“ESSAY WRITING for ENGLISH TEST”

RESUME

“ESSAY WRITING for ENGLISH TEST”

The Purpose

In order to be able to write good essaysit is first of all essentialt o make sure that

you understand the purpose of the task. It may seem obvious: the purpose is to

test your abiliry to write essaysfo r university or college in English.

This resume therefore deals with these three stages:

I. Understanding the question

II. Selecting and Presenting Ideas Appropriately

III. Appropriate Language Use

STAGE 1

“The Questions”

1.Understanding the Question

The first step in essay writing is to analyse the essay task which tells you what the

topic is, and also gives an indication of what kind of things you are expected to

say about the topic.

Essay topics have 3 components:

1) the instruction words, telling you what to do

2) the key words indicating the topic

3) the words restricting the topic, indicating what aspect of the topic you

are asked to focus on.

We will consider these one by one.

The Instructions

Look at these tasks:

a)      Describe the role of the fnternet in modern society.

b)       The environment is the most important issue in the world today. Discuss!

The instruction are:

In a) it is describe and in b) it is discuss. These two words indicate the two most

common types of essay that one can write.

2. Analysing the Question

Understanding the question means more than understanding the instructions or

the words of the question. It means recognising the focus of the question, and

knowing what approach you should take to the topic.

This is, in some ways, the most important aspect of writing the essaya, nd requires

the most thought. You should therefore be prepared to spend at least 3 minutes

thinking about what approach to take to the question.

The handbook, you remember, explains that:

Candidates are assessed on their ability to:

. present the solution to a problem

. present and justifr an opinion

. compare and contrast evidence, opinions and implications

- evaluate and challenge ideas, evidence or an argument.

You will therefore need to decide which of these approaches is the one required

for any particular question. You will also need to know when and how much to

use definitions and examples.

In this section we will deal with the following features of a discussion or

argument essay:

The Focus

The Context

Definitions

Example

a.      Finding the focus

It is very important to look at the actual question words very closely. Students

sometimes jump to conclusions about what they should write by just looking at

the topic, and not at the focus of the topic.

b.    Understanding the Context

The question is always based on an issue, or a problem.which you are asked to analyse and present an opinion on.

You therefore need to think, before you plan your own answe! why the question

is considered to be an issue or a problem by the examiners.

c.      Defining the terms

Some books and teachers tell you that you must define the terms that you use so

that the readerw ill understand you. This is sometimest rue, but it is necessaryt o

be sensible about it.

STAGE 2

“Selecting and Presenting ldeas”

3.   Finding ldeas

In an essay of 250 words, to be written in 40 minutes, you cannot be too ambitious

about what you write. Some students make the mistake of trying to express very

deep ideas and they never get past writing an introducdon to what would be a

long essayif there was time. On the other hand, if you do not have any specific

ideas at all you may find yourself saying only one thing over and over again in

several different ways.

Three is a good number (although it can be less or more), since that gives you a Paragraph essay w hich is about the right length:

Paragraph  1. Introduction

2.Supporting point

3. Supporting point

4. Supporting point

5. Conclusion

The easiest way to find and organise ideas is to brainstorm

a.     Broinstorming

In order to organisey our ideasf or a topic, it is first of all necessary to pin them down. Most students find that the best way to deal with this is to brainstorm their ideas first.

b.    Finding More ldeas

If you are having difficulties thinking up ideas at the right level of generalisation (see p.26 for a discussion about this), then a good technique is to think of very specific, concrete examples, and then try to find a higher level of abstraction that the examples belong to.

c.      Using examples

In all essaysy ou must give specific points to support your argument. Sometimes a topic will be quite abstract and it is important to realise that you need to use examples to support your point of view - and to make sure that you have enough to say!

d.    The “what if not” situation

It can happen that you are faced with a question that you have never thought about at all, and where it is difficult to think of concrete example.

e.      Looking at the other side

Remember that if you are presenting an argument it is not necessaryto present only the points that support your side of the argument. In fact, if you want to be convincing and to give a balanced statement, you need to look at what the supporters of the other side are likely to say, and to give a response to that.

4.   Selecting ideas

There are a number of concepts that you must be clear about because they are involved in every kind of writing that you will do. You must be aware of the fact that you will nearly always be dealing with problems and solutions, that above all you are evaluating ideas and solutions as you write, and that you must select ideas that are relevant, that are at the right level ofgeneralisation, and that are ranked logically for the topic that you are writing about.

a.     Solutions to problems

Candidates are assessedo n their ability to present the solution to a problem.In fact, every topic is really a problem. If it were not a problem, it would not be worth talking about.

b.    Evaluotion

whatever the task, whether it is problem-solving, looking at effects or consequencesd, efending an opinion, comparing and contrasting evidence or ideas, you will need to evaluate.

c.      Classification of ideas

After brainstorming, and having looked at the topic again, your next step is to organise the ideas that you have jotted down. This involves classi$'ing your ideas into logical categories,s o that you can produce well-organised paragraphs. Generally, more than one system of classification is possible but there is usually one very obvious pattern.

d.    types of classification

As we said before (4.2),because the essayt opic requiresy ou to expressa an opinion, you will need to evaluate something. In order to do that you will frequently find yourself with a classification as above, into positive and negative features.

Another way of thinking about such topics is that you have to make a comparison.You are comparing the positive features with the negative ones.

e.      Selecting Relevant ideas

After brainstorming and while classifring your ideas,i t is necessaryto eliminate any points that are nor relevant. At this point it is useful to look at the question again, to make sure that the ideas that you choose are not only on the topic, but also relevant to the question.

f.      Level of Generolisation

One basis on which to select relevant ideas is to ensure that you choose points at the right level of generalisation. In other words, it is necessaryto eliminate small,

trivial points or examples, and at the same time not to try to tackle concepts that are too broad for such a short essay.

g.     Overgeneralisatioons and Exaggeration

Generalisationsa re necessary\.f le cannot make any sensiblec onclusions about

anything without generalising from specific examples. Especially in your

introduction, topic sentencesa nd conclusion (SeeS tage3 ) you will need to

generalise. However, there is a danger of over-generalisation. Over-generalisations

(or sueepingg erueralisationass they are also called) do not help your argument,

because they give the impression that you are not very thoughtful

5.   Organising ldeas

a.     Ranking ideas

Once you have selected your points, you need to decide in what order to present them. This is important to show that you are in control of your material, and that you understand the relative importance of each of the points you are making. In this secrion we will deal with different patterns of organisation, but first of all you need to be aware of the need to rank ideas according to one of thefoliowing methods:

a) from the most important to the least important

b) from the most common to the least common

c) from the most general to the least general

d) from the earlier to the later (chronological order)'

b.    Consequences

The most obvious way of discussing a problem, in any situation, not just essays, is to look at the causes of (or reasons for) the existence of the problem, and then to consider what consequences or results (or effects) there might be if certain solutions are tried.

c.      Comparisons

In fact, if you think about it you will see that evaluation is a kind of comparison, or that comparison and contrast is a kind of evaluation.'When you evaluate something, as we said before, you are comparing the situation as it is with an ideal situation. At the same time, when you are comparing or contrasting rwo things you are evaluating them against some other set of criteria.

d.    Alternatives

Sometimes you have to think of alternatives to an existing situation.

e.      Speculation

In some casesy ou may be askedt o think about an alternative that does not exist, i.e. to speculate about what might be.

STAGE 3

“Writting”

6.   Using the Right grammar vocabulary and style

Now that you have selected and organised your content you can focus on the

actual writing. This involves using the right grammar and vocabulary for each of

the sections of the essay -that is, the introduction, body and conclusion --+s

well as making sure that the overall style is appropriate

a.     Grammar

Grammar is the infrastructure of your writing, and if

that is weak, then a clever superstructure of ideas will simply make the whole

essay collapse.

The most important preparation you can make for your test essay,therefore,is

to ensure that you have a good grasp of the essentials:

the tenses

the use of the passive

correct use of parts of speech

correct clause structure (with subjects and finite verbs)

A sentence like this:

#The develop of cheap  alterernative energy sources will probably be surcessed futurre

is much worse than:

# Development of cheap alternative energy sources will probably succeed for  the future. (The correct sentence would of course be: The development of a cheap alternative Energy source will probably succeed in future.)

b.    Vocabulary

While grammar is one leg, vocabulary is the second leg for your writing to stand on. But note that simple, correct English is better than experimenting with

sophisticated vocabulary and getting it wrong! You may try out unfamiliar

vocabulary if you have a helpful teacher, but not during a testlThere are certain

words and phrases that you can make a special point of learning carefully because

they are likely to be used in most, if not all essaysM. ake sure that you have enough

vocabularv for each of the common catesories:

Evaluation (e.g. benefit, unsatisfactory)

Consequence, cause, reason (e.g. outcome, produce, explanation)

modifiers (e.g. significant, majority)

connectors (under these circumstances, moreover)

grouping nouns (aspect, factor, feature)

The best way to learn these is to look for examples in your reading and then copy

them into your own personal vocabulary book under the appropriate headings.

Be careful to copy whole phrases, not just single words, so that you learn the

correct use of the expressions.

The correct use of a word involves knowing:

the exact meaning

the words that go with it

the grammatical features

For example:

cause and reason do not mean the same reason is followed by for whTle cause is followed by of you giue a reason, and you generally sltoua cause. due to is apreposition, and is followed by a noun or gerund, not a noun clause.

In other words, vocabulary and grammar go together. It is not enough to understand the meaning of a word, approximately, when you are writing. It is essential to learn the accurate usage as well.

7.   The Sections of the Essay

a.     The introduction

The pulpose of the introduction is to let the reader know

a) the topic

b) the aspect of the topic being dealt with

c) the stand (attitude) taken by the writer to the topic.

In other words, the introduction actually contains the conclusion!

Note: In the above example the writer's conclusion is presented in the third

sentence.A statement, in this context, is not the same as a sentence.T hat is to

say, the writer's opinion is presented as the second statement, but not necessarily

the second sentence.

WARNING: You must avoid repeating the exact words of the topic. If

you repeat the words, you can gain no marks, since they are not your

words. The examinerw ill simply ignore them. If you paraphrase,/ ou :rre

displaying your language skills.

Look again at the examples given above, and see how the first sentence in

each case is a paraphrase of the topic as it is given.

·        Grammar and Vocabulary in the Introduction

The introduction will normally be in the present tense (e.g. people compkin), or the present continuous (people are gradually becoming aware), or in the present

perfect tense (people haue pointed out),

After your introductory statement you need to connect the second statement (i.e. second or third etc. sentence) either by showing contrast, or by adding emphasis:

Contrast Connectors: but, however nevertheeless, by / in contrast, on the

other hand, in spite of this, while, whereas, although.

NOTE: IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO USE THESE CORRECTLY.

b.    The Body

The body will rypically consist of about three paragraphs, presenting points to

support your argument. You will have worked out your ideas in the planning

stage, when organising your brainstormed ideas. Now it is simply a matter of

presenting one main point in each paragraph.

·         Vocabulary  in the Body

Connectors will occur throughout the body of your essayT. he most common

ones are those that are used for listing, and for addition, for consequences and for

emphasis. The basic listing connectors are:

firstly; secondly; the thirdfeature etc.; finally; in conclusion.

These are the most boring ones. Rather better are the ones that show addition:

both..,and.; aho; not only....but abo....; furthennore; rnoreoaer; in add.ition.

Note: Do not overuse these connectors. It is very boring to read one of these at

the beginning of eachs entence! Note also that it is better to put alsoi n the second

position in the sentencen, ot at the beginning.

C. The Conclusion

The conclusion need not be long. In fact, it can be as short as one sentence. A

good conclusion will not be merely a repetition of the main topic statement of the

essayo, r of your proposition statement in the introduction, since that is rather

boring to read and doesn ot show your English skills. Nevertheless,it should contain

some kind of a summary of the main argument or proposition of the essayI.t is

also a good idea to include a comment on the implications of your conclusion.

·         Grammar and vocabulary in the Conclusion

Make sure that you know how to use various terms expressingi mplications

correctly. These include:

otheruise; in this case; under these circumstances

followed by the future tense"

You will also need the language of speculation (see below).

For predictions you will need the future tense, of course, and it is important to

use modifiers in this case, such as it is lihely that, in allprobability. (See 8.1

below).

There are, of course, connectors that are typically used for conclusions. The first

one on the list is the most unimaginative, and it is better to think of a more

interesting one if you can.

In conclusion, finally, therefore, consequently, clearly, it is clear on the

uiltole, in otlter utords, generally speahing

Remember that you can combine thnefore with other connectors: e.g. It is clear

therefore,t ha t..; Generall y spe aki ng therefore.

Note: Beware of the common error of using mare for emphasis. More is z

comParatlve term.

8.   Style

There are two types of problems related to sryle: one is the effect of personal

writing habits, the second is the result of cultural differences between your

mother tongue or your educational background on the one hand, and English

for academic purposes on the other.

a.     Modifiers

One of the most important aspects of language use is the appropriate use of

modifiers. This is becausei t is in this way that you show your understanding of

the value of the points you are making - in other words, you are showing your

own reai understanding of the issues.

b.    Overgenerolisation

As we saw in secrion 4.7, overgeneralisationis very colrunon. To modify overgeneralised statements,i t is generallyn ecessaryto reduce the scope of the statement,by limiting the quantity or frequency or area involved. Here are iust a few common modifiers for this:

Few                 many              rnost

sometimes       often               frequently

generally         common          widespread

c.      Overemphosis

Here the problem is not to exaggerateth e intensity of a statement.T he writer's

attitude should show a suitable degree of certainty.

Degrees of intensity are expressedb y terms such as:

Rather                         quite    significant

considerable    very     dramatic

Degrees of certainty can be shown by expressionss uch as:

maybe                         perhaps           possible

definitely         undoubtedly    generally speaking

it is clear that

and all the modal verbs:

may     might   can

could   should would

must    ought to

You can also use expressionsth at distancey ourself from the statement, such as:

some people belive                  it is generally agreed

according to most scientists    it is said that

And in conclusionsit is useful to modifi your statementsw ith tltesee xpressions:

Therefore it seems that...        it can be conclud.ed that

This indicates that

Certain verbs, for example, can also show varying degrees of strength or certainty:

people are / tend to be             this suggests / indicates / proues

x causes ! / x is a contributing factor to y

d.    understatement and Confusion

while overstatement and exaggeration are more common, some students go the

other way, and understate their case, or produce mixed and confused signals.

This usually occurs when students mix some of the modifiers inappropriately.

IT IS IMPORTANT TO BE VERY ACCURATE IN USING MODIFIERS.

Otherwise you can sound confused and unintelligent.

e.      Woffle

Lack of ideas is likely to result in a badly written essayt.V hat commonly

happens is that the writer either needs to fill up the paper with empty,

meaningless expressions (often referred to as waffle), or there is a good deal of

repetition of the same idea, or both

f.   Formulaic and Thoughtless  writing

Many students appear to learn a basic structure and a few basice xpressionsa nd

then attempt to apply theset o every essayn, o matter what the topic or the

meaning. This can produce some strange results. Look at the following examples

of mindless writing:

Noutadays sports are likely to be common throughout the world.

Education has become an imltortant thing in the last feut decades.

A student who writes like this is not showing much intelligence!

There are also connectors which are used without thought, or overused. The

series:

Firstly.... Secondly.... Thirdb.... Finally.... In conclusion

at the beginning of consecutive paragraphs reflects alazy mind, writing to a

formula.

g.     Immature writing

Lack of vocabulary and limited knowledge of grammar are other causes of bad

writing style.

Many students have exceilent ideas but do not have sufficient vocabulary in

English to expresst hem. In such casess, ome students simply use vocabulary

incorrectly, and become incomprehensible, but more commonly students in this

situation are likely to write in a much simpler style than is suitable for English

for academic purposes. It is better to write simple, correct English than to try to

write sophisticated English and do it badly, but of course a universiry or college

entry test essay should not sound as if it was written by someone in primary

school! The sryle you should aim for should be at least that of a good year 9 or

year 10 student writing in their mother tongue.

h.    Cultural Differences Style

One of the major problems that some students face is that their previous experience

in writing has been in a sryle which is not similar to that expected in their test

essavsT. his may be because

a) the type of writing they have done before is different, or

b) the sryle of writing valued by the mother tongue culture differs from

the sryle expected in English.

i.       Different Types of Writing

An essay is not like a letter, or a debateo r political speech,o r a text-book. You

need to be aware of the differences in sryle that each requires"

9.   Proof-reading

There is usually not much time left during a test to go over your essay and

correct any mistakes. In any case, you are probably under too much tension to

see mosr of them. However, there are two types of error that it is relatively easy

to check for and both involve the final letter S. This is frequently omitted. If you

have time, skim through your essay and check whether

a) your plural noruls end in 's'

b) all verbs in the third person singular, prresent tense' also end in 's'.

10. Appearance

Theoretically, your handwriting and the layout and generaia ppearanceo f your

essay should not influence the examiner. Perhaps they dont. But in practice an

essay which is neatly written and presented does make a better impression. Some

small points to remember:

a) Leave a good margin. Then you have space for corrections if you want

to make them.

b) Start each new paragraph on a new line and indent it.

c) If you want to cross out something, do it with one neat line, not a hard

scribble. Do not use brackets to enclose crossed out words"

d) If you do not use Roman script in your mother tongue and have

difficulry with it -fractise. If you are living in an English-speaking

country, the childrens section in your local library may have some

books used to teach children to write, which could help you.

Finally, now that you have studied and understood everything in this book, there

is no need to get nervous about the test!

GOOD LUCK!