The Sunday News
Charles Dube
TERM one of every school year presents us with an opportunity to lay down what is expected of learners especially in English Language and Literature in English. For example, we demonstrate what they should know and do to get high grades in their course work, tests and examinations. This is the time when we give reminders on key points on various topics.
Both in language and literature there is a lot of essay writing hence much has been said about planning. You have got to make a plan for every single essay you write as a learner. That is a plan on paper not in your head. I do not intend to bore you with what has been said before about planning, but, I am just adding what has not been emphasised before. Have a good think about what you are going to write about before you start writing — otherwise your ideas will lack cohesion and you will lose arks.
“Good writing makes a point. It does not just ramble on about nothing.” In an examination, try to come up with enough ideas to keep your writing till your time is up. Stick to your points you put down on paper. Your introduction should be one paragraph saying what you are going to be writing about. Jot down points you want to make. Choose examples to back them up. Planning is a skill you will need to practise. Writing that rambles on without getting anywhere is not going to get you good marks.
You need to write a clear and effective introduction to your answer — no waffle allowed. When starting your essay, start with a good introduction. In your introduction you should introduce the overall point that your essay is making and do it clearly. The introduction gives a brief answer to the question. The rest of the essay expands on your answer and gives evidence for it. It is very important to start your essays out right.
The introduction is very important — it sets the scene for the whole piece. An attention-grabbing one will make will make your readers want to reader on. High interest to read on will have been generated. Some learners tend to forget to use paragraphs where they are duly necessary. But, you to use them if you are after good grades. Paragraphs make your writing clearer. Remember a paragraph is a group of sentences. These sentences are about the same thing, follow on from each other. All the sentences in a paragraph are related to each other. See examples from various texts to prove the validity of this point.
You need to start a new paragraph every time something new is introduced. Paragraphs do more than you think. They give structure and break it into separate points so it is easier to read. There are lots of different reasons for starting a new paragraph on top of the stated one. Start a new paragraph every time something changes, for example, each time a new person speaks. Someone new is speaking so you need to change a paragraph.
This links well with the writing of dialogue in an essay where we say every new speaker begins a new line to avoid words spoken by another speaker running onto another. Start a new paragraph when you start writing about a different time or writing about a different place. You also start a new paragraph when you talk about a new person. In this case your reader will not be confused as to who is who, or who does what? On top of all these, you start a new paragraph when you start writing about a new topic.
Paragraphs also need to be linked. You have got to link up every paragraph with the one before and the one after. Use words and phrases like the following to make the link clear: therefore, however, again, for the same reason, on the other hand, contrary, conversely, on top of that, otherwise, in addition, in contrast, and many more. These relate the paragraph’s meaning to the previous paragraph’s meaning. Sometimes, it is a good idea to refer back to the previous paragraph.
Make sure your paragraphs follow a clear order in your writing. Order your paragraphs so that there is a clear progression. For example, put your paragraphs in order of importance. Give paragraphs for an argument, then paragraphs against. Order your paragraphs in time order (chronologically). Try to vary the style of your paragraphs. You could repeat sentence structure or start with a rhetorical question.
Thorough knowledge of paragraphing comes in handy in essay writing. Remember we have different kinds of creative writing like descriptive writing and narrative writing. As shown in earlier articles, narrative writing is your chance to let your imagination run wild though you still need to plan ahead.
Use what you know to get ideas. Your starting point for a piece of narrative could be a title or the first or last sentence of the story. Write about something you are interested in. If you already know stuff about it, your story will be more convincing and it will be easier to give a lot of detail.
Write about something that has happened to you, and your story will seem more life-like and genuine to the reader. Write yourself a summary of the story before you start. Your beginning should start by introducing your key characters. What do they want to achieve and what obstacles stand in their way? You follow with a build-up. What is going to happen – how will you build up to the climax of your story? The climax is the turning point of your story. That is where you bring the action to a head.
Be sure your conclusion makes some kind of a point. Do not just tail off, but, tie up the loose ends. You could give the story a moral, or end it with an unexpected twist. This topic to be pursued further.
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