like kids, instead of children).

Dude, this thing was posted in 2009. I think her essay is LONG overdue by this point.

I know that, silly. Doesn't mean other people won't read it and be helped.

Also, not a dude, dude.

Edited July 14, 2013 by kestrelknight

[Kuch Marida]

I have problem with writing an essay so, how can I do?

[arman2525]

this is great