ESSAY WRITING Mrs. Shazia Zamir, DHA College Phase VIII

INTRODUCTION  A talent for essay-writing is essential to achieve high grades. Essay-writing skills are an essential component of being a successful student at all levels.  My belief is that the basic essay-writing skills are not that difficult to acquire. The reason why so many students fail to acquire these skills is that not enough attention has been paid to teaching them.  It is inevitable that schools, colleges and universities spend most of their time teaching the core subject-matter of a course, but hardly any time in advising students how to put their ideas down on paper in the form of an essay. Yet, these skills are neither obscure nor too complex for the average student.

PLANNING YOUR ESSAY  Why should you make a plan for your essays? Because it will pay off in the long run in terms of the relevance, organization and clarity of your essay. Essays must have a planned structure. This is important for you, the writer of the essay. If you have a clear structure in your own mind, then it will be easier for you to organize your content and present it in a way that will represent your knowledge of the topic in the best possible light. an essay consist of three main sections: 1. the opening paragraph 2. the development or body of the essay 3. the conclusion.

PLANNING YOUR ESSAY (Contin.)  All three sections have to be integral to the whole and be linked, but for the purpose of inculcating good practice, think in terms of essays with three parts to them. The body of the essay will be much the longer section of the three, but this main section must be preceded by an opening section and succeeded by a closing section.  How long should you spend on this planning? My advice is not longer than five to seven minutes if the time allotted to writing the essay is an hour or less.

THE OPENING PARAGRAPH  Your first paragraph is bound to make an impression on them and will affect their view of the overall essay. Therefore, it is very important that their first impression of your essay is favorable.  Avoiding ‘WAFFLE’: It is when a student attempts to hide that they have nothing much to say about a subject by making generalized, empty statements that could apply to a whole range of topics, but which manage to say nothing relevant in answer to the question. examiners will detect it immediately. So avoid waffle at all costs.  Focus on the topic from the first sentence on, be specific in relating to the key areas of the topic and map out the ground you intend to cover in the body of your essay.

THE BODY OF THE ESSAY  This is the section of the essay where you will earn the bulk of your marks.  Paragraphs: An appropriate use of paragraphs is an essential part of writing coherent and well-structured essays. Paragraphs are the means by which you order the material so that your reader can make sense of it and follow the flow of ideas as you present them. Don’t try to pack everything essential you have to say into one paragraph. You should aim to make one key point per paragraph and then elaborate on it.  Continuity: Your essay must have the appearance of a continuous, coherent and integrated whole with each section dovetailing in with the previous section. Linking words and phrases will, at the very least, help to create the impression of order and organization like Another essential feature of, To counter this argument, Secondly, etc.  The use of close references: In writing essays on literature, it is essential you back up the assertions you make in analyzing a literary text by using appropriate close references.

THE CLOSING PARAGRAPH  The paragraph that ends your essay will definitely be an important factor in how it is assessed.  The function of the closing paragraph is to round off the essay appropriately.  Find a fresh and concise way of reemphasizing the conclusion. Be specific and detailed, however. Just as you have to avoid waffle in your opening paragraph, so must you avoid it in this concluding paragraph.  Appropriate words or phrases that can be used to signal this include Finally, … As I have argued, …As I have shown, … etc.  A neat, rounding-off sentence that leaves your reader with something to think about is sound practice in essay-writing.