Language

In this step the content of your essay should be solid. If the idea itself needs discarding, you should not be tweaking the language; it would be a waste of time working on transitions if the organization and structure of your essay were in need of repair. Hence editing the language of your essay comes last. Here you are putting polish on a shoe that has already been sewn.

Editing the language can be tedious, but it is essential. You have got to proofread your essays many times to catch all the rough spots and language errors. As you proofread you will be checking for misspellings, poor mechanics, bad grammar, awkward word flow and numerous other linguistic details that you can improve. Proofreading the language may take hours as you attempt to polish your language to the point that it is pleasing to read and has literary style.

Give Your Eyes Rest

The more you read your essay, the more blind you become to it. Soon you stop reading the words on the page and only begin reading what's in your mind, which you falsely transpose onto the page. The actual letters could be Hebrew, or Greek, for all it matters at that point.

Do not keep reading hour after hour until your mind registers the entire text at a glance, without seeing the details. What you must do is rest your eyes; take a break. Give yourself a day or two between revisions. (This is why you should not procrastinate your assignments.) When you come back to your essay with fresh eyes and a renewed perspective, you will see with added clarity all the rough phrasings and strange ideas that your eyes once glided over.

Do not plagiarize

Your work must be your own, and that includes the language and style, not just content. Knowing that the work is your own, and that it represents your highest level of performance, you will feel a sense of achievement and personal growth that perhaps you have not experienced before. Each essay should seem to you that it is your best work to date. Only when you feel this way is the paper done.

Paragraphs

Choose a singular focus

Each paragraph should have a clear, singular focus to it. If there is an overriding error students make in writing essays, it is shifting topics within the same paragraph, rather than continuing to develop the same idea they began with. A paragraph is a discrete unit of thought that expands one specific idea, not three or four. If you find yourself shifting gears to start a new topic, begin a new paragraph instead.

Someone once compared the beginning of a new paragraph to the changing angle of a wall. When the angle of the wall changes, a new wall begins. Let your paragraphs be like that wall: running straight along a certain angle, and beginning anew when the angle changes.

Begin with a topic sentence

Nothing will help you keep a tighter focus on your paragraphs than topic sentences. A topic sentence is generally the first sentence of the paragraph, and it describes the claim or point of the paragraph, thus orienting the reader to the purpose of the paragraph. When you use topic sentences, your reader will invariably find it easier to follow your thoughts and argument. As an example, look at the first sentences of each paragraph on this page. The entire paragraph is focused around the stated topic sentence.

Develop the idea

Invariably students shift topics and lose focus within their paragraphs because they do not know how to adequately develop their ideas. They usually know the paragraph needs to be longer, but they do not know how to expand their idea to fill that length. To develop your ideas, you can:

• illustrate your idea with examples
• give an authoritative quotation
• anticipate and respond to counterarguments
• back your ideas with more evidence
• offer another perspective to the idea
• brainstorm more insights about the idea
• elaborate on causes/effects, definitions, comparison/contrasts

 

 

Outline

Can you imagine a construction manager working on a skyscraper without a set of blueprints? No way! Similarly, writers construct essays using sets of blueprints or outlines to guide them in the writing process. Of course writers do not have to use outlines, but the effect is about the same as a construction worker who builds without blueprints. 

Drawing up an outline allows you to think before you write. What use is there in writing the entire paper only to realize that, had you done a little more planning beforehand, you would have organized your essay in an entirely different way? What if you realize later, after free-writing the essay, that you should have omitted some paragraphs, restructured the progression of your logic, and used more examples and other evidence? 

You can go back and try to insert major revisions into the essay, but the effect may be like trying to add a thicker foundation to a building already constructed. The outline allows you to think beforehand what you are going to write so that when you do write it, if you have done your planning right, you will not have to do as much rewriting. (You will still, of course, need to revise.)

Make your points brief

When you construct your outline, keep it brief. The titles, headings, and points in your outline should be about one line each. Remember that you are only drawing an outline of the forest, not detailing each of the trees. Keep each line under a dozen words. If you cannot compress your point into a one-liner, you probably do not have a clear grasp of what you are trying to say. 

When you describe the point of each paragraph, phrase the point in a mini-claim. If the point of a paragraph is that soft drugs should be legal because they are relatively harmless, do not just write "soft drugs" as the point of the paragraph in your outline -- it is too brief and vague. Instead, write "drugs should be legal b/c soft drugs are harmless." This description is still brief, as it should be (one line or less), but it makes a claim that gives it purpose in the outline.

Choose an appropriate arrangement

Drawing up an outline allows you to see at a glance how each of the paragraphs fits into the larger picture. When looking at your paragraphs from this perspective, you can easily shift around the order to see how a reorganization might be better. Remember that each paragraph in the essay should support the position or argument of your paper.

As you are shifting paragraphs around, you will probably begin to wonder what the best arrangement really is. In general, put what you want the reader to remember either first or last, not in the middle. Studies in rhetoric have shown the readers remember least what is presented in the middle of an essay. Hence, the middle is where you should probably put your weaker arguments and counterarguments. 

Some writers urge a climactic arrangement, one that works up to your strongest point, which is delivered as a kind of grand finale. Another successful arrangement is the inductive argument, in which you build up the evidence first, and then draw conclusions. A problem-solution format involves presenting the problem first and then outlining the solution — this works well for some topics because it is a soft version of the scientific method. Whatever your choice, choose an arrangement that presents a clear, logical argument. 

Research

Assuming you have been given a topic, or have narrowed it sufficiently down, your first task is to research this topic. You will not be able to write intelligently about a topic you know nothing about. To discover worthwhile insights, you will have to do some patient reading.

Read light sources, then thorough

When you conduct research, move from light to thorough resources to make sure you are moving in the right direction. Begin by doing searches on the Internet about your topic to familiarize yourself with the basic issues; then move to more thorough research on the Academic Databases; finally, probe the depths of the issue by burying yourself in the library. Make sure that despite beginning on the Internet, you do not simply end there. A research paper using only Internet sources is a weak paper, and puts you at a disadvantage for not utilizing better information from more academic sources.

Take a little from a lot

You will need to read widely in order to gather sources on your topic. As you integrate research, take a little from a lot -- that is, quote briefly from a wide variety of sources. This is the best advice there is about researching. Too many quotations from one source, however reliable the source, will make your essay seem unoriginal and borrowed. Too few sources and you may come off sounding inexperienced. When you have a lot of small quotations from numerous sources, you will seem -- if not be -- well-read, knowledgeable, and credible as you write about your topic.

Writing An Essay

1 Research: Begin the essay writing process by researching your topic, making yourself an expert. Utilize the Internet, the academic databases, and the library. Take notes and immerse yourself in the words of great thinkers.

2 Analysis: Now that you have a good knowledge base, start analyzing the arguments of the essays you are reading. Clearly define the claims, write out the reasons and the evidence. Look for weaknesses and strengths of logic. Learning how to write an essay begins by learning how to analyze essays written by others.

3 Brainstorming: Your essay will require insight of your own, genuine essay-writing brilliance. Ask yourself a dozen questions and answer them. Meditate with a pen in your hand. Take walks and think and think until you come up with original insights to write about.

4 Thesis: Pick your best idea and pin it down in a clear assertion that you can write your entire essay around. Your thesis is your main point, summed up in a concise sentence that lets the reader know where you are going, and why. It is practically impossible to write a good essay without a clear thesis.

5 Outline: Sketch out your essay before straightway writing it out. Use one-line sentences to describe paragraphs, and bullet points to describe what each paragraph will contain. Play with the essay's order. Map out the structure of your argument, and make sure each paragraph is unified.

6 Introduction: Now sit down and write the essay. The introduction should grab the reader's attention, set up the issue, and lead in to your thesis. Your intro is merely a buildup of the issue, a stage of bringing your reader into the essay's argument. (Note: The title and first paragraph are probably the most important elements in your essay. This is an essay-writing point that does not always sink in within the context of the classroom. In the first paragraph you either hook the reader's interest or lose it. Of course your teacher, who is getting paid to teach you how to write an essay, will read the essay you have written regardless, but in the real world, readers make up their minds about whether or not to read your essay by glancing at the title alone.)

7 Paragraphs: Each individual paragraph should be focused on a single idea that supports your thesis. Begin paragraphs with topic sentences, support assertions with evidence, and expound your ideas in the clearest, most sensible way you can. Speak to your reader as if he or she were sitting in front of you. In other words, instead of writing the essay, try talking the essay.

8 Conclusion: Gracefully exit your essay by making a quick wrap-up sentence, and then end on some memorable thought, or an interesting twist of logic, or some call to action. 

9 Language: You are not done writing your essay until you have polished your language by correcting the grammar, making sentences flow, incorporating rhythm, emphasis, adjusting the formality, giving it a level-headed tone, and making other intuitive edits. Proofread until it reads just how you want it to sound. Writing an essay can be tedious, but you do not want to bungle the hours of conceptual work you have put into writing your essay by leaving slippy misspellings and poorly worded phrases.

Essay requirements

1. Arial style font.
   
2. 10 point font size.
   
3. 1.5 line spaced.
   
4. Spell-checked.
   
5. Grammar-checked.
   
6. Proofread.
   
7. About 450 words (400-500). A well-researched and structured essay cannot be any shorter. I have posted essay writing guidelines on this blog. Please read them very carefully.
   

Writing Assessment 6 Conventions

5 The writer demonstrates a good grasp of standard writing conventions (e.g., spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar, usage, paragraphing) and uses conventions effectively to enhance readability. Errors tend to be so few that just minor touch-ups would get this piece ready to publish.

A. Spelling is generally correct, even on more difficult words.

B. The punctuation is accurate, even creative, and guides the reader through the text.

C. A thorough understanding and consistent application of capitalization skills are present.

D. Grammar and usage are correct and contribute to clarity and style.

E. Paragraphing tends to be sound and reinforces the organizational structure.

F. The writer may manipulate conventions for stylistic effect—and it works! The piece is very close to being ready to publish.

 

3 The writer shows reasonable control over a limited range of standard writing conventions. Conventions are sometimes handled well and enhance readability; at other times, errors are distracting and impair readability.

A. Spelling is usually correct or reasonably phonetic on common words, but more difficult words are problematic.

B. End punctuation is usually correct; internal punctuation (commas, apostrophes, semicolons, dashes, colons, parentheses) is sometimes missing/wrong.

C. Most words are capitalized correctly; control over more sophisticated capitalization skills may be spotty.

D. Problems with grammar or usage are not serious enough to distort meaning but may not be correct or accurately applied all of the time.

E. Paragraphing is attempted but may run together or begin in the wrong places.

F. Moderate editing (a little of this, a little of that) would be required to polish the text for publication.

 

1 Errors in spelling, punctuation, capitalization, usage, and grammar and/or paragraphing repeatedly distract the reader and make the text difficult to read. The writing reflects more than one of these problems:

A. Spelling errors are frequent, even on common words.

B. Punctuation (including terminal punctuation) is often missing or incorrect.

C. Capitalization is random and only the easiest rules show awareness of correct use.

D. Errors in grammar or usage are very noticeable, frequent, and affect meaning.

E. Paragraphing is missing, irregular, or so frequent (every sentence) that it has no relationship to the organizational structure of the text.

F. The reader must read once to decode, then again for meaning. Extensive editing (virtually every line) would be required to polish the text for publication.