November 27, 2008 - Posted by writingguru - 0 Comments
Essays are short literary compositions that usually present the personal views of the authors. Students are often asked to write essays as their written assignments. However, writing essays requires the writer to fully understand what approach is appropriate for a given topic – in order to employ the suitable type of essay. And what are the basic essay types? Here are some:
• Persuasive/argumentative
Persuasive essays, also known as the argumentative writing, utilize logic and reason to prove that one idea is greater than another. It attempts to persuade readers to accept a certain point of view or to take a particular action. This approach always uses sound reasoning and solid evidence like facts, logical reasons, examples, and quotes from experts.
• Expository
The main purpose of an expository essay is to present, completely and fairly, an event or a situation. Expository writing presents a subject in detail, apart from criticism, argument, or development.
• Informal
Informal essays are written mainly for pleasure. Such essays are less formal and more relaxed expression of opinion, observation, humor or pleasure. A good informal essay has a casual style but retains a strong structure.
• Literary
In the literary essay, a writer explores the meaning and construction of a piece of literature. A literary essay focuses on elements such as the structure, character, theme, style, tone, and subtext. The goal of this essay approach is to discover how and why a certain piece is put together the way it is.
• Narrative
The purpose of a narrative is to describe an event in a chronological manner. This type of essay includes the characters, their actions, the plot, and perhaps, some relevant details.
• Comparison/contrast
Comparison essays show how two subjects are similar while contrast essays show how two subjects are different. In writing about two objects, decide whether to compare, contrast, or do both.
• Descriptive
A descriptive essay creates a vivid impression of a particular topic. It captures a person, place, or thing into words by appealing to the five senses - sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch.
• Definition
Definition essays are writings that explain a meaning of a term in manner that the author perceives the topic. While some terms have definite, concrete meanings, such as glass, book, or chair, terms such as dignity, honor, or love are abstract and depend more on a particular point of view.
• Classification
In a classification essay, the writer separate things or ideas into specific categories and discusses each of them. This style organizes the essay by defining each classification and through giving examples of each type.
• Personal
A personal essay is a free-wheeling device of self-expression. These essays represent what the writer think and feel about a given topic. This type of essay has a purpose of revealing the personality of an applicant for a graduate education.
• Cause and effect
This approach is concentrated on the ability of the writer to connect reasons to consequences. A cause and effect essay presents a logical flow of details that connects the cause to the effects on any analyzed aspect.
• Reflective
It is obviously a reflection on a personal event or experience of the essay writer. The main condition however, is that it has to be a certain personal experience on which the writer has a personal perception.
Writing essays can be torturing for many students as it demands a good grasp of what method or technique to employ. That’s why understanding types of essay is an essential part of crafting good essays.
November 25, 2008 - Posted by writingguru - 0 Comments
Essay writing is a painstaking activity that every student has to accomplish before they can finally get their much-anticipated diplomas. This requirement is indeed one of the most, or if not, the most notable achievement in the academe.
As many students consider essay writing as a legal torture, successfully completing this meticulous academic piece is rewarding. Although there is no quick way to get away with it, there are practical and healthy practices that can make writing essays less painful and a little more enjoyable. Here are some:
· Choose the right topic. This sounds very obvious, but a lot of people keep on forgetting it. Ideally, a student wants something that will be stimulate and sustain his interest for the whole period of creating the paper.
· Be specific. A topic must have a very specific scope to easily identify its limitations as well. The essence of essay writing is to present ideas that are not yet been presented in a different light. Therefore, concentrating on a precise issue will make it easier for the writer to be original and definitely, to prove something. It does not need to be a major issue – as long as it is unique and relevant.
· Begin research immediately. There is nothing better than starting early especially in terms of researching. With massive researching work load demanded in writing quality essays, beginning ahead of time will give room for a more comprehensive and substantial results.
· Be familiar with the library. Not only to the library but also to where relevant research materials are available. It is easier to find the materials needed if writers are acquainted with those places.
· Set deadlines – Imposing a deadline on one’s self is a good essay writing practice. This makes the writer feel that the writing process is moving along and progressing – chapter per chapter. It also helps in beating the real deadline.
· Write clearly and simply. Use good grammar and avoid jargons. Also, be cautious of misplaced modifiers, dangling prepositions, and run-on sentences – these might affect the overall readability and context of the paper.
Essay writing is task that demands a sense of responsibility to its writers. Students are not just given this activity to hone their technical writing skills, but also to develop in them healthy practices that must be observed in creating academic pieces.
November 19, 2008 - Posted by writingguru - 0 Comments
Essay writing is an activity bounded by set of rules. There seem to be a rule for every step of the writing process – from topic selection, actual writing, down to formatting style.
Ironically, as essay writing entails a lot of complicated guidelines, there are only three simple rules that when students manage to follow, will lead to quality academic pieces.
- Plan ahead, start as early as possible. Ensure that the allotted time for the term paper is quite enough – considering other factors such as revisions. A student must always allocate extra time for revision and rewrites. Planning ahead is vital in writing. Every stage in the process demands careful assessment especially in gathering data. Cramming will only lead to low quality research materials and unpolished work. The ideal time management plan for students is to start researching several weeks before the actual essay writing and to leave at least a week to edit and revise.
- Don’t ever plagiarize. This is an imperative in any form of academic works. Writing essays and other school activities aim to hone students’ writing skills as well as their creativity. Plagiarizing assignments defeats this purpose. Proper citation is relevant in this guideline.
- Follow professor’s instructions. Evidently, professors are the one giving essay writing tasks as they are as well responsible in the evaluation of these papers. With such general fact, students are expected to follow the specifications of their professors or else, all the hard works and sleepless nights can’t bear its fruit.
Although paper writing requires students to abide to certain standard and technical rules, these three basic guidelines can already suffice to produce quality essay papers.
November 13, 2008 - Posted by writingguru - 0 Comments
WHAT do abortion, euthanasia, global warming, terrorism and world peace all have in common?
They are actually the top five topics that a massive amount of students love to write about in an argumentative essay—themes that already get on the nerves of many professors!
All those abovementioned subjects may generate well-written argumentative essays, but one thing is sure, no writer can sway readers to accept his point of view in a jiffy, for the simple reason that some of those topics would disagree with their long-established beliefs.
So what other themes students can write about? Here are some options.
1. Hot issue. Anything that is timely, factual, interests and affects a large number of people in a community—that is capable of being understood by them—is worthy to be written. But the said issue shouldn’t only be arguable; it should also be informative so readers would understand it fully.
2. Persuasive line of reasoning. An argumentative essay isn’t only limited to emphasizing an opinion; it can also present an argument that can be supported by credible facts and figures—statistics, interviews, findings derived from books, magazines and experts—to convince readers that the statement is indeed true.
3. Clear stand, which the writer can say in his thesis statement. If there’s a need for him to tone down his thesis to make the grade, he may do so.
4. Sound tone. When writing an argumentative essay, students must have this state of mind that whatever they will write, their readers will surely oppose. And so they have to ensure that the tone of their essay gives the impression of professionalism and trustworthiness all the time.
The formula to successful writing of argumentative essays is actually to never write about topics that can be fought but cannot be won.
November 2, 2008 - Posted by writingguru - 0 Comments
THE road to stepping into a college or university that you’ve been dreaming of since your high school days is definitely rock-strewn, because the competition among applicants gets tougher and tougher year after year.
Your only arsenal to get a passport towards this golden opportunity is none other than a college application essay that an admission staff at an educational institution will peruse.
In other words, it is your college application essay that makes the discrepancy between getting accepted or becoming rejected!
But how would you be able to craft a college application essay that will bring out the best in you—enough to convince admission officials that you really deserve a slot in their school?
Prove points. It is not only about informing the admission executives all your awards and recognitions back in high school—it is actually more of illustrating to them who you are. Your college admission essay must be able to provide pieces of evidence about what you can do or offer to them. Build up the central idea of your essay by means of including concrete facts, figures, events, quotations and even reasons to be more specific.
Tell something new. Never ever write in your college application essays about things that admission staffs have already heard, seen and read before such as world peace, effects of cheating in the society, the root of terrorism, and so on. Give them something new so your letter will be placed on top of their tables, not inside a trash bin.
Write a letter, not a resume. Never ever try to make your college admission essay that is similar to your life story in a nutshell or list of capabilities and qualifications bulleted—you are looking for a school, not a job!
Settle for the simple, not for the complex. Stay away from highfalutin words to impress the school officials, all you need to do is be able to vividly express your intent of studying in their institution and that’s it. Do away with words that you don’t have to include, if you can utilize seven words instead of seventy, do it.
Please proofread before you pass it. Typographical as well as grammatical errors aren’t only eyesores in college admission essays—they are also detriments to the fulfillment of your dreams. Don’t solely depend on spelling and grammar checkers of PCs. Have your letter printed and then read it aloud. Still in doubt, have a fresher set of eyes: Have someone else browse and proofread your work.