Technical English II - Let Education Triumph over the Crisis

 Essay Essentials

Amidst the severe crisis created by Corona Virus, Let Education Triumph! Let us together emerge triumphant by diverting our focus towards learning.

Have you ever found yourself in an uncomfortable position when asked to attempt an essay? Well! You are not the only one. I must mention my student Madhu, who has a penchant for Civil Services. Her excellent academic performance and her philanthropic nature of serving the society makes her a keen aspirant for important positions. However, she is compelled to take a step back as she finds the essay writing part of the test daunting.

So, let's learn some essentials of Essay Writing and overcome this fear. But remember! In order to blossom into an essayist, it is important for a learner to understand the meaning and the origin of the term 'Essay' and the significance, before stepping into the format.

What does the word 'Essay' mean?

An essay is a piece of information on a certain topic the writer intends to convey to the reader and in a broader sense, impact the world.  Writers choose to talk to the world in their own style depending on the kind of information they intend to convey. The term 'Essay' can also be used as a Verb where it means to try or to attempt. Essentially we can say that the writer essayed to organise his or her thoughts into writing.

Origin of the term 'Essay'

It is significant to note that the term essay dates back to 1533, to the first author, French man Michel De Montaigne, though the essays of Francis Bacon enjoy the official status. It is derived from French infinitive Essayer which means 'to attempt'.

Significance of Essay Writing Skills

While on one hand, an essay writing skill serves as an essential tool for students to express their thoughts, on the other hand, it serves as a tool for teachers to access the students' capability. Writing ability highlights the powerful coherence of thoughts, analytical skills, persuasive skills, argumentative skills, and negotiation skills. At a workplace, writing well can help an employee climb up the ladder quickly.

Kinds of Essay

Depending on the intent of the writer, an essay can vary in its style. An essay can analyse a data in an analytical essay, challenge an established notion in an argumentative essay, touch the five senses in a descriptive essay, convey a piece of information in an expository essay or discuss a profound issue in a reflective essay.

Format

An essay begins with an introduction paragraph that has a thesis statement indicating the stand taken by the writer. In this phase, the writer paraphrases the prompt with catchy statements.
This is followed by two body paragraphs with examples to support the thesis statement. Remember to begin the paragraphs with a topic sentence that forms a link between the developing ideas. Finally, a conclusion sums up the argument and restates the thesis.

An important factor for effective writing would be making use of transition words and phrases (moreover, however, although, etc.) to connect your thoughts and to hook your readers' attention.

You may look forward to my post on effective ways of writing Introduction, Body, and Conclusion.

Hope henceforth, writing essays will be a delight and not academic torture.


Ms Shashi Prabha
Assistant Professor
BNM Institute of Technology
Bengaluru


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