DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY
CONSTRUCTING A DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY
As stated before, descriptive compositions describe a scene, a place, an object or a person. They create pictures, they thus need a great skill in drawing up mental images using words.
What is tested?
The examiner will be looking particularly at the candidate’s ability:
1. to observe and describe accurately.
2. to use describing words properly, e.g. adjectives and imagery devices.
3. follow a sequential order, i.e. beginning, middle and end.
The adjectives
A candidate writing a descriptive piece of work must be well equipped with adjectives of various kinds. Items described need to be given a thorough explanation of how they look like, or generally their nature. The types of adjective to be much used include:
· Adjectives of quality: good, bad, big, small, beautiful, ugly, etc
· Adjectives of action: smiling, running, crumbling, stolen, forgotten, etc.
· Adjectives of shape: round, square, triangular, oval, conical, spiral, etc.
· Adjectives of colour: green, white, pink, purple, blue, black, etc.
· Adjectives of origin: Chinese, American, Turkish, Swiss, Egyptian, etc.
· Derived adjectives: national, climatic, affective, etc.
· Adjectives of material: wooden, earthen, silken, leather, plastic, etc.
· Adjectives in noun forms: country, school, tin, house, road, etc.
· Adjectives of use: washing, swimming, running, grinding, etc.
IMAGERY DEVICES
A candidate is also required to be able to use some important imagery devices. Imagery is the mental image created in the mind of a reader by using words or linguistic expressions. Imagery devices are used to create a mental picture of sight, smell, taste, hearing, touch, and movement.
To create such pictures we compare what we describe to the things that we assume the readers know. The most common way of comparing is the use of simile. In similes we compare things using such comparing words as: like, seems, resemble, as…as, -er than, more or less, similar to, etc.
Here you must be careful in using the imagery devices. In story telling we try to compare things that are unlike in nature, but in describing items in our descriptive essays we compare things that really look alike. Describing a taste of something you can say, for example: “It tastes like …” or “It is as bitter as…”
WHAT WE DO IN DESCRIBING
In describing items we give information about their characteristics. For example:
1. Describing a place: write about its location in a large scale, how it looks like in relation to what is there, time and season.
2. Describing people: say who they are, what they are, what they look like, how they behave, what they say, what they think, how they are vied by others, what your opinion is about them.
3. Describing a scene: write about where and when it took place, who were involved, what happened, and how the situation was.
Descriptive essays are usually shorter than narrative, argumentative and expository essays.
SAMPLE QUESTIONS
- Describe a place that you once visited and it happened to attract you most.
- Give a description of your home.
- Write about a person you like, explaining why you like him/her.
- Write a description about one of the following people you once came across:
(b) a lunatic
(c) an entertainer
(d) a teacher
(e) a troubled woman
- Write a description of a journey you have once made.
- Describe a place that you know and how it changes at night.
- Give an account of the time you were involved in a traffic jam.
- Write a character sketch of someone you know, or know of, using a methodical approach; for example, first describe physique, then clothing, then habits and work, etc.
- Describe a visit you made to one of the following:
(b) a trade fare
(c) an agricultural show.
(d) a festival
(e) a historical sight
- Describe a description of the worst accident that you witnessed.
DEVELOPING AN ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY
As we have seen in the definition, argumentative essay deals with topics that have two opposing ideas or opinions. The writer is trying to argue for or against an idea or opinion that is popular, trying to convince his or her readers that his or her side is the better alternative.
What is tested?
The examiner will test the ability of the candidate to do the following:
1. to have a thorough knowledge of the topic.
2. to have the ability to develop the essay logically, using connecting words (especially cohesive devices and other linking items).
3. to include points for both sides of the arguments.
4. to use facts, evidence, examples, and (where necessary) statistics. Also to present strong personal opinions on the subject.
5. to use appropriate language (standard), and where necessary to use formal style and technical terms.
6. to conclude by giving a sound judgment concerning alternatives and where needed to provide recommendations.
SAMPLE QUESTIONS
1. It is high time we used Kiswahili as a medium of instruction in our secondary schools and higher learning institutions. Discuss.
2. Some people are of the opinion that canning should be abolished in schools. Write an essay for or against the opinion.
3. Multi-party system has brought more disadvantages than advantage in our country. Do you agree?
4. “Money is the root of all evils”. Argue for or against the topic.
5. “It is better to be a well-fed slave than a hungry free person”. Give your opinion on the subject.
6. Do you or don’t you agree with the opinion that television has brought more harm than benefit?
7. Some people are of the view that religion and politics are inseparable. What do you think of this?
8. “Globalization will be a solution to our socio-economic problems” Discuss.
9. Tanzania has made a great step forward to embark on the privatization policy. Do you agree? Give your opinion.
10. “Men are treated unfairly to pay dowry”. Argue for or against this statement.
APPROACHING ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY QUESTIONS
When tackling an argumentative essay question you have to go step by step for good performance.
STEP 1
Read the question carefully and judge whether you know the points needed for the topic. Ask yourself whether the question wants you to argue for or against the topic, or it lets you free to take any side of the argument.
STEP 2
Plan your essay. Think about how the three basic parts of your essay will be, i.e. the introduction, the body of arguments, and the conclusion. You may write the plan, which is not going to be marked, as a guide to your work. Example:
Introduction
· Kiswahili as a medium of instruction.
Body
(a) points for
· easy comprehension of topics
· development of the Kiswahili.
· preservation of culture
(b) points against
· limited domain of usage
· lack of enough technical vocabulary
· lack of sufficient literature in various fields of study
(c) my opinions: I am for/against because
· ________________
· ________________
· ________________
Conclusion
STEP 3
Write the introduction. This contains one or two paragraphs. It states generally what you are going to discuss about. It may include definitions of important terms or concepts that need to be well understood before the arguments proceed.
STEP 4
Write the body. The body contains points on the issue under discussion. There must be a logical flow of ides that form the cohesion of coherence of the textual material.Check whether the question restricts you to one side of the argument or lets you free to take a side. Make sure that you include the arguments for both sides. Use connecting words to ensure the logical flow of ideas, and cohesive devices to ensure the cohesion and coherence. Use examples to support your points. If necessary include statistics.
STEP 5
Write your conclusion. The conclusion sums up the basic idea or ideas about what has been discussed. A one paragraph conclusion will suffice to justify that you have never gone off point. Use summative conjuncts to finish your essay.
STEP 6
Reread your essay to make necessary corrections. This is the editing stage. Correct any spelling and grammatical mistakes, and prune your essay or add some points to make sure that it is within the word limit given in the instruction.
Step 7
Write your final draft neatly; making sure that your handwriting is legible.
PARAGRAPH SKILLS
Your essay has to be arranged in paragraphs. Writing good paragraphs is the key to writing good essays. A good paragraph has three parts:
1. Topic sentence: the sentence that generally states the main idea of the topic.
2. Supporting sentence: the sentence that backs up the topic sentence by giving evidence, reason, example, etc.
3. Concluding sentence: the sentence that justifies the supposed fact backed up by the supporting sentence.
Example: A personal opinion about whether Kiswahili should or should not be used as a medium of instruction could be:
Kiswahili cannot be used now as an effective medium of communication because it still lacks a lot of operational, technical, and scientific vocabulary. Take an example of a computer class where there are such words as mouse, keyboard, windows, central processing unit, motherboard etc. which can be hard to translate because they are imported terms which are outside the Swahili cultural context. It is easy to use them as they are, rather than complicating them by inventing new Swahili terms instead.
In this paragraph the bolded part is the topic sentence, the light part form the supporting sentence, and the underlined part is the concluding sentence.
DEVELOPING AN EXPOSITORY ESSAY
An expository essay is the essay that explains. It answers implied questions such as:
· Who or what is the person or thing (animal, object, idea, event, etc.) under discussion?
· Why is the person or thing important?
· What does the person or thing do?
· How does the thing work?
· What is its origin?
· Hoe did it develop?
An expository essay is usually organized to show the logical relationships among the various points being discussed. That is, expository writing shows the connection between one fact and another, one idea and another and one event and another. It contains both general statements and the specific details or illustrations to back up those general statements.
Expository essay are also called informative or instructive. In this, a candidate is given a question to discuss about an issue that does not have contradiction ideas, rather, the issue concerned has some facts about its nature and other important aspects concerning it.
Normally such types of essay need the candidate to master a topic, normally on a common social, political, economic or cultural issue, as well as global developments and problems.
The examiner normally focuses on the candidate’s ability to use language accurately and properly in discussing such issues. The issues selected are normally those which are currently related to what is taking place in the candidate’s society. Common topics of discussion in Tanzania now can be:
· democracy
· equality
· human rights
· privatization
· environment
· AIDS pandemic
· education
· science and technology
· women empowerment
· globalization
· terrorism, etc.
What the candidate is basically required to have in these topics is, first of all, a thorough knowledge of the issue under discussion, e.g. its definition, what it entails, its significance, and what is needed to promote it (if it has merits) or to demote it (if it has demerits).
Such types of essays are normally persuasive, because the writer has, apart from facts, a belief, a point of view, or an opinion, and he/she feels that it is his/her objective to influence or persuade the readers not only to understand but also agree with him/her.
What is tested?
The examiner will specifically expect the following:
· a thorough knowledge of the topic
· careful and logical development of the essay using connecting words (especially cohesive devices).
· use of facts, evidence, examples and statistics where necessary, and the candidate’s opinions to support explanations.
· use of appropriate language and formal style and technical terms where necessary.
· A strong and memorable conclusion.
SAMPLE QUESTIONS
1. Building a democratic society is essential. Discuss.
2. Inequality in a society has very bad effects in any society. What are these effects and how can we avoid them?
3. What are human rights and how important are they to our society?
4. Tanzania has decided to embark on the privatization policy as one of steps towards her economic recovery. Discuss.
5. Cutting trees randomly has had adverse effects on our environments. Discuss and give recommendations on how to prevent the effects.
6. Discuss about global warming, explaining about its cause, effects and possible solutions.
7. Despite people’s increasing awareness, the AIDS pandemic is still claiming the lives of many people in our country. Why? What are possible solutions?
8. Education is the key of life. Discuss.
9. Most African societies are still backward in science and technology. How does this affect people’s life? What should be done to solve the problem?
10. Women have been marginalized for a long time in Africa. Discuss, giving suggestion on how they can be empowered.
11. What is globalization? What are its merits and demerits to our society?
12. Terrorism has been shaking the world recently. Discuss about the cause and effects of terrorism and suggest what can be done to at stop or reduce terrorist acts.
APPROACHING QUESTIONS
STEP 1
Read the question carefully and judge whether you know the topic well.
STEP 2
Plan your essay. Think about how the basic parts of your essay will be, i.e. the introduction, the body of points, and the conclusion. You may write the plan, which is not going to be marked, as a guide to your work. Example:
Topic: Cutting trees and its detrimental effect
Introduction:
· Trees are useful in our daily life
- source of fire
- building material
- furniture and fittings
- papers
- containers
- artistic sculpture, etc.
- cutting trees randomly is bad
Body
· What happens after cutting trees randomly
- desertification
- affecting animals
- prevention of rain
- exposing land to erosion
- affecting catchment areas
Conclusion
STEP 3
Write your introduction. This must be designed in such a way that it captures the attention of readers. It will start directly with your thesis statement which highlights the main idea that will run through your work. Hint about the way you are going to organize your content. You may include definition of terms that need to be understood well before they are given more explanations.
STEP 4
Write the body. It is essential that you support the facts or your viewpoints with examples. Related facts should be grouped in paragraphs of their own. Use connecting words (cohesive devices and other linking items) to ensure a logical flow of your ideas.
STEP 5
Write your conclusion. A one-paragraph conclusion will suffice to justify that you have never gone off point. The conclusion has to be short and memorable. Use it to emphasize the main idea. Use summative conjuncts to finish your essay.
STEP 6
Reread your essay to make necessary correction. This is the editing stage. Correct any spelling and grammatical mistakes, and prune your essay or add some points to make sure that it is within the word limit given in the instruction.
STEP 7
Write your final draft neatly, making sure that your hand writing is legible.
PARAGRAPH SKILLS
Example: An opening paragraph on detrimental effects of cutting trees could be:
Cutting trees is inevitable because as human beings we need trees for our various needs. We need trees for such uses as building materials, furniture and fittings, carriage materials, making papers, sculptures, etc. But cutting trees should be done in a careful way so as not to cause detrimental effects in our environment.
In this paragraph, the bolded part forms the topic sentence, the light part forms the supporting sentence, and the underlined part forms the concluding sentence.
As we have seen in the definition, argumentative essay deals with topics that have two opposing ideas or opinions. The writer is trying to argue for or against an idea or opinion that is popular, trying to convince his or her readers that his or her side is the better alternative.
What is tested?
The examiner will test the ability of the candidate to do the following:
1. to have a thorough knowledge of the topic.
2. to have the ability to develop the essay logically, using connecting words (especially cohesive devices and other linking items).
3. to include points for both sides of the arguments.
4. to use facts, evidence, examples, and (where necessary) statistics. Also to present strong personal opinions on the subject.
5. to use appropriate language (standard), and where necessary to use formal style and technical terms.
6. to conclude by giving a sound judgment concerning alternatives and where needed to provide recommendations.
SAMPLE QUESTIONS
1. It is high time we used Kiswahili as a medium of instruction in our secondary schools and higher learning institutions. Discuss.
2. Some people are of the opinion that canning should be abolished in schools. Write an essay for or against the opinion.
3. Multi-party system has brought more disadvantages than advantage in our country. Do you agree?
4. “Money is the root of all evils”. Argue for or against the topic.
5. “It is better to be a well-fed slave than a hungry free person”. Give your opinion on the subject.
6. Do you or don’t you agree with the opinion that television has brought more harm than benefit?
7. Some people are of the view that religion and politics are inseparable. What do you think of this?
8. “Globalization will be a solution to our socio-economic problems” Discuss.
9. Tanzania has made a great step forward to embark on the privatization policy. Do you agree? Give your opinion.
10. “Men are treated unfairly to pay dowry”. Argue for or against this statement.
APPROACHING ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY QUESTIONS
When tackling an argumentative essay question you have to go step by step for good performance.
STEP 1
Read the question carefully and judge whether you know the points needed for the topic. Ask yourself whether the question wants you to argue for or against the topic, or it lets you free to take any side of the argument.
STEP 2
Plan your essay. Think about how the three basic parts of your essay will be, i.e. the introduction, the body of arguments, and the conclusion. You may write the plan, which is not going to be marked, as a guide to your work. Example:
Introduction
· Kiswahili as a medium of instruction.
Body
(a) points for
· easy comprehension of topics
· development of the Kiswahili.
· preservation of culture
(b) points against
· limited domain of usage
· lack of enough technical vocabulary
· lack of sufficient literature in various fields of study
(c) my opinions: I am for/against because
· ________________
· ________________
· ________________
Conclusion
STEP 3
Write the introduction. This contains one or two paragraphs. It states generally what you are going to discuss about. It may include definitions of important terms or concepts that need to be well understood before the arguments proceed.
STEP 4
Write the body. The body contains points on the issue under discussion. There must be a logical flow of ides that form the cohesion of coherence of the textual material.Check whether the question restricts you to one side of the argument or lets you free to take a side. Make sure that you include the arguments for both sides. Use connecting words to ensure the logical flow of ideas, and cohesive devices to ensure the cohesion and coherence. Use examples to support your points. If necessary include statistics.
STEP 5
Write your conclusion. The conclusion sums up the basic idea or ideas about what has been discussed. A one paragraph conclusion will suffice to justify that you have never gone off point. Use summative conjuncts to finish your essay.
STEP 6
Reread your essay to make necessary corrections. This is the editing stage. Correct any spelling and grammatical mistakes, and prune your essay or add some points to make sure that it is within the word limit given in the instruction.
Step 7
Write your final draft neatly; making sure that your handwriting is legible.
PARAGRAPH SKILLS
Your essay has to be arranged in paragraphs. Writing good paragraphs is the key to writing good essays. A good paragraph has three parts:
1. Topic sentence: the sentence that generally states the main idea of the topic.
2. Supporting sentence: the sentence that backs up the topic sentence by giving evidence, reason, example, etc.
3. Concluding sentence: the sentence that justifies the supposed fact backed up by the supporting sentence.
Example: A personal opinion about whether Kiswahili should or should not be used as a medium of instruction could be:
Kiswahili cannot be used now as an effective medium of communication because it still lacks a lot of operational, technical, and scientific vocabulary. Take an example of a computer class where there are such words as mouse, keyboard, windows, central processing unit, motherboard etc. which can be hard to translate because they are imported terms which are outside the Swahili cultural context. It is easy to use them as they are, rather than complicating them by inventing new Swahili terms instead.
In this paragraph the bolded part is the topic sentence, the light part form the supporting sentence, and the underlined part is the concluding sentence.
DEVELOPING AN EXPOSITORY ESSAY
An expository essay is the essay that explains. It answers implied questions such as:
· Who or what is the person or thing (animal, object, idea, event, etc.) under discussion?
· Why is the person or thing important?
· What does the person or thing do?
· How does the thing work?
· What is its origin?
· Hoe did it develop?
An expository essay is usually organized to show the logical relationships among the various points being discussed. That is, expository writing shows the connection between one fact and another, one idea and another and one event and another. It contains both general statements and the specific details or illustrations to back up those general statements.
Expository essay are also called informative or instructive. In this, a candidate is given a question to discuss about an issue that does not have contradiction ideas, rather, the issue concerned has some facts about its nature and other important aspects concerning it.
Normally such types of essay need the candidate to master a topic, normally on a common social, political, economic or cultural issue, as well as global developments and problems.
The examiner normally focuses on the candidate’s ability to use language accurately and properly in discussing such issues. The issues selected are normally those which are currently related to what is taking place in the candidate’s society. Common topics of discussion in Tanzania now can be:
· democracy
· equality
· human rights
· privatization
· environment
· AIDS pandemic
· education
· science and technology
· women empowerment
· globalization
· terrorism, etc.
What the candidate is basically required to have in these topics is, first of all, a thorough knowledge of the issue under discussion, e.g. its definition, what it entails, its significance, and what is needed to promote it (if it has merits) or to demote it (if it has demerits).
Such types of essays are normally persuasive, because the writer has, apart from facts, a belief, a point of view, or an opinion, and he/she feels that it is his/her objective to influence or persuade the readers not only to understand but also agree with him/her.
What is tested?
The examiner will specifically expect the following:
· a thorough knowledge of the topic
· careful and logical development of the essay using connecting words (especially cohesive devices).
· use of facts, evidence, examples and statistics where necessary, and the candidate’s opinions to support explanations.
· use of appropriate language and formal style and technical terms where necessary.
· A strong and memorable conclusion.
SAMPLE QUESTIONS
1. Building a democratic society is essential. Discuss.
2. Inequality in a society has very bad effects in any society. What are these effects and how can we avoid them?
3. What are human rights and how important are they to our society?
4. Tanzania has decided to embark on the privatization policy as one of steps towards her economic recovery. Discuss.
5. Cutting trees randomly has had adverse effects on our environments. Discuss and give recommendations on how to prevent the effects.
6. Discuss about global warming, explaining about its cause, effects and possible solutions.
7. Despite people’s increasing awareness, the AIDS pandemic is still claiming the lives of many people in our country. Why? What are possible solutions?
8. Education is the key of life. Discuss.
9. Most African societies are still backward in science and technology. How does this affect people’s life? What should be done to solve the problem?
10. Women have been marginalized for a long time in Africa. Discuss, giving suggestion on how they can be empowered.
11. What is globalization? What are its merits and demerits to our society?
12. Terrorism has been shaking the world recently. Discuss about the cause and effects of terrorism and suggest what can be done to at stop or reduce terrorist acts.
APPROACHING QUESTIONS
STEP 1
Read the question carefully and judge whether you know the topic well.
STEP 2
Plan your essay. Think about how the basic parts of your essay will be, i.e. the introduction, the body of points, and the conclusion. You may write the plan, which is not going to be marked, as a guide to your work. Example:
Topic: Cutting trees and its detrimental effect
Introduction:
· Trees are useful in our daily life
- source of fire
- building material
- furniture and fittings
- papers
- containers
- artistic sculpture, etc.
- cutting trees randomly is bad
Body
· What happens after cutting trees randomly
- desertification
- affecting animals
- prevention of rain
- exposing land to erosion
- affecting catchment areas
Conclusion
STEP 3
Write your introduction. This must be designed in such a way that it captures the attention of readers. It will start directly with your thesis statement which highlights the main idea that will run through your work. Hint about the way you are going to organize your content. You may include definition of terms that need to be understood well before they are given more explanations.
STEP 4
Write the body. It is essential that you support the facts or your viewpoints with examples. Related facts should be grouped in paragraphs of their own. Use connecting words (cohesive devices and other linking items) to ensure a logical flow of your ideas.
STEP 5
Write your conclusion. A one-paragraph conclusion will suffice to justify that you have never gone off point. The conclusion has to be short and memorable. Use it to emphasize the main idea. Use summative conjuncts to finish your essay.
STEP 6
Reread your essay to make necessary correction. This is the editing stage. Correct any spelling and grammatical mistakes, and prune your essay or add some points to make sure that it is within the word limit given in the instruction.
STEP 7
Write your final draft neatly, making sure that your hand writing is legible.
PARAGRAPH SKILLS
Example: An opening paragraph on detrimental effects of cutting trees could be:
Cutting trees is inevitable because as human beings we need trees for our various needs. We need trees for such uses as building materials, furniture and fittings, carriage materials, making papers, sculptures, etc. But cutting trees should be done in a careful way so as not to cause detrimental effects in our environment.
In this paragraph, the bolded part forms the topic sentence, the light part forms the supporting sentence, and the underlined part forms the concluding sentence.
ESSAY WRITING
What is an essay?
An essay is a written composition on a particular subject. or topic. It is usually arranged in paragraphs and contains three parts: introduction of the subject or topic; the body of points or arguments; and the conclusion.
The Essay Test
In an academic essay we are normally given tasks to perform depending on the questions given. Remember that writing an essay is an examination task. You are required to do the following:
1. Read the question carefully. Make certain that you understand what is being asked in the question. You need to know the type of essay you are required to write, i.e. narrative, expository, argumentative, or descriptive. In many questions you may be required to “write an essay on some subject/topic. In many essays also, the questions will need you to perform specific tasks like defining, classifying, comparing and contrasting, describing, discussing, explaining, evaluating, illustrating, interpreting, justifying, listing, outlining or even proving.
2. Essays tests normally give you word limits. You must write concisely and correctly. You are required to get direct to the point, using short, clear sentences.
3. You need to focus on main points. Your opening sentences should state your thesis, followed by supporting information, sometimes supporting documentation, and the points have to be arranged as logically as possible.
4. Use proper language in terms of diction and style. The choice of word and style should conform to the subject matter in question, the audience, and the circumstance under which the essay is written. The level of formality has to be considered.
5. Write neatly. Appearance and legibility are important in your final examination.
6. Use all the available time. An essay should not be a rush work. Use the available time for review, reflection, addition and correction. Proofread your essay carefully. Reread the question to make sure that you have done all the required tasks.
ESSAY FORMATS
Almost all essays have one thing in common, they have, first of all, three parts: introduction, body, and conclusion. (with narratives, there is the beginning, the middle and the end).
COHESION AND COHERENCE
Essays are to be written in such a way that they are highly comprehensive. Apart from using the appropriate language in terms of vocabulary and sentence construction, they need to have cohesion and coherence. To achieve cohesion and coherence, a writer has to use the so-called cohesive devices.
Cohesive devices are the means by which parts of a text are linked as logically related sequences. They signal the relationship between ideas in such a way that the writer’s intentions are made clear. They make obvious the developing thread of meaning and often help us to anticipate what is coming next. These links include a variety of devices such as pronouns, articles, conjunctions, demonstratives, prepositional phrases, synonyms, conjuncts and repetition of key words.
TRANSITIONAL ITEMS
To make a logical development of ideas, transitional words are used as linking items, The most useful linking items are conjuncts. There are various kinds of conjuncts worth considering in composing essays. These include the following:
LISTING CONJUNCTS:
• Inumerative: in the first place, to begin with, next, then, lastly…
• Additive: above all, further more, moreover, what is more, similarly, in addition, on top of that …
SUMMATIVE CONJUNCTS
• all in all, altogether, overall, therefore, to sum up.
APPOSITIVE CONJUNCTS
• namely, that is (to say), for example, in other words…
RESULTATIVE
• so, therefore, as a result, accordingly, in consequence, of course…
INFERENTIAL
• in other words, in that case, so, then, otherwise, else…
CONTRASTIVE
• rather, on the contrary, by contrast, however, nevertheless, yet…
TRANSITIONAL
• by the way, incidentally, now, eventually, meanwhile.
THE DO’S AND DONTS
THE DO’S
1. Write what you know about. In your examination, choose a question about the topic you know. Dismiss any topic that you do not like or you do not understand. Be careful that you do not go off the points, you will be heavily penalized for this.
2. Write in full sentence. Your sentences must contain clauses that complete a sentence. Elliptic sentences are not recommended in essay writing.
3. Decide on the suitable diction of your essay. Choose appropriate vocabulary and sentence patterns.
4. Decide on the most suitable tense for your topic. Make sure that you use the same tense consistently throughout your piece of writing.
5. Impersonal style is better than personal style. Impersonal style sounds more objective, while personal style sounds more subjective. Compare the following two constructions.
I believe that you do not understand the issue well. (personal)
It seems that the issue is not well understood. (impersonal)
6. Use appropriate linking words. Take your readers with you forward and backward, and use signposts to tell them where you come from, where you are and where you are heading to. This is achieved by using cohesive devices and linking words and transitions.
THE DON’T’S
In writing your essay there are a number of things to avoid.
1. Do not underestimate / simplify a topic. You have to write a plan for your topic to give yourself assurance that you can tackle the question.
2. Do not sound colloquial on a serious topic. Make your essay serious by selecting ordinary, neutral words, and sometimes use formal and technical terms.
3. Do not use slang. Slang also makes your essay lose its serious touch on the topic. Do not sound like: The guy did not have enough dough to give his people a kick.
4. Avoid the use of clichés. Do not use those words which are overused in informal speech and which express an idea using more words than necessary, e.g. first and foremost instead of firstly; last but not least instead of finally, etc.
5. Avoid redundancy and tautology. Do not use words whose meaning is already expressed in other used words. For example, the underlined words in the following expressions are unnecessary: Repeat again, your personal opinion, He was tired and exhausted.
6. Avoid verbosity. Do not use too many words when the same idea could be expressed concisely. For example, instead of writing: You must make yourself diligent and conscientious to the studying of your work for the forthcoming examination, you could write You have to work diligently for this examination.
7. Do not prefer “big words”(jargons). Use ordinary words that can be understood by many people. Do not sound too formal or too technical. Instead of writing: They were obliged to indicate to him the rout to his habitual abode, because his cerebellum was affected by alcohol, one could write: They had to show him his way home because he was drunk.
8. Avoid ambiguity. Make sure that your constructions are not ambiguous. For example, the following sentence is ambiguous: Juma told Ali that his mother had traveled.
9. Avoid contracted forms. Write full constructions. Use do not instead of don’t, have not instead of haven’t. The contractions are used more in spoken language or in informal kinds of writing.
What is an essay?
An essay is a written composition on a particular subject. or topic. It is usually arranged in paragraphs and contains three parts: introduction of the subject or topic; the body of points or arguments; and the conclusion.
The Essay Test
In an academic essay we are normally given tasks to perform depending on the questions given. Remember that writing an essay is an examination task. You are required to do the following:
1. Read the question carefully. Make certain that you understand what is being asked in the question. You need to know the type of essay you are required to write, i.e. narrative, expository, argumentative, or descriptive. In many questions you may be required to “write an essay on some subject/topic. In many essays also, the questions will need you to perform specific tasks like defining, classifying, comparing and contrasting, describing, discussing, explaining, evaluating, illustrating, interpreting, justifying, listing, outlining or even proving.
2. Essays tests normally give you word limits. You must write concisely and correctly. You are required to get direct to the point, using short, clear sentences.
3. You need to focus on main points. Your opening sentences should state your thesis, followed by supporting information, sometimes supporting documentation, and the points have to be arranged as logically as possible.
4. Use proper language in terms of diction and style. The choice of word and style should conform to the subject matter in question, the audience, and the circumstance under which the essay is written. The level of formality has to be considered.
5. Write neatly. Appearance and legibility are important in your final examination.
6. Use all the available time. An essay should not be a rush work. Use the available time for review, reflection, addition and correction. Proofread your essay carefully. Reread the question to make sure that you have done all the required tasks.
ESSAY FORMATS
Almost all essays have one thing in common, they have, first of all, three parts: introduction, body, and conclusion. (with narratives, there is the beginning, the middle and the end).
COHESION AND COHERENCE
Essays are to be written in such a way that they are highly comprehensive. Apart from using the appropriate language in terms of vocabulary and sentence construction, they need to have cohesion and coherence. To achieve cohesion and coherence, a writer has to use the so-called cohesive devices.
Cohesive devices are the means by which parts of a text are linked as logically related sequences. They signal the relationship between ideas in such a way that the writer’s intentions are made clear. They make obvious the developing thread of meaning and often help us to anticipate what is coming next. These links include a variety of devices such as pronouns, articles, conjunctions, demonstratives, prepositional phrases, synonyms, conjuncts and repetition of key words.
TRANSITIONAL ITEMS
To make a logical development of ideas, transitional words are used as linking items, The most useful linking items are conjuncts. There are various kinds of conjuncts worth considering in composing essays. These include the following:
LISTING CONJUNCTS:
• Inumerative: in the first place, to begin with, next, then, lastly…
• Additive: above all, further more, moreover, what is more, similarly, in addition, on top of that …
SUMMATIVE CONJUNCTS
• all in all, altogether, overall, therefore, to sum up.
APPOSITIVE CONJUNCTS
• namely, that is (to say), for example, in other words…
RESULTATIVE
• so, therefore, as a result, accordingly, in consequence, of course…
INFERENTIAL
• in other words, in that case, so, then, otherwise, else…
CONTRASTIVE
• rather, on the contrary, by contrast, however, nevertheless, yet…
TRANSITIONAL
• by the way, incidentally, now, eventually, meanwhile.
THE DO’S AND DONTS
THE DO’S
1. Write what you know about. In your examination, choose a question about the topic you know. Dismiss any topic that you do not like or you do not understand. Be careful that you do not go off the points, you will be heavily penalized for this.
2. Write in full sentence. Your sentences must contain clauses that complete a sentence. Elliptic sentences are not recommended in essay writing.
3. Decide on the suitable diction of your essay. Choose appropriate vocabulary and sentence patterns.
4. Decide on the most suitable tense for your topic. Make sure that you use the same tense consistently throughout your piece of writing.
5. Impersonal style is better than personal style. Impersonal style sounds more objective, while personal style sounds more subjective. Compare the following two constructions.
I believe that you do not understand the issue well. (personal)
It seems that the issue is not well understood. (impersonal)
6. Use appropriate linking words. Take your readers with you forward and backward, and use signposts to tell them where you come from, where you are and where you are heading to. This is achieved by using cohesive devices and linking words and transitions.
THE DON’T’S
In writing your essay there are a number of things to avoid.
1. Do not underestimate / simplify a topic. You have to write a plan for your topic to give yourself assurance that you can tackle the question.
2. Do not sound colloquial on a serious topic. Make your essay serious by selecting ordinary, neutral words, and sometimes use formal and technical terms.
3. Do not use slang. Slang also makes your essay lose its serious touch on the topic. Do not sound like: The guy did not have enough dough to give his people a kick.
4. Avoid the use of clichés. Do not use those words which are overused in informal speech and which express an idea using more words than necessary, e.g. first and foremost instead of firstly; last but not least instead of finally, etc.
5. Avoid redundancy and tautology. Do not use words whose meaning is already expressed in other used words. For example, the underlined words in the following expressions are unnecessary: Repeat again, your personal opinion, He was tired and exhausted.
6. Avoid verbosity. Do not use too many words when the same idea could be expressed concisely. For example, instead of writing: You must make yourself diligent and conscientious to the studying of your work for the forthcoming examination, you could write You have to work diligently for this examination.
7. Do not prefer “big words”(jargons). Use ordinary words that can be understood by many people. Do not sound too formal or too technical. Instead of writing: They were obliged to indicate to him the rout to his habitual abode, because his cerebellum was affected by alcohol, one could write: They had to show him his way home because he was drunk.
8. Avoid ambiguity. Make sure that your constructions are not ambiguous. For example, the following sentence is ambiguous: Juma told Ali that his mother had traveled.
9. Avoid contracted forms. Write full constructions. Use do not instead of don’t, have not instead of haven’t. The contractions are used more in spoken language or in informal kinds of writing.
© Flourish Investment Firm, Tanzania education, Descriptive essays; Teacher: Ustaadh Shaban B. Omar, 2013.