26
Jul
by John
An essay is a short composition about a particular topic that is usually written from a personal perspective. Many students balk at essay writing; the mere thought of starting the assignment brings stress and anxiety. Students and instructors have identified common pitfalls experienced or encountered in the writing process. A frequently cited difficulty is writer’s block, a generic category which springs from various causes. Other weaknesses involve content, organization and grammar issues.
Treatment of Topic
Students may claim that the assigned topic is boring, vague or tough. The rebuttal is to be resourceful and creative. Look for an interesting angle. Scale the subject down to a manageable chunk or tweak it to a comprehensible level. On the other hand, if they’re given a choice of topic, students may be undecided, or keep changing their minds and take too long to make a final decision. The practical solution is to pick a topic with which they are familiar, or about which they are passionate or curious to learn more.
Planning and Preparation
Another deficiency lies in inadequate time and effort spent in organizing the outline, conducting research and writing the draft. Too often students dash off the writing assignment at the last minute just to meet the submission deadline. Some students go the other extreme by being perfectionists. They get overwhelmed with too much research and information overload, bogged down with unnecessary detail, or stuck with revising their work over and over. With proper guidance and mentoring, students can strike the right balance to devote just enough attention and energy to the essay.
Content and Value
The substance and quality of the essay can suffer for various reasons. For example, an essay in an argumentative genre requires supportive evidence to prove the writer’s point. The lack of authoritative sources, factual data or concrete examples weakens his position. He fails to convince the readers of the truth of his assertion or persuade them to his point of view. Poor choice of words can also affect the overall impression that the written work makes. Bland, safe words such as “nice” or “good” lack the rich nuances of meanings that imaginative rephrasing can improve. Cliches that have outlived their punch rob the essay of originality. The trick is to research and rewrite.
Organization and Structure
In a coherent essay, the central theme is clearly established in the introduction, developed in the body and synthesized in the conclusion. Without a smooth transition and logical progression of thought from one section to the other, the essay becomes a rambling work, lacking clarity of purpose and focus. Another danger is a lame ending that falls short of nailing down the concepts. These concerns can be resolved by reviewing and revising to achieve the essay’s objective and create a strong impact.
Grammatical Lapses
Grammar, which encompasses language rules from syntax to spelling, presents a host of problems. Sometimes the fault lies in simple carelessness. Neglecting to proofread or to pay attention to detail deducts points from an otherwise articulate work. The rubrics of subject-verb agreements and spotting dangling modifiers may not be a student’s strong suit, but with patience and practice he can master these intricacies.
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25
May
by John
What are the characteristics of the essay and why we can call it successful? What do you need to rely while writing to have not only packed pages, but quality work as a result? Let’s try to define the basic criteria of the good essay.
- Form compliance. We have already written about how the structure an essay should look like. Just in case, remember: an introduction, detailed body and conclusion. If it is a scientific essay, in the end an essay should also contain a list of information sources that you have used. Generally, all academic works are more difficult; in case of form discrepancy scrutineer may even refuse to accept the written material. So remember that form is first and foremost thing.
- Essence. The semantic load of the essay is equally important. Try to develop a theme from several perspectives. Thus the composition will acquire volume and significance. Remember that the meaning of the work is as important as its form.
- Volume of the essay. Even if you have a broad theme and you think it needs a detailed description, be careful not to violate the specified volumes. While describing the broad topic one can focus on one particular aspect and disclose it. Do not underestimate the volume of essay, because then it seems that you have nothing to say on a given topic. To increase the volume of essays, use a simple scheme – find ideas of prominent person in this industry on this topic.
- Connectedness of speech. Always remember that the conclusion follows from the entry. If these two have little in common in meaning, your job can’t be called good. Greater coherence of speech writing is provided by the detailed plan before you sit down for substantive work.
- The presence of logic. In each essay, even art, there certain logic exists. Most often, this transition is done from general to specific. Try to observe this logic in each section. Sometimes, in creative arts assume the reverse order parts, but it is more the exception than the rule.
Use these criteria while estimating draft of you future work. Is it good or needs some additional re-working?
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10
Jun
by John
How to Write Body Paragraphs. In essays of any kind, body paragraphs are essential. These are where you provide your supporting arguments to your thesis. These are also where you write your refutations or rebuttals against the challenges to your claim. In short, they serve as the very “meat” of your essay. Here are several tips on how to write the body paragraphs of your essay.
- Stick to your topic sentence. The first sentence of the paragraph should be the idea that you want to develop within the same paragraph. Use it as a guide in writing your succeeding sentences. Avoid drifting away from your topic sentence as doing so may confuse your readers or, worse, lose the coherence of your essay. Take note of the key words in your topic sentence as these will help you develop the rest of the sentences in the paragraph.
- Keep the paragraph within 5 to 7 sentences. Let’s face it. Nobody wants to read a very long essay. Thus, keep your paragraphs at just the ideal length. The challenge, then, is to write what only needs to be written. Avoid cluttering your sentences with unnecessary words and phrases. Skip anything that is irrelevant or that doesn’t make any clear sense. Always remember that your essay need not be very long just to make a valid point. Write to primarily to express, not to impress, unless you’re told to do so.
- Maintain transitions between paragraphs. To achieve this, you should end a paragraph using a sentence [a "transition" sentence] that smoothly connects to the first sentence of the next paragraph. In other words, end a paragraph with an idea that logically leads to the idea in the succeeding paragraph. This will make your paragraphs read tight and interconnected which, apparently, saves your essay from reading like a couple of distinct paragraphs simply lumped together.
- Have a logical flow of sentences within paragraphs. Since your first sentence is your topic sentence, continue with the next sentence by developing the idea from the first. Do the same pattern for the rest of the sentences until you reach the transition sentence. For example, if your topic sentence is “Blue looks more beautiful than red,” the next sentence should develop that idea by saying “Blue has admirable visual characteristics that red does not have”. Following that sentence, you may proceed by writing that “Blue has the characteristic of looking relaxing to the eyes”. And so on. Having a logical flow of sentences allows your reader to follow your arguments closely and understand better what it is that you are trying to say.
These are just some of the tips on how to write the body paragraphs of your essay. Always remember: to stick to your topic sentence, to keep the paragraph between 5 to 7 sentences, to maintain transitions between paragraphs, and to have a logical flow of sentences within paragraphs. Follow these tips on how to write the body paragraphs of your essay and you’ll certainly send your message clearly and effectively.
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