12.0 Objective
This lesson will help the students learn how to write a good essay and good
business letters.
12.1 Introduction: Essay Writing
The term ‘essay’, for examination purposes, can be applied to a composition in
which the writer states his knowledge of, and gives his opinion about, a certain
topic. An essay, in this sense, will contain narrative and descriptive elements
as well as comments and criticism representing the writer’s own point of view.
44
Thus an essay becomes a test, not only of knowledge, but of thoughts and
imagination. It reflects the writer’s personality as well as his or her ability to
weave disintegrated bits of information in to a thread of unity.
12.1.1 Essentials of a good essay
• An essay must be a unity, developing one theme with a definite purpose.
• The essay should follow a certain ordered line of thought and come to a definite
conclusion. The matter-the ideas/facts,-should be arranged into an attractive design.
• The presentation of the matter should be clear. Language and sentence construction
should be simple and lucid.
• An essay should reveal the personal feelings and opinions of the writer. However
idiosyncrasies had better not to be expressed. Nor should extreme or dangerous
opinions be expressed.
12.1.2 Stages in essay writing
It is undeniable that an important component of an essay is matter. Each subject
requires something to be said about it. Lack of matter is a serious difficulty and you
must prepare yourself well before the examination to overcome it. Extensive reading
is essential for you to become competent at writing essays. Books and articles on
history, travel, biography, science and current social/political/economic issues are
good sources of fact and ideas. You should develop a keen sense of observation.
The life around you-what you see and hear and experience-is a valuable source
material for essays. Conversation with friends will further help enrich your mind
with ideas and knowledge. The general preparation, thus, involves broadening your
mental horizons and cultivating the ability to think.
Now we come to the actual work of writing the essay. This involves a number of
steps, which are discussed below:
45
I Define the scope of the subject. Read the title and think about the subject you
have chosen. Ask yourself what the topic demands. Do not be misled by any one
word in the title. The scope of an essay on “Indian Films” is essentially different
from the scope of an essay on “The influence of Indian Films on the Young”. Your
essay will have to be of the length prescribed, and there is no place in it for
irrelevant matter. Having understood the precise scope of the subject, you must
decide upon the point of view from which it is to be treated. It may be helpful to jot
down the ideas, facts and illustrations that pass through your mind as you think over
the subject.
II Make an outline. Arrange the facts and ideas according to some consistent
principle of organization. You may go from the general to the specific or from
specific to the general; or you may develop your essay along chronological lines.
Your organization of ideas will, to a large extent, depend upon the subject of the
essay. An outline will help you identify ideas which must be grouped together and
those that must be rejected as irrelevant or repetitious. The outline will also give you
an idea of what to develop in different paragraphs in the body of the essay.
III Writing the essay. An essay at the simplest level has three parts-the
beginning, the middle (or the body), and the conclusion.
(a) The beginning or introduction. Must be effective, but brief. The first line
should be explanatory of the idea without the heading’s help. Avoid
beginnings which have nothing to do with the actual topic of the essay. The
beginning may be a statement of a fact, a definition or an explanation of the
title, some unusual detail (which, however, is related to the subject), some
incident leading up to the main topic, a firm statement of opinion, a
quotation illustrating or leading to the main topic.
(b) The body of the essay or development of thought. Should consist of
paragraphs dealing with the different aspects of the topic as jotted down in
your outline. Due weight should be given to each part, in order to avoid
an imbalanced effect. Generally, a paragraph may deal with one aspect;
however, some aspects may require more than one paragraph. The essay
46
will be written if paragraph are well constructed and related to one another
according to the direction of your outline. Construct a paragraph around a
topic sentence. Avoid excessively long and excessively short paragraphs.
Generally a paragraph should not have less than four or more than eight
sentences.
Each paragraph should have unity and coherence; and the paragraphs
in combination should contribute to the effect of unity and coherence of
the essay as a whole. In order to achieve unity, you must have a clear
purpose. The first line may sum up the topic or topic may be strongly
implied through details in the entire paragraph. Sentence should deal with
details and ideas relevant to the paragraph topic. As for coherence, it
implies a logical arrangement of the details and ideas so that the reader
knows how they are relevant to the topic
(c) The conclusion of an essay must be effective. An abrupt or feeble
ending may mar the effect of the essay. Apologetic endings are to be
avoided. Above all, ending should not start upon some new aspect of
the topic. In the conclusion you may restate in a striking manner the
main point you want to drive home, or you may use a quotation to round
off. In some cases, you may effectively sum up the main ideas in the essay;
however, in most cases this device appears dull. In argumentative or expository
essays, the ending may easily be a logical conclusion drawn from the facts
presented.
IV Style in writing
In matters of style, it is practice which makes prefect. Grammatical knowledge
is essential. Reading is bound to improve your vocabulary. You should develop
the art of using the right word in right place. Clarity in writing is a reflection of
clarity in thinking;so be perfectlyclear about what you want to say. Be sincere
and simple in what you express; avoid bombastic language and elaborate
metaphors. Use short sentences which are clear, compact and effective.
47
“If you wish to be writer, write”, said Epictetus; “Anyone who wishes
to become a good writer should endeavour……to be direct, simple,brief, vigorous, and
lucid”, said W.H. Fowler.
An examination essay further demands that you express yourself well within the
limitations of space and time.
Post a Comment