by Naj.
Do you ever ask yourself how is it
that you don’t get more than C minus grades while other students get straight A’s?
Why are some students always writing the best essays while others are
always trying harder and harder for nothing? Are they just talented writers? Or
is there such thing as an “essay recipe” that they know of and you don’t? Well, the answer is somewhere in
between.
The sad truth is that some people are more skilled for writing tasks
–and, if you have read up to here, we may assume that’s not your case-. But you
can’t trust your writing skills only, since you can always learn new things and
improve at writing with lots of practice.
So, don’t freak out. You can also write a great essay. Maybe not the best of
the class, but truly your best essay. Do not expect them
to be magical, but with these tips, you may write much better.
It is important to understand one
thing about writing an essay an English essay question has no single ‘correct’
answer, unlike a maths or science question that requires you to used formulas
and equations. What am I trying to say? Well, in an English essay there is no
one ‘answer’ and nothing to ‘prove’. All there can be – and this is what your answer
wants – is an informed, explained and well-supported argument for your viewpoint.
It requires you to argue your case!
Still not getting it? Look at it
this way: in a daily life case, someone asks you a general question. You have
so many possibilities, opinions and viewpoint and what comes with it are the various
reasons as to why you come to that conclusion. With your points, you are
convincing them that your opinion(s) or answer(s) is/are right. They won’t be
able to rebuke – after all your answers are correct. However, it goes
without saying that if your answer(s) doesn’t connect with that is being asked,
it’s clear that they won’t get what you are talking about. Nothing frustrates
anybody more when you don’t answer their questions at all.
Wait! Didn’t I say that an essay
doesn’t have one ‘answer’? Answering the question and just simply answering are
two different things. For example, you were asked whether Global Warming actually
bring benefit to some areas; you write what Global Warming is, how it happened
and why it happened it the first place. True, you are answering about Global
Warming but is that all the question is asking of you? Nope. It is asking whether
or not it can bring benefit to some areas. This is just you simply answering.
Answering the question means giving your opinion focused solely on the question
whereas just giving a generalization on what Global Warming is.
Get it now? Argumentation applies on
how to write your essay, except on papers and the person who’s asking is on the
other half of the planet.
There are other much more basic
things to look up on if you’re looking for a way to improve your essay: organization
(after all, how are you going to convince someone if what you are trying to say
is jumbled, unclear, confusing and spontaneous?), facts display, proper
quoting, the required word count and, of course, good grammar and spelling. But
the essay style is also important. For example, vary your sentence extension:
the best written essays alternate between long sentences and short sentences,
and that makes them easier to read. Improving your essay style also means using
plenty of synonyms to avoid annoying repetitions. You may also consider very
carefully the choice of the essay register: keep in mind there should be a
formal distance between you and the potential reader. So you may write the best
essay by turning phrases like “I guess” by others a bit more formal, such as
“Based on my experience”.
Always remember that writing an
essay is an activity that involves a lot of techniques used for getting the
reader’s full attention, from the essay’s title to the very last word. The best
essays are always easily readable, since they apply to the
reader’s interests and motivate their curiosity by displaying little bits of
information at the time. Good essays combine facts and examples, and show the
writer’s own thoughts as well as an opposite point of view some readers may
have. Even if the only reader is going to be your teacher when correcting it.
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