2. The planning stage
This is one of the most important stages.
Therefore, it should not be overlooked. Planning
involves brainstorming ideas and looking for
references in the text(s) to back up your points.
Be realistic. If you are given a limited number of
words to write, be careful to choose the number
of ideas you can develop thoroughly. It is not a
good idea to simply mention loose points. It is
always best to focus on a reasonable number of
items which you are sure you can deal with in
detail.
3. Pre-writing
1. Research:
Begin the essay writing process by researching your topic,
making yourself an expert. Utilize the internet, the
academic databases, and the library. Take notes and
immerse yourself in the words of great thinkers.
4. Pre-writing
2. Analysis: Now that you have a good
knowledge base, start analyzing the
arguments of the essays you're reading.
Clearly define the claims, write out the
reasons, the evidence. Look for weaknesses
of logic, and also strengths. Learning how
to write an essay begins by learning how to
analyze essays written by others.
5. Pre-writing
3. Brainstorming: Your essay will
require insight of your own, genuine
essay-writing brilliance. Ask yourself
a dozen questions and answer them.
Meditate with a pen in your hand.
Take walks and think and think until
you come up with original insights to
write about.
6. Pre-writing
4. Thesis: Pick your best idea and pin it
down in a clear assertion that you can write
your entire essay around. Your thesis is
your main point, summed up in a concise
sentence that lets the reader know where
you're going, and why. It's practically
impossible to write a good essay without a
clear thesis
7. Pre-writing
5. Outline: Sketch out your essay before
straightway writing it out. Use one-line
sentences to describe paragraphs, and
bullet points to describe what each
paragraph will contain. Play with the
essay's order. Map out the structure of
your argument, and make sure each
paragraph is unified.
8. Layout and organisation
The basic layout of an essay is as follows:
a) Introduction
b) Development
c) Conclusion.
In the introduction you are simply supposed to
announce what is going to be discussed in your
essay. Do not include conclusions; this will give
the reader no purpose to go on reading. Do your
best to create interest in your audience.
9. In the development, which will be the
longest section, you will deal with
each one of the topics in detail. You
should devote a paragraph to each
one of your ideas. Remember, a
paragraph is an idea i.e do not write a
single paragraph or one-sentence
paragraphs.
10. In the conclusion simply round off the
ideas you developed. Make sure you
have dealt with what you promised in
the introduction. Look out for
contradictions or inconsistencies.
11. Editing
Once you have written out the whole
essay, read it several times for
different purposes. At first, check
for clarity and coherence and
cohesion. Secondly, look out for
language mistakes. Thirdly, make sure
the style is suitable.
12. General ideas to be taken into
account
Do NOT use contractions unless you are
quoting.
Use the present tense.
When you decide to use a quotation, make
sure you introduce it. For example, “In
Frankenstein, the roles of creator-
creature are reversed. We can clearly see
this in...”. Do not use quotations unless
there is a clear purpose for using them.
Remember, quotations should only be used
to illustrate your point.
13. If the quotation is too long, paraphrase it.
Do not make use of literary terms unless
you mention the purpose these devices
serve. Do not say, for example, this is a
good example of personification, if you
cannot see what the effect is. Simply
mentioning literary devices will not make
your essay more successful.
14. Remember to acknowledge your sources if
you use any, even if you are paraphrasing
and not quoting verbatim. Include a list of
bibliography and/ or webliography at the
end of your essay.
Do not fall into the tempation of retelling
the text. The reader is already familiar
with it. You may only do so when
introducing a quotation.
15. And last but not least!!!
Remember that what matters most is
how you respond to the text. There
are no right or wrong answers only
rightly or wrongly developed ones. As
long as you can account for your
answers and use the text for
support, your ideas will be accepted.
