How to Write a Good Essay

WHAT IS AN ESSAY?
An essay is a rather short piece of writing, a literary composition on a single subject. Usually essays deal with philosophical, social, aesthetic or literary subjects, though you can find essays on linguistics, economics, ethnography, etc. The word "essay" derives from the French "essayer" which means to try or attempt. Thus, essays rather state the problem than solve it. In the essay you define the subject under discussion, prove it is worth arguing about, provide a certain kind of analysis (though without attempting completeness), and express your point of view on the issue. It is the goal that determines the form of your writing, language means, stylistic layer, and vocabulary employed. As writing is a means of communication, the general goals of it will be corresponding; to supply the reader with information, to evaluate or analyse it, to persuade the reader that the expressed point of view is the best, or at least worthy. Essay-writing sets two main goals: 1. to express an opinion on the topic;
2. to make the reader accept that point of view.
But what makes the essay a unique type of writing is the presence of such categories as emotiveness and expressiveness. Consequently, the most characteristic features of the essay are: 1. Use of the first person singular;
2. Direct address to the reader;
3. Elaborate, logical Structure;
4. Careful choice of argumentation;
5. Expanded use of connectives (which facilitate the process of grasping the correlation of ideas); 6. Use of emotive words and other expressive means;
7. Use of metaphors and other stylistic devices;
8. Brevity of expression.
According to the primary goal, we can distinguish four types of essays: expository (where you mainly inform the reader, demonstrating your own knowledge on the subject), persuasive (where you present several points of view on the subject, take and dispute one, persuading the reader to accept it), analytical (where you define the subject, analyse it and give your own interpretations), informal or entertaining (the aim of which is to reflect on your own ideas and emotions in a rather informal way or to purely entertain the reader). You should definitely bear in mind that this division is very subtle. As a rule all purposes overlap in the essay. However, to perfect your paper, you would like to choose and stick to one primary goal for your writing.

Exercise 1. Analyse an essay of your choice following the questions: What spheres of human activity dues it deal with? What were the possible goals for writing this essay? To what type would you refer this essay? Find the characteristic features.

CONSIDERING THE TOPIC
The difficulties with writing an essay can occur even before you set yourself to writing - at the prewriting stage, when you think your work over. First of all, you should be conscious of what in particular you are going to consider. And then comes the problem of choosing the subject, determining the topic, and formulating the thesis of your essay. According to Webster's new world dictionary of the American language, ‘subject’ is the general word for whatever is dealt with in discussion, study, writing, art, etc. 'Topic' is a subject of common interest selected for individual treatment, аs in the essay, or for discussion by a group of persons. A topic is the subject of a paragraph, essay, speech, etc.; a heading or an item in an outline. 'Thesis' is a proposition to be maintained or defended in argument. So, as it can be seen, the topic and the subject are the most general notions that define what you are writing about. The topic may serve as the title оf your writing but not necessarily. From a general topic, you would draw and formulate, in the form of a thesis, one or several ideas that are supposed to he discussed in the writing. When you are given the topic of an essay you are supposed to write, half of the work is done for you. But still, before taking a pen, stop and ask yourself: What do I know and What can I say about the subject? Make a list of ideas (later some of them may be turned into the topic sentences). You can include your comments into this list or arrange them into another list. If you can't say anything at the moment, think at least of what you have heard on the subject. In this саsе, try to make a list of questions that can include questions like these: • Have 1 ever heard of the problem?
• Have I ever read anything about it or anything in relation to it? What was it? • Do I remember any differences and discrepancies in opinions concerning this problem? • What is my own experience (if any)?
• What is the origin of my views on the subject?
• If I turned the subject into a question on which people vote, how would I vote and why? • In what ways does this topic contuse me and why?
If it still doesn't work, try to determine the broader context for the subject you are dealing with. This means you should understand that the given issue is always a part, or an example, or a detail of a larger problem. Your subject may be a part of several different contexts. And if you consider those broader contexts carefully, you will definitely find more points to write on, and will be able to formulate worthy ideas. Sometimes it is possible that the tank is worded in the way to make you determine and formulate the topic yourself. Thus, you may be asked to write a paper on your home (or outside) reading; an essay on your summer vacations also presupposes a more particular definition of the topic on your part. Such assignments give a certain freedom, but this freedom presupposes hard responsibility. Still, don't succumb to panic, and cry that you have nothing to write about, remember that you have been living an active life and have a large experience of your own. You have views, opinions, and memories that can be of interest to others. Consider how many topics can come out of your personal experience:

Family The worst day in our family - The mother’s part in making a successful family life - Democracy in the family Friends Fair weather friends - Are friends closer than parents - The best friend I've ever had Neighbourhood The people next door - The importance of the neighbourhood - Community events Hopes and ambitions What I’d really like to do with my life - The chance that college offers - Marriage or career? Relations with people What makes us self-conscious? - Things parents forget - Does anyone really know us?

As you arc not a professional yet, try to avoid general subjects, such as, "Economy of the United Kingdom" or "The crises in the Balkans". Mind that you are writing an essay, not a scientific report, and that you would scarcely say anything new or extraordinary on topics like these. Prefer something like "Family budget of the Gordons from Devonshire" (the family you visited last summer) or "What it is to be far from home" (about refugees from Yugoslavia living next door). You should tend to be as personal and individual as possible.

Exercise 2. Broaden the titles to fill the missing 'topic' column. The first one is already done for you. Subject Topic Title
Reminiscences In the teens The disadvantages of being seventeen, How I learned the value of money, What music has meant to me,
My son won’t make those mistakes,
Winter in the country
Description of people A teacher I won 't forget,
A self-made man,
A typical American,
People I cannot stand
Descriptions of places The ideal vacation spot,
The city of tomorrow, My home
Description of events It соиldn't happen hut it did,
I witness an accident,
A defeat that hurts
Subjects based on the knowledge of how to do things What my hobby has taught me, Working your way through college,
Being a good hostess, How the public is fooled,
Subjects dealing with your own opinions and beliefs The reasons of wars, The influence of the church,
Newspapers distort the news

Exercise 3. Consider the titles of essays you can find. Try to define the subject of the essays. Compare your guesses with the texts. What other topics may originate from these subjects?

FORMULATING THE THESIS
Assuming that you have either chosen your topic or, if it was given to you, have well thought it over, the next step is to formulate a thesis for your work . The thesis words the central idea (or ideas) of the writing. It states what the author wants to say in particular about the topic, what the author wants to present as his point oа view. The whole writing will support, or argue against your thesis. Thus, don't mix a thesis with a title (Incorrect: Driving in New York City. Correct: Driving in New York City in not as difficult as you might imagine.), or with a pure observation (Incorrect: People use many lawn chemicals. Correct: People, are poisoning the environment with chemicals merely to keep their lawns clean). As we have already said, the main goal of an essay-writer is to influence the reader by persuasion. The reader will be more eager to accept your arguments and message if the ideas arc imposed implicitly. In other words, when formulating a thesis of yours, avoid imperatives, such as order, direct advice, wish, request, etc. Prefer statements, suppositions, and opinions. The thesis may be implied and not explicitly stated. Such theses are more common in essays on personal experience and reflective essays. However, the reader must be able to grasp the main idea of the writing easily. Usually (though not necessarily), the thesis is included in the introductory part of your work. The thesis is to the whole paper what the topic sentence is to the paragraph. Vice versa, the topic sentence is the thesis, the idea of the paragraph. So, the rule for formulating a thesis can, and should, be applied to topic sentences as well. The thesis in formulated as a complete sentence. It should be restricted, unified, and precise. It will be restricted if the idea it presents is not too comprehensive and general (Incorrect: The Steel industry hat many problems. Correct: The primary problem of the steel industry in the lack of funds to renovate outdated plants and equipment.), if it indicates which of several possible approaches to the subject the writer intends to use. It will be unified if it contains one concrete idea, not two or more loosely connected with each other (Incorrect: The development of printing wan a complex process, and it made possible social and cultural reforms. Correct: The development of printing made possible certain social and cultural reforms.). It will be precise if it is laconic and carefully worded. As a rule, it is not advisable to use figures of speech or terms, for they can be misinterpreted and prevent proper understanding of the author's ideas (Incorrect: Where instructors are concerned, all that glitters is not gold. Correct: The most helpful instructors are not always the most entertaining. OR Correct: The moat accomplished scholars are not always the best teachers.). Remember that the thesis should NOT be formulated in the following ways: 1) as a question (Incorrect: What arе the possibilities to solve the environmental problems? Correct: Everybody should be involved in solving our environmental problems); 2) as a purpose statement (Incorrect: The purpose of this paper is to examine the difficulty of solving our environmental problems. Correct: Solving our environmental problems is more difficult than we believe,)', 3) as a negation (Incorrect: We can’t do anything to improve the situation. Correct: If nothing is done, the situation is bound to get out of control.).

Exercise 4. Choose the correct form of the thesis. Explain your choice. • The following paper will discuss the idea that television commercials prey on human insecurity. • Television Commercials.
• Company X's undergarment Commercials are offensive.
• Certain: television commercials are oppressive selling their products, as they suggest that those who purchase them will be instantly popular and irresistibly attractive. • Commercials use numerous tactics to entice consumers to part with their money. • Should we remain at the mercy of advertisers?
• Commercials arc not reliable.
• Commercials attempt to sell products to the largest possible audience.

The so-called 'purpose statement' or 'statement of intentions' is used in papers presenting factual information rather than ideas (such as all kinds of scientific papers). The purpose statement helps to define what the writing is about and restrict or develop the topic if it is too general. The purpose statement usually starts with certain set-phrases: ... This paper will summarise...
… The purpose of this paper is to report
... I inland to show.,.
... In this paper my opinions of... shall he present...
... This paper will show that .. This paper is intended to prove that...
… The purpose of this discussion is to illustrate...

Exercise 5: Choose several topics from Exercise 2 and formulate your own theses for them.

SHAPING THE STRUCTURE OF AN ESSAY
Like any other kind of writing, the essay will consist of three main parts: introduction, body, and conclusion. An introduction serves the aim of presenting the topic and formulating the thesis. A body provides support, argument, and demonstration. A conclusion sums up and logically ends your writing. The simplest scheme of an essay is a five-paragraph one, where the introduction and conclusion take one paragraph each and the body consists of three paragraphs. In an elaborate essay, the introduction and conclusion may include several paragraphs and the body is also more expanded.

INTRODUCTION
In the introduction you should:
1. Inform the reader от" what you are going to Speak about and from what point of view. 2. Ground the reasons for your choice of the topic.
3. Engage the reader, arouse his (or her) interest.
To achieve all these aims, and introduce the thesis of your essay smoothly, you can start with: • presenting a short history of the problem;
• defining terms that may be unfamiliar to the reader;
• appealing to analogy or comparison;
• making a striking assertion (a statement so improbable or far-reaching that the reader will demand to sec proofs);
• contrasting something wrong or negative to what you argue is right and positive in your thesis;
• generalizing about the problem related to the thesis;
• quoting the source in relation to the thesis;
• supplying the reader with striking details or statistics; • telling a story or anecdote that deals with the problem; • posing a question (usually provocative) or a number of questions. It is possible that you will find two or more means overlapping in the introduction. The thesis can be put either at the beginning of your introduction or in the end or in a separate paragraph there are no limitations. You are also free to choose whether to start writing with the introduction or come back to it when the whole paper is done, Nevertheless, you should hear in mind that a well-constructed introduction not only fulfills all the aims mentioned above but also provides a so-called “jumping-off point” tor the essay. After reading a good introduction, the reader is well aware of the importance of the problem, eager to learn your point of view and arguments, and naturally involved in the smooth continuation of the discussion. BODY
The body of the essay contains ideas, arguments, and examples that back up, demonstrate, exemplify, or expand upon the thesis. Your thesis will be developed with the help of the so-called 'subtopics', each presenting a single idea. The correlation between the thesis and the subtopics may have different structures. The most common are chain (1), radial (2), and mixed (3). In the first ease each subsequent subtopic emerges from the previous one, in the second each subtopic supports the main thesis independently; in the third case both structures can be present. 1. thesis 2. thesis subtopic subtopic subtopic ↓ subtopic 3. thesis ↓ subtopic subtopic subtopic ↓ ↓ subtopic subtopic

Exercise 6: Read the essays of your choice.

A. Define their introductory paragraphs. What means are employed:
1) to arouse the reader's interest; 2) to introduce the thesis; 3) to present the topic; 4) to achieve transition to the body? Imagine and write down your version of the introduction.
Explain your choice of means employed. Note that not one but several versions are possible.

B. Define the structure of their bodies. Make schemes similar to those above, quoting particular theses and subtopics.

PARAGRAPH STRUCTURE
Usually one subtopic is developed in a separate unit - paragraph. But quite often, on the contrary, one idea is developed in several consecutive paragraphs1. Still, as a rule, every paragraph is dedicated to no more than one point of the discussion. When writing, you should bear in mind the following general patterns of paragraph division: Reasons tor beginning a new_paragraph:
• to mark off the introduction and the conclusion2;
• to signal a shift to a new idea;
• to indicate tin important shift in time or place;
• to emphasize a point (by placing it at the beginning or the end, not in the middle, of a paragraph • to highlight a contrast;
• to signal a change of speakers (in dialogue);
• to provide readers with a pause, necessary to grasp the preceding or following information; • to break up text that looks too dense.
Reasons for combining paragraphs
• to clarify the essay's organi7ation;
• to connect closely related ideas;
• to achieve momentum;
• to bind up the text that looks too choppy.
Most readers feel comfortable reading paragraphs that range between eight and twelve sentences, though it is the purpose of your writing that determines the most appropriate length of a paragraph. ____________________________________________________________________ 1 The means for developing ideas are discussed in the following section. 2 Both introduction and conclusion, if developed., will, beyond doubt consist of more than one paragraph

Shorter paragraphs force too much starting and stopping, and longer ones strain the reader's attention span. The central idea of each paragraph is expressed in a claim, which is formulated in a single sentence usually called a topic sentence. The topic sentence can be put anywhere - at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of the paragraph. The paragraph contains the claim support, in Other words, the development of the topic sentence. According to the arrangement of the support material within the paragraph, we can distinguish several types of paragraphs: inductive, deductive, and framing. In the inductive paragraph, you start, with the specific details and then tome to the general statement, or from considering the parts move to the whole. In this case, the topic sentence is stated in the end of the paragraph. Support →Claim
In the deductive paragraph, you state the topic sentence at the beginning, moving from general to specific, from the whole to the parts. If the topic sentence is formulated as a question, the paragraph moves forth to its answers; in the case of cause-and-effect relations, the development goes from the effect to the cause. Claim → Support
The frame composition combines the first two types of movement, starting with the topic sentence and restating it in the end of the paragraph. So the idea opens and concludes the paragraph. Claim ← Support ← Claim restated
Another variant of the frame composition presents the claim in the middle of the paragraph both preceded and followed by support. Support # 1 → Claim ← Support # 2
All the paragraphs, in their turn, should be so arranged that your sounds smooth, coherent, and logical. As far as the paragraph should be a complete, unified, and logical whole, the indispensable features of a paragraph are: unity, coherence, and accuracy (clear organization). In general, the unity of the paragraph depends on the concordance of all the additional information with the main idea of the paragraph, expressed in the topic sentence. All the stray sentences and words that do not support or clarity the main idea should be eliminated or moved to another paragraph. A paragraph would be coherent if all the sentences are clearly connected with each other and naturally follow each other. The unity and coherence of a paragraph, in other words, the smoothness of ideas within the paragraph., can be achieved by various means: 1. Using the same subject in successive sentences, employing identical words, synonyms, repeating some key-words from one sentence in the following one, thus reformulating the notions or ideas (walk, trek, wander, tramp, climb), 2. Using root repetition (hike, hiker, hiking).
3. Employing words belonging to one and the same semantic field1. 4. Using a pronoun or a definite article to refer to a word in the previous sentence (A team of travelers... the travelers... they... their route). 5. Balancing your writing with the help of parallelism. In this case, the contents of two or several sentences are linked with each other structurally. (It was in the year of J954 that I met her,,, It was in the spring full of sun and flowers that she came to our town... It was on Friday that my car bumped into hers...). 6. Using various transitional words and phrases.
Several words should be said separately about transitional words and phrases2. Transitional expressions (usually adverbs, conjunctions, and prepositions) connect distinct ideas. They are like bridges between parts of your paper on all levels, from u single sentence and up to a whole text. They link parts of sentences, sentences within paragraphs and paragraphs within text. These words and word combinations make logical links obvious for the reader, establishing the smoothness of the writing, They arc cues that help the reader to interpret ideas in the way that you, as a writer, want them to be understood, Transitional expressions can indicate that one idea expands, exemplifies, or results from another. They can also contrast, compare, and show other relations. ____________________________________________________________________

1 The words referring to the same notion (by means of associations) are said to belong to the semantic field of that notion. For example, the words hiker, trip, road, rucksack, tent, travel, spend the night, climb, challenging, etc. would belong to the semantic field of hiking, 2 Sample transitional expressions - sec below.

Transitions within paragraphs tend to be expressed by single words. Words, phrases, and single sentences can act as transitions between paragraphs. In long writings, you can insert special transitional paragraphs providing cohesion between meaningful paragraphs. The use of transitions is quite personal, however, there are ноте general guidelines: 1. Shifts that readers may not expect need transitions more than those that are expected. For ex ample, a contrast or contradiction is often unexpected and needs a transition. 2. The film's plot is very predictable and the characters not especially likable. Nevertheless, the movie is worth seeing for the skillful cinematography and fine acting 3. Other logical relationships, such as time sequence, are often obvious from the context and do not need a transitional phrase. 4. The main character of the film moves to Brazil. He finds a job in a large corporation and settles into a routine. 5. If you use a series of transitional expressions to signal a sequence or to list points, make sure they are parallel. For example, use first second, and last to introduce three different points, but don't use first, in the second piece, and the last.. 6. Try to use a variety of transitional expressions. Don't resort to the same ones over and over. For example, instead of incessant first, second, and third to list sequences, consider far example, also, and finally. Sample transitional expression

To show addition additionally, again, also, and, as well, besides, equally important, further, furthermore, in addition, moreover, then, above all, another, most of all, once again, plus, to add to that, too

To show similarity also, in the same way, just as… likewise, similarly To show an exception but, however, in spite of, on the one hand, on the other hand, nevertheless, nonetheless, notwithstanding, in contrast, on the contrary, still, yet

To indicate sequence first, second, third, ...next, then, finally after, afterwards, at last, before, currently, earlier, immediately, later, meanwhile, now, recently, simultaneously, subsequently, then

To provide an example for example, for instance, namely, specifically, to illustrate, as an illustration, in fact, thus

To emphasize a point even, indeed, in fact, of course, truly, definitely, extremely, obviously, in any case, absolutely, positively, naturally, never, unquestionably, without a doubt, certainly, undeniably, without reservation

To indicate place above, adjacent, below, beyond, here, in front, in back, nearby, there
To show cause and effect accordinglyt consequently, hence, so theatre as a result, because, by implication, so, for thin reason, from this we can see, since, thus.

To conclude or repeat or summarize finally, and so, in a word, in brief, in conclusion, in the end, on the whole, thus, to conclude, to summarize, in short, in sum, this experiment shows, thus we see

To expand and, also, besides, finally, further, in addition, moreover, then

To exemplify as an illustration, for example, for instance, in fact, specifically, thus

To qualify but, certainly, however, to be sure

To relate, logically as a result, because, by implication, for this reason, from this we can see, if, since, so, therefore

To compare also, as Well likewise, similarly, comparing, contrasting
To contrast but, even though, nevertheless, still, yet

To relate in. time after, before, between, earlier, later, longer than, meanwhile, since, immediately, thereafter, soon, after a few hours, finally, then, previously, formerly, first (second. etc.), next, and then

To relate in space above, adjacent to, behind, below, beyond, in front of, next to, north of through, within