english essay 1 paper

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   Paper 1 Home Free Access Weekend! P1 - Examination Questions P2 - Examination Questions Start Here Paper 2 Individual Oral HL Essay The Learner Portfolio Extended Essay Essential Knowledge Resources  

• Paper 1 - Frequently Asked Questions
• Paper 1 - Structuring a Guided Textual Analysis
• Paper 1 - Video Guide to Textual Analysis
• Paper 1 - Writing Guiding Questions
• Paper 1 - Student Examples: Comic Strip
• Paper 1 - More Samples
• Paper 1 - Dealing with Infographics
• Paper 1 - Examination Strategy
• Paper 1 - Sample texts and student work

This page gives examples of the types of non-literary texts you might receive for text-heavy and image-heavy analyses in Paper 1. Take a look and consider how you would perhaps respond to them - use the structure guide in this site to help you. Try assessing the student examples, too, and improve your understanding of what is expected.

English Composition I - ENGL 1113

• Find eBooks
• Find Articles
• Search Tips
• Write It, Cite It
• Ask a Librarian
• This I Believe Invention Strategy
• The Annotated Bibliography

Requirements

Suggested writing prompt in "this i believe" format.

• Essay 2 - The Informative Essay
• Essay 3 - The Classical Argument Essay

The purpose of Essay 1 is to compose an essay that relates your prior experience and assumptions to new perspectives about a larger issue.  Your connections should provide deeper insight to your audience.  For this assignment you will identify something you believe to be true.  You will then tell a story about how you came to believe it to be true.

• 2-3 pages (double-spaced), not including the Works Cited page, if required
• Utilize invention techniques : Before writing the essay, begin identifying your issue through a series of invention techniques, including but not limited to the following: brainstorming, listing, clustering, questioning, and conducting preliminary research.
• Plan and organize your essay : After the invention process, it is important to begin planning the organizational pattern for the essay.  Planning includes identifying your thesis, establishing main ideas (or topic sentences) for each paragraph, supporting each paragraph with appropriate evidence, and creating ideas for the introductory and concluding paragraphs.
• Draft and revise your essay : Once you have completed the planning process, write a rough draft of your essay.  Next, take steps to improve, polish, and revise your draft before turning it in for a final grade.  The revision process includes developing ideas, ensuring the thesis statement connects to the main ideas of each paragraph, taking account of your evidence and supporting details, checking for proper use of MLA citation style, reviewing source integration, avoiding plagiarism, and proofreading for formatting and grammatical errors.

Your instructor may suggest another prompt and/or format.  Follow your instructor's directions.

• Tell your story: Be specific.  Take your belief out of the ether and ground it in the events that have shaped your core values.  Consider moments when belief was formed or tested or changed.  Think of your own experience, work, and family, and tell of the things your know that no one else does.  Your story need not be heart-warming or gut wrenching - it can even be funny - but it should be real.  Make sure your story ties to the essence of your daily life philosophy and the shaping of your beliefs.
• Be brief:   Your statement should be between 500 and 800 words.  That's about 2 to 3 pages double-spaced.
• Name your belief: If you can't name it in a sentence or two, your essay might not be about belief.  Also, rather than writing a list, consider focusing on one core belief. For example: "I believe humans are essentially good." "I believe professors are really mentors." "I believe getting a college education is the key to success." "I believe everyone has a soul."
• Use chronological order: Narratives have a beginning, a middle, and an end.
• Be positive: Write about what you do believe, not what you don't believe.  Avoid statements of religious dogma, preaching, or editorializing.  This isn't an essay to "teach" someone.
• Be personal: Make your essay about you; speak in the fist person.  Avoid speaking in the editorial "we."  Tell a story from your own life; this is not an opinion piece about social ideals.  Write in words and phrases that are comfortable for you to speak.  We recommend you read your essay aloud to yourself several times, and each time edit it and simplify it until you find the words, tone, and story that truly echo your belief and the way you speak.  Yes, you may use first person in this essay only.

This assignment helps you practice the following skills that are essential to your success in school and your professional life beyond school.  In this assignment you will:

• Utilize descriptive language effectively to tell a story
• Describe things using sensory details and figurative language
• Compose a well-organized essay that includes an introduction, body, and conclusion.
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• Next: Essay 2 - The Informative Essay >>
• Last Updated: Aug 1, 2024 9:46 AM
• URL: https://libguides.occc.edu/comp1

Exam guide, practice papers, past paper solutions.

Best Essay Structure for IB English Paper 1

Having a strong guided analysis structure is the easiest way to earn marks in your IB English Paper 1. But wait–there’s even better news: The best structure doesn’t have to be elaborate or complicated at all. In fact, the simpler the structure, the better!

In this guide, I will answer the following questions:

• What is logical flow in a essay?
• How many points should I have in my essay?
• What’s the best way to organise the points in my essay body?

If you’ve just discovered LitLearn, be sure to read our  complete guide on IB English Paper 1.  Not to brag, but it’s amazing!

• What is logical flow, and why is it important?

The key ingredient of a strong structure for your Paper 1 essay is logic . What do I mean by logic? I mean that the points in your essay must flow seamlessly from one point to the next in chain of reasonable connections .

If you want to take your essay to the next level, you should use these logical connections to not just connect points but to develop the argument of the essay.

To illustrate what I mean by logical flow, consider a bad example where there is absolutely no reasonable connection between subsequent points:

• The bully is characterised as an arrogant individual.
• The author uses metaphor to construct the excited atmosphere of the annual event.
• The use of structure in the poem portrays the tragic consequences of the car crash.

Huh? These points have no connections between them. They could easily have been scrambled and presented in another order, and it wouldn’t have mattered. Always ensure that your points connect and develop from one to the next.

• The ideal number of points for IB English Paper 1

Always aim for 3 points. An essay with four points is also highly effective, especially for HL English students, given the complexity of your texts.

Avoid having only 2 points in your essay. You can still get a good mark, but this structure is not ideal because it doesn’t allow for a sufficient breadth of analysis. Breadth is just as important as depth of analysis.

As a funny side-story, I almost had to stick with 2 points for my final IB English Paper 1 exam, but luckily at the end I was able to conjure a third and final point to save my Paper 1 grade from the hot embers of failure… I’m just kidding. I’m sure the essay would’ve been fine if I’d only had 2 points. But of course, it’s the ideal.

• Types of point organisation

My recommendations for the best essay structure is no doubt a biased opinion. Your teachers might have different recommendations, but what follows is simply an honest expression of what has worked well and not-so-well for me in my IB English experiences. Can you write a great essay with SPECSLIMS as your mode of organisation? Certainly. I just have haven’t seen the merits of this particular organisation, and of course, I’m not a perfect human.

Having your points as techniques is the best approach in only one scenario: When the text conveys one central idea, message or theme. This scenario happens about 10% of the time. Clearly, organising by techniques is a bad—or at least a non-ideal—choice in 90% of all Paper 1s.

Let’s be specific. Organising an essay by techniques has two main disadvantages:

• The points are usually  difficult to integrate in a logical, flowing manner. How do you link metaphor, sound and poem structure in a logical flow? Not easy.
• You cannot analyse multiple techniques together to support a single point because each point must focus on a single technique; this leads to the isolated analysis of techniques (there is a way around this, but we’ll keep it simple here) and hence a low score for Criterion B—Appreciating writer’s choices.

This type of organisation requires you to have a separate paragraph for each of the following: s ubject matter, writer’s p urpose, e motion of reader (mood), and c raftsmanship, which is in turn broken down into s tructure, l anguage, i magery, m ovement, and s ound.

This structure is disorganised and the paragraphs clearly have no logical progression between them. I avoid SPECSLIMS without hesitation, and I recommend that you do the same for the sake of your Criterion C Organisation mark.

• Ideas and Section

Through five years of IB English experience as both a student and a tutor, I discovered that organising an essay by idea and section are the most effective structures. Organising by section means to split an essay into several parts and analyse each section in relation to an idea or technique that is present in only that particular section. There are two main reasons for why these structures are the best:

• They offer the most opportunity for a logically-developing argument and a 5/5 on Criterion C—Organisation. This is because ideas can be naturally connected by reasonable logic, and sections are already structured by definition .
• They allow you to analyse multiple literary techniques together in relation to a single point, which helps in scoring 5/5 on Criterion B. You aren’t just analysing techniques in isolation but appreciating how different language choices work together.

Study Guide for Paper 1 and Paper 2

We understand navigating our website can be tough.  There are literally 125+ videos to choose from, and it’s easy to get lost.  No worries!  Our complete Paper 1 and Paper 2 Study Guide is streamlined and includes just the essentials. No more aimless clicking.  All you need is right here in one place!

The Complete Study Guide for Paper 1 and Paper 2 is part of our IBDP English A Student Toolkit and includes:

• 250+ pages of updated review material!
• The best of our website videos and documents 
• NEW content not available on our website
• 20 highlighted papers with examiner notes 
• Discussion videos justifying marks on sample papers
• Full assortment of graphic organizers
• Sentence stems and guidance for analysis

Paper 1 Exam Review Video Course

Looking for more detailed instruction?  Try our Paper 1 Exam Review course.  This complete course features two non-literary texts to prepare you for the next Lang/Lit Paper 1 assessment.  We’ll show you how to read closely, write a strong response, score your own work, and make a personal improvement plan.  This is for serious students…go for it!

Part of our  IBDP English A Student Toolkit , this resource includes:

• 8 synchronous lessons with downloadable documents
• More than 100 minutes of NEW instructional video
• 2 exam texts
• 2 highlighted model responses with examiner comments and discussion video
• Paper 1 checklist
• Paper 1 scoring and reflection guide

FREE Study Sessions - May 2024 Exam Prep!

We know students are gearing up for exams, and we’re eager to help.  Join us for a FREE Study Session!

Each study session will last approximately 2 hours and review the key concepts needed for success on exam day.  Please visit the Revision Village Study Session page for timezones and register now!

Past Paper Sample Responses Now Available on RV!

We’ve joined forces with Revision Village to provide videos and sample responses for all past papers for Lang/Lit for the current course.  This includes both Paper 1 and Paper 2!  

This site is loaded…be sure to check it out!

New Videos for 2024

Political Cartoons – Reading

Political Cartoons – Writing

Poetry – Reading

Poetry – Writing

Advertising – Reading

Advertising – Writing

Prose Fiction – Reading

Prose Fiction – Writing

Comics – Reading

Paper 1 – Quick Tips and Tricks For All Students

We get it. Sometimes you don’t have the time to watch lots of videos and sort through lots of documents. If that describes you, then Andrew and Dave highly recommend checking out the videos below. They are short, sweet, and have loads of critical tips and tricks to help you succeed on Paper One.

Watch this before your next Paper 1 for important reminders.

Ten Tips for Paper One

Don't make these mistakes! Easy fixes that add points.

Ten Pitfalls to Avoid for Paper One

Nobody wants to sound like a robot. Add some voice, would you?

Adding Voice to Academic Writing

Start with a firm handshake and finish strong.

Sample Intro and Conclusion

Remember: Discuss HOW the author USES text to impact the READER.

Discussing Reader Effect

Criteria B demands evaluation of the effectiveness of authorial choices.

Adding Evaluation

Don't forget to read between the lines and discuss implications.

Discussing Implications

Watch this video right before your exam. Don't miss this checklist!

Paper 1 Checklist

Best of luck to May 2024. You've got this!

Exam Pep Talk

Language and Literature - Countdown to Paper 1!

Do you have a summative assessment or mock exam coming up?  Are you cramming content at the last minute?  If you are a Language and Literature student and this describes you, then you have come to the right place.  Each of the following TEN text types has CLOSE READING and SAMPLE RESPONSES WITH EXAMINER COMMENTS.  There are also documents with text type conventions and various other resources you need to achieve academic success.  Watch the videos and crush Paper 1.

TEXT TYPE 1: WEBSITE

Conventions

Stimulus Text

Student Response

TEXT TYPE 2: SPEECH

Conventions More Conventions Stimulus Text

TEXT TYPE 3: LETTER

TEXT TYPE 4: PRODUCT REVIEW

Conventions Stimulus Text

TEXT TYPE 5: COMIC

LINK: BoW Grant Snider

TEXT TYPE 6: FILM REVIEW

TEXT TYPE 7: BROCHURE

TEXT TYPE 8: PSA

TEXT TYPE 9: TRAVEL WRITING

TEXT TYPE 10: TABLOID COVER

TEXT TYPE 11: ADVERTISING

TEXT TYPE 12: INFOGRAPHICS

Political cartoons.

Political cartoons are self-contained commentaries on an important current event or key aspect of society, and they’re humorous.  Look out for colors, symbols, and other hidden ideas lurking in the subtext.  Remember: just like literary authors, cartoonists make a series of choices in their work intended to shape meaning.  Look carefully.  Detect nuances and implications.  Evaluate.  Ace Paper 1.

Learn how to deconstruct political cartoons.

Cartoon Terms

Cartoon of Cartoon Terms

Now that you’ve learned some basic terms, let’s apply them to more cartoons.

Apply your new cartoon skills to academic writing.

Cartoon and Sample Writing

Sentence Stems for Analysis

Put it all together and check out this 7.

Advertising

They’re everywhere on our phones and screens.  Advertisers work to cut through the clutter, grab our attention, and subtly influence us to make choices to buy, buy, and buy some more.  Accordingly, Dave and Andrew believe it’s essential to learn the tips and tricks companies use to manipulate our attention and persuade us to act.  Check out these videos.  Not only will you improve your Paper 1 performance, but you will also be a more skilled and savvy consumer who is attuned to the features our favorite brands employ in their ads.

Learn key terms and how to break down ads.

Features of Advertising

Mnemonic for Deconstructing Ads

There's more to learn! Add these skills to your toolbox.

15 Techniques of Advertising

More Tools of Persuasion

Put it all together and write an organized piece of academic writing.

The Model Paragraph

Opinion Articles

Whether they agree with what’s happening in our world or not, writers of opinion columns implement a series of choices in their work to maximize their persuasive effect.  A close cousin of speeches, these short and complete texts pack a punch.  Look carefully at how they’re structured, how they use rhetoric, and how they end strong.  Learn this stuff.  It’s Paper 1 gold.

What tools do these writers use? Add these terms to your list.

Persuasive Elements in Opinion Articles

Now that you’ve got some basic skills and some terms under your belt, let’s apply them to three different opinion articles and see what we can do.

Put it all together and see what it looks like.

Paper One Student Sample (original)

Paper One Student Sample (highlighted)

Literary Text Types

Regardless of the course you are enrolled in, we’re all studying literature.  How is prose fiction different than prose nonfiction?  What about drama and poetry?  Are there any special skills and tips to learn?  We’ve got the answers to these questions and more down below.  Consume these resources and become a better critical reader and writer.  

Prose Fiction

What’s prose fiction?  Think novels.  Think short stories.  Think “imaginative” writing.  It’s one of the cornerstones of the course for a reason, as it teaches us about the human condition and fosters empathy.  Learn how to be a close reader of prose fiction and let your knowledge shine when you write your Paper 1.

Literature can be tough. This acronym for deconstruction will help.

SCASNI acronym for annotating fiction

Learn more about how our SCASNI protocol can foster deeper analysis.

SCASNI applied to a Paper One Text

Put it all together and check out this full Paper 1 response.

Paper One – Full Student Response

Prose Non-Fiction

This course requires exploration of nonfiction texts as well.  So what exactly is this stuff anyway?  Think memoirs.  Think travelogues.  Think philosophy and other insightful texts that present factual information in an entertaining and literary way.  We love prose non-fiction, and so do our students.  These were our mock exams as well as former IB exams.  

Remember: Paper 1 is a reading test first. Watch this video.

Assessment Text (original) Assessment Text (annotated)

Yes, diaries show up on assessments. Familiarize yourself with this text type.

Assessment Text (original)

Assessment Text (annotated)

We love a good memoir. Another former IB Lit assessment here.

Check out what this writer does. They know what they're doing!

Student Response (original) Student Response (highlighted)

Another strong Lit response. You getting the hang of this yet?

Student Response (original)

Student Response (highlighted)

Our final mock exam in this Lit series. Another strong response.

Student Response (original and highlighted) Three Different Styles of Introductions

Sure, we understand poetry is abstract, but we promise it can be fun! It’s complex and requires deep thinking, but that’s where the magic lives.  Check out the videos and documents below.  You’ll find poetic terminology, close reading strategies, and sentence stems to guide your writing.  Watch.  Learn.  Master.  You’ve got this!  

Just like any text type, poetry has its own set of terms. Learn them!

Poetic Terms

Sample Poem with Annotations

Now you know some terms. A few more pieces and you're on your way.

How to Read a Poem

Acronym for Analyzing Poetry

Words to Describe Mood and Tone

Maya Angelou Poem For Analysis

Let's practice our new skills with a nature poem from Mary Oliver.

Mary Oliver Poem for Analysis

Mary Oliver Poem (fully annotated)

Check out this former IB Exam where we break down a great poem.

Document: Poem – “Tyre Shop” by Bob Orr

Check out the full student response and compare your work to the sample.

Document: “Tyre Shop” – Full Student Response

Andrew and Dave love drama.  But, you’ve got to remember to pay attention to the stage directions. What can you see and hear on stage?  What props do you notice?  How are costume and staging used for effect?  So many things to explore!  It’s important to learn the basics for now, but stay tuned for more content in the future.  Our students love drama, and so will you.  Immerse yourself in this text type and enjoy!

We'll add more content soon. For now, master these important conventions of drama.

Dramatic Terms Annotated Passage

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IB English Guys

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Module 4: Writing in College

Writing a personal essay, learning objectives.

• Describe techniques for writing an effective personal essay

How to Write a Personal Essay

One particular and common kind of narrative essay is the personal narrative essay. Maybe you have already written one of these in order to get to college or for a scholarship. The personal essay is a narrative essay focused on you. Typically, you write about events or people in your life that taught you important life lessons. These events should have changed you somehow. From this choice will emerge the theme (the main point) of your story. Then you can follow these steps:

Figure 1 . Brainstorming the details of a personal experience can help you to write a more complete story with elements like vivid details, dialogue, and sufficient character development.

• Once you identify the event, you will write down what happened. Just brainstorm (also called freewriting). Focus on the actual event. You do not need to provide a complete build-up to it. For example, if you are telling a story about an experience at camp, you do not need to provide readers with a history of your camp experiences, nor do you need to explain how you got there, what you ate each day, how long it lasted, etc. Readers need enough information to understand the event.
• Use descriptions/vivid details.
• “Nothing moved but a pair of squirrels chasing each other back and forth on the telephone wires. I followed one in my sight. Finally, it stopped for a moment and I fired.”
• Passive voice uses the verb “to be” along with an action verb: had been aiming, was exhausted.
• Even though the “characters” in your story are real people, your readers won’t get to know them unless you describe them, present their personalities, and give them physical presence.
• Dialogue helps readers get to know the characters in your story, infuses the story with life, and offers a variation from description and explanation. When writing dialogue, you may not remember exactly what was said in the past, so be true to the person being represented and come as close to the actual language the person uses as possible. Dialogue is indented with each person speaking as its own paragraph. The paragraph ends when that person is done speaking and any following explanation or continuing action ends. (If your characters speak a language other than English, feel free to include that in your narrative, but provide a translation for your English-speaking readers.)
• Remember, if it is a personal narrative, you are telling the story, so it should be in first person. Students often worry about whether or not they are allowed to use “I.” It is impossible to write a personal essay without using “I”!
• Write the story in a consistent verb tense (almost always past tense). It doesn’t work to try to write it in the present tense since it already happened. Make sure you stay in the past tense.

Sample Personal Statement

One type of narrative essay you may have reason to write is a Personal Statement.

Many colleges and universities ask for a Personal Statement Essay for students who are applying for admission, to transfer, or for scholarships. Generally, a Personal Statement asks you to respond to a specific prompt, most often asking you to describe a significant life event, a personality trait, or a goal or principle that motivates or inspires you. Personal Statements are essentially narrative essays with a particular focus on the writer’s personal life.

The following essay was responding to the prompt: “Write about an experience that made you aware of a skill or strength you possess.” As you read, pay attention to the way the writer gets your attention with a strong opening, how he uses vivid details and a chronological narrative to tell his story, and how he links back to the prompt in the conclusion.

Sample Student Essay

Alen Abramyan Professor X English 1101-209 2/5/2022

In the Middle of Nowhere Fighting Adversity

A three-punch combination had me seeing stars. Blood started to rush down my nose. The Russian trainers quietly whispered to one another. I knew right away that my nose was broken. Was this the end of my journey; or was I about to face adversity?

Ever since I was seven years old, I trained myself in, “The Art of Boxing.”  While most of the kids were out playing fun games and hanging out with their friends, I was in a damp, sweat-filled gym. My path was set to be a difficult one. Blood, sweat, and tears were going to be an everyday occurrence.

At a very young age I learned the meaning of hard work and dedication. Most kids jumped from one activity to the next. Some quit because it was too hard; others quit because they were too bored. My father pointed this out to me on many occasions. Adults would ask my father, ” why do you let your son box? It’s such a dangerous sport, he could get hurt. My father always replied, “Everyone is going to get hurt in their lives, physically, mentally and emotionally. I’m making sure he’s ready for the challenges he’s going to face as a man. I always felt strong after hearing my father speak that way about me. I was a boy being shaped into a man, what a great feeling it was.

Year after year, I participated in boxing tournaments across the U.S. As the years went by, the work ethic and strength of character my father and coaches instilled in me, were starting to take shape. I began applying the hard work and dedication I learned in boxing, to my everyday life. I realized that when times were tough and challenges presented themselves, I wouldn’t back down, I would become stronger. This confidence I had in myself, gave me the strength to pursue my boxing career in Russia.

I traveled to Russia to compete in Amateur Boxing. Tournament after tournament I came closer to my goal of making the Russian Olympic Boxing team. After successfully winning the Kaliningrad regional tournament, I began training for the Northwest Championships. This would include boxers from St. Petersburg, Pskov, Kursk and many other powerful boxing cities.

We had to prepare for a tough tournament, and that’s what we did. While sparring one week before the tournament, I was caught by a strong punch combination to the nose. I knew right away it was serious. Blood began rushing down my face, as I noticed the coaches whispering to each other. They walked into my corner and examined my nose,” yeah, it’s broken,” Yuri Ivonovich yelled out. I was asked to clean up and to meet them in their office. I walked into the Boxing Federation office after a quick shower. I knew right away, they wanted to replace me for the upcoming tournament. “We’re investing a lot of money on you boxers and we expect good results. Why should we risk taking you with a broken nose?” Yuri Ivonovich asked me. I replied, “I traveled half-way around the world to be here, this injury isn’t a problem for me.” And by the look on my face they were convinced, they handed me my train ticket and wished me luck.

The train came to a screeching halt, shaking all the passengers awake. I glanced out my window, “Welcome to Cherepovets,” the sign read. In the background I saw a horrific skyline of smokestacks, coughing out thick black smoke. Arriving in the city, we went straight to the weigh ins. Hundreds of boxers, all from many cities were there. The brackets were set up shortly after the weigh ins. In the Super Heavyweight division, I found out I had 4 fights to compete in, each increasing in difficulty. My first match, I made sure not a punch would land; this was true for the next two fights. Winning all three 6-0, 8-0 and 7-0 respectively. It looked like I was close to winning the whole tournament. For the finals I was to fight the National Olympic Hope Champion.

The night before the finals was coincidentally the 200th anniversary of the city. All night by my hotel, I heard screams of laughter and partying. I couldn’t sleep a wink. The morning of the fight I was exhausted but anxious. I stepped into the ring knowing that I was tired. I fell behind in points quickly in the first round. I felt as if I were dreaming, with no control of the situation. I was going along for the ride and it wasn’t pleasant. At the end of the second round, the coach informed me that I was far behind. “?You’re asleep in there,” he yelled out to me, confirming how I felt. I knew this was my last chance; I had to give it my all. I mustered up enough strength to have an amazing round. It was as if I stepped out and a fresh boxer stepped in. I glanced at my coaches and see a look of approval. No matter the outcome, I felt that I had defeated adversity. My opponent’s hand was raised , he won a close decision, 6-5. After I got back to my hotel, I remembered Yuri Ivonovich telling me they expected good results. “How were my results,” I asked myself. In my mind, the results were great, with a broken nose and with no sleep, I came one point shy of defeating the National Olympic Hope Champion.

Even from a very young age, I knew that when my back was against the wall and adversity was knocking on my door, I would never back down. I became a stronger person, a trait my family made sure I would carry into my adult years. No matter what I’m striving for; getting into a University; receiving a scholarship; or applying for a job, I can proudly say to myself, I am Alen Abramyan and adversity is no match for me.

Link to Learning

Sandra Cisneros offers an example of a narrative essay in “Only Daughter”  that captures her sense of her Chicana-Mexican heritage as the only daughter in a family of seven children.

Do Personal Essays have Thesis Statements?

While many personal essays include a direct statement of the thesis, in some personal essays the thesis may be implied, or suggested, rather than stated outright.

Imagine, for example, that in your personal essay you decide to write about the way someone influenced you. The influential individual could be a relative, a friend or classmate, an employer or a teacher. As you shape your essay, you would not simply assemble a collection of miscellaneous observations about the person; instead, you would be selective and focus on details about this person that show his or her impact upon you.

Let us say that the person who influenced you is a grandparent. You may know a lot about this individual: personality traits, family and marital history, medical history, educational background, work experience, military experience, political and religious beliefs, hobbies, tastes in music, etc. As you shape your essay, you wouldn’t try to catalog all that you know. Instead, you would try to create a dominant impression by including details that guide your reader toward the idea that is central to the essay.

For example, if you developed certain habits and attitudes as you and your grandparent worked together on a project, that experience might provide the focus for the essay. If you chose details consistent with that focus, then you wouldn’t need to state that this was the point of the essay. Your readers would understand that that was the governing idea based on the details you had so carefully chosen.

Whether the thesis is stated outright or implied, then, the personal essay will have a governing idea—an idea that is “in charge” of what you decide to include in the essay in terms of content, vocabulary, sentence structure, and tone. In short, the personal essay may not have a thesis statement, but it  will  have a thesis.

Consider a personal essay in which a student was asked to write about a person she admired, and she wrote about her cousin. She wrote:

• I admired my cousin’s decision to enlist because she had to withstand criticism from people who thought women shouldn’t be in the army and because in basic training she had to stand up to physical and mental challenges that I don’t think I could face.

The thesis statement provides guidance for both writing and reading the essay. Writer and reader alike are able to see what the subject of the essay is and what is being stated about the subject and how the essay should be organized. No matter how many body paragraphs there are, this thesis implies that the paper will be divided into two sections. One section will group together the paragraphs on this topic: cousin “had to withstand criticism from people who thought women shouldn’t be in the army.” Another section will group together the paragraphs on this second topic: “in basic training she had to stand up to physical and mental challenges.”

Are Narratives Persuasive?

In a personal essay, you may not think of your thesis as “arguable” in the same way as a claim in a persuasive essay would be arguable, but in fact, you can think of it as something that should need to be demonstrated—backed up through explanations and illustrations. Usually, the idea that should be demonstrated is that you are a thoughtful, reflective person who has learned from the events and people in your life.

If the thesis does  not   need to be demonstrated, then there may not be much purpose in writing the essay. For, example, a statement that “George W. Bush was the forty-third president” or the statement that “Senior proms are exciting” would not be considered arguable by most people and likely would not spark a reader’s interest to make them want to keep reading.

On the other hand, the thesis statements below would need to be explained and illustrated. In that sense, these personal essay thesis statements are equivalent to claims that are “arguable.”

• The evening was nearly ruined because parents acting as dress-code vigilantes threw several people out of the prom.
• My team spent hours planning the prom and managed to head off a repeat of the after-prom drinking that caused some parents to question whether the prom should be held this year.
• Everyone was able to attend the prom proudly because our prom committee got several stores to loan outfits to make certain everyone would feel like they fit in.
• I opted to attend an alternative prom because the principal refused to allow a same-sex couple to attend.

Keep in mind that the actions or events in your essay do not have to make you look heroic. You could write a convincing and powerful essay about how you attended the school-sponsored prom, even though the principal refused to allow a same-sex couple to attend. Your essay, in this case, might, for example, focus on your regret over your decision and your subsequent understanding of how you think you can best challenge the status quo in the future. In other words, you can write an effective personal essay about a moment of regret.

• Narrative Essay. Provided by : Excelsior OWL. Located at : https://owl.excelsior.edu/rhetorical-styles/narrative-essay/narrative-essay-see-it-across-the-disciplines/ . License : CC BY: Attribution
• Narrative Essays. Authored by : Marianne Botos, Lynn McClelland, Stephanie Polliard, Pamela Osback . Located at : https://pvccenglish.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/eng-101-inside-pages-proof2-no-pro.pdf . Project : Horse of a Different Color: English Composition and Rhetoric . License : CC BY: Attribution
• Sample Narrative Essay. Provided by : Georgia State University. Located at : http://gsuideas.org/SCC/Narration/Sample%20Narrative%20Essay%20Personal%20Statement.html . Project : Writing For Success. License : CC BY: Attribution
• Writing a Narrative Essay. Provided by : Boundless. Located at : https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-writing/chapter/types-of-rhetorical-modes/ . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
• Image of person writing on sticky notes. Authored by : Nappiness. Provided by : Pixabay. Located at : https://pixabay.com/photos/brainstorming-business-professional-441010/ . License : Other . License Terms : https://pixabay.com/service/terms/#license
• Do Personal Essays have Thesis Statements?. Provided by : Radford University. Located at : https://lcubbison.pressbooks.com/chapter/core-101-personal-essay-assignment/ . Project : Radford University Core Handbook. License : Public Domain: No Known Copyright

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How to Write an English Essay

Last Updated: March 31, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Jake Adams . Jake Adams is an academic tutor and the owner of Simplifi EDU, a Santa Monica, California based online tutoring business offering learning resources and online tutors for academic subjects K-College, SAT & ACT prep, and college admissions applications. With over 14 years of professional tutoring experience, Jake is dedicated to providing his clients the very best online tutoring experience and access to a network of excellent undergraduate and graduate-level tutors from top colleges all over the nation. Jake holds a BS in International Business and Marketing from Pepperdine University. There are 14 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 1,621,585 times.

When taking English courses in high school and college, you'll likely be assigned to write essays. While writing an essay for an English class may seem overwhelming, it does not have to be. If you give yourself plenty of time to plan out and develop your essay, however, then you will not have to stress about it.

Sample Essays

Getting Started

• Your instructor will expect to see a well-crafted thesis early on in your essay. Place your thesis at the end of your first paragraph.
• If you don't understand how to write a thesis, ask your instructor for help. This is an important concept that will keep coming up in courses where you have to write papers.

• Telling a personal anecdote
• Citing a surprising fact or statistic
• Overturning a common misconception
• Challenging the reader to examine her own preconceptions

• You can create a numbered outline using a word processor or just put it on paper.
• Don’t worry about being too detailed when you create your outline. Just try to get the major ideas on paper.
• A really solid outline helps you figure out how you're going to put all the pieces of the puzzle together.

Drafting the Essay

• Make sure that you have your outline handy as well. You can build on your outline by expanding on each of the points in the order that they are listed in.

• Think of the topic sentence as a way to tell readers what you'll talk about in the rest of the paragraph. You don’t need to summarize the whole paragraph—just provide readers with a taste.
• For example, in a paragraph that describes Okonkwo’s rise and fall in Things Fall Apart, you might begin with something like: “Okonkwo starts out as a poor young man, but then rises to a position of wealth and status.”

• Returning to the invention stage . This includes exercises such as freewriting, listing, or clustering. You can also revisit your notes and books to see if there's anything you missed or forgot.
• Visiting your school’s writing lab . You can find a writing lab on most college campuses. They are free to students and can help you improve your writing at any stage in the writing process.
• Talking to your instructor . Take advantage of your professor's office hours or one-on-one appointments. Meet with them and discuss ways that you can improve your essay before you hand it in.

• An MLA style works cited page starts on a new page at the end of the essay. Provide entries for each of the sources that you used. These entries should include the information necessary to allow the reader to find the source with ease. [7] X Trustworthy Source Purdue Online Writing Lab Trusted resource for writing and citation guidelines Go to source
• MLA style in-text (also called parenthetical) citations provide readers with the author’s last name the page number for the information. It's necessary to include an in-text citation for any information that you quote, summarize, or paraphrase from a source. It comes right after the sourced information, and it includes the author’s last name and page number in parentheses. [8] X Trustworthy Source Purdue Online Writing Lab Trusted resource for writing and citation guidelines Go to source

• Qualify or complicate the information in your essay
• Suggest a need for further research
• Speculate on how the future will change the current situation

Revising the Essay

• If possible, give yourself at least 5 days to work on your essay. Dedicate separate days to researching, crafting your thesis, outlining your ideas, drafting your paper, and making revisions.

• Have I answered the question in a satisfactory way?
• Do I have a clear thesis? Is my thesis the focus of my essay?
• Do I include adequate support for my argument? Is there anything else I could add?
• Is there a logic to my essay? Does one idea follow the next? If not, how might I improve the logic of my essay?

• Try swapping essays with a friend from class. You can read and comment on each other’s essays to make sure that both of you have done the best work possible.
• Make sure that you swap papers at least one day before the paper is due so that you will have time to correct any errors that your friend finds.

• As you read, correct any errors that you find and make a note of anything that you think could be improved, such as adding more details or clarifying the language.

Planning Your Essay

• Always ask your professor if you don't understand the assignment. It's important to have a clear idea of what they want before you start working on the assignment.

Aly Rusciano

“Think of your thesis as the point you're trying to prove in your essay. If the essay came with a prompt question, your one-sentence answer is your thesis.”

• A well-detailed answer that satisfies the assignment requirements
• A clear and direct piece of writing that is easy to follow
• A polished paper with no minor errors, such as typos or misspellings

• For example, if you are tasked with writing about a character in a book, then you will need to provide lots of details about that character. This will probably require rereading some passages of your book as well as revisiting your notes from class. [16] X Research source
• To ensure that your paper is easy to follow, you'll need to make sure that there's a logical order to your essay. Do this by creating an outline and checking your work for logic.
• Start early and give yourself lots of time for revision. Try to complete your first draft about one week before the paper is due.

• Freewriting . Write as much as you can without stopping. If you can’t think of anything, write “I can’t think of anything to write,” until something comes to mind. After you finish, go over what've written and underline or highlight any useful information for your essay.
• Listing . Make a list of all of the details and information that are relevant to the essay prompt. After you have listed everything that you can think of, read over it and circle the most important information for your essay.
• Clustering . Write your topic in the middle of the page, then branch out with other connected ideas. Circle the ideas and connect them to the main one with lines. Keep going until you can't do any more.

• Good sources to use for English essays include books, articles from scholarly journals, articles from trustworthy news sources (NY Times, Wall Street Journal, etc.), and government or university sponsored web pages.
• Many instructors include “research quality” in their grading criteria, so including poor sources, such as blogs, may result in a poor grade.
• If you are not sure if a source is of good quality, ask your instructor or a librarian.

Expert Q&A

• If you choose to have someone critique your essay, try to find someone who fits your essay's target audience. You won't be able to improve your literary analysis of "To Kill a Mockingbird" if you hand it to someone who's never read it. Thanks Helpful 17 Not Helpful 5

• Don’t procrastinate on starting and developing your essay. Good writing takes time and careful planning. Thanks Helpful 7 Not Helpful 1

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/the_writing_process/thesis_statement_tips.html
• ↑ http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/introductions/
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/the_writing_process/developing_an_outline/types_of_outlines.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/paragraphs_and_paragraphing/index.html
• ↑ https://opentextbc.ca/writingforsuccess/chapter/chapter-11-developing-a-convincing-argument/
• ↑ https://guides.libraries.psu.edu/mlacitation/intext
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_page_basic_format.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_in_text_citations_the_basics.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/common_writing_assignments/argument_papers/index.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/the_writing_process/proofreading/index.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/essay_writing/argumentative_essays.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/common_writing_assignments/understanding_writing_assignments.html
• ↑ http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/english/currentstudents/undergraduate/modules/fulllist/second/en228/how_to_write_an_essay/
• ↑ http://writing.ku.edu/prewriting-strategies

About This Article

To write an English essay, start by collecting your notes and sources to brainstorm a thesis, also known as your main argument. Once you have an argument, begin your essay by writing a paragraph that introduces your topic and thesis. After the introduction, write out body paragraphs, which should each start with a topic sentence and develop your thesis by providing specific examples. Finally, finish your essay with a conclusory paragraph, then, edit it for grammar, clarity, and any filler content. For more, like how to write an outline, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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SMK BUKIT SENTOSA 2, 48300 RAWANG, SELANGOR KERTAS PEPERIKSAAN PERTENGAHAN TAHUN 2021 FORM 1

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TERHAD TERHAD “Good morning students, this is your principal Mr. Gavuu. We are celebrating Earth Day this week. Please bring any items that can be recycled to school and send it to Mr. Arif’s office. Thank you.” 7. Mr. Arif A celebrates Earth day with all students. B helps collect all items that can be recycled. C makes an announcement about Earth Day. Aniza Farmers Market is open every Saturday and Sunday in Cornwall Street, Cyberjaya. This market lets local farmers to sell their clean and healthy food to other people in the area. It also lets people understand the importance of eating good food. Come join us every Saturday and Sunday from 7.00 a.m. to 12 p.m. 8. Aniza Farmers Market A is open full day on Saturday and Sunday. B offers good food from local farmers. C sells cheap food from local farmers. 4 TERHAD

TERHAD Part 2 Questions 9 – 16 Read the text below and correct the underlined errors. For each question, write the correct word in the space provided on your answer sheet. A Picnic Last Sunday we went (0) to a Picnic at Pantai Timur. It was a sunny day and there (9) was many people. We saw some (10) child flying their kites and playing volleyballs. After we found a place to put our things, my sister and I jumped into the sea while my mother was (11) watched. The water was warm and it was nice to swim. After an hour, we felt (12) hungrily. We went back to the beach (13) or ate the delicious food my mother prepared. We finished all the fried noodle and chicken wings. Also, we (14) have fun singing and chatting together after that. One of the most exciting (15) thing there was to feed the birds with our bread. We had a lot of fun laughing together. I think it was the (16) good day of the year. [8 marks] 5 TERHAD 5

TERHAD Part 3 Read the text below and answer questions 17 - 24. TEEN DAYS OUT in the UK Blue Planet Aquarium If you’re aged 8 – 15, like sharks and are good at swimming , this is the place for you. I always swimming on Saturdays, but this weekend I’m not going to the sports centre. After a diving lesson at the aquarium , I’m going swimming with real sharks! The sharks aren’t very big and they aren’t dangerous. But your friends won’t know that! Visiting the aquarium is quite expensive, but it’s a good idea for a birthday present. #Teen rating Magic Unicorn Theme Park “Jack, 13, Stafford” Unicorns are magical animals from legends, but this theme park isn’t very magical. The riders and rollercoasters are OK, but nothing special. The only bit my friends and I like is the Magic Spell Academy, where they teach you to do magic tricks. We’re not really enjoying our trip! #Teen rating Beamish, The living museum of the North “Daniel, 14, Glasgow” Beamish is a ‘living’ museum. Instead of looking at old things, I’m actually experiencing life in the past! You can have a lesson at the village school, buy things in the old-fashioned shops and learn how to cook traditional food. I usually hate museums, but Beamish is different! #Teen rating Giant Swing Adrenaline Quarry “Daisy, 14, Durham” This isn’t like swings you find in children’s playgrounds. It’s very high and scary! I didn’t think this would be so much fun, its better than a rollercoaster! You feel as if you are flying! The only problem is that it doesn’t last very long. #Teen rating “Anna, 15, Cardiff” Source: Pulse 2 Textbook/pg14/unit1/touristattractionsinthe UnitedKingdom 6 TERHAD

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TERHAD A He invited me train with them for the rest of the year. B I think my mother is right. C Mother was worried about me. D Six players on one side and six on the other side. E I need a timetable. F He thought I had the talent to be a great volleyball player. G He does not like me. H However, I wonder what would happen to my education. [6 marks] KERTAS SOALAN TAMAT Prepared by Checked by, Verified by, …………………………………… …………………………….. ………………………… (Norhafizah Binti Ahmad) (Siti Rohaya Binti Sharif) (Siti Roha Binti Haris) English Language Teacher Head of Language Department Head of English Panel 11 TERHAD

TERHAD SMK BUKIT SENTOSA 2 483000 RAWANG SELANGOR KERTAS JAWAPAN CALON Nama: Tingkatan: TERHAD

TERHAD Write your answer No. Blacken your answer 17 18 BCD E F G H 19 20 BCD E F G H 21 BCD E F G H 22 23 BCD E F G H 24 25 BCD E F G H 26 BCD E F G H 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 No. 35 A 36 A 37 A 38 A 39 A 40 A TERHAD

ANSWERS Part 1 C Answer 1 A Answer 2 A 3 C 4 C 5 B 6 B 7 B 8 Part 2 were 9 10 children 11 watching 12 hungry 13 and 14 had 15 things 16 best Part 3 17 8 – 15/ eight to fifteen/ 8 to 15 18 expensive/ quite expensive 19 not very magical/ not magical 20 do magic tricks 21 lesson at village/ buy things/ cook traditional food 22 lesson at village/ buy things/ cook traditional food 23 high and scarry 24 last long/ last very long Part 4 25 a few 26 the same class 27 history journalist 28 school bus 39 teddy bear 30 school netball team 31 fair 32 sister 33 jokes 34 Communicate Part 5 35 D 36 F 37 A 38 B 39 H 40 E

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TERHAD 3 TERHAD

TERHAD [20 marks] Prepared by Checked by, Verified by, …………………………………… …………………………….. ………………………… (Norhafizah Binti Ahmad) (Siti Rohaya Binti Sharif) (Siti Roha Binti Haris) English Language Teacher HKeEaRdToAf SEnSgOlisAhLPAaNneTlAMAT Head of Language Department ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4 TERHAD

TERHAD ANSWERS PAPER 2 PART 1 Hi Razif, From all the hobbies you have mentioned. I think I love to do chores, such as be a kitchen helper and house cleaner. I like to help my mom and sometimes my mom give me cash for the things that I have done for her. Anyway in the same time I can make my own saving. I think, there is nothing wrong with these jobs. The good thing about it is that it is easy to find hobby like that. Maybe it is tiring for you. However, helping your mom is the best thing that you can do especially whenever she got sick and you can do the chores without her supervision. It is because you already used to it. That’s all from me. See you soon. Jake PART 2 A person’s habits show who they really are. Many successful people like Barack Obama, Michael Jordan, and Lee Chong Wei all have many good habits. These habits are great examples for us to learn from. Here, I want to talk about a good habit that I have always had with me since I was a little girl. I always get up early in the morning even when I do not have school. My mother is the person who taught me this. She always says if we wake up early, we have more time to do more things and I believe in that too. When I have school, I will get up early and make sure I have time to eat my breakfast. This will allow me to focus better during classes. When it is holidays, I will wake up early to help my mother with her house chores. Besides, I also realise if I wake up early, I can spend my morning reading and doing homework. In the afternoon, I will have plenty of time to go out and do some outdoor activities. I feel healthier and less stressful after exercising. I think it is important for all of us to have good habits. I recommend everyone to try waking up early. You will feel that you have more time than the others and you can do more things than other people. If you have not tried it, try it today!

JABATAN PENDIDIKAN NE e-mel : sps.jpns@ btp _____________________________ JADUAL SPESIFIKA (Digunakan oleh pe PEPERIKSAAN :PEPERIKSAAN AKHIR TAHUN TINGKATAN 1 /TAHUN : 202 SECTION QUES CONSTRUCT/CONTEXT TOTAL LOWER ORDER THINKIN TION SKILLS NO Remembering Understan LMH L M / PART 1 1 Social Media extract / GRAPHIC STIMULI 2 Factual text / & SHORT TEXTS 3 Advertisement text 4 Message text / (Q 1 – Q 8 ) 5 Message Text / PART 2 6 Message Text ERROR IDENTIFICATION 7 Message Text (Q 9 – Q 16 ) 8 Advertisement PART 3 9 Nouns INFORMATION 10 Verbs: Past simple 11 Verbs: Past simple TRANSFER 12 Nouns (Q 17 – Q 24) 13 Conjunction 14 Verbs: be 15 nouns 16 Nouns 17 Table completion 18 Table completion 19 Table completion 20 Table completion 21 Table completion

SPSK PK 05/2 EGERI SELANGOR pnsel.edu.my ____________________________ ASI ITEM / UJIAN enggubal soalan) 21 (MEI) MATA PELAJARAN :BAHASA INGGERIS K1 THINKING SKILLS NG HIGHER ORDER THINKING SKILLS N0. OF nding QUESTIONS Applying Analysing Evaluating Creating LM H H L MH LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY L MHLM H L M H / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

SECTION QUES CONSTRUCT/CONTEXT TOTAL LOWER ORDER THINKIN TION SKILLS NO Remembering Understan LMH L M PART 4 22 Table completion READING 23 Table completion COMPREHENSION 24 Table completion (Q 25 - Q 34) 25 Blank completion 26 Blank completion PART 5 27 Blank completion REARRANGE THE 28 Blank completion 29 Blank completion SEQUENCE BY 30 Blank completion FILLING THE 31 Blank completion 32 Blank completion BLANKS 33 Table completion: word (Q 35 - Q 40) 34 Table completion: word 35 Blank completion 36 Blank completion 37 Blank completion 38 Blank completion 39 Blank completion 40 Blank completion TOTAL No. Keluaran Tarikh Keluaran 02

SPSK PK 05/2 THINKING SKILLS NG HIGHER ORDER THINKING SKILLS N0. OF nding QUESTIONS Applying Analysing Evaluating Creating LM H H L MH LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY 14 13 13 L MHLM H L M H / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / No. Pindaan Tarikh Pindaan 00

SPSK PK 05/2

JABATAN PENDIDIKAN e-mel : sps.jpns@ _____________________________ JADUAL SPESIFIK (Digunakan oleh p PEPERIKSAAN AKHIR TAHUN TINGKATAN 1 TAHUN : 2021 (MEI) SECTION QUESTION CONSTRUCT/CONTEXT TOTAL LOWER ORDER THIN NO SKILLS Remembering Under L MH L SECTION A A A message/ email writing about (SHORT opinion/ suggestion WRITING) B A Factual Essay Writing: about Good SECTION B Habits (DIRECTED WRITING) TOT No. Keluaran Tarikh Keluaran 02

SPSK PK 05/2 N NEGERI SELANGOR @ btpnsel.edu.my ____________________________ KASI ITEM / UJIAN penggubal soalan) MATA PELAJARAN : BAHASA INGGERIS K2 THINKING SKILLS NKING HIGHER ORDER THINKING SKILLS N0. OF rstanding QUESTIONS Applying Analysing Evaluating Creating LM H MH LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY L MH L MH L MH L MH / / TAL 11 No. Pindaan Tarikh Pindaan 00

SMK BUKIT SENTOSA 2, 48300 RAWANG, SELANGOR KERTAS PEPERIKSAAN PERTENGAHAN TAHUN 2021 FORM 2

TERHAD Bahasa Inggeris 12 PEPERIKSAAN PERTENGAHAN TAHUN 2021 UJTIAAHNUBNERTULIS: KERTAS 1 (12/1) MEI 1 jam 15 minit ARAHA N 1. Buka kertas soalan ini apabila diberitahu 2. Tulis nama dan tingkatan anda pada ruang yang disediakan 3. Jawapan anda hendaklah ditulis pada ruang yang disediakan dalam kertas soalan ini. 4. Kertas soalan ini hendaklah diserahkan kepada pengawas peperiksaan pada akhir peperiksaan. Untuk Kegunaan Pemeriksa Nama Pemeriksa: Markah Penuh Markah diperolehi Soalan 8 1 8 2 8 3 10 4 6 5 40 Jumlah Nama: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Tingkatan: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. TERHAD 1

PART 1 Questions 1 - 8 Read the text carefully in each question. Choose the best answer A, B or C. For each question, mark the correct answer A, B or C on your answer sheet. EVERYONE’S INVITED! S.M.K HUGH CREST SCIENCE FESTIVAL Saturday, 10 March All students in charge of science booths must be in school by 7.30 a.m. 1. Who will be opening the science booths? A the students B the teachers C the lab assistant Hi Asyraf, My parents have decided they don’t want to go abroad this year. We’re going to have our holiday close to home instead. 2. Asyraf’s parents A prefer a local holiday. B are globetrotters. C. do not like to go local. Hi Izzati, Please tell mum and dad that I’ll be at Shobana’s house after school. We are going to study for our mid year exam. I’ll be at home at 6.30 p.m. 3. Izzati’s sister is texting her to A inform her that Shobana will come to their house at 6.30 p.m. B tell her she will be home after studying with Shobana. C ask her parents to pick her up at Shobana’s house. 2

Afisya: Mum, I’m having a diarrhoea. I feel so weak. Mum: Oh dear. I will make you a rice porridge. Don’t forget to drink lots of water! Drinking plenty of water helps prevent dehydration and flush any toxins out of your body. 4. Mum is making a rice porridge A to reduce the pain. B because Afisya is hungry. C to make the symptoms worse. WARNING Do not use the lifts if there is a fire. Use the stairs 5. The best thing to do if there is a fire in your condominium block is to A wait and stay at home. B leave quickly using the lifts. C leave the house and use the stairs. Date / Description Monday Tuesday Wednesday Clouds Heavy Light Low Winds Strong Breezy Breezy Rainfall Scattered No Drizzle 6. The best day to go kitesurfing is A Monday. B Tuesday. C Wednesday. FITNESS SHOP SALE! • Tennis rackets • Table tennis tables • Golf clubs and many mores Visit our store now! 7. The store most probably sells A household goods. B sports equipments. C some medicines 3

For effective relief of constipation Available at leading pharmacy 8. This herbal remedy is effective for A students who wants to improve their memories. B people who are having stomach upset. C child who gets cold easily. 4

PART 2 Questions 9 – 16 Read the text below and correct the underlined errors. For each question, write the correct word in the space provided on your answer sheet. Treasure of Shipwreck In 1980, divers (0) finds the remains of an ancient Spanish ship off the coast of Florida. The ship probably (9) sink in a hurricane some time during the late 1600’s and early 1700’s. It was on its way back (10) at Spain from South America. The divers believed that it carried (11) an valuable cargo of gold. Although the ship was under water for more than 300 (12) year, the divers knew that the treasure they were looking for, if it was there, would not be changed at all. They (13) are right. They found the ancient cargo and each (14) pieces of gold in it – the jewellery, the dishes, the gold coins – looked completely new. Gold is the (15) more precious metal in the world and this story shows one reason why. Gold is almost impossible to destroy and it keeps (16) her beauty forever. [8 marks] Example: 13 0 found 14 9 15 10 16 11 12 5

PART 3 Questions 17 – 24 Read the text below and answer questions 17 to 24. I Love Chocolate! Are you a chocoholic? I am a person who is very fond of chocolates and I eat a lot of it. Chocolate is said to be the most popular food of all time. People nowadays eat chocolates in many different forms. We eat chocolate candy, and we drink hot and cold chocolate drinks. The chocolate we eat today is made from a lot of different ingredients, but the most important ingredient is cacao bean. The story of cacao bean and its long journey to stores and supermarkets all over the world started hundreds of years ago in Mexico. Cacao trees need hot and humid weather and they originally grew in the Yucatán Peninsula. The Maya were the first people to eat cacao beans. They picked cacao beans from wild trees and cleared land to cultivate their own trees. They made a drink from cacao beans and exchanged the beans for other goods. They also used cacao beans for religious ceremonies. Mayan merchants travelled north and introduced cacao beans to the Aztec people. Soon the cacao bean was part of the Aztecs´ lives. They also used it as a drink, as part of religious ceremonies and even as money. With 10 beans, they could buy a rabbit. With 100 beans, they could buy a slave. The Aztecs could not grow cacao trees because of the dry climate. When the Aztecs conquered the Maya, they asked for cacao beans as a tribute. 6

Questions 17 - 24 Complete the following table. Choose no more than three words and/or a number from the text for each answer. For each question, write your answer in the space provided on your answer sheet. I Love Chocolate! The Main Ingredient in Chocolate 17. _____________________________________ Country of Origin 18. _____________________________________ Weather Condition to Grow Cacao 19. _____________________________________ Beans The First People to Eat Cacao 20. _____________________________________ Beans The People Who Introduced the 21. _____________________________________ Cacao Beans to the Aztecs Uses of the Cacao Beans for the 22. _____________________________________ Aztecs 23. _____________________________________ 24. _____________________________________ [8 marks] 7

PART 4 Read the text below and answer questions 25 - 34. THE ROCKET FESTIVAL There is only a little rain falls in Northeast Thailand, even during the rainy season. The villagers need rain to grow rice. So every year they have a rocket festival. They believe that if they fire rockets into the sky, rain will fall. The rockets are very big, much bigger than ordinary fireworks. The men in the villages make the rockets themselves. They work in groups. Each group tries to make the biggest rocket. The day of the rocket festival is very exciting. It is a holiday for whole village. The girls wear their best silk sarongs and dance along the road through the village. Then everybody goes to a field nearby and waits for the men to fire the rockets. They all watch to see which rocket will go the highest. Only a few men stand near the rockets when they fire them, because it is quite dangerous. The men whose rockets go up the highest are very pleased. They have made the best rocket, and maybe the villagers will have rain to grow their rice. But the men with least successful rockets and do not go up as high as the other rockets, are not pleased. The villagers take these men and throw them into a muddy pond! 8

Questions 25 – 32 Answer the questions below. Choose no more than five words and/or a number from the text for each answer. For each question, write your answer in the space provided on your answer sheet. 25 According to the writer, there is seldom rain in _________________. [1 mark] 26 The villagers held an annual festival called _________________. [1 mark] 27 Why do the villagers need rain? ________________________________________________________________________ [1 mark] 28 The villagers believed that there will be a lot of rain if they fire rocket _______________. [1 mark] 29 Groups of men built the rockets and they competed each other to make the ___________. [1 mark] 30 The men fire the rockets from ______ and everybody will watch to see the highest rocket. [1 mark] 31 Only a few men stand near the rockets because it is __________________. [1 mark] 32 The men whose rocket flied lower will be thrown into __________________. [1 mark] Questions 33 and 34 Complete the table below with a word from the text. For each question, write your answer in the space provided on your answer sheet. Meaning Word 33 normal 34 excited [1 mark] [1 mark] [10 marks] 9

PART 5 Questions 35 -40 You are going to read an article about conservation. Six sentences have been removed from the article. Choose from the sentences (A–H) to fit each gap (35–40). There are two extra sentences which you do not need to use. For each question, mark the correct answer (A–H) on your answer sheet. Let’s Conserve! 35 Conservation means protecting the environment from harm or loss. If we do not take care of the world now, then the earth will not be a suitable place to live in, in the future. There are many ways in which we can protect the environment. 36 The rivers and seas cannot remain clean unless we ourselves do something about it. Some of the rubbish thrown into the water may contain dangerous chemicals that can kill the animals living in the water. 37 We need clean water to survive. a 38 Therefore, we should stop throwing rubbish into the rivers and seas. 39 We need clean air to breathe. If the air is dirty and smoky, we will feel sick and weak. 40 We need to leave a clean and healthy environment for future generation. 10

A One way is by keeping the rivers and seas clean. B This includes recycling, which has been one of the most successful forms of conservation. C It also causes other forms of water pollution. D Without clean water, our health will be affected. E In brief, we really need to conserve our environment. F Other than that, we should also take care of the air around us. G Conservation is the protection, improvement, and wise use of natural resource to provide the greatest social and economic value for the present and the future. H Many of the animal species would become extinct and nature would suffer. [6 marks] Prepared by, Checked by, Verified by, ______________ ______________ ______________ (Pn.Noradibah binti Yaakub) (Pn.Siti Rohaya binti Sharif) (Pn.Siti Roha binti Haris) English Language Teacher, Head of English Language Panel, Head of Language Deparment, Sek.Men. Keb. Bukit Sentosa 2 Sek.Men. Keb. Bukit Sentosa 2 Sek.Men.Keb. Bukit Sentosa 2 11

TERHAD Bahasa Inggeris 12 PEPERIKSAAN PERTENGAHAN TAHUN 2021 UJIAN BERTULIS: KERTAS 2 (12/2) 1 jam MEI ARAHAN 1. Buka kertas soalan ini apabila diberitahu 2. Tulis nama dan tingkatan anda pada ruang yang disediakan 3. Jawapan anda hendaklah ditulis pada ruang yang disediakan dalam kertas soalan ini. 4. Kertas soalan ini hendaklah diserahkan kepada pengawas peperiksaan pada akhir peperiksaan. Untuk Kegunaan Pemeriksa Nama Pemeriksa: Markah Penuh Markah diperolehi Soalan 8 1 8 2 8 3 10 4 6 5 40 Jumlah Nama: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Tingkatan: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. TERHAD 1

PART 1 [20 marks] You should spend about 25 minutes in this part. Read the email from your sister. To : [email protected] From : [email protected] Subject : Camp activities Dear Faizah, I just reached home this morning. Mom told me that you are attending a school camp with your classmates. It must be fun. Can you share some of the activities at the camp? Hope to hear your stories soon! Take care. Azimah In about 80 words, write an email to Azimah describing the activities at the camp. To : From : Subject : Re: ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 2

PART 2 [20 marks] You should spend about 35 minutes in this part. Your friends have been talking about some popular free time activities that teenagers enjoy. In about 120 words, write an essay on how you utilise your leisure time. You may use the notes below to help you. How What is When do frequent the you do the you do the activity? activity? activity? How You Utilise Your Leisure Time Who Why you motivates love doing you? the activity? 3

Write your essay. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 4

Essay Papers Writing Online

A comprehensive guide to essay writing.

Essay writing is a crucial skill that students need to master in order to succeed academically. Whether you’re a high school student working on a history paper or a college student tackling a critical analysis essay, having a solid understanding of the essay writing process is essential.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the essential tips and tricks that will help you improve your essay writing skills. From generating ideas and organizing your thoughts to crafting a strong thesis statement and polishing your final draft, we’ve got you covered.

Not only that, but we’ll also provide you with useful templates that you can use as a framework for your essays. These templates will help you structure your writing, stay focused on your main argument, and ensure that your essay flows smoothly from one point to the next.

The Ultimate Essay Writing Guides

Essay writing can be a challenging task for many students, but with the right guidance and tips, you can improve your writing skills and produce high-quality essays. In this ultimate guide, we will provide you with valuable advice, tricks, and templates to help you excel in your essay writing endeavors.

1. Understand the Prompt: Before you start writing your essay, make sure you fully understand the prompt or question. Analyze the requirements and key points that need to be addressed in your essay.

2. Create an Outline: Organize your ideas and thoughts by creating a detailed outline for your essay. This will help you structure your arguments and ensure a logical flow of information.

3. Research Thoroughly: Conduct extensive research on your topic to gather relevant information and evidence to support your arguments. Use credible sources and cite them properly in your essay.

4. Write Clearly and Concisely: Avoid using jargon or complex language in your essay. Write in a clear and concise manner to convey your ideas effectively to the reader.

5. Proofread and Edit: Before submitting your essay, make sure to proofread and edit it carefully. Check for grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and ensure that your essay flows cohesively.

By following these ultimate essay writing guides, you can enhance your writing skills and produce outstanding essays that will impress your instructors and peers. Practice regularly and seek feedback to continuously improve your writing abilities.

Tips for Crafting an A+ Essay

1. Understand the Assignment: Before you start writing, make sure you fully understand the assignment guidelines and requirements. If you have any doubts, clarify them with your instructor.

2. Conduct Thorough Research: Gather relevant sources and information to support your arguments. Make sure to cite your sources properly and use credible sources.

3. Create a Strong Thesis Statement: Your thesis statement should clearly outline the main point of your essay and guide your readers on what to expect.

4. Organize Your Ideas: Create an outline to organize your thoughts and ensure a logical flow of ideas in your essay.

5. Write Clearly and Concisely: Use clear, concise language and avoid unnecessary jargon or complex sentences. Be direct and to the point.

6. Revise and Edit: Always proofread your essay for grammar and spelling errors. Revise your work to ensure coherence and clarity.

7. Seek Feedback: Ask a peer or instructor to review your essay and provide constructive feedback for improvement.

8. Use Proper Formatting: Follow the formatting guidelines provided by your instructor, such as font size, margins, and citation style.

9. Stay Focused: Keep your essay focused on the main topic and avoid going off on tangents. Stick to your thesis statement.

10. Practice, Practice, Practice: The more you practice writing essays, the better you will get at it. Keep practicing and refining your writing skills.

Tricks to Improve Your Writing Skills

Improving your writing skills can be a challenging but rewarding process. Here are some tricks to help you become a better writer:

1. Read widely: Reading a variety of genres and styles can help you develop your own voice and writing style.

2. Practice regularly: The more you write, the better you will become. Set aside time each day to practice writing.

3. Get feedback: Share your writing with others and ask for constructive criticism. Feedback can help you identify areas for improvement.

4. Study grammar and punctuation: Good writing requires a solid understanding of grammar and punctuation rules. Take the time to study and practice these essential skills.

5. Edit and revise: Writing is a process, and editing is an important part of that process. Take the time to edit and revise your work to improve clarity and coherence.

6. Experiment with different writing techniques: Try experimenting with different writing techniques, such as using metaphors, similes, or descriptive language, to enhance your writing.

7. Stay inspired: Find inspiration in the world around you. Whether it’s nature, art, or literature, draw inspiration from your surroundings to fuel your writing.

By following these tricks and practicing regularly, you can improve your writing skills and become a more confident and effective writer.

Step-by-Step Essay Writing Templates

When it comes to writing an essay, having a clear and structured template can be incredibly helpful. Here are some step-by-step essay writing templates that you can use to guide you through the process:

• Introduction: Start your essay with a hook to grab the reader’s attention. Provide some background information on the topic and end with a thesis statement that outlines the main argument of your essay.
• Body Paragraphs: Each body paragraph should focus on a single point that supports your thesis. Start with a topic sentence that introduces the main idea of the paragraph, provide evidence to support your point, and then analyze the evidence to show how it relates back to your thesis.
• Conclusion: Summarize the main points of your essay and restate your thesis in a new way. Avoid introducing new information in the conclusion and instead focus on tying together all the points you have made throughout the essay.

Expert Advice for Writing Top-Notch Essays

When it comes to writing a top-notch essay, it’s essential to follow expert advice to ensure your work stands out. Here are some key tips to help you elevate your writing:

1. Start with a strong thesis statement that clearly outlines your main argument.

2. Conduct thorough research to support your points with credible sources.

3. Organize your thoughts logically and ensure your essay flows smoothly from one point to the next.

4. Use a variety of sentence structures and vocabulary to keep your writing engaging.

5. Proofread and edit your essay carefully to eliminate errors and refine your arguments.

By following these expert tips, you can take your essay writing skills to the next level and produce work that is both informative and compelling.

Resources to Enhance Your Essay Writing Process

When it comes to improving your essay writing skills, there are a variety of resources available to help you enhance your process. Here are some valuable resources that can aid you in becoming a more effective and efficient writer:

• Writing Guides: There are countless writing guides and books that offer tips, tricks, and strategies for improving your writing skills. Whether you’re looking to enhance your grammar, structure, or argumentation, these guides can provide valuable insights.
• Online Writing Communities: Joining online writing communities can be a great way to connect with other writers, receive feedback on your work, and engage in writing challenges and prompts. Websites like Writing.com and Wattpad are popular platforms for writers to share their work and receive critiques.
• Writing Workshops and Courses: Participating in writing workshops and courses can help you hone your craft and develop your writing skills. Whether you prefer in-person workshops or online courses, there are many options available to suit your needs and schedule.
• Writing Apps and Tools: Utilizing writing apps and tools can streamline your writing process and help you stay organized. Tools like Grammarly can assist with grammar and spelling checks, while apps like Scrivener can help you organize your research and ideas.
• Libraries and Writing Centers: Visiting your local library or university writing center can provide access to valuable resources, such as writing guides, research materials, and writing tutors who can offer personalized feedback and support.

By taking advantage of these resources, you can enhance your essay writing process and become a more skilled and confident writer.

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Getting College Essay Help: Important Do's and Don’ts

College Essays

If you grow up to be a professional writer, everything you write will first go through an editor before being published. This is because the process of writing is really a process of re-writing —of rethinking and reexamining your work, usually with the help of someone else. So what does this mean for your student writing? And in particular, what does it mean for very important, but nonprofessional writing like your college essay? Should you ask your parents to look at your essay? Pay for an essay service?

If you are wondering what kind of help you can, and should, get with your personal statement, you've come to the right place! In this article, I'll talk about what kind of writing help is useful, ethical, and even expected for your college admission essay . I'll also point out who would make a good editor, what the differences between editing and proofreading are, what to expect from a good editor, and how to spot and stay away from a bad one.

Table of Contents

What Kind of Help for Your Essay Can You Get?

What's Good Editing?

What should an editor do for you, what kind of editing should you avoid, proofreading, what's good proofreading, what kind of proofreading should you avoid.

What Do Colleges Think Of You Getting Help With Your Essay?

Who Can/Should Help You?

Advice for editors.

Should You Pay Money For Essay Editing?

The Bottom Line

What's next, what kind of help with your essay can you get.

Rather than talking in general terms about "help," let's first clarify the two different ways that someone else can improve your writing . There is editing, which is the more intensive kind of assistance that you can use throughout the whole process. And then there's proofreading, which is the last step of really polishing your final product.

Let me go into some more detail about editing and proofreading, and then explain how good editors and proofreaders can help you."

Editing is helping the author (in this case, you) go from a rough draft to a finished work . Editing is the process of asking questions about what you're saying, how you're saying it, and how you're organizing your ideas. But not all editing is good editing . In fact, it's very easy for an editor to cross the line from supportive to overbearing and over-involved.

Ability to clarify assignments. A good editor is usually a good writer, and certainly has to be a good reader. For example, in this case, a good editor should make sure you understand the actual essay prompt you're supposed to be answering.

Open-endedness. Good editing is all about asking questions about your ideas and work, but without providing answers. It's about letting you stick to your story and message, and doesn't alter your point of view.

Think of an editor as a great travel guide. It can show you the many different places your trip could take you. It should explain any parts of the trip that could derail your trip or confuse the traveler. But it never dictates your path, never forces you to go somewhere you don't want to go, and never ignores your interests so that the trip no longer seems like it's your own. So what should good editors do?

Help Brainstorm Topics

Sometimes it's easier to bounce thoughts off of someone else. This doesn't mean that your editor gets to come up with ideas, but they can certainly respond to the various topic options you've come up with. This way, you're less likely to write about the most boring of your ideas, or to write about something that isn't actually important to you.

If you're wondering how to come up with options for your editor to consider, check out our guide to brainstorming topics for your college essay .

Help Revise Your Drafts

Here, your editor can't upset the delicate balance of not intervening too much or too little. It's tricky, but a great way to think about it is to remember: editing is about asking questions, not giving answers .

Revision questions should point out:

• Places where more detail or more description would help the reader connect with your essay
• Places where structure and logic don't flow, losing the reader's attention
• Places where there aren't transitions between paragraphs, confusing the reader
• Moments where your narrative or the arguments you're making are unclear

But pointing to potential problems is not the same as actually rewriting—editors let authors fix the problems themselves.

Bad editing is usually very heavy-handed editing. Instead of helping you find your best voice and ideas, a bad editor changes your writing into their own vision.

You may be dealing with a bad editor if they:

• Add material (examples, descriptions) that doesn't come from you
• Use a thesaurus to make your college essay sound "more mature"
• Add meaning or insight to the essay that doesn't come from you
• Tell you what to say and how to say it
• Write sentences, phrases, and paragraphs for you
• Change your voice in the essay so it no longer sounds like it was written by a teenager

Colleges can tell the difference between a 17-year-old's writing and a 50-year-old's writing. Not only that, they have access to your SAT or ACT Writing section, so they can compare your essay to something else you wrote. Writing that's a little more polished is great and expected. But a totally different voice and style will raise questions.

Where's the Line Between Helpful Editing and Unethical Over-Editing?

Sometimes it's hard to tell whether your college essay editor is doing the right thing. Here are some guidelines for staying on the ethical side of the line.

• An editor should say that the opening paragraph is kind of boring, and explain what exactly is making it drag. But it's overstepping for an editor to tell you exactly how to change it.
• An editor should point out where your prose is unclear or vague. But it's completely inappropriate for the editor to rewrite that section of your essay.
• An editor should let you know that a section is light on detail or description. But giving you similes and metaphors to beef up that description is a no-go.

Proofreading (also called copy-editing) is checking for errors in the last draft of a written work. It happens at the end of the process and is meant as the final polishing touch. Proofreading is meticulous and detail-oriented, focusing on small corrections. It sands off all the surface rough spots that could alienate the reader.

Because proofreading is usually concerned with making fixes on the word or sentence level, this is the only process where someone else can actually add to or take away things from your essay . This is because what they are adding or taking away tends to be one or two misplaced letters.

Laser focus. Proofreading is all about the tiny details, so the ability to really concentrate on finding small slip-ups is a must.

Excellent grammar and spelling skills. Proofreaders need to dot every "i" and cross every "t." Good proofreaders should correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar. They should put foreign words in italics and surround quotations with quotation marks. They should check that you used the correct college's name, and that you adhered to any formatting requirements (name and date at the top of the page, uniform font and size, uniform spacing).

Limited interference. A proofreader needs to make sure that you followed any word limits. But if cuts need to be made to shorten the essay, that's your job and not the proofreader's.

A bad proofreader either tries to turn into an editor, or just lacks the skills and knowledge necessary to do the job.

Some signs that you're working with a bad proofreader are:

• If they suggest making major changes to the final draft of your essay. Proofreading happens when editing is already finished.
• If they aren't particularly good at spelling, or don't know grammar, or aren't detail-oriented enough to find someone else's small mistakes.
• If they start swapping out your words for fancier-sounding synonyms, or changing the voice and sound of your essay in other ways. A proofreader is there to check for errors, not to take the 17-year-old out of your writing.

What Do Colleges Think of Your Getting Help With Your Essay?

Admissions officers agree: light editing and proofreading are good—even required ! But they also want to make sure you're the one doing the work on your essay. They want essays with stories, voice, and themes that come from you. They want to see work that reflects your actual writing ability, and that focuses on what you find important.

On the Importance of Editing

Get feedback. Have a fresh pair of eyes give you some feedback. Don't allow someone else to rewrite your essay, but do take advantage of others' edits and opinions when they seem helpful. ( Bates College )

Read your essay aloud to someone. Reading the essay out loud offers a chance to hear how your essay sounds outside your head. This exercise reveals flaws in the essay's flow, highlights grammatical errors and helps you ensure that you are communicating the exact message you intended. ( Dickinson College )

On the Value of Proofreading

Share your essays with at least one or two people who know you well—such as a parent, teacher, counselor, or friend—and ask for feedback. Remember that you ultimately have control over your essays, and your essays should retain your own voice, but others may be able to catch mistakes that you missed and help suggest areas to cut if you are over the word limit. ( Yale University )

Proofread and then ask someone else to proofread for you. Although we want substance, we also want to be able to see that you can write a paper for our professors and avoid careless mistakes that would drive them crazy. ( Oberlin College )

On Watching Out for Too Much Outside Influence

Limit the number of people who review your essay. Too much input usually means your voice is lost in the writing style. ( Carleton College )

Ask for input (but not too much). Your parents, friends, guidance counselors, coaches, and teachers are great people to bounce ideas off of for your essay. They know how unique and spectacular you are, and they can help you decide how to articulate it. Keep in mind, however, that a 45-year-old lawyer writes quite differently from an 18-year-old student, so if your dad ends up writing the bulk of your essay, we're probably going to notice. ( Vanderbilt University )

Now let's talk about some potential people to approach for your college essay editing and proofreading needs. It's best to start close to home and slowly expand outward. Not only are your family and friends more invested in your success than strangers, but they also have a better handle on your interests and personality. This knowledge is key for judging whether your essay is expressing your true self.

Parents or Close Relatives

Your family may be full of potentially excellent editors! Parents are deeply committed to your well-being, and family members know you and your life well enough to offer details or incidents that can be included in your essay. On the other hand, the rewriting process necessarily involves criticism, which is sometimes hard to hear from someone very close to you.

A parent or close family member is a great choice for an editor if you can answer "yes" to the following questions. Is your parent or close relative a good writer or reader? Do you have a relationship where editing your essay won't create conflict? Are you able to constructively listen to criticism and suggestion from the parent?

One suggestion for defusing face-to-face discussions is to try working on the essay over email. Send your parent a draft, have them write you back some comments, and then you can pick which of their suggestions you want to use and which to discard.

Teachers or Tutors

A humanities teacher that you have a good relationship with is a great choice. I am purposefully saying humanities, and not just English, because teachers of Philosophy, History, Anthropology, and any other classes where you do a lot of writing, are all used to reviewing student work.

Moreover, any teacher or tutor that has been working with you for some time, knows you very well and can vet the essay to make sure it "sounds like you."

If your teacher or tutor has some experience with what college essays are supposed to be like, ask them to be your editor. If not, then ask whether they have time to proofread your final draft.

Guidance or College Counselor at Your School

The best thing about asking your counselor to edit your work is that this is their job. This means that they have a very good sense of what colleges are looking for in an application essay.

At the same time, school counselors tend to have relationships with admissions officers in many colleges, which again gives them insight into what works and which college is focused on what aspect of the application.

Unfortunately, in many schools the guidance counselor tends to be way overextended. If your ratio is 300 students to 1 college counselor, you're unlikely to get that person's undivided attention and focus. It is still useful to ask them for general advice about your potential topics, but don't expect them to be able to stay with your essay from first draft to final version.

Friends, Siblings, or Classmates

Although they most likely don't have much experience with what colleges are hoping to see, your peers are excellent sources for checking that your essay is you .

Friends and siblings are perfect for the read-aloud edit. Read your essay to them so they can listen for words and phrases that are stilted, pompous, or phrases that just don't sound like you.

You can even trade essays and give helpful advice on each other's work.

If your editor hasn't worked with college admissions essays very much, no worries! Any astute and attentive reader can still greatly help with your process. But, as in all things, beginners do better with some preparation.

First, your editor should read our advice about how to write a college essay introduction , how to spot and fix a bad college essay , and get a sense of what other students have written by going through some admissions essays that worked .

Then, as they read your essay, they can work through the following series of questions that will help them to guide you.

Introduction Questions

• Is the first sentence a killer opening line? Why or why not?
• Does the introduction hook the reader? Does it have a colorful, detailed, and interesting narrative? Or does it propose a compelling or surprising idea?
• Can you feel the author's voice in the introduction, or is the tone dry, dull, or overly formal? Show the places where the voice comes through.

Essay Body Questions

• Does the essay have a through-line? Is it built around a central argument, thought, idea, or focus? Can you put this idea into your own words?
• How is the essay organized? By logical progression? Chronologically? Do you feel order when you read it, or are there moments where you are confused or lose the thread of the essay?
• Does the essay have both narratives about the author's life and explanations and insight into what these stories reveal about the author's character, personality, goals, or dreams? If not, which is missing?
• Does the essay flow? Are there smooth transitions/clever links between paragraphs? Between the narrative and moments of insight?

Reader Response Questions

• Does the writer's personality come through? Do we know what the speaker cares about? Do we get a sense of "who he or she is"?
• Where did you feel most connected to the essay? Which parts of the essay gave you a "you are there" sensation by invoking your senses? What moments could you picture in your head well?
• Where are the details and examples vague and not specific enough?
• Did you get an "a-ha!" feeling anywhere in the essay? Is there a moment of insight that connected all the dots for you? Is there a good reveal or "twist" anywhere in the essay?
• What are the strengths of this essay? What needs the most improvement?

Should You Pay Money for Essay Editing?

One alternative to asking someone you know to help you with your college essay is the paid editor route. There are two different ways to pay for essay help: a private essay coach or a less personal editing service , like the many proliferating on the internet.

My advice is to think of these options as a last resort rather than your go-to first choice. I'll first go through the reasons why. Then, if you do decide to go with a paid editor, I'll help you decide between a coach and a service.

When to Consider a Paid Editor

In general, I think hiring someone to work on your essay makes a lot of sense if none of the people I discussed above are a possibility for you.

If you can't ask your parents. For example, if your parents aren't good writers, or if English isn't their first language. Or if you think getting your parents to help is going create unnecessary extra conflict in your relationship with them (applying to college is stressful as it is!)

If you can't ask your teacher or tutor. Maybe you don't have a trusted teacher or tutor that has time to look over your essay with focus. Or, for instance, your favorite humanities teacher has very limited experience with college essays and so won't know what admissions officers want to see.

If you can't ask your guidance counselor. This could be because your guidance counselor is way overwhelmed with other students.

If you can't share your essay with those who know you. It might be that your essay is on a very personal topic that you're unwilling to share with parents, teachers, or peers. Just make sure it doesn't fall into one of the bad-idea topics in our article on bad college essays .

If the cost isn't a consideration. Many of these services are quite expensive, and private coaches even more so. If you have finite resources, I'd say that hiring an SAT or ACT tutor (whether it's PrepScholar or someone else) is better way to spend your money . This is because there's no guarantee that a slightly better essay will sufficiently elevate the rest of your application, but a significantly higher SAT score will definitely raise your applicant profile much more.

Should You Hire an Essay Coach?

On the plus side, essay coaches have read dozens or even hundreds of college essays, so they have experience with the format. Also, because you'll be working closely with a specific person, it's more personal than sending your essay to a service, which will know even less about you.

But, on the minus side, you'll still be bouncing ideas off of someone who doesn't know that much about you . In general, if you can adequately get the help from someone you know, there is no advantage to paying someone to help you.

If you do decide to hire a coach, ask your school counselor, or older students that have used the service for recommendations. If you can't afford the coach's fees, ask whether they can work on a sliding scale —many do. And finally, beware those who guarantee admission to your school of choice—essay coaches don't have any special magic that can back up those promises.

Should You Send Your Essay to a Service?

On the plus side, essay editing services provide a similar product to essay coaches, and they cost significantly less . If you have some assurance that you'll be working with a good editor, the lack of face-to-face interaction won't prevent great results.

On the minus side, however, it can be difficult to gauge the quality of the service before working with them . If they are churning through many application essays without getting to know the students they are helping, you could end up with an over-edited essay that sounds just like everyone else's. In the worst case scenario, an unscrupulous service could send you back a plagiarized essay.

Getting recommendations from friends or a school counselor for reputable services is key to avoiding heavy-handed editing that writes essays for you or does too much to change your essay. Including a badly-edited essay like this in your application could cause problems if there are inconsistencies. For example, in interviews it might be clear you didn't write the essay, or the skill of the essay might not be reflected in your schoolwork and test scores.

Should You Buy an Essay Written by Someone Else?

Let me elaborate. There are super sketchy places on the internet where you can simply buy a pre-written essay. Don't do this!

For one thing, you'll be lying on an official, signed document. All college applications make you sign a statement saying something like this:

I certify that all information submitted in the admission process—including the application, the personal essay, any supplements, and any other supporting materials—is my own work, factually true, and honestly presented... I understand that I may be subject to a range of possible disciplinary actions, including admission revocation, expulsion, or revocation of course credit, grades, and degree, should the information I have certified be false. (From the Common Application )

For another thing, if your academic record doesn't match the essay's quality, the admissions officer will start thinking your whole application is riddled with lies.

Admission officers have full access to your writing portion of the SAT or ACT so that they can compare work that was done in proctored conditions with that done at home. They can tell if these were written by different people. Not only that, but there are now a number of search engines that faculty and admission officers can use to see if an essay contains strings of words that have appeared in other essays—you have no guarantee that the essay you bought wasn't also bought by 50 other students.

• You should get college essay help with both editing and proofreading
• A good editor will ask questions about your idea, logic, and structure, and will point out places where clarity is needed
• A good editor will absolutely not answer these questions, give you their own ideas, or write the essay or parts of the essay for you
• A good proofreader will find typos and check your formatting
• All of them agree that getting light editing and proofreading is necessary
• Parents, teachers, guidance or college counselor, and peers or siblings
• If you can't ask any of those, you can pay for college essay help, but watch out for services or coaches who over-edit you work
• Don't buy a pre-written essay! Colleges can tell, and it'll make your whole application sound false.

Ready to start working on your essay? Check out our explanation of the point of the personal essay and the role it plays on your applications and then explore our step-by-step guide to writing a great college essay .

Using the Common Application for your college applications? We have an excellent guide to the Common App essay prompts and useful advice on how to pick the Common App prompt that's right for you . Wondering how other people tackled these prompts? Then work through our roundup of over 130 real college essay examples published by colleges .

Stressed about whether to take the SAT again before submitting your application? Let us help you decide how many times to take this test . If you choose to go for it, we have the ultimate guide to studying for the SAT to give you the ins and outs of the best ways to study.

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Anna scored in the 99th percentile on her SATs in high school, and went on to major in English at Princeton and to get her doctorate in English Literature at Columbia. She is passionate about improving student access to higher education.

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How to Write a GCSE English Literature Essay

I was an English teacher for many years, both at GCSE and A Level , and I found that students did best when they knew exactly what examiners wanted (and crucially, didn’t want) to see in any English essay. This guide will give you some of my top tips for success when it comes to achieving the top grade in any GCSE English Literature paper.

English Senior Content Creator

22 January 2024

• 1 . What do examiners want to see in any English essay at GCSE? 
• 2 . How long should a GCSE English Literature essay be?
• 3 . Planning the GCSE English Literature essay
• 4 . How do you structure an English Literature essay?
• 5 . How do you write a GCSE English Literature essay conclusion?
• 6 . GCSE English Literature essay examples

Whichever exam board you are studying as part of your GCSE English Literature (AQA, Edexcel, OCR, Eduqas or WJEC), or if you’re studying for an IGCSE (Edexcel or CIE), you will be required to write a long essay on at least one type of text. These texts could include a Shakespeare play, a 19th-century novel, a modern text, or poetry, either from an anthology or unseen. Because some of these essay questions can be worth up to 40 marks (and therefore a huge chunk of your overall GCSE mark), it is vital that you have a good grounding in essay writing to get the top marks in your English Literature exam. 

What do examiners want to see in any English essay at GCSE? 

My experience also working as an examiner means that I have first-hand knowledge of the conversations that exam boards have with their individual examiners. The first thing to say is that examiners always want to give students credit: GCSE exams are “positively” marked, which means that they don’t deduct marks for mistakes. Instead, they start from the top of the mark scheme and fit students into a level, working down until they find a “best fit” between the student and a level.

So what? I hear you cry. Well, this means that if you - as a student - understand the English Literature mark scheme, and the assessment objectives, then you know exactly what you have to do to succeed. I always talked to my students about “thinking like an examiner”. The best way to do this is to look at the mark scheme on your exam board’s website. Even better, here at SME we have created student-friendly mark schemes, where we have “translated” them into everyday language. Here’s one for the Shakespeare essay question for AQA Paper 1.

How long should a GCSE English Literature essay be?

This is a great question, and one my students always asked me! The simple answer is: not as long as you might think. A “good essay” is certainly not the same as a long essay. In fact, I drummed into my students a favourite phrase of mine: “write less, plan more”. Much like the writing questions in the GCSE English Language paper, it is a much better idea to write a shorter, well-planned essay than including everything you can possibly remember about the character or theme that has come up in the exam question. In fact, when I was an examiner, I was often instructed to mark an essay down a level if it was too long, because inevitably these hyper-long pieces of writing lost focus and became unstructured. A shorter essay, focused throughout on the exam question, will always do better than a 10-page mega-essay that includes as many points as a student can remember in the timeframe. I have seen a whole essay that is only four sides of A4 achieve full marks. As a result, it can be a good idea to spend at least 20-30% of your allocated time on planning your answer.

Planning the GCSE English Literature essay

As already mentioned, planning can be the key to unlocking the very highest marks at GCSE. At SME, we have detailed, step by step guides on how to plan essays for Shakespeare , and also for the AQA GCSE English Literature 19-century novel (including A Christmas Carol ) and modern text (including An Inspector Calls ). However, before you start writing your essay, some great tips include:

Make sure you understand the exam question. Underline the key words of the question

Annotate the exam paper (this is especially great if you are answering an essay question that also includes an extract)

Establish your own argument, or viewpoint, based on the key words of the question

Write down your overarching argument (this is often called a “thesis statement”) at the top of your page

Select evidence that backs up your thesis statement (if you have been given an extract, try to select evidence from elsewhere in the text as well)

Based on your selected evidence, organise your argument into two or three main points (these will form your paragraphs)

How do you structure an English Literature essay?

A lot of schools and colleges teach students very specific paragraph structures, such as PEE, or PETAL. Although this can be a great way to learn how to write essay paragraphs, for the very highest marks at GCSE these rigid structures can be limiting. Exam boards say that they would prefer students to move away from PEE-style structures, because this allows students the space to be more “exploratory” and “conceptualised”: both of these words really mean that they want a lot more of that second “E” in PEE: explanation. 

Overall, I always asked my students to follow this broad structure for any essay:

Introduction: for the very highest marks, this must include a thesis statement, or a summary of your overall argument

Paragraph 1: This would include a topic sentence, which sets out the main point of the paragraph, and then uses various pieces of evidence to back up the argument made in the topic sentence

Paragraph 2: This would include a topic sentence, which sets out the main point of the paragraph, and then uses various pieces of evidence to back up the argument made in the topic sentence

Paragraph 3: This would include a topic sentence, which sets out the main point of the paragraph, and then uses various pieces of evidence to back up the argument made in the topic sentence. Depending on the exam board, and question, this could include a counter-argument

Conclusion: This would make the case that the argument, as set out in the introduction, has been proved

How do you write a GCSE English Literature essay conclusion?

Conclusions are tricky. Lots of English teachers have slightly different opinions on how to write conclusions for a GCSE English Literature essay. Some teachers might even say that it is not necessary to write a conclusion, but here at SME we always think it’s a great idea. This is because it really helps create what examiners call a “coherent response”: an argument that is focused all the way through, right to the end. Here are my top tips for writing a conclusion for a GCSE English Literature essay:

A conclusion should only summarise the proof you have provided for your argument

It only needs to be two or three sentences long

It should include the words of the question and your thesis statement

Remember, you do not get rewarded for including the same information twice, so try to be brief when summarising the points you made in the main body of your essay

GCSE English Literature essay examples

At SME, we have lots of annotated model answers for GCSE English Literature questions, including one for Macbeth , and another for A Christmas Carol.

Here is an excerpt from our model answer on whether Lady Macbeth is a character who changes throughout the play:

Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth as a female character who changes dramatically over the course of the play: she changes from a ruthless, remorseless woman who is able to manipulate her husband, to one that is side-lined by Macbeth and, ultimately, totally consumed by guilt. Shakespeare is perhaps suggesting that unchecked ambition and hubris, particularly for women, have fatal consequences.

Here’s an excerpt from our model answer for A Christmas Carol on how Dickens presents the suffering of the poor:

In this extract, Dickens uses the two characters, Ignorance and Want, as an allegory, as they are symbolic of society’s cruelty towards the suffering of the poor. Dickens uses these two characters to expose the consequences of society’s greed and avarice. The children are first depicted as emerging from the spirit’s robe which underscores Dickens’s message of how poverty, and its devastating consequences, remain largely shrouded, unseen and ignored by society. Furthermore, Dickens’s imagery depicts the children as emaciated and wretched which induces both horror and pity in the reader.

For lots more model answers, tips and step by step guides, please do visit the GCSE English Literature pages of SME. 

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Written by Nick Redgrove

Nick is a graduate of the University of Cambridge and King’s College London. He started his career in journalism and publishing, working as an editor on a political magazine and a number of books, before training as an English teacher. After nearly 10 years working in London schools, where he held leadership positions in English departments and within a Sixth Form, he moved on to become an examiner and education consultant. With more than a decade of experience as a tutor, Nick specialises in English, but has also taught Politics, Classical Civilisation and Religious Studies.

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1. Keep it real. It’s normal to want to make a good impression on the school of your choice, but it’s also important to show who you really are. So just be yourself! Compelling stories might not be perfectly linear or have a happy ending, and that’s OK. It’s best to be authentic instead of telling schools what you think they want to hear.

2. Be reflective . Think about how you’ve changed during high school. How have you grown and improved? What makes you feel ready for college, and how do you hope to contribute to the campus community and society at large?

3. Look to the future. Consider your reasons for attending college. What do you hope to gain from your education? What about college excites you the most, and what would you like to do after you graduate? Answering these questions will not only give colleges insight into the kind of student you’ll be, but it will also give you the personal insight you’ll need to choose the school that’s right for you.

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How to Start An Essay- Steps with Examples

Once you have a single idea to anchor your essay, build the entire piece around it. Starting an essay can be challenging; it's like revving up the engine and keeping your ideas flowing throughout. But I've got a foolproof plan for you. In this article I will show you how to start an essay and write a powerful, impactful piece for your class.

What is the Process of Writing an Essay?

Just like any task that requires organization, writing an essay follows a structured process. If you want to ensure that your essay is well-organized and not just a free flow of ideas, consider the following process:

Read and Understand the Prompt: Begin by carefully reading the essay prompt to fully grasp what is being asked of you. Break it down into manageable parts to ensure you cover every aspect in your essay.

Plan Your Essay: Take time to brainstorm and organize your ideas. Creating an outline or a web of your ideas and supporting details will make the writing process much smoother. This will help you structure your essay logically and ensure all your points are well thought out.

Use and Cite Sources: Conduct thorough research to gather information and evidence to support your arguments. Use quotes and paraphrases from credible sources, but always avoid plagiarism by properly citing your sources.

Write a Draft: Start by writing a rough draft. As Ernest Hemingway said, “The first draft of anything is always crap.” This stage allows you to get all your ideas down without worrying about perfection. Drafts are essential for organizing your thoughts and refining your arguments.

Develop a Strong Thesis: Your thesis statement is the main argument of your essay and the most important sentence you'll write. Make it clear and compelling, setting the stage for your entire essay.

Respond to the Prompt: Once you've refined your draft, ensure that you are directly addressing every part of the prompt. Your final draft should be a polished version of your ideas, with a clear and logical flow.

Proofread: Review your essay carefully to catch any grammatical errors, typos, or awkward sentences. Proofreading is crucial because even small mistakes can undermine the professionalism and clarity of your essay.

What is the Structure of an Essay?

Although more advanced academic papers have their own unique structures, the basic high school or college essay typically follows a standardized five-paragraph format:

1.Introduction

Writing a well-structured essay is crucial for clearly conveying your ideas and arguments. While advanced academic papers may have complex structures, the basic high school or college essay typically follows a standardized five-paragraph format. This format includes an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion, each serving a specific purpose to guide the reader through your argument.

The introduction paragraph is where you start by grabbing the reader’s attention with an engaging "hook," such as a relevant quote or a surprising fact. Following this, you introduce your thesis statement, which is the central argument or point of your essay. To set the stage for the rest of the essay, you provide a brief preview of the three main points that will be covered in the body paragraphs.

The first body paragraph begins with a topic sentence that introduces the first subtopic related to your thesis. This paragraph includes supporting details or examples that illustrate your point, followed by an explanation of how these details or examples support your thesis. This structured approach ensures clarity and coherence, making your argument more persuasive.

The second body paragraph follows a similar format. It starts with a topic sentence that introduces the second subtopic. Again, you provide supporting details or examples and explain their relevance to your thesis. This repetition of structure helps reinforce your argument and makes it easier for the reader to follow your reasoning.

The third body paragraph introduces the third subtopic with a topic sentence. Just like the previous paragraphs, it includes supporting details or examples and explains how they support your thesis. This consistent format throughout the body paragraphs ensures that each point is clearly presented and thoroughly examined.

3.Conclusion

The conclusion paragraph begins with a concluding transition, such as "in conclusion," signaling that you are wrapping up your essay. You restate your thesis in a new way to reinforce your main argument. Then, you summarize the key points discussed in the body paragraphs, tying them back to your thesis.

Finally, you end with a "global statement" or call to action, leaving the reader with a final thought or suggestion related to your topic. This structured approach to essay writing helps ensure that your arguments are clear, cohesive, and compelling from start to finish.

How to Start an Essay [3 Steps with examples]

Starting an essay can bring a mix of thoughts: how to begin, how to end, what supporting points to use. This confusion often leads students to produce subpar essays. Writing an essay is a process that requires structure, which is why learning how to start an essay is crucial.

From my experience, the first tip is to analyze the question and begin brainstorming. This is followed by a series of steps I'll discuss to help you craft an essay that communicates your message effectively. Let's explore how to start an essay, including examples, samples, and techniques like opening with a thought-provoking question. Whether you're looking for "how to start an essay with examples" or a "how to start an essay sample," these tips will guide you towards a strong introduction that sets the tone for your entire piece.

1.Writing the Introduction

Your introduction sets the tone for your entire essay. It's your opportunity to grab the reader's attention and provide a roadmap for what's to come. Let's break down the key components following up with how to start an essay examples:

The hook is your opening statement that captivates your audience. It should be intriguing, thought-provoking, and relevant to your topic. A strong hook can take various forms, such as a startling statistic, a provocative question, or a vivid anecdote. The key is to pique your reader's curiosity and make them eager to read more.

a) "Imagine a world where your morning coffee could power your entire house for a day. While this might sound like science fiction, recent advancements in bioenergy are bringing us closer to this reality."

b) "In the time it takes you to read this sentence, over 200 species will have gone extinct. The alarming rate of biodiversity loss is not just a statistic—it's a call to action that we can no longer ignore."

Context / Background

After hooking your reader, provide context that helps them understand the significance of your topic. This background information should bridge the gap between your hook and your thesis statement. Explain why your topic matters, touch on recent developments or historical context, and set the stage for your main argument.

"The concept of artificial intelligence (AI) has evolved from the realm of science fiction to a cornerstone of modern technology. Over the past decade, AI has permeated various aspects of our lives, from voice assistants in our homes to complex algorithms driving social media platforms. As AI continues to advance at an unprecedented pace, it raises profound questions about the future of work, privacy, and even what it means to be human. Understanding the implications of this technological revolution is crucial as we navigate an increasingly AI-driven world."

Thesis Statement

Your thesis statement is the cornerstone of your essay. It clearly articulates your main argument or purpose, providing a preview of what you'll discuss in the body of your essay. A strong thesis should be specific, arguable, and concise. It sets expectations for your readers and guides the structure of your essay.

"This essay will examine the ethical implications of AI development, arguing that while artificial intelligence offers tremendous benefits in fields such as healthcare and environmental protection, it also poses significant risks to privacy, job security, and social equality. By analyzing these challenges and proposing a framework for responsible AI development, I aim to demonstrate that proactive ethical considerations are essential to harnessing AI's potential while mitigating its dangers."

Overview Ending (Optional)

To round off your introduction, you might choose to provide a brief overview of your essay's structure. This can help orient your readers and give them a clear idea of what to expect. However, be careful not to give away too much—you want to maintain some element of anticipation.

"In exploring the ethical landscape of AI, we will first delve into its transformative potential across various sectors. Then, we'll critically examine the challenges and risks associated with widespread AI adoption. Finally, we'll propose a set of ethical guidelines and policy recommendations aimed at fostering responsible AI development. Through this analysis, we'll uncover how balancing innovation with ethical considerations is crucial for creating an AI-enhanced future that benefits all of humanity."

Once we have written our overview ending, our introduction paragraph is complete. Here is an example of an introduction paragraph:

This might initially appear daunting due to its size, but leveraging WPS AI can streamline and condense the content effectively. Here's how you can simplify and refine it:

Step 1: Select your entire introduction paragraph, and then click on the "WPS AI" icon in the hover menu.

Step 2: From the list of WPS AI options, click on "Make shorter" to help reduce the length of your content.

Step 3: WPS AI will display a shorter version of your introduction in a small window; click on "Replace".

Step 4: The introduction paragraph will now be replaced with a shorter version for your essay.

2.Writing the Body

The body of your essay is where you develop your arguments and provide evidence to support your thesis. It's the meat of your essay, where you dive deep into your topic and showcase your knowledge and critical thinking skills.

Present and develop the main arguments that support your thesis statement. Each paragraph should focus on a single main idea or argument that contributes to your overall thesis. This structure helps your reader follow your logic and understand your points clearly.

Let's say your thesis is about the impact of renewable energy on climate change mitigation. One argument could be:

"The widespread adoption of solar power technology has significantly reduced carbon emissions in countries that have invested heavily in this renewable energy source."

Support each argument with solid evidence that reinforces your point. Evidence can include facts, statistics, research findings, expert opinions, or examples from real-life situations. The stronger and more varied your evidence, the more convincing your argument will be.

"According to a 2023 report by the International Energy Agency, countries with high solar power adoption have seen an average reduction in carbon emissions of 15% over the past five years. For instance, Germany, a leader in solar energy, has cut its carbon emissions by 28% since 2010, with solar power contributing to more than half of this reduction."

Ideas (Paragraphs)

Organize your ideas into coherent paragraphs. Each paragraph should start with a topic sentence that introduces the main idea of the paragraph. Follow this with your evidence and analysis, explaining how this information supports your argument and relates to your thesis.

Topic sentence: "Beyond reducing carbon emissions, solar power adoption also stimulates economic growth and job creation in the renewable energy sector."

Evidence and analysis: "A study by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that solar panel installer will be the fastest-growing job in the United States over the next decade, with an expected growth rate of 52%. This surge in employment opportunities not only helps to offset job losses in traditional energy sectors but also contributes to overall economic resilience. For example, in California, the solar industry has created over 86,000 jobs, boosting the state's economy while simultaneously reducing its carbon footprint."

This structure is followed for each body paragraph added. So, if you think you have 3 sub-topics, you will have 3 body paragraphs, stating the sub-topic followed by evidence to back your argument.

Transitions

Use transitions to link your paragraphs and ideas together smoothly. These can be words or phrases that show how one idea leads to another or how different viewpoints contrast. Good transitions help your essay flow logically and coherently.

"While solar power demonstrates significant benefits for both the environment and economy, it's essential to consider other renewable energy sources that complement its strengths and address its limitations."

Here is how a body paragraph would look like:

3.Writing the Conclusion

Your conclusion is your final opportunity to leave a lasting impression on your reader. It should tie together all the threads of your essay and reinforce your main points.

Summary / Synthesis

Summarize the main points you have discussed throughout the essay. This reminder helps solidify your arguments in the reader's mind.

"Throughout this essay, we've explored the multifaceted impact of renewable energy, particularly solar power, on our fight against climate change. We've seen how solar technology significantly reduces carbon emissions, stimulates economic growth through job creation, and complements other renewable energy sources. Moreover, we've examined the challenges of energy storage and distribution that come with increased reliance on solar power."

Importance of Your Topic

Explain why your topic is important or relevant. Connect the discussion back to the broader context or implications of your thesis statement.

"The transition to renewable energy sources like solar power is not just an environmental imperative; it's a pivotal moment in human history. As we face the growing threats of climate change, including rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and biodiversity loss, our energy choices today will shape the world for generations to come. The widespread adoption of solar and other renewable energy sources offers a path to a more sustainable, resilient, and equitable future."

Strong Closing Statement

End your conclusion with a strong closing statement that leaves a lasting impression on the reader. This could be a call to action, a prediction, or a thought-provoking question.

"As we stand at this critical juncture, the choice is clear: embrace the power of the sun and other renewable sources, or continue down a path of environmental degradation. By investing in solar technology, supporting policies that encourage renewable energy adoption, and making conscious energy choices in our daily lives, we can harness the immense potential of renewable energy. The future of our planet is bright - if we choose to make it so. Will you be part of this solar revolution?"

The final conclusion, including all the main functions, would look something like this:

Bonus Tips: How to Polish your Essay with WPS AI

The great thing about WPS Office isn't just that it comes equipped with everything a student in any field needs and has all the tools for you to write the perfect essay, but also that WPS AI helps you improve the quality of what you have at hand.

Grammar and Spelling Check:

WPS Office includes advanced grammar and spelling check tools that automatically identify and correct errors. This feature ensures that your writing is free of typos and grammatical mistakes, enhancing the overall readability and professionalism of your essays.

Let's say you have your completed essay open in WPS Office. With the help of WPS AI spell check, proofreading and spell-checking would become much easier. Simply click on "Accept All" to make all the necessary changes.

Style and Clarity Enhancement:

Beyond just fixing errors, WPS AI offers suggestions to improve your writing style and clarity. It helps you refine your sentence structure, choose more precise words, and eliminate unnecessary jargon. This ensures that your arguments are presented clearly and effectively, making your essays more compelling and easier to understand.

Writing Assistance:

WPS AI acts as a writing assistant, providing guidance on how to continue developing your ideas. Whether you’re stuck on how to transition between paragraphs or need help expanding on a particular point, the AI offers suggestions and tips to keep your writing process smooth and efficient. This can be especially helpful in maintaining a logical flow and ensuring that all your points are well-supported and clearly articulated.

FAQs About Starting an Essay

1. what is the purpose of the introduction in an essay.

The purpose of the introduction in an essay is to familiarize the reader with the topic, highlighting its significance and relevance. It captures the reader's interest while providing essential background information. Additionally, the introduction outlines the main points of the essay and presents the thesis statement, which acts as the core argument that forms the foundation of the entire essay. By laying out these components, the introduction clarifies the importance of the topic and prepares the reader for what lies ahead in the essay.

2. What is a topic sentence?

A topic sentence is a statement that conveys the primary idea of a paragraph. It conveys the main point and establishes the paragraph's focus, ensuring that all subsequent sentences are connected to this key idea. Every paragraph in your paper should include a topic sentence to clarify its purpose.

3. Why do I need a thesis statement?

A thesis statement is crucial because it defines the main argument of an essay, guiding the writer's direction and helping the reader understand the central focus. It serves as a roadmap for the content that follows, ensuring that all points are relevant to the main idea.

4. How can I make my essay introduction stand out?

To create a memorable essay introduction, begin with an engaging hook, such as an intriguing fact, a thought-provoking quote, or a vivid illustration. Additionally, ensure that your introduction is concise, focused, and directly related to the main topic of the essay. This approach will draw the reader in and establish a solid foundation for your argument.

Create Compelling Essays With WPS Office

Learning how to start an essay will ultimately help you transform your ideas into a compelling narrative. All you need is a prompt and a topic to craft the best essay possible. Remember to infuse your work with a bit of heart to give it a personalized touch, making your writing truly unique and engaging. WPS Office is an excellent tool to help you achieve a well-crafted essay. It assists in forming proper sentences and generating new ideas, ensuring your essay is both coherent and creative.

With features like grammar and spelling checks, style and clarity enhancement, and writing assistance, WPS Office supports you every step of the way in your writing process. Download WPS Office now and experience its capabilities for yourself. It’s designed to make essay writing easier and more efficient, allowing you to focus on expressing your ideas and arguments effectively.

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• Knowledge Base
• How to write an essay outline | Guidelines & examples

How to Write an Essay Outline | Guidelines & Examples

Published on August 14, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.

An essay outline is a way of planning the structure of your essay before you start writing. It involves writing quick summary sentences or phrases for every point you will cover in each paragraph , giving you a picture of how your argument will unfold.

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Table of contents

Organizing your material, presentation of the outline, examples of essay outlines, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about essay outlines.

At the stage where you’re writing an essay outline, your ideas are probably still not fully formed. You should know your topic  and have already done some preliminary research to find relevant sources , but now you need to shape your ideas into a structured argument.

Creating categories

Look over any information, quotes and ideas you’ve noted down from your research and consider the central point you want to make in the essay—this will be the basis of your thesis statement . Once you have an idea of your overall argument, you can begin to organize your material in a way that serves that argument.

Try to arrange your material into categories related to different aspects of your argument. If you’re writing about a literary text, you might group your ideas into themes; in a history essay, it might be several key trends or turning points from the period you’re discussing.

Three main themes or subjects is a common structure for essays. Depending on the length of the essay, you could split the themes into three body paragraphs, or three longer sections with several paragraphs covering each theme.

As you create the outline, look critically at your categories and points: Are any of them irrelevant or redundant? Make sure every topic you cover is clearly related to your thesis statement.

Order of information

When you have your material organized into several categories, consider what order they should appear in.

Your essay will always begin and end with an introduction and conclusion , but the organization of the body is up to you.

Consider these questions to order your material:

• Is there an obvious starting point for your argument?
• Is there one subject that provides an easy transition into another?
• Do some points need to be set up by discussing other points first?

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Within each paragraph, you’ll discuss a single idea related to your overall topic or argument, using several points of evidence or analysis to do so.

In your outline, you present these points as a few short numbered sentences or phrases.They can be split into sub-points when more detail is needed.

The template below shows how you might structure an outline for a five-paragraph essay.

• Thesis statement
• First piece of evidence
• Second piece of evidence
• Summary/synthesis
• Importance of topic
• Strong closing statement

You can choose whether to write your outline in full sentences or short phrases. Be consistent in your choice; don’t randomly write some points as full sentences and others as short phrases.

Examples of outlines for different types of essays are presented below: an argumentative, expository, and literary analysis essay.

Argumentative essay outline

This outline is for a short argumentative essay evaluating the internet’s impact on education. It uses short phrases to summarize each point.

Its body is split into three paragraphs, each presenting arguments about a different aspect of the internet’s effects on education.

• Importance of the internet
• Concerns about internet use
• Thesis statement: Internet use a net positive
• Data exploring this effect
• Analysis indicating it is overstated
• Students’ reading levels over time
• Why this data is questionable
• Video media
• Interactive media
• Speed and simplicity of online research
• Questions about reliability (transitioning into next topic)
• Evidence indicating its ubiquity
• Claims that it discourages engagement with academic writing
• Evidence that Wikipedia warns students not to cite it
• Argument that it introduces students to citation
• Summary of key points
• Value of digital education for students
• Need for optimism to embrace advantages of the internet

Expository essay outline

This is the outline for an expository essay describing how the invention of the printing press affected life and politics in Europe.

The paragraphs are still summarized in short phrases here, but individual points are described with full sentences.

• Claim that the printing press marks the end of the Middle Ages.
• Provide background on the low levels of literacy before the printing press.
• Present the thesis statement: The invention of the printing press increased circulation of information in Europe, paving the way for the Reformation.
• Discuss the very high levels of illiteracy in medieval Europe.
• Describe how literacy and thus knowledge and education were mainly the domain of religious and political elites.
• Indicate how this discouraged political and religious change.
• Describe the invention of the printing press in 1440 by Johannes Gutenberg.
• Show the implications of the new technology for book production.
• Describe the rapid spread of the technology and the printing of the Gutenberg Bible.
• Link to the Reformation.
• Discuss the trend for translating the Bible into vernacular languages during the years following the printing press’s invention.
• Describe Luther’s own translation of the Bible during the Reformation.
• Sketch out the large-scale effects the Reformation would have on religion and politics.
• Summarize the history described.
• Stress the significance of the printing press to the events of this period.

Literary analysis essay outline

The literary analysis essay outlined below discusses the role of theater in Jane Austen’s novel Mansfield Park .

The body of the essay is divided into three different themes, each of which is explored through examples from the book.

• Describe the theatricality of Austen’s works
• Outline the role theater plays in Mansfield Park
• Introduce the research question : How does Austen use theater to express the characters’ morality in Mansfield Park ?
• Discuss Austen’s depiction of the performance at the end of the first volume
• Discuss how Sir Bertram reacts to the acting scheme
• Introduce Austen’s use of stage direction–like details during dialogue
• Explore how these are deployed to show the characters’ self-absorption
• Discuss Austen’s description of Maria and Julia’s relationship as polite but affectionless
• Compare Mrs. Norris’s self-conceit as charitable despite her idleness
• Summarize the three themes: The acting scheme, stage directions, and the performance of morals
• Answer the research question
• Indicate areas for further study

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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You will sometimes be asked to hand in an essay outline before you start writing your essay . Your supervisor wants to see that you have a clear idea of your structure so that writing will go smoothly.

Even when you do not have to hand it in, writing an essay outline is an important part of the writing process . It’s a good idea to write one (as informally as you like) to clarify your structure for yourself whenever you are working on an essay.

If you have to hand in your essay outline , you may be given specific guidelines stating whether you have to use full sentences. If you’re not sure, ask your supervisor.

When writing an essay outline for yourself, the choice is yours. Some students find it helpful to write out their ideas in full sentences, while others prefer to summarize them in short phrases.

You should try to follow your outline as you write your essay . However, if your ideas change or it becomes clear that your structure could be better, it’s okay to depart from your essay outline . Just make sure you know why you’re doing so.

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Caulfield, J. (2023, July 23). How to Write an Essay Outline | Guidelines & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved August 12, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/academic-essay/essay-outline/

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• Society & Culture

Independence Day Essay 2024: 4 Short Essay In English For Students

If you're a student in search of short essay ideas for Independence Day, you've come to the right place. Here, you'll find a selection of short essays that can serve as inspiration for your own writing.

• Itisha Arya
• Updated - 2024-08-14, 14:35 IST

Independence Day Essay For Students

Essay 1: the importance of independence day.

Essay 2: Honouring Freedom: The Joy of Independence Day

Essay 3: the contributions of freedom fighters to india's independence.

Essay 4: The Legacy of Independence Day in Contemporary India

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• School Life

Independence Day Essay 2024: Short and Long Essay For School Students!

Independence day 2024: this article talks about short and long essay ideas in english for independence day . find here some of the best ideas in 10 lines, 100 words, 150 words, 250 words, and long format. .

Short Independence Day Essay in 100 Words

Independence Day is celebrated on 15th August every year to mark the country’s freedom from British rule in 1947. This day is a tribute to all those heroes who sacrificed their lives for the independence of the nation. 

It is our responsibility as the people of the country to honour them, especially on this day. On Independence Day, celebrations can be held at many places including schools as well. These activities include flag hoisting, patriotic speeches and other cultural events across the country. Many colleges also organise special programmes to honour the spirit of independence on this special day. 

On this day, the Prime Minister also addresses the nation from the Red Fort in Delhi, reflecting on the progress made and the changes that are being done for the good.  Independence Day reminds every Indian of the value of freedom and the responsibility to uphold it. So, let’s celebrate it with full enthusiasm. 

Short Independence Day Essay in 150 Words

India’s Independence Day is celebrated on 15 August every year, which marks the country’s freedom from British rule in 1947. The day symbolises the arduous struggle for independence which is led by many prominent leaders. Independence Day is a day for the citizens to reflect on the sacrifices that have been made by many people in the past to get India free from the rule of the Britishers. 

It is a day to encourage the students as well so that they can build a developed nation. Many programs are also held in the country like patriotic songs, cultural programs, and flag-hoisting ceremonies in schools and colleges that foster a sense of unity and pride among everyone. 

Long Independence Day Essay In 200 Words

Independence Day celebrated on August 15, every year holds great significance for every Indian. The day marks the anniversary of India’s freedom from British rule in 1947, nearly 200 years of colonial dominance.  It is a time to honour the countless freedom fighters who fought bravely for the freedom of the nation. 

Well, the celebration of Independence Day begins when the Prime Minister hoists the national flag at the Red Fort in Delhi. He/She also gives a speech highlighting the importance of the day and remembering all those heroes who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of the nation. 

This day is not just a commemoration of the past but also a reminder of the responsibilities that come with freedom. The day serves as an inspiration for all the citizens of the country to contribute towards the development of the nation and also uphold the values of democracy, equality, and freedom that the country was founded upon.

Independence Day is a celebration of the rich heritage of India, its culture and its people as well. It reminds every Indian of the importance of unity, the power of collective effort, and the significance of maintaining hard-won freedom for future generations.

Long Essay on Independence Day in 500 Words

Students can take the ideas from the above lines and then add on the below lines to complete the essay in 500 words. 

Independence Day, celebrated annually on August 15th, is one of the most important national holidays in India. The day marks the end of the freedom struggle from the British Raj. It is a day of immense pride, and the day to remember the sacrifices made by the many people to give the country freedom from the British Raj. 

Independence Day is celebrated with great enthusiasm across India. The day begins with the hoisting of the national flag, followed by the singing of the national anthem, "Jana Gana Mana." The most prominent ceremony takes place at the Red Fort in Delhi, where the Prime Minister hoists the flag and delivers a speech to the nation. This speech reflects on the country's achievements, the struggles of the past and how they have been curbed to develop the country for the better. 

Schools, colleges, and other institutions also organise various events,  that include flag-hoisting ceremonies, cultural programs, and patriotic performances. These activities help instil a sense of national pride among the school students, reminding them of the sacrifices made by their forebears.

Independence Day is a powerful symbol of India's journey from being the slave of Britishers to finally getting freedom. It is a day to honour the past, celebrate the present, and inspire future generations to continue the work of building a developed nation. As India moves forward, Independence Day will always serve as a reminder of the power of unity, resilience, and the enduring spirit of freedom.

Top 10 Additional Lines On Independence Day 2024 

• Independence Day is celebrated as a national holiday in India with great enthusiasm. 
• Schools and colleges organise various events, including parades, speeches and cultural performances to mark the importance of this day. 
• It is a day to remind the endless struggles of all the freedom fighters for the sacrifices they made to make the country free. 
• The national anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana’ is also being sung with pride, invoking a deep sense of patriotism among the citizens. 
• On the special day, the Prime Minister also gives a speech to reflect on the progress made since Independence.
• The day unites people of different cultures and brings them together to celebrate the special day. 
• Independence Day also serves as a reminder to uphold the values of democracy, equality and justice. 
• Many children and adults participate in kite flying, which has been a traditional activity since long. 
• The Indian tricolour flag is also hoisted across the country to symbolise unity and freedom.
• This day is an important day to mark the sacrifices of many and also to be ready for the future. 
• National Flag Essay in Hindi: भारतीय राष्‍ट्रीय ध्‍वज 'तिरंगा' पर निबंध हिन्दी में
• स्वतंत्रता दिवस 15 अगस्त पर निबंध - Essay On Independence Day In Hindi
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Independence day 2024: simple essay writing tips and samples for school and college students.

Independence Day 2024 Essay Tips: Celebrated annually on August 15th, India's Independence Day in 2024 marks 77 years since gaining freedom from British rule in 1947. The day features flag hoisting, patriotic songs, and cultural performances. Schools and public institutions commemorate the event, highlighting the contributions of freedom fighters and fostering national pride.

Independence Day 2024 Essay Writing Tips

Independence day 2024: sample essays, read more news on.

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