Essay Writing

An essay is generally a short piece of writing outlining the writer’s

perspective or story. It is often considered synonymous with a story or a
paper or an article. Essays can be formal as well as informal. Formal
essays are generally academic in nature and tackle serious topics.
Informal essays which are more personal and often have humorous
elements.
Despite the fact that, as Shakespeare said, "the pen is mightier than the
sword," the pen itself is not enough to make an effective writer. In fact, though we
may all like to think of ourselves as the next Shakespeare, inspiration alone is not
the key to effective essay writing. You see, the conventions of English essays are
more formulaic.

Types of Essays

The type of essay will depend on what the writer wants to convey to
his reader. There are broadly six types of essays. Let us see.

1. Narrative Essays: This is when the writer is narrating an incident

or story through the essay. So these are in the first person. The aim
when writing narrative essays is to involve the reader in them as if
they were right there when it was happening. So make them as
vivid and real as possible. One way to make this possible is to
 follow the principle of ‘show, don’t tell’. So you must involve the
reader in the story.
2. Analytical essays: An analytical essay is a presentation of a
writer’s thinking in a logical sequence; it is an essay that includes
a controlling idea based on text(s) and a student's critical
engagement with that text.

• Moves in a logical sequence based on a controlling idea. This idea

must be supported by evidence. The essay should use a variety of types of
evidence including quotations, paraphrases and well developed examples.

• Must show a clear connection of the evidence to the controlling idea.

The essay should exhibit a conscious connection between parts. The essay
should follow a logical order of thinking, and allow ideas to shape.

• Shows clear critical thinking. Making inferences, interpreting evidence,

anticipating readers’ needs. Evidence of strong synthesis, argumentation,
analysis, and/or problem-solving skills

• Demonstrates an awareness of multiple perspectives and moves well

beyond narration & summary.

• Exhibits the writer’s thinking process.

3. Comparative essays: A comparative essay is a form of academic
writing that examines the similarities and differences between two
ideas. College students and those involved in the field of research or
education write comparative essays to support their theories about a
text, issue, event or other impactful topics. Another name for this
method of writing is to compare and contrast.

In a comparative essay, the writer is given two or more subjects to

determine how they are alike and different and must make those reasons
clear to their audience through a detailed and well-supported composition.
4. Descriptive Essays: Here the writer will describe a place, an
object, an event or maybe even a memory. But it is not just plainly
describing things. The writer must paint a picture through his
words. One clever way to do that is to evoke the senses of the
reader. Do not only rely on sight but also involve the other senses
of smell, touch, sound etc. A descriptive essay when done well
will make the reader feel the emotions the writer was feeling at
the moment.
5. Expository Essays: In such an essay a writer presents a balanced
study of a topic. To write such an essay, the writer must have real
and extensive knowledge about the subject. There is no scope for
the writer’s feelings or emotions in an expository essay. It is
 completely based on facts, statistics, examples etc. There are
sub-types here like contrast essays, cause and effect essays etc.
6. Persuasive Essays: Here the purpose of the essay is to get the
reader to your side of the argument. A persuasive essay is not just
a presentation of facts but an attempt to convince the reader of the
writer’s point of view. Both sides of the argument have to
presented in these essays. But the ultimate aim is to persuade the
readers that the writer’s argument carries more weight.

Format of an Essay

Now there is no rigid format of an essay. It is a creative process so it

should not be confined within boundaries. However, there is a basic
structure that is generally followed while writing essays. So let us
take a look at the general structure of an essay.

Introduction
This is the first paragraph of your essay. This is where the writer
introduces his topic for the very first time. You can give a very brief
synopsis of your essay in the introductory paragraph. Some paragraph
writing skills can be a help here. Generally, it is not very long, about 4-6
lines.

There are plenty of scopes to get creative in the introduction of essays.

This will ensure that you hook the reader, i.e. draw and keep his
attention. So to do so you can start with a quote or a proverb. Sometimes
you can even start with a definition. Another interesting strategy to
engage with your reader is to start with a question.

Body
This is the main crux of your essays. The body is the meat of your essay
sandwiched between the introduction and the conclusion. So the most
vital and important content of the essay will be here. This need not be
confined to one paragraph. It can extend to two or more paragraphs
according to the content.

Usually, we have a lot of information to provide in the body. And the

mistakes writers generally make is to go about it in a haphazard manner
which leaves the reader confused. So it is important to organize your
thoughts and content. Write the information in a systematic flow so that
the reader can comprehend. So, for example, you were narrating an
incident. The best manner to do this would be to go in a chronological
order.

Conclusion
This is the last paragraph of the essay. Sometimes a conclusion will just
mirror the introductory paragraph but make sure the words and syntax
are different. A conclusion is also a great place to sum up a story or an
argument. You can round up your essay by providing some morals or
wrapping up a story. Make sure you complete your essays with the
conclusion.

Tips for Essay Writing

● Give your essays an interesting and appropriate title. It will help

draw the attention of the reader and pique their curiosity
● Keep it between 300-500 words. This is the ideal length, you can
take creative license to increase or decrease it
● Keep your language simple and crisp. Unnecessary complicated
and difficult words break the flow of the sentence.
 ● Do not make grammar mistakes, use correct punctuation and
spellings. If this is not done it will distract the reader from the
content
● Before beginning the essay organize your thought and plot a
rough draft. This way you can ensure the story will flow and not
be an unorganized mess.

How to write a comparative essay

Writing a comparative essay involves the following steps:

1. Determine your topic and comparison

After reading the prompt for your essay, determine what you are asked to
compare. Your essay may be about two non-fiction topics such as
comparing historical events, or it could involve discussing two pieces of
literature such as poems by two different authors.

For non-fiction texts or topics, you could choose to address the

following:
● Main ideas in a text
● Key facts or details of the topic
● Impact of the topic (on society, science, nature)
If you can determine your own comparison for fiction pieces, focus on a
specific literary topic such as:
● Characterization
● Theme
● Plot
● Setting
● Symbolism
● Social commentary
● Author's perspective
● Author's purpose

What is an analytical essay?

An analytical essay is a written exploration of a topic that argues a claim
with contextual evidence. Analytical essays are common in academic
writing, but can also appear in trade journals, newspapers and other
publications. Often based on literary writing, films, art or current events,
the essay centers around a thesis statement made about the work that is
then supported through secondary sources as evidence of the thesis.
How to structure an analytical essay
Before you set out to write an analytical essay, outlining it will make the
task of writing it that much easier. An analytical essay consists of:

Introductory paragraph
The opening paragraph captures the attention and sets up your analysis
by doing these three things:
● Start with a hook. Open your essay with something enticing related
to your topic, the goal being to grab the reader’s attention.
● State your topics. Once you have your reader’s attention, establish
the upcoming topics as you move toward your thesis statement.
● Make your thesis statement. By the close of the introduction, you
need to state in clear terms the thesis, which should act as a
reduction of your entire analytical argument in one sentence.

Body paragraphs
While an analytical research paper could be much longer, a
five-paragraph essay will have three body paragraphs (the introduction
and conclusion being the other two). Regardless of length, each
paragraph will start with a topic sentence that supports the thesis,
whereas the rest of each paragraph supports the topic sentence.

Conclusion
A good conclusion should position your argument to intrigue further
thought, as opposed to simply repeating the points you already made. A
strong ending leaves the reader pondering your analysis in a larger
context. It should tie back to your introduction and pull it all together
into a tidy and correlative body of work, but it is not just a summary.

Exercises:

1. Analyze the effects of global warming on society.

2. Adult and child obesity levels in India.

3. Analyze the effect of smartphones on national health.
4. Analyze the society’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
5. Examine how colleges are welcoming cultural diversity.
6. Analyze the author’s intentions in your favorite book.
7. Describe the types of world religions.
8. The most effective ways to reduce stress levels.
9. Write about things necessary for overcoming addiction.
10. Necessary elements of a strong friendship.
11.Analyze the success story of a wealthy person.
12. Analyze what makes your favorite TV show worth watching.
13. Determine the types of social network users.
14. Analyze components of your favorite short story.
15. Pick a movie with low ratings and analyze why it failed.
16. Describe what makes a successful TV show.
17. Choose an Oscar-winning movie and say what made it successful.
18. Analyze why weather affects people’s moods.
19. Write about the effect of video games on one’s cognitive abilities.
20. How education impacts one’s quality of life.
21. Analyze the way cultural beliefs affect a nation.
22. What are the most famous Indian holidays?
23. How did technology reshape the lifestyle in India?
24. Pick a national hero and examine their legacy.
25. Examine how food reflects Indian culture’s history.
26. Write about superstitions and their impact on society.
27. What makes horror movies entertaining?
28. Why do we associate colors with emotions?
29. How societal pressure affects mental health
30. What causes phobia development?

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