How
to write an essay
What is
an essay? According to World Book
Dictionary, “An essay is a literary composition on a particular subject.” There are different types of essays, namely,
argumentative, descriptive, narrative, expository, dialogue, letters, minutes,
police reports, newspaper articles, speeches and talks. Regardless of the types, in general, an essay
consists of 3 main parts: Introduction,
Body and Conclusion.
In
general, what do you write in the
introduction? We give definition of the
topic and highlight the main points or ideas of the essay in such essay types
likes argumentative essays, newspaper articles, speeches and talks. For letter writing, we give reasons for
writing the letter and what the writer wish to see happening. However, for minutes, dialogue, processes and
procedures, they have different formats
and so we take different approaches.
For the
body of an essay, there are usually 3 – 5 paragraphs. In each paragraph, there is one main point
which is often expressed in a topic sentence and is supported by specific
examples to explain the idea or concept.
In
conclusion, we give opinions, suggestions or summarise /
restate the main points.
Generally,
there are several important tasks we have to do before writing. First, we have to gather the relevant information on the
target topic such as a speech / talk, newspaper article, argumentative
essay, police report, letters and the
like. Then, we sort out, categorise and
analyse the information related to the topic.
After that we plan and outline the text in the appropriate style and
conventions. At this stage, we may draft
the text and finally revise and edit the draft to prepare for the final draft.
Despite
the similarities, there are some variations of different essays in formats and
content presentation. Here I would like
to show the essays with different formats and content presentations.
1. Letter-writing
A. Formal letter writing
First take a look of the
formats of letter writing. Generally, there are two types of letter
writing, i.e formal and informal. Formal letter writing refers to business
letters and official letters whereas informal letters are letters you write to
friends or relatives. As we know, letter
writing is a very common form of written communication. The purpose of letter writing is to inform,
persuade or propose your ideas. Hence,
there are some basic etiquette and conventions to comply to especially for
formal letter writing.
In order
to communicate well, we have to consider the following conditions:
a)
analyse your recipient
b) determine the
purpose
c)
gather information
d) create an
outline
e)
write a draft
f)
revise it
Besides, we have to know the format of a
formal letter. Generally, every line
begins at the left hand margin. We have
to write all these elements in the introduction of a formal letter.
a)
The writer’s Address
b) The recipient’s
Address
c)
Attention Line
d) Salutation
e)
The Subject Line
There may be 2-3 paragraphs in the body of
the letter. In the first paragraph,
you
state concisely a couple of things why you are writing to the recipient
and what you wish to see happening or what you would like the recipient to do. You give supporting details in the second and
third paragraphs.
In the conclusion of the
letter, you again state clearly and politely what you would like to see take
place. Besides, you also express your
gratitude. Then the letter is ended in a
complimentary close with your signature.
If you have any enclosure, you have to indicate, too.
Now lets analyse the sample
formal letter and see how it is written.
You may find out whether the writer has get his / her (hiser) message across or transmit
the information. In other words, can you
under this letter easily?
B.
Informal letter writing
It is the letter that
you write to friends or relatives. In comparison to formal letter writing, you
find that informal letter writing is so much simpler. It only has the writer’s address and date at
the top right corner and the salutation is aligned at the left hand margin in
the introduction of the informal letter.
In the introduction, you
greet your recipient and share some information or just some casual inquiry. In the body, you state the purpose of writing
the letter in the first paragraph. Then
in the second paragraph, you give some details of what has been said in the
first paragraph. You usually give some
other news in the following paragraphs.
You may have 2-4 paragraphs for the body.
In the conclusion, you may
give opinions/ requests/ suggestions.
Then you end the letter with a complimentary close with your signature.
Now you may analyse the
sample informal letter and see how it is written.
2. Police Report
For a police report, for example, ‘A Robbery’ you have to state
the place and time of the incident and how it happened in the introduction. Then you described the incident in more details and what actions has been
taken in the following paragraphs. In
conclusion, you give your opinion of the case.
Now take a look of the
sample of a police report.
3. Story-writing
It
is a narrative essay. There are some
important elements to know in writing story.
a)
have a well-defined plot summary
b) use speech/
dialogue
c)
use sensory details
d) use figurative
language
e)
use the past tenses
-----
Simple Past/ Past Continuous/ Past Perfect / Past Perfect Continuous
You may begin your story with an anecdote/
speech / flashback/ opinion / information / quotation. The following paragraphs give the development
of the story based on the plot. You may
summarise / look to the future in the ending of the story.
Now read the model essay of story-writing.
4. Dialogue
A dialogue has a very different format from
other essays which are in paragraphs.
However, a dialogue is the direct speech in a conversation usually
between 2 persons. In other words, when
we want to express the direct speech of the speakers, for example, a job
interview, we may put the conversation
in a dialogue form.
In a dialogue, someone starts a topic or
talks on an issue in the introduction of a conversation. Then, there is a discussion either giving
opinions or sharing information in the body of a dialogue. In the conclusion, the speaker may give
opinions, suggestions or summary of the main points.
Now let’s read the dialogue of the model.
5. Minutes
In a formal meeting of a company, club or
association and so on, you usually have to keep record of what has been
discussed and this document is called minute.
To write a minute, you have to know the format.
In the introduction, you need to give the
title of the minute. Then you list out
the items like the Date, Time, Venue, Attendance and Agenda. The body of the minute is the various items
in the agenda:
a)
Confirmation of the last minute
b) Items to be
discussed
c)
Plans to be carried out
d) Matter arising
The minute is closed with the secretary’s
signature.
sample model minute for reference.
Knowing the format and how to present the
points is still not enough unless you also have ideas how to present a
coherent, cohesive and unified essay writing.
In other words, your organise your essay in such a way that it runs
smoothly from one sentence to another; from one paragraph to another, too. To accomplish the task of writing an essay, of
course, you must have a good grasp of English grammar, rich knowledge of
vocabulary, general knowledge gained through reading and life experiences. Knowing the choice of words that can
affect the tone of an essay is also
crucial in essay writing.
In conclusion, I would like to emphasise
that the essays of any type always have 3 basic parts, namely, introduction,
body and conclusion though some of them may have different formats and content
presentation. Besides, the purpose of
written communication of any nature is to get your message across, be
interpreted and understood. Hence, it is
important to know the various writing skills and the process of preparing an
essay, too.
References
1. Hazidi Abdul Hamid (2002) OUMH1203 English
for Written Communication . Selangor Darul Ehsan: PEARSON (Prentice Hall)
2. Maryann Sebastian | Tan Teong
Leong (1997). 120 Model Compositions for
SPM
1322/1119 English. Selangor Darul Ehsan: PENERBIT FAJAR BAKTI
SND. BHD.
3. Annie Lee | Nan Yong Ai
(2000). 150 Model Compositions for SPM
1119 English.
Selangor Darul Ehsan: PENERBIT FAJAR BAKTI SND. BHD.
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