If you’re going to take up English or a subject within Arts and Humanities at university there will be many essay writing. It’s a skill that is difficult to master , since it requires both creativity and thinking logically. If you take care to do the following things when writing an essay, you should be well on your way towards success:

1. Plan

It’s not easy, but if you have an effective plan you’ll end up saving yourself time when it comes to creating your essay. This is because you’ll know where your answer will be headed and won’t push yourself into a corner. Do not fret if you’re stuck initially, just note down some ideas and you’ll be surprised by what will follow. It’s easier for me to create a map of my mind that has each new “bubble is a representation of one of my principal paragraphs. After that, I create quotes that will aid in my study of the bubble.

For instance, if were to answer ‘To what extent is Curley’s wife portrayed as a victim in Of Mice and Men? This might prompt me to make a mind map which looks like this:

Continue to build the outline, crossing parts out, and connecting the different bubbles when you notice relationships between them.At site https://ventsmagazine.com/2022/09/02/6-best-ways-to-write-an-essay/ from Our Articles Even though you’ll not have time to make such a detailed plan under examination conditions, it might be useful to sketch a brief one with a few crucial words so that it isn’t an issue to get off the topic when writing your essay. If you’re not happy with the mind map format there are plenty of alternatives to pick from: You can design a table that flows, or simply just a list of bullets.

2. You must have a clear and concise structure

Consider this when you are planning. Your essay can be described as an argument or speech – it needs to be structured in a rational way, with all your points coming together to answer the question. Start with the basics. it is suggested to pick some major points that can become the main paragraphs. Three primary paragraphs is a suitable quantity for an essay that you will need to pass as you’ll be under pressure to write in a short time. Make sure you organize your arguments in a structure consisting of: YES (agreement on the subject) – AND (another “YES”-related point) AND (disagreement or complications) when you are in agreement to the general question, or YES-BUT – and if you are not. This helps ensure that you’re focused on your arguments and that you don’t wander too far from the question.

For instance, you could arrange how you structure the Of Mice and Men sample query as follows:

“To what extent is Curley’s wife portrayed as an innocent as a victim of Of Mice and Men?’

• Yes, descriptions of her appearance
• AND – other people’s attitudes towards her
• BUT – her position as the sole female member of the ranch gives her strength by leveraging her femininity to benefit herself

If you want to compose a longer essay it is possible to include additional paragraphs under the ‘YES/AND’ category, perhaps discussing the ways that the wife of Curley reveals her vulnerability or insecurities and share her fears with other characters. On the other hand, you could additionally lengthen your essay including another ‘BUT’ paragraph about her manipulative and cruel streak.

Of course, this is not necessarily the only correct way to address this essay question Insofar as you are able to back your argument with the facts in the text, you’ll be able to accept any view that is reasonable.

3. Be sure to back your claims by using well-analyzed quotations

It’s not possible to write a scientific report without citing any evidence to support your findings therefore why should it be any different when writing an essay? Even though you’re not required to substantiate every single argument you make with quotations, there’s not much risk in trying. An attentive reading of the quotations you make can help improve your understanding of the topic and will impress examiners.

If you’re deciding which quotations to incorporate into your essay, look out for specific literary techniques. For instance, you might look at Curley’s wife’s choice of a rhetorical query when she says: ‘What is I doing? I’m here, talking to some stiffs in bindle’:

The question “An’ what are I doing?” signifies that Curley’s wife is extremely insecure and is contemplating her choices in life. Moreover, the fact that she does not expect anyone else to answer the question is a sign of her isolation.

Other literary techniques to keep an eye out for include:

• Tricolon is a phrase that consists of three words or phrases , which are positioned closely together to give emphasis
• Tautology, a word that is used in different ways that mean the same thing for example, ‘frightening’ and ‘terrifying’

• Parallelism ABAB structure. Often it refers to change from one idea to another
• Chiasmus – ABBA structure; draws attention to this phrase
• Polysyndeton A number of words that can be used in an expression
• Asyndeton – absence of conjunctions is a way to speed up the pace of the sentence
• Polyptoton – using the same word in different versions for emphasis, for example “done” and “doing”.
• Alliteration , repetition of the same sound. Different forms of alliteration can be found in assonance (similar vowel sounds) in addition to plosive (‘b'”, “d” and “p vowels) as well as sibilance (‘s sounds)
• Anaphora – repeated words, often used to emphasize a certain point

Don’t worry if you can’t identify all of these literary devices within the piece that you’re studying – you could also talk about the more obvious effects such as metaphor, simile and onomatopoeia. The problem isn’t that big if it’s difficult to remember the long names – it’s essential to clarify the effect of the literary techniques , and how they relate to the subject than to employ the appropriate terminology.

4. Create and be original all the way

Anybody is able to write an essay using the above tips, but the element that makes it “perfect” is your own personal perspective regarding the topic that you’re speaking about. If you’ve spotted something intriguing or interesting in your reading be sure to highlight it: If you like what you see and interesting, the reader would too.

Writing for essays and creative writing are more closely linked than you’d expect; keep the notion of creating a speech or an argument with your thoughts, and you’re bound to draw the readers’ interest.

It’s crucial to establish your argument within your introduction, informing your readers of your main points, and the general direction your essay will follow. But don’t forget to leave something behind for the conclusion to complete the essay. Sure, you have to summarise your main points, however, if you’re just repeating the information you’ve provided in your introduction, the essay is ineffective.

Think of your final sentence as the point at which you conclude your talk, the one that every other thing has led towards, and not your boring lecture at the end of the interesting stuff.

To bring us back to Of Mice and Men once and again, here’s another illustration of the ideal distinction between an opening and a concluding sentence:

Introduction:

Within John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the wife of Curley is shown as a confusing character. It is possible to view her as a vicious and seductive temptress, or an isolated woman who is the victim of her society’s opinions. While she may possess a certain amount of sexual power, it is evident that Curley’s wife mostly dependent. This is backed up by the description given in her book of how she appears, other characters’ behavior, their dreams, and her evident anxiety and loneliness.

Conclusion:

Overall, it’s apparent that Curley’s wife is a victim and appears as such throughout the story, from all descriptions about her body, appearance, fantasies and people’s attitudes towards her, and her loneliness and fears. Yet, a character was a victim and only one thing else could be one-dimensional which is what Curley’s spouse isn’t. While she is afflicted in a variety of ways, she is shown to assert herself by manipulating her femininity – a small indignation against the violence she suffers.

Both refer back consistently to what was asked and summarizes the main ideas of the essay; however, the conclusion includes an element that’s not set out in the body of the essay and yet is more complex than the straightforward summary that can be found in the introduction.