WRITING AN ESSAY

1. General structure of an essay 2. The opening/introduction: some ideas 3. The body: structure and organization 3.1. Paragraph structure 3.2. Giving unity to the text: using connectors and referencing 4. The closing/conclusion 5. Steps and tips to write an essay

1. GENERAL STRUCTURE OF AN ESSAY An essay usually has three parts: The opening or introduction: a general presentation of the topic The body: two or three paragraphs in which you will develop what you expressed in the opening The closing or conclusion: a paragraph which summarises the main idea or presents a conclusion.

2. THE OPENING When you write the opening to an essay, you must try to catch the reader's attention. Here are some possibilities:

QUESTIONS Use one or more questions Then write a statement to develop in the different paragraphs of the body For example:

Read this introduction: Advantages of living in a city Are you tired of boring weekends in your village with nothing interesting to do? Would you like to break the monotony and have the opportunity to experience something new every now and then? Living in the city may be what you need.

PRONOUNS Begin with an unidentified pronoun to arouse the reader's curiosity. Then reveal what/who you are talking about in the last sentence of the opening. For example:

Advantages of living in a city It means an end to boring weekends. It can help you to break the monotony and experience something new every now and then. Living in the city may be the change you are looking for.

INTERESTING DATA Write a statement providing interesting,curious or unexpected information or data. For example:

Advantages of living in the city In the last thirty years, the aspect of our cities has changed drastically. Due to the growth in their population, thousands of new buildings have been built where there were empty spaces in the past. Then, what are the advantages of moving to the city?

3. The body: structure and organization Here you must develop all the ideas that you mentioned in the introduction. A paragraph develops only one idea. Different ideas go in different paragraphs

3.1.Paragraph structure A paragraph must have a TOPIC SENTENCE expressing the main idea. You can write other sentences which support the topic sentence: examples, reasons, arguments consequences, etc For example:

Read these ideas and decide which one is the TOPIC SENTENCE: Advantages of living in a city Cities are usually full of cinemas, restaurants, gyms,cafés, nightclubs, theatres, monuments, etc. People who live in the city have the opportunity to have fun in many different ways. If you are football lover, you will be able to see your team play in their stadium every now and then and even ask your favourite players for an autograph In villages, people tend to do the same things all the time

Try again:Which one is the topic sentence? If you want to see a film, you can choose from a wide range of them at different cinemas which are usually located inside interesting shopping malls. There are hundreds of restaurants from a lot of different parts of the world, so you can eat meals from China, Italy, Spain,India, Mexico,etc. You will never get bored in a city as you will be able to enjoy your favourite pastimes in a different place each time The existence of numerous parks helps citizens break the monotony of boring afternoons with their children at home(

3.2. Giving unity to the text: using connectors and referencing In order to make your text coherent, you must use connectors and use referencing devices, such as personal pronouns, demonstratives,etc. For example:

Advantages of living in a city People who live in the city have the opportunity to have fun in many different ways. Cities are usually full of cinemas, restaurants, gyms,cafés, nightclubs, theatres, monuments, etc. In addition, if you are football lover, you will be able to see your team play in their stadium every now and then and even ask your favourite players for an autograph. In contrast, in villages, people tend to do the same things all the time.

You will never get bored in a city as you will be able to enjoy your favourite pastimes in a different place each time. For exampe, if you want to see a film, you can choose from a wide range of them at different cinemas which are usually located inside interesting shopping malls. Besides,there are hundreds of restaurants from a lot of different parts of the world, so you can eat meals from China, Italy, Spain,India, Mexico,etc. Finally,The existence of numerous parks helps citizens break the monotony of boring afternoons with their children at home

4. The closing/conclusion This paragraph closes the essay. It can be a summary or opinion It must be short and clear It MUSTN'T introduce new ideas but reflect what you said in the body

Advantages of living in the city Are you tired of boring weekends in your village with nothing interesting to do? Would you like to break the monotony and have the opportunity to experience something new every now and then? Living in the city may be what you need People who live in the city have the opportunity to have fun in many different ways. Cities are usually full of cinemas, restaurants, gyms,cafés, nightclubs, theatres, monuments, etc. In addition, if you are football lover, you will be able to see your team play in their stadium every now and then and even ask your favourite players for an autograph. In contrast, in villages, people tend to do the same things all the time You will never get bored in a city as you will be able to enjoy your favourite pastimes in a different place each time. For example, if you want to see a film, you can choose from a wide range of them at different cinemas which are usually located inside interesting shopping malls. Besides,there are hundreds of restaurants from a lot of different parts of the world, so you can eat meals from China, Italy, Spain,India, Mexico,etc. Finally,The existence of numerous parks helps citizens break the monotony of boring afternoons with their children at home To sum up, if you decide to live in the city, you will not get bored easily as you will find a good deal of activities which you will be able to do at a different place whenever you like.Then, what are you waiting for? Move to the city!

5. Steps and tips to write an essay 1. Before writing, brainstorm ideas 2. Decide which ideas are topic sentences and which ones are supporting sentences 3. Discard irrelevant ideas

4. Think of connectors to join your ideas. 5. Use synonyms, antonyms, or similar expressions to avoid repetion of words 6. Use referencing devices (pronouns, demonstratives, etc)

7. Write your introduction and conclusion only AFTER you know the ideas which will go in the body

8. Think of grammar rules and revise your work before handing it to your teacher That's it! You can be a great writer!!