When you write, the essential concept of Essay Writing is to have an opinion. You need to express an opinion about the topic, and then support that opinion with all the facts you can muster. A good method to use when writing is the KISS method. The KISS method stands for K- keep, I- It, S- Simple, S- Stupid. Keeping this method in mind will improve your writing. The key to good writing is a mixture of short, medium, and long sentences. This means that the writing displays sentence variety especially in length and starting words. "The Big Sixteen" are very common errors that all people using English often encounter. Correctness in your writing is important to the degree that it interferes with your message. You don't want it to interfere because it's important to communicate your message and say things as clearly as possible. To improve your English usage skills, you can get people to proofread your paper, use your computer, and practice writing.
It's easier to practice writing when you are not bothered by distractions. Once you're ready to begin, think about the purpose in doing the assignment. The next step is brainstorming, to think about what information might accomplish your goal. During this process, you start gathering facts and listing ideas. Some ways to brainstorm these ideas are in a Venn Diagram, and a spider web. Try to answer the questions how, when, and why in your writing. This is started by creating a specific purpose for writing. In one complete sentence, the first step in planning your essay is to weite out your point of view, your thesis.
The thesis is the most important sentence in your essay because it's the idea that you are going to prove. The thesis must be expressed in precise language, with a clear, meaningful idea. After your thesis is completed, it's time to do the body paragraphs. The body paragraphs generally present three or four good reasons why the thesis statement is true. Each of the body paragraphs will start with a topic sentence. After you have done your thesis statement and three or four reasons why you think it's true, next you need to develop four or five sentences to clarify each topic sentence. In this part, you're able to expand your thinking to include any questions that seem appropriate. When you write about ideas, specific examples may be essential to make certain that your reader understands you. One way to communicate your writing is to create a mental picture and describe it for your reader. It's not always necessary to write an introduction before you write everything else.
If you first write your introduction, you may have an incomplete idea of exactly what you're leading into. In the introduction you should: get the readers attention, introduce the topic in a natural sounding manner, and make a smooth transition into the body of the paper. A form commonly used in everyday conversations is the generic introduction, the introduction that will work with any topic. To do a generic introduction, pick out one aspect of the thesis, and make an offensive comment about it, and let that lead you naturally into the thesis statement, just as if you were trying to change the subject of a conversation. In the next type of introduction, specialized introductions, there are several different kinds including quotations, personal experiences, famous person anecdotes, questions, and refutations. The one you choose to do your introduction is entirely personal as long as it accomplishes the three major purposes of the thesis. This all shows how to start your essay, now to the conclusion part.
The conclusion should be relevant, clear, and concise. Your conclusion should not only tie together the main ideas, but it should also make one, final significant point. The conclusion can either be done in the form of a recommendation, prediction, call for action, quoting a stimulating source, or a summary. This will be the reader's last impression of the essay.
When doing a compare and contrast essay, it's important to know which of the two you should use. It's best to concentrate on contrast if you're trying to show how one item is superior to the other. It's best to use compare when you are trying to show how a product of lesser value can compare to the more appealing product. At times it may be necessary to do a combination of both compare and contrast. In this type of essay it shows the whole picture, with no sides being taken. Unlike in a regular essay, a compare and contrast essay's thesis statement presents a special problem and a special opportunity. It is not limited to show only similarities and differences. Using a well structured pattern is important to the essay. The opposing pattern devotes one paragraph to one topic, and the other paragraph to the opposing topic. This allows your reader to receive a separate total impression of each topic. Alternating pattern moves back and forth between its two topics. This pattern is best when you have a large number of characteristics to cover. Topic sentences for each paragraph refer to the individual characteristics rather than the people being discussed. Structure and outlining are important in this type of essay to try to avoid the possibility of confusion. This isn't very challenging, but you have to try to not to make any silly mistakes.
Sentence combining is a skill learned in class that allows students to improve their writing, which is important in all aspects of life. Some new techniques are: move the adjectives in front of the nouns they modify, use participial phrases, and avoid comma splice by using a conjunction after a comma. There is no need to have unnecessary words, and awkward words and phrases, so those can just be eliminated.
Out of all of these, I new most of the basic information. I didn't know that there are that many options for the introduction and conclusion. Since we have done several essays in this class, I feel like I have learned to incorporate more and more of these things to my writing. Some of the things we learned this year that I've never done before was the Open Responses and the Approach Papers. These weren't difficult but it just took a little to get used to. Overall, this Essay Writing class was fun and very interesting. You are a great teacher and helped me learn a lot, thanks Mr. Bailey!
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