Exploring the blogs, I always admire the people owning the good quality of articles; listening to a speech, I always wonder how the author wrote out an impressive speech paper. On reading the tutorials of writing an essay, I started to comprehend the profundity. Like science and math, writing essays also has its strategy, they are planning, drafting, and revision. To create an effective and thought-provoking paper one should follow all the aspects of the essay writing rules and take into account the details of their functioning.
Before I go on a trip, I will determine the destination, the best ways to get there, and the lodging to stay in; all these aspects are introduced in my plan. The same should be done while writing an essay: first, I consider the main idea of the essay. The desired destination is depended on my preference, but I also have to concern about others being with me, gather ideas from them, and shape the main purpose of my plan. After I clarified the target, I may start a scratch outline. “It is simply a list of the major ideas I plan to include in my draft, written in the order plan to cover them” (51), list out the summary of each step in order to reach the destination, such as the transportation to ride, the hotel to reserve, and the tourist attractions to visit.
Once everything was prepared, I am ready to use the outline as the guide to writing a drafting essay. Start with the introduction, “Because the first impressions are important, a successful essay begins well.” the introduction should “stimulate the readers’ interest “(62). I will start with an interesting story or an appropriate dialogue in order to grab readers’ attention. In some exceptional cases, such as writing a science research paper, summarizing some helpful background information is the smartest choice. Next is the body paragraphs; it is the description, explanation, or argumentation of the essay topic which I have chosen. Each body paragraph will have the same structure: first, write down one of the main points in sentence form. Then, separate the main point of the local paragraph into different sub-points. Using the research sources, such as newspapers, magazines, the internet, and etc., to approve or support these points, or some reality illustrations to explain or discuss them in enough detail within a body paragraph for the reader to really understand the significance of the issue. At the end is the conclusion, it is usually the last paragraph of the essay bringing closure of the main topic or acting as a response to the introduction.
Following my first draft, revising the paper is the final step of the whole essay writing process. Revision, I mean a conceptual as well as structural activity, forces me to backtrack constantly as I change my meaning and refine my intention. To evaluate the main topic of the essay, check if the essay was followed by the instruction, whether the working thesis addresses the assignment, and each working passage/paragraph develops that thesis. It means to correct and refine the words and sentences, especially those of format, punctuation, and spelling errors. Also, ask some of my friends to review the draft, “Because feedback can be so helpful to writers” (79).
These are the strategy of writing an essay since I read the tutorial, but it is only the beginning, I still have quite many other theories to learn in the future.
References
Chapter 1 to Chapter 3, Patterns for a Purpose.
Ed. Barbara Fine Clouse. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2006. Pg.1-98.