How to write an essay

I know that many people have requested this Instructable so I decided to make it. I believe I'm well qualified to write this because I have some great teaching materials and important concepts to give to you. I hope this helps your grades! Enjoy.

Step 1: Your Materials

There are some materials you are going to need before you start writing this essay. The worksheets and notecards are actually very important so don't neglect them.

The Materials
(50) 3" x 5" Note Cards
(2) Two Pocket, Three Pronged Folders
(Many) Pens and Pencils
A Computer & Printer
Access to Research Materials (Ex. - a Library)
Working Outline and Other Various Worksheet (Can be downloaded during the instructable when they become needed)

Comments

[henrykinsella]

I think the above article is informative for all concerned people. For me this Information is really really useful.

[Coliflower]

Very good work.  5 Stars.

You've probably saved many more people then the commentors, here, I really like your worksheets.  Thank you!

[Alathald]

Interesting, I'm not an English major or anything (in fact, I have a strong dislike for English classes) but I usually score pretty well on essays because of a writing formula I've learned from the the only English teacher I ever liked. It's called the SEXI paragraph. Basically, you write as many SEXI paragraphs as your need, then your conclusion paragraph, then go back and write your opening paragraph and thesis (of course, you could write your thesis and opener first but I like doing it last). Here's how the SEXI paragraph works:

Statement - State your idea or opinion like it was fact. only state one idea that you will flesh out in the rest of the paragraph.
Explanation - Explain your idea as it pertains to the rest of the essay and give reasons why.
eXample - Give an example of something your idea would/could apply to.
Interpretation - Interpret the meaning of your idea (basically good or bad).

I've gotten through some last minute essays really easily with that little formula. Just remember, you can have more than one sentence per letter to get to more than four sentences per paragraph.

[Jake-off]

Huh, thats an interesting way, my teachers always taught to use the PIE formula Point out your what you're talking about in the paragraph, Illustrate your point (use quotes, be visual, ext) Explain it. just wright your opening paragraph with a hook and wright your thesis after that, and wright your conclusion with a reworded thesis and close it off

[Abominatus]

i was always taught to PEE, its basically the same as PIE: Point Evidence Explain

[Gjdj3]

That does sound like it works pretty well.

[zachninme]

Just curious, how old are you/what grade are you in? A one/maybe 2 sentence thesis is a tad short... but thats what I was taught early on. A thesis should be about 3 sentences.

Also, no matter what your essay is, analytical, persuasive, or informative, the thesis should always argue a point. If its an informative essay, why should I know this stuff? Have insight.

And as burzvingion said: NEVER USE 1^st OR 2^nd PERSON!!, unless it is a personal experience. That means no I, you, we, my, mine, etc.

Otherwise, its a nice basic introduction to the "five-by-five". (5 paragraphs with 5 "sentences" per paragraph, although each piece of evidence can be more than 1 sentence)

[Gjdj3]

Your points are well taken. I've tried to overstate the thesis thing a bit because some people end up writing 7 sentence thesis statements. You're right though. The other stuff though is just a guideline. I should put a note in that says its just that. Of course you don't need to write 5x5. It would be boring if everyone did. Once again though, thanks for your input. The point of this was to give a basic instruction on how to write an essay. BTW, I'm in ninth grade and know all the stuff you said. I just wanted to keep this concise enough that someone could write a basic essay and not mess it up to badly. I really did mess up the thesis part though. I'll fix it. Thanks for your input.

[Gjdj3]

*too

[burzvingion]

"There are three main problems facing grade school students at the present date and time: cultural promotion of violence, positive media portrayal of negative acts, and temptation of drugs." (writing a thesis statement page) IMHO, this would not promote a very analytical essay. Yes, you could write an analytical essay using a statement like that, but a more likely outcome will be listing. Instead, use a macro-analysis technique (i.e. compare & contrast, change over time, etc) in your thesis and the rest of your essay will become clearer and more focused. For example, the given thesis statement could be revised as such: The media's positive portrayal of negative acts represents the greatest problem facing grade school students at this time, while less significant problems include cultural promotion of violence and peer pressure relating to drug and alcohol use. Additionally, I don't think you mentioned that first person pronouns (I, we, us...) should almost never be used except in a persuasive essay, or by a very experienced essayist. Otherwise, you made some very good suggestions, and it was a very comprehensive instructable.

[Gjdj3]

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll put in your recommendations. Happy Holidays!

[jimmyb0nz]

Awesome!!! I hate writing essays! This will be handy when my kids need it. The only essays I write will be mexican (esse, lol).

[Gjdj3]

haha. lol

[TheBlunderbuss]

Can't seem to actually start writing your essay? I've found it easier to write the body first, then go back for the introduction.

[dchall8]

1. Tell 'em what you're going to tell 'em. 2. Tell 'em. 3. Tell 'em what you told 'em. I would like to add something that helped me. When I come to the conclusion part, I reread what I've written and compare to the intro to see whether I said what I said I would say. Nine times out of ten I revise my intro to more closely match my body, then write the conclusion. And then nine times out of ten I rewrite the body because it sounds repetitive or otherwise awkward. Once my mind starts dumping the thoughts out through my fingers, many times the same thoughts pour out a second or third time. These recurrences of the same concept need to be trimmed or reworded to fit in with other new material. Sometimes restating a previous element helps to support (or gain support) from other new material. NEVER introduce new material in the conclusion. Never support material in the conclusion. The conclusion should be a logical follow on to the body. For a one-paragraph example... I am going to show you that one plus one equals two. If I have one cookie and add another cookie to it, I have two cookies. If Jill has one puppy and adds another puppy, she has two puppies. If Dick has one car and adds another car, he has two cars. Therefore, thus, and so on, in every case of one plus one, I have demonstrated that adding one unit to another yields two units of the same type. At this point it would not be appropriate to add a new fact that adding three units of the same time gives a result of 3. It would also be inappropriate to say that adding one cookie to one car gives one car and one cookie but two objects. If these two facts were to be incorporated into the essay, it would greatly increase the scope of the essay. If you were to rewrite this Instructable in the form of an essay, how would you write the introduction and conclusion?

[GorillazMiko]

DANG I WAS GOING TO DO THIS. always put chuck norris in it, and make ur story humorous, all your teachers will love it, and youll get an A. like how i do. :D