Essay Writing: Developing Academic Writing Skills in English pdf

 Modify the outline so that it indicates thesis statement, topic sentences and supporting points 6.. Make a general statement about your topic Narrow down the topic to lead towards your

in the second module of studies at the

Institut für Anglistik und Amerikanistik

Universität Hamburg

Von-Melle-Park 6

20146 Hamburg Germany

©1999 Catherine Schwerin Catherine.Schwerin@uni-hamburg.de Second revision © October 2007

Contents

Contents 1

Essay Checklists 1

Sample Essays 1

Before you begin 2

Parts of an Essay 5

Introductions 6

Body 6

Conclusions 7

Organising Principle 7

Developing a Paragraph 9

TV Step 1: Preparing 13

TV Step 2: Brainstorming 14

TV Step 3: Organising and Adapting 15

TV Step 4: Final Plan 16

Media Violence Step 1: Preparing 21

Media Violence Step 2: Brainstorming 22

Media Violence Step 3: Organising and Adapting 24

Media Violence Step 4: Final Plan 26

Essay Checklists Checklist: Procedure 3

Standard Essay Outline 8

Readership, content and style 18

Some Useful Links 32

Sample Essays Sample essay on Paragraphs 11

Sample Essay on Paragraphs: examination of structure 12

Simple Essay: The Importance of Television 19

Complex Essay: Violence in the Media 29

Essay Writing Before you begin

Essays are instruments of communication Your essay should be a structured treatment

of a particular topic, presented in a standard form and in a readable, fluent and logical

manner Your essay is a tool that communicates your ideas (though of course you may be talking about other people’s ideas or even quoting them) and should reflect your

interest in the topic Being able to write essays is an essential skill in your studies and forms the basis of all academic writing However, to make the most of your essay, there are some things to remember:

Check, check, and check again! Develop the text in stages of writing,

revising and rewriting This ensures that the final version of the text flows logically and communicatively towards its conclusion and that unintentional

hiccups and breaks in style do not occur

Write from the perspective of the reader In this manner, aspects of

register and style remain more consistent

Plan well and be clear about your topic Lay the thought basis of the

completed text in the introduction, develop the ideas in the body and tie these ideas together in the conclusion

Later you may be writing texts other than essays, so you will also have to pay attention to additional features Research papers, for example,

characteristically have headings, deal with many aspects of a particular theme in some detail, and will use references, frequently in the form of footnotes or endnotes, to relate the contents to the academic context in which the knowledge has evolved For this sort of writing you will also need to consult a style manual such as the MLA Style Manual to help you

Let's begin now by looking at a checklist of the general procedure for planning and writing an essay Then we will examine the different parts of an essay before turning to look at how to write one in more detail

Checklist: Procedure

Taking a systematic approach to essay writing ensures that you thoroughly develop the necessary skills for a meaningful and well-balanced piece of writing Practise following the steps outlined here Examples will be provided in the following sections

1 Preparing:

 What is the general subject?

 What is the specific purpose of the essay?

 Formulate a preliminary thesis statement if possible at this stage

3 Organising and adapting:

 Choose the elements relevant to the specific purpose of your essay and arrange them in thematic groups and these in turn in logical steps

Discard those ideas which do not relate to your purpose

 Adapt the subject to your own sphere of interest and knowledge

4 Gather material:

 Information on your subject

 Quotes, examples that illustrate certain points, references

5 Make a logical outline:

 Plan the structure of your essay, keeping in mind the main purpose It may help to refer to the essay outline template provided in the following pages Your outline will serve as a kind of check-list to consult while you are writing

 Note the sub-elements under each particular section heading

 Modify the outline so that it indicates thesis statement, topic sentences and supporting points

6 Check outline

 Check topic sentences against thesis statement

 Check supporting points against topic sentences

7 Write according to your outline:

 At this stage you are more or less "padding out" your outline You expand each section heading, fill in the details, provide examples or descriptions, connect the ideas logically

 Who are your readers? This will influence your choice of style and your approach

8 Check 1st draft:

 Check against outline to ensure you have covered all points

 Check grammar and spelling

 Check logic (within the sentence, between the sentences, in relation to the topic sentences, in relation to the thesis)

 Check flow (Do the ideas flow or jump around? Is it readable? Is it easy

to follow?)

 Is the style and the approach appropriate for your target group?

9 Revise draft:

 And check again!

10 Write the final version

Parts of an Essay Essentially an essay consists of three major parts:

the introduction

the main body

the conclusion

Each of these parts has a function

The introduction is intended to lead the reader into the topic and clarify what the essay will specifically deal with It usually consists of one paragraph, but this depends on the length of the essay and the amount of background information the context requires The introduction will contain a key sentence (or, if

necessary, more than one) that represents the thread running through the whole essay This sentence is called the thesis statement

The main body deals with the major ideas that support the thesis statement Each main idea is presented in a separate paragraph (“one notion, one paragraph”) and developed with supporting ideas in the form of explanations, definitions, or similar, and illustrated with examples where appropriate or necessary

The conclusion brings the reader back to the purpose of the essay and draws all the points together before making a final comment on the result of the

discussion/argument Often this final comment will point towards some

consequence the discussion may have for the future or make some observation about what the discussion has revealed on a general level

Ultimately an essay will show a progression from a general level (in the introduction) down to the specific (thesis statement and body) and back up to the general level again (conclusion) The reader will be expecting this so it gives your essay a sense of

completion

Introductions

The introduction lays the basis for the whole of the rest of the essay It should tell the reader about the topic and how the topic will be dealt with However, an abrupt statement of the topic and the controlling idea makes the readers feel uncomfortable and does not give them time to warm up to the topic Therefore it is best to lead in to the topic by making a general statement about it, then narrowing the topic down before dealing with the issue itself

Note: Unlike the German “Aufsatz”, the English essay requires that you take a

standpoint at the beginning of the essay so that the reader knows what he is to expect English essays are "reader friendly" and guide the readership through the

argumentation Do not leave the reader guessing about your opinion until the conclusion This gives the English-speaking reader the feeling that you weren’t sure about your own opinion and that the essay was not sufficiently planned This means your thesis

statement must clearly show your position on the topic

Make a general statement about your topic

Narrow down the topic to lead towards your theme

State the issue/question you are dealing with

State your thesis/ controlling idea for the whole essay

Body

The body of the essay will contain several paragraphs, each dealing with one major idea that supports the thesis statement The major idea for the paragraph is given in a topic sentence and all the other sentences in the paragraph are linked to this idea in some form or another The paragraphs should also contain a transition between the ideas, i.e moving from the introduction to the first topic sentence and between the body

paragraphs This can be done in sentences or with individual words such as discourse markers (“linking words”)

Topic sentence

Supporting ideas

Examples

Conclusions

In the conclusion you are drawing your ideas and observations together to make your final point Do not be afraid if it seems like you are repeating your ideas It is part of the task to remind the reader of your aims and your main discussion points This

clarifies your purpose However, do not just repeat word-for-word what you have said before Contextualise what you are saying

Remind the reader of your topic and intention

Show the reader how the discussion has underlined this aim (in a way you are summarising the topic sentences of the developmental paragraphs here)

State your perspective as a result of the discussion

Sum up the whole concept, e.g by stating what this may mean for the future

Organising Principle

You can use the standard outline on the following page as a framework when preparing for most kinds of essays It may have to be varied according to the organising principle and the aim involved, but serves as a solid basis

The organising principle is the logic according to which you put together your ideas Your choice of organising principle will depend on the effect you want to achieve and the expectations of your readership For instance:

Organising principle Possible effect

Least important to most

important point Climb in tension to “climax”; dramatic

Most to least important The readers are confronted with the

most convincing point at the outset;

memorable Chronological Narrative effect; familiar structure,

easy to follow and remember Reverse chronological Depending on focus, can highlight an

issue of change; contemplative

Standard Essay Outline

You can use the following as a checklist Remember: while you are writing always

consider your readership and your aims In the body you will need to have a clear

organising principle

Introduction

1 Introduce general topic

2 Narrow down topic

3 Restate question

4 State thesis (controlling idea)

 There are, of course other ways of approaching the lead-in to the issues in the essay For instance, you could start by introducing the opposite viewpoint (e.g Many people believe that television is beneficial) and arrive at your standpoint by pointing out that you do not agree with the other view and indicate why (However, the harmful effects of television far outweigh its benefits), which is then expanded in the essay

Body (consisting of several developmental paragraphs)

Each paragraph consists of:

1 Topic sentence (topic and controlling idea)

1 Restate thesis (topic focus and controlling idea of essay)

2 Synthesise the main ideas of the developmental paragraphs (restate topic

sentences)

3 State your opinion/ preference; give solution; make prediction

4 Final statement (summing thought) This rounds off the essay and brings it back

to a general level

Developing a Paragraph

Your essay will consist of a series of paragraphs Each paragraph is made up of a set of related sentences all connected with a single idea and (apart from the introduction and conclusion, because their purpose is slightly different) is constructed according to similar principles In order to effectively convey your ideas, each paragraph should contain certain features It should have a topic sentence, follow a single idea, be

appropriately developed, and be cogent In addition, there is a formal feature to

consider: paragraphs in printed publications or in handwritten texts generally have an indented first line to clearly indicate where it begins (thus clearly identifying it as a unit) In some forms of writing, for example business letters, paragraphs are indicated

by leaving a line before and after The preferred form for academic writing is

indentation In any case, this formal feature helps the reader identify and process the ideas

1 The topic sentence:

A topic sentence indicates what idea or argument the paragraph is going to deal with For academic writing it is most effective if the topic sentence is the first sentence of the paragraph because it makes it easier for the reader to follow the argumentation without having to do additional processing If you are not yet used to writing in English

or are in general an inexperienced writer, it is better for you to place your topic

sentence at the beginning of the paragraph

2 One paragraph, one notion:

Your paragraph should focus on the idea set out in the topic sentence You should not introduce other ideas or go off on a tangent If you have finished an idea, you begin a new paragraph If your discussion of one idea is going to be lengthy, subdivide your paragraph into two or more sub-notions and link them with new topic sentences / linking sentences

3 Sufficient development

The idea you introduce with your topic sentence should be sufficiently “fleshed out” to get across your idea properly The way you do this in each paragraph may vary,

depending on what you aim to achieve, for instance you might use examples, give

definitions, provide data, refer to other authors or quote them, outline causes and effects, compare and contrast, summarise or explain

4 Cogency:

This refers to clarity of thought and argumentation It is the result of writing

coherently and cohesively It makes the paragraph fluent, logical, and easily

understandable This means putting the ideas in a logical order and using strategies of linking them up You can do this using:

logical bridges:

• The same idea of a topic is carried over from sentence to sentence

• An idea is built on from one sentence to the next

grammatical structures:

• Successive sentences can be constructed in parallel form

• Successive sentences can be constructed inversely

linguistic bridges:

• Repetition of key words over several sentences

• Use of synonyms throughout the paragraph

• Pronouns and deictic terms to refer back (or forward) to nouns or whole ideas in other sentences

• Lexical phrases and conjunctions can be used to link ideas from different

sentences or indicate attitude

On the following pages you will see an example of an essay based on some of the

information you have been given so far - an essay about essays This is followed by an analysis of its structure Then I lead you through two essay-writing tasks, one on the importance of television and the other on violence in the media, which both conclude with sample essays

Sample essay on Paragraphs

An essay is an instrument of communication It is a structured treatment of a particular topic, presented in a standard form and in a readable, fluent and logical

manner To write a cogent and communicative essay, you must master the structure of

its building blocks, its paragraphs Paragraphs are expected to have certain

characteristics and the paragraphs in the different sections of an essay fulfil

particular functions to provide a well-rounded essay Firstly, the essay begins with an introduction, a paragraph which tells the reader what the essay is about and how the information will be presented Then, paragraphs which support and develop the idea presented in the introduction form the body of the essay, and finally, the concluding paragraph brings all these parts together again

The introductory paragraph lays the basis for the whole of the rest of the essay It should tell the reader about the topic and how the topic will be dealt with However, an abrupt statement of the topic and the controlling idea makes the readers feel uncomfortable and does not give them time to warm up to the topic Therefore, it

is best to lead into the topic by making a general statement about it, then narrowing the topic down before dealing with the issue itself The key element in the introduction is the thesis statement, which provides the focus for the rest of the essay and is usually found at the end of the introduction

The introduction is followed by the developmental paragraphs, each of which deals with one major idea that supports the thesis statement The major idea for the paragraph is given in a topic sentence, which, in an academic essay, is usually at the beginning of the paragraph This topic sentence states the topic (i.e who or what) and indicates the controlling idea (i.e how, when, where, why, etc.) All the other sentences

in the paragraph are linked to this idea in some form or another Since all the

paragraphs (specifically, the topic sentences) in an essay should support the thesis presented in the introduction, you can say that the structure of a paragraph is a mini reflection of the structure of the essay

Finally, in the concluding paragraph, you draw your ideas and observations

together You remind your reader of your aims and your main supporting arguments, synthesising them (not repeating them verbatim) to make your final point What seems obvious to you may no longer be obvious to the reader, so it is part of the task to

clarify your overall purpose here and arrive at a final conclusion

Thus, although all the paragraphs in an essay will essentially follow the “one notion, one paragraph” principle, they will vary in character according to the function they serve, i.e whether they are introductory, developmental or concluding paragraphs They will also share the character of linking the ideas within and between them And when the paragraphs fulfil the requirement of supporting the thesis as they should, you will find you have a readable, clear and well-rounded essay

Sample Essay on Paragraphs: examination of structure Introductory paragraph:

paragraphs Paragraphs are expected to have certain characteristics and the paragraphs in the different sections of an essay fulfil particular functions to provide a well-rounded essay Firstly, the essay begins with an introduction, a paragraph which tells the reader what the essay is about and how the information will be presented Then,

paragraphs which support and develop the idea presented in the introduction form the body of the essay, and finally, the concluding paragraph brings all these parts together again

The introduction is followed by the developmental paragraphs,

each of which deals with one major idea that supports the thesis statement The major idea for the paragraph is given in a topic sentence,

which, in an academic essay, is usually at the beginning of the paragraph This topic sentence states the topic (i.e who or what) and indicates the controlling idea (i.e how, when, where, why, etc.) All the other sentences

in the paragraph are linked to this idea in some form or another Since all the paragraphs (specifically, the topic sentences) in an essay should support the thesis presented in the introduction, you can say that

Parallel as example

the structure of a paragraph is a mini reflection of the structure of the essay

Finally, in the concluding paragraph, you draw your ideas and

observations together You remind your reader of your aims and your

main supporting arguments, synthesising them (not repeating them verbatim) to make your final point What seems obvious to you may no longer be obvious to the reader, so it is part of the task to clarify your overall purpose here and arrive at a final conclusion

Thus, although all the paragraphs in an essay will essentially

follow the “one notion, one paragraph” principle, they will vary in

character according to the function they serve, i.e whether they are introductory, developmental or concluding paragraphs They will

also share the character of linking the ideas within and between them.Bringing reader back

up to general level of

the topic and context

concluding remark

And when the paragraphs fulfil the requirement of supporting the thesis

as they should, you will find you have a readable, clear and well-rounded essay

TV Step 1: Preparing Deciding on your thesis and approach Simple example: We can’t live without television

Very often the topic you will be writing on is already set, in which case the approach is relatively clear However, sometimes you most respond to a question or a statement This means you have to examine the question or statement carefully

What are the key words?

What is the general topic area?

What issue/problem is it focusing on?

Is it formulated in a provocative way? Will I have to relativise it or put it into perspective?

What is my view of the topic? Do I agree or disagree with the view

presented? To what extent?

For the sake of simplicity, let us imagine you have been asked to write in response to the statement:

We can’t live without television

The key words are “television” and “we” and “can’t live without it” “Television” is the general topic “We” suggests it is a social phenomenon And “can’t live without it”

suggests a dependency The last phrase is emotive and perhaps too categoric What are

we really talking about? Perhaps whether television is really important in our lives What

do you think? Is television important? Is it beneficial? Or is it rather a problem?

If you are not sure yet what you would like to focus on, it would be best to brainstorm the topic and then decide Brainstorming is a strategy that you can use during most steps of your writing, especially if you find your ideas running low

If you already have an idea of where you stand, you can loosely formulate a preliminary thesis statement, which will be your guiding thought throughout the essay This need not be your final thesis statement but it clarifies what you intend to show in your essay This is important so that you maintain a consistent line in your discussion and because it needs to be made clear in the introduction what you intend to do in your essay Once you have formulated an initial thesis statement, your next step will be focused on

brainstorming the aspects of this

We will proceed as if you were not entirely sure of your view

TV Step 2: Brainstorming Collecting ideas and formulating / refining a thesis Simple example: We can’t live without television

If you are not sure yet what you would like to focus on, it is best to brainstorm the topic to get some ideas and then decide Brainstorming is a strategy that you can use during most steps of your writing, especially if you find your ideas running low

When you brainstorm an idea, you collect ALL the ideas you can think of which relate to the topic, directly or indirectly Let the ideas flow as rapidly and spontaneously as possible, and do not worry about the order or the value of the ideas Our example will remain with the subject of television:

News Documentaries Sports

Violence Colour

Advertisements Up-to-date Technology Sound Picture

There are two main groupings we can identify: types of programmes (sports, news, films ) and what TV can offer (entertainment, education ) A focus you could choose based on the latter grouping would be:

How big a role television plays in our daily lives

Now it is time to formulate a preliminary thesis statement, that is, a statement

outlining what you want to show in your essay This statement clarifies what you intend

to show in your essay For this topic your preliminary thesis statement could be

something like the following:

Television is important for our society today

Once you have settled on your focus, you can use the ideas you have already collected,

or brainstorm further with the focus in mind The next step is to sort out and select the ideas you will be using

TV Step 3: Organising and Adapting

Selecting and Organising the relevant ideas Simple example: We can’t live without television Now organise and select the ideas you will use for the essay

• Which ideas can you leave out?

• Which ideas belong together?

• Can you organise them under one heading?

• Is there more than one way to group the ideas?

In order to avoid rewriting at this point, you can use symbols or highlighter to group the ideas:

School programmes

News Documentaries Sports

Violence Colour Vivid images

Advertisements Up-to-date Technology Sound Picture Realism

The symbols stand for the following ideas:

What TV offers

Types of programmes

Method

Character of content

Ideas I think I don’t need

Now you can decide on the structure your essay will take