It is most important that essay should be written strictly according to method.
There are four stages to be gone through:
1. Thing about the subject, and set down on paper all the facts or ideas that occur to you.
2. Arrange these facts according to topics, and so construct an outline for the composition.
3. Write the essay.
4. Revise what you have written.
Note On The Four Stages
1. The title of the essay must be read carefully, so that the precise scope of the subject
and the point of view from which it to be treated may be grasped.
2. When the facts have been arranged, it will bo found that they group themselves under
certain heads. Suppose there are five topics. Each of these topics will now form the
subject of a paragraph, and the Essay will contain five paragraphs in all.
The rules of paragraph structure must be carefully observed.
It must be seen that a due proportion of space is allotted to each aspect of the subject.
3. In writing the essay, one must pay attention, of course, to grammar, punctuation, and
style. In the matter of style the following points should be particularly noted:
(a)Clearness is the first essential. Therefore words must be chosen accurately.
Words, phrases, and clauses must be placed in the right order.
All Pronouns (i.e. he,she,it,they,etc.)must be clear in their reference.
(b)Slang and Colloquial expressions must be avoided.
(c)The first person should not be used in any Essay in which the subject can be treated
impersonally, that it to say,such expressions as "I thing", "in my opinion", must not
be used. To qualify a statement, it is always possible to use impersonal expressions
such as "It is generally agreed", "It is probably a fact", etc.
4. It is most important that everything that is written should be thoroughly revised.
In this way the student will detect a number of errors which can be easily corrected,
but which, if allowed to remain, would detract considerably from the value of his work.
It cannot be too strongly emphasised that the actual writing of an essay is only half
the task. The preliminary arrangement of material and the final revision of the work
are of great importance, and must receive careful attention if a good result is to
be obtained.
The most important section of an examination English paper is essay. It, more than any
other part of the examination,tests the student's intelligence,reading,and command of
the language.
He cannot ,then,learn to write satisfactory essays merely by reading a chapter or two
on the subject. No textbook in English can supply him with brains, or with the
vocabulary and general knowledge acquired from years of reading.
All it can do is to show him how best to use his resources.
As in a simple composition, the first thing required is a little individuality.
There is always a wide choice of subject. The student should choose that in which he
feel the most genuine interest. Do not write on Sir Walter Scott because you once
wrote a precis of a textbook account of him and can consequently reproduce the
account nearly word for word.
The examiner may be familiar with the textbook itself. In any case, he will certainly
detect a smell of textbook about your essay,and,particularly if your own undoubted
style in other part of the paper is bad,refuse you credit for good composition,
since you have only shown a good memory.
Besides, what makes a good textbook account makes a very poor essay. What is wanted
in a textbook is a sketch of Sir Walter Scott's life, with the facts packed as close
as possible, and an account of his works giving the generally accepted view of them.
What is wanted in an essay is your individual impression of Sir Walter Scott And such
of his book as you have read.
If you have no clear idea of the man's personality and have read few or none of his
book, you obviosly cannot provide what is wanted.
Only in the last resort, if you find it impossible to excogitate any ideas of your own
on any of the subjects set, should you undertake this merely reproductive type of essay.
Not only is the choice of subject wide, but most of the subjects are susceptible of
being treated in many different ways. you may, for instance, have to write an essay on
"Aunts". If you choose to do so, you may begin.
Aunts have, no doubt, played a great part in the world; at any rate, they have played
a great part in that reflection of the world--books.
First there springs to mind Aunt Trotwood from "David Copperfield" with her eccentric
dress and manner, her frantic cries of "Janet,doneys!" her kind heart and her courage,
her excellent common-sense.
When you have said a little more about Miss Trotwood, You may pass on other aunts of
literature--the set of aunts in G. Eliot's "Mill on the floss," for instance, and
Hetty's aunt poyser in "Adsm Bede"--and end with a general reflection upon the
novelists' favourite types of aunt.
Or, if you are interested in history or classics, you may write about the aunt of
history or of mythology. If you have a nimble wit and an active brain, you can
point out that while the "wicked uncle" is a commonplace, aunt are always benevolent,
even if sometimes a little given to moral discourses and rebukes; that aunt,moved by
their sisterly affection or dislike for the mother or father, are either the greatest
upholders of parental authority or else the most outspoken critic of the way in whice
their nieces and nephews are being brought up-even the most charming of them cannot
achieve the reticence on the subject so usual with other visitors.
These suggestions are not, of course, given for the student to adopt slavishly.
They are only intended to show him how a little thought will provide him with
ample material of the right kind-- fresh and interesting, not hashed up and
second-hand ideas and information.
Those who are not ready writers will probably find it wiser to plan out their essay
before they begin the actual composition, and make a scheme showing the ideas which they
intend to use them. If they find the actual task of composition difficult, they may even
think it worthwhile to separate the two processes entirely--to devote some hours merely
to writing essays upon schemes already provided.
This , however, is an exercise only for those who find it hard to express ideas at all
even in the barest and crudest manner, and they must not expect to do more than write
a dull theme in drab English. For fresh treatment can arise only from real interest, and
few people take interest in a still-born scheme from somebody else's brain.
By: Admin http://high-english-writing.blogspot.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment