How to write an essay in English?

An essay is argumentatively written with many different purposes, usually used to persuade, provide information or show a multi-dimensional view of an issue in society. Essays play an extremely important role in exams, students need to know how to write an essay in English, with correct structure, correct grammar, using a variety of vocabulary and arguments.

See also: Foreign languages

1. Structure of a common paragraph in English

Although the essays have different themes and purposes, they all share the same structure. If you look at an essay, you will see that it is made up of several paragraphs. An essay consists of 3 main parts: introduction, body and conclusion.

• • The introduction is the first paragraph that introduces the topic and presents a specific point of view. In addition, the introduction should have a thesis statement, which is a brief statement of the argument and focus of the argumentative essay, and at the same time expresses the writer’s personal opinion.
  • The body is the longest party. An essay can have 3 body paragraphs or it can have 10 ones. The number of passages depends on the purpose and required length of each task. Each paragraph needs to analyze, evaluate, and discuss in-depth issues directly related to the thesis posed at the opening.
  • The conclusion is the final paragraph that summarizes the ideas, re-emphasizes the thesis statement, and comes to a specific, clear, relevant, and convincing conclusion. You can also add a lesson, solution, or open-ended question to deepen the problem for the reader.

2. Tips for writing paragraphs in English by topic to avoid digression

As for the body, the most important part of the essay, each paragraph needs to follow a logical structure to ensure a coherent argument and not go off topic. The thesis statement states the aspects of the problem that need to be discussed, each body paragraph will focus on one main idea. The structure of an argument paragraph is as follows:

• • Topic sentence: A sentence that opens a paragraph and covers one of the many points in the thesis.
  • Argument: Explain, analyze, evaluate, critique around that main idea.
  • Proof: Use data, illustrative examples, and quotes from experts to prove your argument.

Most importantly, all body paragraphs help develop the thesis and no paragraph strays from the topic.

Each piece of content is logically organized. If you are writing an article about a historical event, each paragraph appears in chronological order. If you are writing a plan to amend the law, the paragraphs should appear in the order of steps taken.

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3. Notes when you write an essay in English correctly

• • Understand the question: The essay is essentially the answer to a specific question. Since the essay must directly address the question, your first step should be to analyze the question, making sure that you know exactly what is being asked.
  • Outline before writing: Outlining is the best way to avoid wasting time writing, giving you an overview of the structure and argument.
  • Avoid spelling and grammar mistakes: If you’re working on an essay with no time limit, reread it after you write it to check for mistakes, and if you’re taking an exam, make sure you have at least 3 minutes at the end of the time to check for common mistakes. For grammar, you should only use present tense forms and pay attention to singular or plural verbs, and for vocabulary, you should use academic vocabulary to increase the professionalism of the article, such as discuss, examine, suggest, illustrate, highlight, reinforce, state…
  • Time management: You must allocate your time to write your essay wisely, for example spending at least 10 minutes at the end of your essay proofreading your essay. If you don’t have enough time, quickly summarize what follows and then write your conclusion. This is how you ensure the layout, although not enough, but the examiner can somewhat understand what you are going to say and will not deduct too many points.

See also: English courses

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