Writing is both a challenging and an interesting task that requires much writer’s attention, that is, it is a type of communication that expresses ideas and makes a chain between the writer and his readers. Thereby, it is unique, creative, and is done for purpose.
Among the most essential forms of academic writings are essays that writers start to learn and write from college. They develop an idea in four or five paragraphs, or in a whole book, but the most commonly used are five paragraphs essays or timed essays because they can be written in class period.
‘Lectures on Academic Essay Writing’ is a booklet for second year students. It is an outgrowth of teaching academic writing for many years. Our experience as teachers and writers has taught us that writing is the most difficult task that requires much practice. Learning how to write essays needs more basics rather than instructions especially in classrooms. Indeed, classrooms are learning communities that are improved through evaluating their members’ writing skills. Henceforth, this booklet provides an unpretentious manner on teaching students how to write different types of essays through practices that reinforce their writing skill and provide them with a supportive learning environment that helps them to be good writers.
The first part of the booklet provides a detailed rehearsal of the different stages of essay writing, followed by a part that introduces the different elements of an essay, while the last part displays essential explanations on argumentative, process, cause/effect, and comparison/contrast essays. Hence, this part addresses the writing process from paragraph to essay.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Contents
Unit 1 : Getting Ready to Write
Section One: Pre-writing Stage
Brainstorming Techniques: Freewriting, Listing and Clustering
Freewriting
Practice
Listing
Practice
Clustering
Practice
Section Two: While-writing Stage
Drafting
Practice
Section Three: Final-writing Stage
Proofreading and Editing
Essay Revision Checklist
Practice
Unit 2: Five-paragraphs Essay
Section One: The Three Parts of the Essay
The Introductory Paragraph
Practice
The Body of the Essay
Practice
The Concluding Paragraph
Practice
Transition between Paragraphs of the Essay
Practice
Unit 3 : Types of Essays
Section One: Descriptive Essay
Steps for Writing Descriptive Essay
Basic Features of Descriptive Essay
Types of Descriptive Essay
The Three Parts of Descriptive Essay
Descriptive Essay Checklist
Practice
Section Two: Narrative Essay
Basic Steps for Writing Narrative Essay
Useful Language
Basic Essay Format
Model Essay: Granndy
Narrative Essay Checklist
Practice
Section Three: Example/Illustration Essay
Stages for Writing Definition Essay
Useful Language
Basic Essay Format
Model Essay: Evil
Illustration Essay Checklist
Practice
Section Four: Argumentative Essay
Useful Language
Basic Essay Format
Instruction and Question Words
Argumentative Essay Checklist
Practice
Section Five: Contrast and Comparison Essay
Useful Language
Patterns of Organisation
Comparison-and-Contrast Checklist
Practice
Section Six: Classification Essay
Steps for Writing Classification Essay
Useful Language
Sample Essay: Food
Classification Essay Checklist
Practice
Section Seven: Cause and Effect Essay
Planning the Essay
Transition Words and Connectors
Types of Organisation
Instruction Words
Sample Essay: How Weather has Changed World History
Cause/ Effect Checklist
Practice
Objectives & Topics
The primary objective of this booklet is to provide second-year students with a comprehensive, practical guide to academic essay writing. By moving beyond simple instructions, the work seeks to build writing skills through consistent practice in a supportive academic community, covering the process from initial paragraph formation to full-scale essay development across various rhetorical styles.
- Methodologies for essay planning, including brainstorming techniques like freewriting and clustering.
- Structural requirements for academic essays, focusing on the introductory, body, and concluding paragraphs.
- Detailed analysis of various essay types: Descriptive, Narrative, Illustration, Argumentative, Contrast/Comparison, Classification, and Cause/Effect.
- Practical application via revision checklists and model essay analysis.
- Effective use of transition words, connecting structures, and argumentative strategies to ensure coherence and unity.
Excerpt from the Book
Model Essay: Granny
As I glanced past the lit Christmas tree in the window, I could see endless rain pouring down and splashing into the large puddles that now filled the road outside my grandparents’ home. I shivered slightly and turned back to watch my grandmother sharpening her pencils with a razor blade and unpacking her watercolor paints and paintbrushes from their special travel box. She was wearing a loose lamb’s wool cardigan that covered the top of her long, gently patterned skirt. Her lightly permed white hair was combed carefully across her head. I moved from the sofa to stand closer to her armchair and watched her rearrange the flower bouquet that she was commissioned to paint for her neighbor. I could smell a mix of the familiar waft of her Chanel N°5 perfume and the gentle but evident odor of her watercolors, but I couldn’t pick out any flowery smells. I looked at the painting, which was nearly complete, and saw her penciled signature at the bottom. It read “B.E. Cartwright” in beautiful printing. The “B.E.” stood for Barbara Eileen, although everyone called her Bobby.
I moved back over to where I had been sitting, in front of the lightweight set of drawers that I was using as a hospital-on-wheels for my stuffed animals and dolls. Before settling down to her painting, Granny had cleared out the drawers for me and helped me wrap my little animals in the dry washcloths that I used as bandages and slings. I cradled my teddy bear, who suffered from a broken leg, in my arms and sang it a lullaby. My dulcet tones clashed somewhat with the Christmas carols that Granny had playing on her little portable boom box. She looked up from her painting, not to tell me to stop singing, but to ask how long I thought that Teddy’s recovery would take. I answered that he was looking a lot better and would be able to leave the hospital soon. After expressing her great relief at this news, she pushed her little painting table away from her armchair and went into the kitchen to refill her teacup.
Summary of Chapters
Unit 1 : Getting Ready to Write: This unit introduces the foundational stages of writing, focusing on pre-writing techniques like freewriting and clustering to generate ideas, as well as the drafting and revising process.
Unit 2: Five-paragraphs Essay: This unit explores the structural anatomy of an academic essay, detailing the specific roles of the introduction, body paragraphs, and the conclusion in maintaining coherence.
Unit 3 : Types of Essays: This comprehensive unit covers various rhetorical modes including descriptive, narrative, illustration, argumentative, contrast/comparison, classification, and cause/effect essays, providing specific strategies and checklists for each.
Keywords
Academic Writing, Essay Structure, Brainstorming, Pre-writing Stage, Thesis Statement, Descriptive Essay, Narrative Essay, Argumentative Essay, Contrast and Comparison, Classification Essay, Cause and Effect, Revision Checklist, Coherence, Unity, Writing Practice.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary purpose of this booklet?
This booklet serves as a practical guide for second-year students to develop essential academic essay writing skills through a structured, practice-oriented approach.
What are the core themes addressed in this work?
The core themes include the stages of the writing process, the structural components of an essay, and the specific requirements for different types of academic writing.
What is the central goal or research question of the work?
The goal is to teach students how to transition from writing simple paragraphs to complex essays by providing a supportive environment and clear guidelines for practice.
Which scientific methods are applied in the instructional approach?
The approach emphasizes learning through "doing," utilizing brainstorming techniques, structured drafting, peer editing, and the application of revision checklists based on established academic writing standards.
What topics are covered in the main section of the book?
The main section provides deep dives into seven essay types: Descriptive, Narrative, Example/Illustration, Argumentative, Contrast and Comparison, Classification, and Cause and Effect.
Which keywords best characterize this publication?
The work is best characterized by terms like academic writing, essay structure, drafting, revision, and specific rhetorical essay formats.
How does the book teach students to handle different essay types?
For each essay type, the book provides definitions, steps for writing, useful language/connectors, model essays, and specific checklists to ensure the student meets all structural requirements.
How is the "Clustering" technique used to help writers?
Clustering allows writers to visually map connections between their ideas, helping them organize subtopics that can later be developed into clear, coherent topic sentences for their developmental paragraphs.
What is the significance of the "funnel model" in the introduction?
The funnel model illustrates how an introductory paragraph should logically move from broad, general statements down to a specific, focused thesis statement.
- Quote paper
- Nadia Ghounane (Author), 2018, Academic Essay Writing for EFL Learners, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/426019
