Dark Library Archives

Qadira

Essay Writing Tips

Due to the fact that many people at FA have little or no experience with writing essays, I felt it to be a good time to post this. These guidelines are older MLA format (U.S.) and therefore may not be acceptable to your teachers or professors in school. When in Rome do as the Romans goes the saying. However, they will help you to write an intelligible essay for training purposes at FA.

********

First off you need a topic. This will not be difficult in our forum since most things will be directed assignments.

Secondly you need a thesis. This is a one-sentence declaration of what you intend to show in your essay.

Also, decide on the tone you will use. Playful? Serious? Speculative? Confident? etc.

example. (from _Writing. A College Handbook._) Topic: disposing of nuclear waste Thesis: To solve the problem of what to do with nuclear waste, the government should turn it into souvenir gift items and sell them to the American public. Tone: mocking, irreverent, ironical

Now that you are this far, some organizing needs to occur.

List and arrange your points.

List all the points you have; just jot them down in any old order. Then mark the ones you feel to be most important.

Next arrange them. This can be chronological (following the order of events in time), Spatial (following the order of events in space, ie. describing a house as you would see it by approaching from the street and walking through it), Cause and Effect Order (explaining one point as the reason for another), Climactic Order (arranging points in order of importance, from least important to most important), Oppositional Order (opposes one point to another, often used in persuasive essays by presenting one point and then showing what is wrong with it).

Now you can proceed to make an outline. There are two ways to do this, the most common one taught is the Vertical List. We'll begin with that one.

example (from _Writing. A College Handbook._)

Thesis: Though many things make me want to score goals, I love scoring most of all because it momentarily gives me a sense of power.

• I. Common reasons for wanting to score goals
A. Help team
B. Gain glory
C. Hear cheers of crowd
• II. My reasons for wanting to score goals
A. Feel relaxed
• 1. Know I'm going to score a goal
• 2. Move smoothly, not awkwardly
• 3. Get relief from pressure to do well
B. See world in freeze-frame
• 1. See puck going into goal
• 2. See other players and crowd
C. Feel momentary sense of power
• 1. Do better than goalie
• 2. Take ultimate mind trip
• 3. Return to earth after a moment

This outline groups items in order of rising importance, and under headings that show their relation to each other and the thesis.

The other method of making an outline is to do a Tree Diagram. Think Geneology here, with one item having several branches off of it. Decide which points are your key points and make them the heads of each set of branches. put their subpoints underneath them with little lines drawn from the main point to the sub point.

*********

Now you are ready to actually write your essay. Start from the beginning, and expand on your points. Think in paragraphs, that is, groups of sentences that flow together.

First, the Introduction. You want to use several sentences that lead up to, or point to your thesis. You can even start with a personal story that 'sets the stage' for your thesis.

Next, the Middle. Here is where you use your outline. You do not have to stick to it, but it helps keep your essay focused. Write a paragraph for each of the points you have listed. Work on connecting each one with the next, leading from one to the next, in order for your essay to flow smoothly from beginning to end.

Finally, the End. Here is where you sum things up. You need to make it another paragraph (ie several sentences). You can recall the major points throughout your essay, restate your thesis and how it is important in a broader sense, recommend specific action, answer a question that you posed in the Introduction, etc.

REMEMBER to use SPELL CHECK. If you are uncertain of how to proceed or have any questions on mechanics, etc., The Elements of Style is online, and should provide excellent answers.

***********

Lady Emma

Be mindful.

People everywhere enjoy believing things that they know are not true. It spares them the ordeal of thinking for themselves and taking responsibility for what they know. -Brooks Atkinson