GUIDELINES FOR THE ESSAY

❝Creativity is a wild mind and a disciplined eye❞ – Dorothy Parker

● Choose titles Underline slowly your the title key carefully. task words First, in each read one each eg. of the seven essay ‘speech’ ..... ’classmates’ ..... ‘importance of friendship.’ Know understand in advance what which you are essay being you asked will choose – do you Ensure prefer you creative (Discursive piece of personal writing Essay/Article) (Short writing story) (Personal or arguing or discussing Essay)? a point a of topical view (Speech) issue or a Brainstorm any points, examples, before you anecdotes, begin. For five statistics, or ten minutes, etc. you can jot down think of. Try same to basic have a idea variety over of and different over again points to use. Don’t repeat the Use what, the when, prompting where, questions how, why) in your plan to generate ideas (who, Next, points. do Know a paragraph in advance plan what where you you will decide discuss the in order each of paragraph. your Remember: Writing well is a craft that needs to be perfected through practice. You must nurture and develop your own personal style. So, naturally some of the preparation is on a more on-going, long-term basis: Read newspapers, as much magazines as you can .... over anything! the coming Reading months; will improve novels, your vocabulary what to write and about general knowledge. It will generate ideas on Write past exam as much paper as or possible write a before few paragraphs the exam. on Do a an topic essay (e.g. from today’s a teenage culture). The only way to improve your phrasing is to WRITE! Try to improve your vocabulary – keep a list of good words you come across in class or when reading. Build a word bank and try to incorporate this new vocabulary into your own writing Use correct sentencing and phrasing (make sure your sentences aren’t overly long and complicated. Many students try to impress with big words or impressive vocabulary but end up with a convoluted style) Don’t repeat yourself in the point you are making or in your phrasing. Students are often repetitive without realising, e.g. use ‘undoubtedly’ in every paragraph without noticing Use examples or facts or statistics to prove your points – you must show knowledge of your subject Have a good structure. Paragraphs should be clear and should lead logically onto each other It is a good option to use a quotation at the end of your essay for impact, e.g. “So, classmates, I urge you to keep the optimism and hope of youth and remember the words of the inspirational leader Mohatma Ghandi: ‘The future depends on what we do in the present.’” Link your conclusion back to your introduction if you can. The best essays have a nice sense of circularity Keep the marking scheme in mind while you are writing.