"How to write an essay"
for advanced learners
A very important part of teaching English, is to teach our students how to write essays. This is not as simple as it sounds, especially when we are dealing with advanced learners.
I was taught the following method in college. To be exact, this is not a how-to-write-an-essay method but it's more a how-to-think-correctly method.
I remember my professors telling me always to prepare an outline. Spending time in preparing it, it's not a waste of time as many students may think. If the student has a detailed outline, he/she has more or less the essay done!
Making an outline may demand a lot of time. Basically, students prepare their essays. They spend time in thinking what they will write and they put their thoughts in order. An outline "protects" students from not having a coherent essay.
Here's a sample of how an outline could be:
Introduction:
- Thesis statement
* Thesis statement is the last sentence in the intoductory paragraph in which the student makes clear what the essay will be about in one sentence. Of course, we avoid generalizations in here. Thesis statement is about being accurate.
Main body:
1st parapraph:
- Topic sentence
ü Paragraph’s main point
ü Paragraph’s main point
ü Paragraph’s main point
Topic sentence is the first sentence of each paragraph of the main body. This sentence introduces to the reader what the paragraph will be about (e.g., advantages of using Internet.).
Paragraph’s main point: students write here a couple of words as a reminder of the point they want to analyse in their essay (e.g., access to unlimited information) .
Conclusion:
In the conclusion the student paraphrases the main points of his/her essay.
*The students should remember to use linking words!
