Essay Writing Skills and Sample Essays (200+)
Essay Writing � Definition and details
The term "essay" is used in somewhat different ways in different contexts. An essay is fairly brief. The term �Essay� usually refers to short pieces that might be published in a magazine or newspaper. Here we are focusing on common written examination for selections in IBPS Banks or State Bank of India Probationary Officers selections.
An essay is nonfiction, its not a story. That means that the writer of an essay is trying to tell the truth, not merely entertain. Hypothetical examples can be an effective way of illustrating a point, as can quotations from fictional works. An essay tries to make a point. This is perhaps the most important and most challenging aspect of the essay. An essay is not just a bunch of words, or even a bunch of paragraphs. An essay all fits together; it all points in one direction. An essay leads to one conclusion. This is what makes an essay different from, say, an article in an encyclopedia, which may be a relatively brief and interesting piece of nonfiction. An essay tries to make a point. It aims to support a single claim. An essay tries to make a point in an interesting way. An essay is real writing; it is written to someone. And so its goal is to interest its readers, to change their thinking, to get them involved in the ideas it presents and ultimately get them to adopt those ideas.
16.1 How to write an essay ?
When it comes to essay writing in English grammar test, especially in India for SBI PO or IBPS PO exams, we have observed that the students had always taken essay writing as a very casual and light subject. There are very few students who pays a real attention to writing effective essays and these are the scoring students. The other category of students never knows and never realizes that why few students often are having higher scores as compared to the remaining students. English is a scoring subject. If one pays attention to the intricacies about preparing for English language test, he/she can really score good numbers in any type of examination. This article focuses on one major point : How to write effective Essay ?
In India students have very different approaches to drafting their essays. Some use a simple way of starting a topic, and keeps on writing whatever comes to their mind. Without paying attention to the content. Whereas some start at the introduction and writing sequentially through to the conclusion then move on to another part of the essay, and then return to the earlier section. We would not want to argue for any single approach. However there are several techniques worth applying.
One is to have a fairly clear idea of the structure of the essay before drafting. You will find that the flow of words will come more easily if you know in advance how the different parts of the essay are likely to hang together.
Another technique is to commit yourself to an introduction as early as possible. In the introduction, you should be looking to outline to the reader
� the structure of the essay and
� your main argument.
Your draft introduction will provide an initial basis for the rest of the work, even if later you find that you need to modify it.
Here we are giving you a Step By Step Guide about writing clear and effective Essays:
Writing an essay often seems to be a tough task among many students. Whether the essay is for a exam, a competition, or maybe even a normal college assignment, many students often find the task overwhelming. While an essay is a large project, there are many steps a student can take that will help making the process of writing an essay simpler.
Following steps in this process is the easiest way to draft a successful essay, whatever its purpose might be.
1. Understanding the topic.
Keeping in mind the exam of English language, if you are given a topic, you should think about the type of essay that you want to produce. Should it be a general overview of the subject or a specific analysis? Narrow down your focus if necessary.
Once you have determined the purpose of essay writing, you will need to do some research on topics that you find little tough. Think about subject. What is it that arises interest in you? Jot these topic down.
Finally, evaluate your options. If your goal is to educate, choose a subject that you have already studied. If your goal is to persuade, choose a subject that you are passionate about. Whatever the mission of the essay, make sure that you are interested in your topic.
2. Prepare a flowchart.
In order to write a successful essay, you must organize your thoughts in a proper way. By taking what�s already in your thoughts and putting it on a paper, you are able to see connections and links between ideas more clearly. This structure serves as a foundation for your essay.
To create a diagram, write your topic in the middle of your page. Draw three to five lines branching off from this topic and write down your main ideas at the ends of these lines. Draw more lines off these main ideas and include any thoughts you may have on these ideas.
If you prefer to create an outline, write your topic at the top of the page. From there, begin to list your main ideas, leaving space under each one. In this space, make sure to list other smaller ideas that relate to each main idea. Doing this will allow you to see connections and will help you to write a more organized essay.
3. Write your main statement.
After selecting a topic and putting your ideas in a relevant manner, you must create a main statement. Your main statement tells the reader the point of your essay. Look at your outline or diagram for the main ideas?
Your main statement will have two parts. The first part states the topic, and the second part states the point of the essay.
4. Write the introduction.
Now that you have developed your main statement and the overall points of your essay, you must write an introduction. The introduction should attract the reader�s attention and show the focus of your essay.
Begin with a good attention seeker sentences. You can use shocking information, dialogue, a story, a quote, or a simple summary of your topic. Whichever style of writing you choose, make sure that it ties in with your main statement, which will be included as the last sentence of your introduction.
5. Writing the body of an Essay.
The body of your essay argues, explains or describes your topic. Each main idea that you wrote in your diagram or outline will become a separate section within the body of your essay.Each body paragraph will have the same basic structure.
Begin by writing one of your main ideas as the introductory sentence. Next, write each of your supporting ideas in sentence format, but leave three or four lines in between each point to come back and give detailed examples to back up your position.
6. Writing the conclusion.
Your conclusion should consist of three to five strong sentences. Simply review your main points and provide reinforcement of your thesis.
7. Adding final touch.
Before you consider this a finished work, you must pay attention to all the small details and give a nice finishing touch to the essay.
You can do this by : Check the order of your paragraphs. Your strongest points should be the first and last paragraphs within the body, with the others falling in the middle. Also, make sure that your paragraph order makes sense.
Review the instructions for your essay, if applicable. You must double check instructions to ensure that your essay is in the desired format.
Finally, review what you have written. Reread your paper and check to see if it makes sense. Make sure that sentence flow is smooth and add phrases to help connect thoughts or ideas. Check your essay for grammar and spelling mistakes.
16.2 General Tips to score good in exams :
1. Don�t Write a Term Paper.
As a prospective graduate student, you may be tempted to try to impress your reader with an already tight grasp of academic style. Resist this temptation! You will have plenty of time to produce labyrinthine sentences and sophisticated vocabulary. Your reader will have seen too many essays to appreciate bewilderingly advanced prose. Write clearly and precisely.
2. Don�t Bore the Reader. Do Be Interesting.
The examiners have to read hundreds of essays, and they must often skim. Abstract rumination has no place in an application essay. The examiners aren�t looking for a new way to view the world; they�re looking for a new way to view you, the applicant. The best way to grip your reader is to begin the essay with a captivating snapshot. Notice how the blunt, jarring �after� sentence creates intrigue and keeps the reader�s interest.
3. Do Use Personal Detail. Show, Don�t Tell!
Good essays are concrete and grounded in personal detail. They do not merely assert �I learned my lesson� or that �these lessons are useful both on and off the field.� They show it through personal detail. �Show, don�t tell� means that if you want to relate a personal quality, do so through your experiences without merely asserting it.
4. Do Be Concise. Don�t Be Wordy.
Wordiness not only takes up valuable space, but also confuses the important ideas you�re trying to convey. Short sentences are more forceful because they are direct and to the point. Certain phrases, such as �the fact that,� are usually unnecessary. Notice how the revised version focuses on active verbs rather than forms of �to be� and adverbs and adjectives.
5. Do Address Your Weaknesses. Don�t Dwell on Them.
The personal statement may be your only opportunity to explain deficiencies in your application, and you should take advantage of it. The best practice is to spin the negatives into positives by stressing your attempts to improve; for example, mention your poor first-quarter grades briefly, then describe what you did to bring them up.
6. Do Van� Your Sentences and Use Transitions.
The best essays contain a variety of sentence lengths mixed within any given paragraph. Also, remember that transition is not limited to words like nevertheless, furthermore or consequently. Good transition flows from the natural thought progression of your argument.
7. Do Use Active Voice Verbs.
Passive-voice expressions are verb phrases in which the subject receives the action expressed in the verb. Passive voice employs a form of the word to be, such as was or were. Overuse of the passive voice makes prose seem flat and uninteresting.
8. Do Seek Multiple Opinions.
Ask your friends and family to keep these questions in mind:
� Does my essay have one central theme?
� Does my introduction engage the reader? Does my conclusion provide closure?
� Do my introduction and conclusion avoid summary?
� Do I use concrete experiences as supporting details?
� Have I used active-voice verbs wherever possible?
� Is my sentence structure varied, or do I use all long or short sentences?
� Are there any clich�s, such as �cutting-edge� or �learned my lesson�?
� Do I use transitions appropriately?
� What about the essay is memorable?
� What�s the worst part of the essay?
� What parts of the essay need elaboration or are unclear?
� What parts of the essay do not support my main argument?
� Is every single sentence crucial to the essay? This must be the case.
� What does the essay reveal about my personality?
9. Don�t Wander. Do Stay Focused.
Many applicants try to turn the personal statement into a complete autobiography. Not surprisingly, they find it difficult to pack so much information into such a short essay, and their essays end up sounding more like a list of experiences than a coherent, well-organized thought. Make sure that every sentence in your essay exists solely to support one central theme.
10. Do Revise, Revise, Revise.
The first step in an improving any essay is to cut, cut, and cut some more. Do the revision again and again and keep improving the quality of your essay. Always remember, practice makes a man perfect, so go for revisions and practices as much as you can.
16.3 Typical Essay Template ( Reference purpose )
A. TITLE
B. Introduction Paragraph:
?Hook
?Thesis
?Transition
C. Body Paragraph 1:
?Strongest point
?Introduction
?Examples
?Explanation
?Conclusion that ties to thesis
?Transition
D. Body Paragraph 2:
?Weakest point
?Introduction
?Examples
?Explanation
?Conclusion that ties to thesis
?Transition
E. Body Paragraph 3:
?Second-strongest point
?Introduction
?Examples
?Explanation
?Conclusion that ties to thesis
?Transition
F. Conclusion Paragraph:
?Restated thesis
?Concise summary of the body and how it ties to thesis
?Signal for the end of essay
