The length of each section of a paper
ESSAY AS A KIND OF WRITING
An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument — but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have traditionally been sub-classified as formal and informal.
Writing as a skill is very important in teaching and learning foreign language; it helps pupils to assimilate letters and sounds of the English language, it’s vocabulary and grammar, and to develop habits and skills in pronunciation, speaking and reading.
Since writing is a complicated skill it should be developed through the information of habits such as:
1. The habits of writing letters of the English alphabet;
2. The habits of converting speech sounds into their symbols – letters and letter combinations;
3. The habits of correct spelling of words, phrase and sentences;
4. The habits of writing various exercises which lead pupils to expressing their thoughts in connection with the task set.
There are many reasons why you might need or want to improve your writing skills in English. Perhaps you need to reply to emails at work in English or take an English language exam, for example, TOEIC or IELTS. Or maybe you need to write essays on English for university, write letters to English friends or relatives or you might want to start writing a blog in English!
Structure of an Essay
Tips to help you improve your English writing skills
1. Write in English every day
This is the most important tip to improve your writing skills in English. Start by thinking of a theme, for example, you could start writing a diary of something that happens to you every day, you can write a few lines of a story each day or you could write emails to your friends in English. This might be difficult at first but the more you continue, the easier it will become and you might even end up enjoying it! Remember to write down the new words and expressions you read and their meanings so you can learn them.
2. Someone to check your writing
If you’re studying at an English language school, you could ask your teacher to check your writing for you. Otherwise, why not ask a friend or relative who speaks English? I’m sure they’d be happy to help! You might even be able to do a writing language exchange – find an English person who is learning your language and write letters or emails to each other (you can write in English and they can write in your language). When you send a reply, you can also send their letter back to them with corrections and they can do the same for you!
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3. Improve your vocabulary
Having a wide range of vocabulary is very important when you’re writing in English. An excellent way to improve your vocabulary is to read as much as possible. If you read books, newspapers or magazines in English, you will learn many new words and common English idioms. Remember to write down the new words and expressions you read and their meanings so you can learn them.
4. Use a dictionary
You might feel that using a dictionary when you write is ‘cheating’ but think again – it is actually a great way to improve your vocabulary and practice using words and phrases that you’ve heard but haven’t used before. Remember to ask someone to check your writing to make sure you have used the vocabulary correctly.
5. Check your writing carefully
After you have written something in English, you should always read it again, either straight away or the next day. When you do this, you will probably see a few mistakes that you didn’t notice when you were writing it. Remember to check the spelling, grammar and vocabulary – have you used a particular word many times?
6. Write about different topics
If you write about the same thing every day, you could become very bored and you might end up using the same words and phrases over and over again! It is a good idea to find different topics to write about as this will help to widen your vocabulary and will be much more interesting for you. Writing about something you read in a newspaper or watched on TV is a good starting point.
7. Do your homework
If you have classes at an English language school, your teacher probably gives you writing homework to do. It is really important that you do all your homework as your teacher knows your level of English and will be able to give you good advice on which parts of writing you need to improve most (e.g. vocabulary, spelling, grammar). This is extremely important if you are planning to take an English language exam.
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8. Write to your friends
Do you have friends who speak English (e.g. people you have met in your English classes)? If so, you should definitely practice your writing with them! There are many ways to do this – using social media (Facebook, Twitter etc.), sending emails, writing text messages, chatting on Skype etc. The best thing about writing to people who are also learning English is that you can correct each other’s mistakes!
9. Write a blog
It doesn’t even matter if no one reads it, but writing a blog is a great way to practice writing in English. Set yourself a goal (e.g. upload one blog article a week) and start writing! The great thing about a blog is you can write about
Absolutely anything and there’s a chance that you might even help or entertain someone who reads it!
And finally…
10. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes!
It’s easy to decide not to do any English writing as you are worried that you will make lots of mistakes. However, the more you write and get your writing corrected, the fewer mistakes you will make!
Types of academic essay
1. The expository essay
This is a writer’s explanation of a short theme, idea or issue.
The key here is that you are explaining an issue, theme or idea to your intended audience. Your reaction to a work of literature could be in the form of an expository essay, for example if you decide to simply explain your personal response to a work. The expository essay can also be used to give a personal response to a world event, political debate, football game, work of art and so on.
What are its most important qualities?
You want to get and, of course, keep your reader’s attention. So, you should:
- Have a well defined thesis. Start with a thesis statement/research question/statement of intent. Make sure you answer your question or do what you say you set out to do. Do not wander from your topic.
- Provide evidence to back up what you are saying. Support your arguments with facts and reasoning. Do not simply list facts, incorporate these as examples supporting your position, but at the same time make your point as succinctly as possible.
- The essay should be concise. Make your point and conclude your essay. Don’t make the mistake of believing that repetition and over-stating your case will score points with your readers.
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2. The persuasive essay
This is the type of essay where you try to convince the reader to adopt your position on an issue or point of view. Here your rationale, your argument, is most important. You are presenting an opinion and trying to persuade readers, you want to win readers over to your point of view.
What are its most important qualities?
- Have a definite point of view.
- Maintain the reader’s interest.
- Use sound reasoning.
- Use solid evidence.
- Be aware of your intended audience. How can you win them over?
- Research your topic so your evidence is convincing.
- Don’t get so sentimental or so passionate that you lose the reader, as Irish poet W. B. Yeats put it:
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity
- Your purpose is to convince someone else so don’t overdo your language and don’t bore the reader. And don’t keep repeating your points!
- Remember the rules of the good paragraph. One single topic per paragraph, and natural progression from one to the next.
- End with a strong conclusion.
3. The analytical essay
In this type of essay you analyze, examine and interpret such things as an event, book, poem, play or other work of art.
What are its most important qualities?
Your analytical essay should have an:
- Introduction and presentation of argument.
- The introductory paragraph is used to tell the reader what text or texts you will be discussing. Every literary work raises at least one major issue. In your introduction you will also define the idea or issue of the text that you wish to examine in your analysis. This is sometimes called the thesis or research question. It is important that you narrow the focus of your essay.
· Analysis of the text (the longest part of the essay)
· The issue you have chosen to analyze is connected to your argument. After stating the problem, present your argument. When you start analyzing the text, pay attention to the stylistic devices (the “how” of the text) the author uses to convey some specific meaning. You must decide if the author accomplishes his goal of conveying his ideas to the reader. Do not forget to support your assumptions with examples and reasonable judgment.
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- Personal response
- Your personal response will show a deeper understanding of the text and by forming a personal meaning about the text you will get more out of it. Do not make the mistake of thinking that you only have to have a positive response to a text. If a writer is trying to convince you of something but fails to do so, in your opinion, your critical personal response can be very enlightening. The key word here is critical. Base any objections on the text and use evidence from the text. Personal response should be in evidence throughout the essay, not tacked on at the end.
- Conclusion (related to the analysis and the argument)
- Your conclusion should explain the relation between the analyzed text and the presented argument
4. The argumentative essay
This is the type of essay where you prove that your opinion, theory or hypothesis about an issue is correct or more truthful than those of others. In short, it is very similar to the persuasive essay (see above), but the difference is that you are arguing for your opinion as opposed to others, rather than directly trying to persuade someone to adopt your point of view.
What are its most important qualities?
- The argument should be focused
· The argument should be a clear statement. Question cannot be an argument
- It should be a topic that you can support with solid evidence
- The argumentative essay should be based on pros and cons (see below)
- Structure your approach well (see below)
- Use good transition words/phrases (see below)
- Be aware of your intended audience. How can you win them over?
- Research your topic so your evidence is convincing.
- Don’t overdo your language and don’t bore the reader. And don’t keep repeating your points!
- Remember the rules of the good paragraph. One single topic per paragraph, and natural progression from one to the next.
- End with a strong conclusion.
Tips for writing argumentative essays:
1) Make a list of the pros and cons in your plan before you start writing. Choose the most important that support your argument (the pros) and the most important to refute (the cons) and focus on them.
2) The argumentative essay has three approaches. Choose the one that you find most effective for your argument. Do you find it better to “sell” your argument first and then present the counter arguments and refute them? Or do you prefer to save the best for last?
- Approach 1:
Thesis statement (main argument):
Pro idea 1
Pro idea 2
Con(s) + Refutation(s): these are the opinions of others that you disagree with. You must clearly specify these opinions if you are to refute them convincingly.
Conclusion
- Approach 2:
Thesis statement:
Con(s) + Refutation(s)
Pro idea 1
Pro idea 2
Conclusion
- Approach 3
Thesis statement:
Con idea 1 and the your refutation
Con idea 2 and the your refutation
Con idea 3 and the your refutation
Conclusion
3) Use good transition words when moving between arguments and most importantly when moving from pros to cons and vice versa. For example:
- While I have shown that.... other may say
- Opponents of this idea claim / maintain that …
- Those who disagree claim that …
- While some people may disagree with this idea...
When you want to refute or counter the cons you may start with:
- However,
- Nonetheless,
- but
- On the other hand,
- This claim notwithstanding
If you want to mark your total disagreement:
- After seeing this evidence, it is impossible to agree with what they say
- Their argument is irrelevant
- Contrary to what they might think ...
These are just a few suggestions. You can, of course, come up with many good transitions of your own.
4) Use facts, statistics, quotes and examples to convince your readers of your argument.
The length of each section of a paper
As an essay gets longer, each part must get longer to balance. Your introduction and conclusion will always be the shortest parts, and should be similar in length. They will ALWAYS be shorter than the body of the paper. Every essay needs an intro, a body and a conclusion.
For a 1 page essay or to write an answer to a long essay test, make each section one paragraph.
1. Introduction with thesis statement, 1 paragraph
2. Body point A, 1 paragraph
3. Body point B, 1 paragraph
4. Body point C, 1 paragraph
5. Conclusion, 1 paragraph
For a 5 page essay:
1. Introduction, about 3/4 to 1 page
2. Body point A, about 1 page
3. Body point B, about 1 page
4. Body point C, about 1 page
5. Conclusion, about 3/4 to 1 page
For a 10 page paper:
1. Introduction, about 1 page or 1 and a 1/2 pages
2. Body point A, about 2 and a 1/2 pages
3. Body point B, about 2 and a 1/2 pages
4. Body point C, about 2 and a 1/2 pages
5. Conclusion, 1 page or 1 and a 1/2 pages
For a 15 page paper:
1. Introduction, about 1 and a 1/2 or 2 pages
2. Body point A, about 4 pages
3. Body point B, about 4 pages
4. Body point C, about 4 pages
5. Conclusion, about 1 and a 1/2 or 2 pages.
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