How to Write An Essay (I)

 Profª. Drª. Bárbara de Fátima.

 
Establish Your Topic

1.      Your teacher may assign you a topic or ask you to choose from among a few topics. The assignment may contain certain key words that will suggest the content and structure of your essay. For example, you may be asked to:

          1.1  Analyze

                1.2 Argue

                1.3 Compare and contrast

                1.4 Describe

                1.5 Discuss

                1.6 Summarize

2. You may be asked to find a topic on your own. Most people find this difficult. Give yourself plenty of time to think about what you'd like to do. Trying to answer questions you have about a particular subject may lead you to a good paper idea.

1.  What subject(s) are you interested in?

2.  What interests you most about a particular subject?

3.  Is there anything you wonder about or are puzzled about with regard to that subject?

4. Be sure your topic is narrow enough so that you can write about it in detail in the number of pages that you are allowed. For example, say you are asked to write a 1-page essay about someone in your family. Since you only have a limited number of pages, you may want to focus on one particular characteristic of that person, or one particular incident from that person's life, rather than trying to write about that person's entire life. Having a narrow focus will help you write a more interesting paper.

Too general: My sister.

Revised: My sister is my best friend.

Similarly, you may be asked to write a 5-page paper about volcanoes. Again, since you only have a limited number of pages, you may choose to focus on one particular volcano or one particular eruption, rather than trying to talk about volcanoes in general.

Too general: Volcanoes of the world.

Revised: The eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in June 1991.

4. One method for narrowing down your topic is called brainstorming. Brainstorming is a useful way to let ideas you didn't know you had come to the surface.

4.1 Sit down with a pencil and paper, or at your computer, and write whatever comes into your head about your topic, no matter how confused or disorganized.

4.2  Keep writing for a short but specific amount of time, say 3–5 minutes. Don't stop to change what you've written or to correct spelling or grammar errors.

4.3 After a few minutes, read through what you have written. You will probably throw out most of it, but some of what you've written may give you an idea you can develop.

4.4  Do some more brainstorming and see what else you can come up with.

Organize Your Ideas

1. Develop an outline to organize your ideas. An outline shows your main ideas and the order in which you are going to write about them.
1.1 Write down all the main ideas.

1.2 List the subordinate ideas below the main ideas.
1.3 Avoid any repetition of ideas.

Develop an outline to organize your ideas. An outline shows your main ideas and the order in which you are going to write about them.

Sample Essay Outline

Competitive Swimming, an Ideal Sport for Kids

1.      Introduction

2.      Competitive swimming provides same benefits as other sports

2.1  It is good exercise and builds muscular strength

2.2  It promotes cooperation among team members, especially in relays

3. Competitive swimming provides some additional benefits
4. Swimming is an important skill that can be used forever

4.1  There is a reduced risk of injury

4.2  Each swimmer can easily chart his or her own progress

5. My personal experience as a competitive swimmer

           5.1  I enjoy working with my coach

  5.2  I've made a lot of friends on the swim team

    6.    Conclusion

Sample Research Paper Outline

The Conquest of Mt. Everest

I- Introduction

II- Background Information

A- Location of Mt. Everest
B- Geography of the Surrounding Area
C- Facts about Mt. Everest
1. Height of the mountain
2. How the mountain was named
2.1 Peak XV
2.2 Joloungma (Tibetan name)
2.3 Sagarmatha (Nepalese name)
3. The number of people who have climbed Everest to date

III- Major Explorers Covered in this Paper

A- Sir Edmund Hillary
1. First to reach the summit (1953)
2. Led a team of experienced mountain climbers who worked together
B- Tenzing Norgay and the Sherpas
1. Norgay was an experienced climber and guide who accompanied Hillary
2. Sherpas still used to guide expeditions
C- Rob Hall
1. Leader of the failed 1996 expedition
2. Led group of (mainly) tourists with little mountain climbing experience

IV- The Impact Expeditions have had on Mt. Everest and Local Community

A- Ecological Effects
1. Loss of trees due to high demand for wood for cooking and heating for tourists.
2. Piles of trash left by climbing expeditions
B- Economic Effects
1. Expedition fees provide income for the country
2. Expeditions provide work for the Sherpas, contributing to the local economy.
C- Cultural Effects
1. Introduction of motor vehicles
2. Introduction of electricity

V- Conclusion