You don't need to be a good writer to write well. Writing is a process. By learning step by step everything you need to know to write well, instead of trying to do it all at once, you will be able to compose a short essay in a very simple way. You can learn how to create a concept map with several ideas before starting the actual writing, draft and review to make your short essay as refined as possible. Go to the first step to find out how!
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Before Writing
Step 1. Read the delivery carefully
It is important to clearly understand what the teacher expects in this short essay. Each teacher has specific goals, both for content and style. Always carry the delivery sheet with you while you work on the short essay and read it carefully. If you have any doubts, ask the teacher. Make sure you understand the following:
- What is the purpose of the short essay?
- What is the topic of the short essay?
- How long does it have to be?
- What is the best style to adopt?
- Is it necessary to do some research?
Step 2. Do a free writing exercise to put ideas on paper
When you start trying to understand how to approach the topic you have to write about, it is useful to do a free writing exercise. Nobody will see it, so feel free to explore your thoughts and opinions on the subject and see where they lead you.
Try a timed writing exercise, holding the pen on the paper for ten minutes without stopping. Do not be afraid to express your opinions on a particular topic, even if the teacher does not accept them in the composition. This is not the good copy
Step 3. Try making a concept map
A spider diagram is an excellent tool if you have generated many ideas in the free writing exercise. This will allow you to discern general topics from specific ones, an important element of any composition. Use a blank sheet of paper or a slate to make the skeleton of the diagram. Leave enough space to write.
- Write the topic in the center of the sheet and circle it. Let's say the topic is Romeo and Juliet or The First War of Independence. Write the sentence in the center of the paper, and then circle it.
- Write the main ideas around the circle, the ones you are interested in discussing. You may be interested in writing about Juliet's death, Mercutio's anger, or the family feud. Write down any ideas you are willing to discuss.
- Around each main idea, mark specific points or comments on even more specific topics. Start looking for connections. Have you repeated any ideas?
- Connect the circled points with lines when you notice connections. A good short essay is organized by ideas, not chronologically or by means of a plot. Use these connections to create the main ideas with which you will organize the short essay.
Step 4. Consider the idea of organizing thoughts in a formal way
When you have managed to develop concepts, ideas and arguments on the subject of your essay, you can consider the idea of organizing them in a formal way to simplify the drafting process. Use the complete sentences to start putting together the main ideas so you can write the actual short essay.
Step 5. Write your thesis
The thesis will guide you throughout the composition, and is probably the most important element for writing a good short essay. The thesis is usually a controversial statement that must be proven with arguments.
- The thesis must necessarily be questionable. "Romeo and Juliet is an interesting tragedy written by Shakespeare in 1500" is not a good thesis, because it is not a debatable topic, so it is not necessary to prove this information. Instead, "Juliet is the most tragic character in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet" is much more questionable as an observation.
- Your thesis must be specific. "Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy about bad choices" is not a strong statement as much as "Shakespeare wants to show how the inexperience of teenage love is tragic and comic at the same time".
- A good thesis serves as a guide throughout the short essay. In the thesis you can in a certain way anticipate what will be the arguments that you will present in the short essay and that will guide both yourself and the reader: "Shakespeare uses the death of Juliet, the anger of Mercutio and the feud between families to illustrate how the heart and the mind are always disconnected from each other”.
Part 2 of 3: Writing the Draft
Step 1. Use the short essay outline
Some teachers apply a ready-made scheme that divides the argumentative text into five paragraphs. It is not a mandatory rule, and it is not necessary to be limited by the number "five", but it is still a useful scheme to be able to elaborate one's arguments and organize thoughts. You should aim to present at least three arguments in favor of your thesis. Some teachers prefer their students to follow this pattern:
- Introduction: this is the part in which you describe the topic or summarize the issue. It is also the part in which you present the thesis.
- First argument: in this part you present the first argument in support of your thesis.
- Second argument: in this part you present the second argument in support of your thesis.
- Third argument: in this part you present the third argument in support of your thesis.
- Conclusion: this is the last part, in which you summarize your arguments and draw conclusions.
Step 2. Support your arguments using two types of evidence
In a good short essay, the thesis is like the table top, it needs sturdy legs made up of proven arguments, in order to stay upright. Any argument you present must be supported by two types of proof: logical and demonstrative.
- Demonstrative evidence includes specific citations from the book you cover in the short essay, or specific facts concerning the topic. If you want to talk about Mercutio's fickle character, you will have to use some of his quotes, set the scene and describe him in detail. This proof must also be supported by logic.
- Logical proofs refer to reasoning and logic. Why is Mercutio doing this? What can we assume from the way he speaks? Prove your thesis to the reader using logic and you will have a solid argument supported by the evidence.
Step 3. Think about the questions that need to be answered
One of the main complaints of students in the act of writing a short essay is that they do not know what to say about a particular topic. Learn to ask yourself the questions the reader might ask, and that way you'll have more material to add to your draft.
- Ask yourself how. How is Juliet's death presented? How do the other characters react? How should the reader feel about it?
- Ask yourself why. Why did Shakespeare kill her? Why doesn't he leave her alive? Why does he have to die? Why wouldn't the story have the same effect if she didn't die?
Step 4. Don't worry about "looking smart"
One of the mistakes that many students commit to writing a short essay is that of wasting too much time looking for the most sought synonyms of words that seem too obvious. You will not impress the teacher with beautiful words if the argument you are pursuing is as thick as the sheet of paper you write on. Advancing an argument has nothing to do with the choice of words, but is based on how much it can stand up thanks to the various evidence that support your thesis.
Part 3 of 3: Review
Step 1. Find out if you did a good job
You may be tempted to declare the work done as soon as you have reached the number of words or pages needed, but it is much better to leave the essay where it is for a while and go back to check it out when you have cleared your mind and are intending to make some changes and a general overhaul in order to write the nice copy.
Try writing the draft on the weekend before delivery and show it to the teacher a few days before the final deadline. Take his observations into account and make any necessary changes
Step 2. Be prepared to delete entire parts and make big changes
It is the revision that makes a short essay great. Read carefully what you wrote. "Revision" literally means "to see again" (re-vision). Many students think that revision consists in correcting grammar and typing errors, and although this is certainly part of the correction, it is important to know that NO writer composes a perfect argument with impeccable argumentation and organization when writing the first draft. There is still some work to be done. Here's what you can try to do:
- Change the position of the paragraphs to get the best organization of the arguments, so that the text "flows".
- Delete sentences that are repetitive or that don't work in the text.
- Eliminate any point that doesn't support your arguments.
Step 3. From the general to the particular
The best way to improve the draft being reviewed is to take the more general arguments and make them more specific. This may mean bringing further evidence through quotations or logical reasoning, rethinking the argument as a whole and changing the objective, or seeking new arguments to support your thesis.
Think of each argument you put forward as a mountain in a mountain range that you fly over in a helicopter. You can fly over the mountains quickly, describing their features from afar and making a rough tour, or you can land in the mountains and show them accurately, so that you can see the goats, the rocks and the waterfalls. What do you think is the best tour?
Step 4. Read the draft aloud
One of the best ways to critically analyze yourself and see if the text has all the right requirements is to sit down and read it aloud. Sounds good? Emphasize the passages you feel you need to investigate, the words that need to be replaced, or the concepts that need to be expressed more clearly. When you're done, go back and make the necessary changes to get the best possible draft.
Step 5. Correction is the last part of the process
Don't worry about commas and apostrophes until you're almost ready to write the nice copy. Problems with syntax, grammar and typing are the last things you need to worry about, because the essential elements are the thesis, the arguments and their organization.
Advice
- Remember that you have no time limits (unless you are doing a class test, of course), so take your time to come up with good ideas.
- You can always add new circles to your mind map if you think the ones that are already there aren't enough.
- Some free software, such as Free Mind (in English), can help you through the process before the actual writing process.
