How To Write An Essay

Part 7 - Extra Touches

"Creativity often consists of merely turning up what is already there. Did you know that right and left
shoes were thought up only a little more than a century ago?"
-- Bernice Fitz-Gibbon

"Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration."

-- Thomas Edison

The difference between a good essay and a great essay often lies in elements that take it above and
beyond what most students hand in. Sometimes it is as simple as avoiding common things that detract
from formality, such as hyperbole and colloquialisms. Sometimes it's adding extras, such as
contradictions or extra research. Here are some tips on improving essays:

• Avoid Hyperbole
• Avoid Libel
• Avoid Colloquialisms
• Avoid Personalization
• Avoid Gender Limitations
• Avoid Using The Same Word Repeatedly
• Contradiction and Argument
• Extra Research
• Graphics and Tables
• Use of Humour, Puns, and Clever Twists

Avoid Hyperbole

"Hyperbole \Hy*per"bo*le\, n. [L., fr. Gr?, prop., an overshooting, excess...](Rhet.) A figure of

speech in which the expression is an evident exaggeration of the meaning intended to be conveyed, or
by which things are represented as much greater or less, better or worse, than they really are; a
statement exaggerated fancifully, through excitement, or for effect."
-- Hypertext Webster Gateway

When a wise instructor sees hyperbole in an essay, they know that the student is overstating
something in order to appear more convincing. Overstatement, however, does not equal proof. If your
essay relies on hyperbole instead of proof, it is a weak essay.

Consider the following examples of hyperbole:

• Joe Smith was the greatest scientist that ever lived.

o Not only is this not provable in any meaningful way, but the hyperbole itself fails to
indicate why the author would assert such a thing.
• Great thinkers have benefited human advancement in astonishing and unimaginable ways.
o Very few elements of human advancement could fairly be described as astonishing,
especially since the reference is historical and therefore known. Being unimaginable
means it cannot be imagined, and clearly the advancements were imagined or they
never would have occurred. To use two grandiose words is even more extreme
hyperbole.
Your instructor does not want to read hyperbole. They do not want cheesy diatribes declaring your
topic to be superior to all other related topics. That is irrelevant and distracting. Don't do it.

Your high school teachers may have rewarded hyperbole because it can masquerade as proof. At the
university level, it is amateurish.

Avoid Libel

Libel is the act of writing something about someone that is false and can injure that person's
reputation. Libel can also be against a group or company. Students usually do not intend to commit
libel, but in an effort to be dramatic they sometimes accidentally do so. Libel in essays often comes
out of hyperbole; as a student overstates something, they may inadvertently overstate to the point of
being injurious.

It is not libel merely to say something negative about someone. It becomes libel when the statement is
false or cannot be proven to be "fair comment." It is fair comment to say that Adolph Hitler was anti-
Semitic. It is not fair comment to say that George W. Bush is anti-Semitic for not choosing a Jewish
running mate as Al Gore did in the 2000 U.S. presidential election. Calling Bush an anti-Semite in
that regard would most certainly be libel.

Chances are, no student will ever actually be legally challenged for writing libelous statements in their
essays, because no one other than the professor is likely to see the essay. Still, you should be careful
to avoid it, because it looks very bad on your part to declare false statements in this manner.

Avoid Colloquialisms

"Substitute "damn" every time you're inclined to write "very;" your editor will delete it and the
writing will be just as it should be." -- Mark Twain

"Colloquialism \Col*lo"qui*al*ism\, n. A colloquial expression, not employed in formal discourse or

writing." -- Hypertext Webster Gateway

If your assignment is to write about your personal experience in an informal fashion or to write
fiction, feel free to use colloquialisms to add colour. If, however, you're writing a formal essay, avoid
colloquialisms entirely. Never do any of the following in a formal essay unless it is part of a direct
quotation:

• Well, since Joe Smith invented the widgetiscope...

o Using "well" to begin a sentence like this is conversational and colloquial.
• The methodology Smith used to reach this conclusion sucks.
It is a damned good thing that Smith invented the widgetiscope.
o Never use foul language or expletives, no matter how tame. They don't belong in
formal language and only serve to make you look like you have a poor vocabulary.
• Can you believe that Smith almost didn't invent the widgetiscope?
o The personalization of "you" is addressed below, but the entire sentence is
conversational and colloquial, and should be avoided in formal writing.
• Smith's invention is really, really important.
Smith's invention is very, very important.
o Using "very" and "really" is somewhat colloquial; doubling them is colloquial and
redundant.
• God knows what modern widget watching would have been like without the widgetiscope.
 o This is also conversational and colloquial. Furthermore, unless the essay is about
religion or a religious topic, religion has no place in it. Bringing religion in
unnecessarily is likely to provoke negative reactions in people of different faiths.

Avoid Personalization

Again, if you're writing an informal essay or a story, using "I" and "You" are perfectly acceptable. In
a formal essay, however, they are bad form. Don't do the following, unless it's part of a direct
quotation:

• I think Smith's widgetiscope is an important invention.

o Don't bother to say "I think" at all. Saying "Smith's widgetiscope is an important
invention" implies that you think and is a much stronger statement.
• My research indicates that Smith did not die of a heart attack.
o Just present the research, not the fact that you've done it.
• Smith was born in Scotland, as was I.
o The essay is not about you, so your facts don't belong here.
• You can see that...
o Don't tell the reader what they can or cannot see. You can't know that, and it's
informal.
• Can you believe that...
o The reader doesn't get to answer you, so don't ask them to. It's informal.
• If you were to read Widget Watching of the Late 1800s, you would see that...
o It was your job to do the research, not the reader's.
• If you consider the possibilities, you must come to the conclusion that...
o Again, it was your job in the essay to consider and conclude. Don't force the reader to
do it.
• Now we can see that...
o Using "we" is as bad as using "you." It's informal.

Avoid Gender Limitations

You can be gender inclusive without resorting to political correct redundancy. Use "he" when
referring to a specific individual who is male, and use "she" when referring to a specific individual
who is female. Do not use a gender-specific pronoun when referring to a non-specific person. Using
"they" instead can be awkward, especially since it is often supposed to mean more than one person.
PC constructs like he/she or s/he are also awkward and jarring to the reader. When possible, rewrite
the sentence in such a way as to make the pronoun unnecessary, as in the following examples:

Bad: If a widget watcher sees the widget behave in this way, he must record it in his journal.
Good: A journal entry must be made if the widget is observed behaving in this way.

Bad: The average widget watcher doesn't like to see her research go unnoticed.
Good: Widget watchers don't like to see their research go unnoticed.
In this case, we've pluralized the subject, so it's okay to use the plural "their."

Bad: Widget watching is a stressful science, and a student should think carefully before he dedicates
his life to it.
Good: Widget watching is a stressful science, and a student should think carefully before becoming
dedicated to it.
Or go fully plural: Widget watching is a stressful science, and students should think carefully before
dedicating their lives to it.

If you absolutely must use pronouns, it is probably better to alternate between he and she rather than
to use he/she or s/he. Below is a post I made on WomenGamers.com to demonstrate how alternation
works, assuming the reader does not attribute meaning to the pronoun:

Originally posted at WomenGamers.com:

RE: He, She, It

Posted by KaCee on Sunday, September 10th @ 05:22:15 PM EDT

Variating doesn't break the flow if the pronoun is truly irrelevant.

For example (this is quickly made up on the spot and shouldn't be associated with any specific RPG):

A player who wishes to have his character trained by a master should prepare to have the character
out of adventuring for one to two years in world time. During this time, the character will make no
money nor gain experience points, but will gain the skills of the master. If the player does not want to
sacrifice the time because, for instance, the race of the character requires a short lifespan, she can
decide to take the skills individually at a point cost equivalent to any other character.

I've variated whether the player is a he or a she. I've been inclusive now. How does that variation
make this paragraph complicated? I read it aloud to my husband and didn't tell him what I was testing.
His questions were about whether it made sense that the master wouldn't be paying the student and
other comments on the nature of the game itself (which of course is irrevelvant since I just made it up
and it has no context). He didn't even notice I changed gender. When I told him that was the point, he
came over, read it to himself, and agreed that the variation in the gender of the player has no bearing
on the comphrension of the instruction.

I'd like to call for a vote by anyone reading: if this was confusing to you on the basis of a changed
gender, say so. If the gender thing was irrelevant to you, say so.

Now, if you are assuming the player is male and thus the "she" throws you off, you have attributed
specific meaning to "he" and are NOT considering it a universal pronoun. That then means you are
making an assumption that the players are all male or female players are not being referred to. That's
sexist.

If a writer can't express themselves clearly and inclusively, that's a fault of the writer.

-- Kimberly "it's really not that hard" Chapman

Avoid Using The Same Word Repeatedly

Unless you're using the same word repeatedly to make a point, try to vary your words. If you read
over one of your paragraphs and find the same word being used several times, try to think of a
different word that can be substituted. For example, if our example essay had the word "widgetiscope"
in a paragraph too often, we could substitute one or two instances with alternate phrases like "the
device" or "the scope" or "Smith's invention."

Do make sure, however, that whatever substitution you make is an accurate one. Too often, students
make liberal use of a word-processor's built-in thesaurus without consulting the dictionary to see if the
so-called synonym fits the given context. For example, let's say that we've used the word "number"
too often. In the sentence: "Smith's number was 555-1234, which he thought was an interesting
random assignment," MS Word's thesaurus gives us synonyms for number such as "total,"
"aggregate," "amount," "collection, and "sum total." Obviously, our use of "number" has the specific
context of being a phone number, so none of the synonyms fit.

Contradiction and Argument

As shown in the widget example with the contradiction over how Smith died, discovering that your
sources contradict each other is not a bad thing. In fact, it allows you to introduce contradiction into
your essay easily, which is more interesting to read. It also may give you the chance to analyse both
sides of the issue and indicate which side you think to be most correct. This can lead to a better grade
since you're demonstrating independent reasoning instead of simply quoting a bunch of sources.

An essay need not be argumentative overall in order to have one argumentative element, such as one
that arises out of a contradiction. Furthermore, you are entitled to debate your sources even if they are
in agreement, so long as you can do so logically and eloquently. Be forewarned, however, that while
some instructors are pleased to see a student who boldly takes on a debate of their own accord and
does it successfully, there are some that see this as an argument against their own ideals. In subjective
courses such as the social sciences and liberal arts, instructors have been known to strike down essays
that don't happily conform to the standard presentation. It might be best to consult with the instructor
first to get a feeling for whether they'd accept sound refutation or if they'd prefer you just follow
along.

In general, however, showing that you're aware of a conflicting viewpoint amongst sources is a good
thing, and showing that you can deal with it within the essay is the mark of a good writer.

Extra Research

As stated before, it's not a good idea to pad out your bibliography with texts you didn't really read. It
is, however, almost always useful to go beyond the recommended reading list to find other
information. The only exception is if you're specifically instructed not to go beyond certain sources.

Part of this is knowing what other sources exist. There is, of course, the standard selection of library
resources, including reference books (encyclopedias, dictionaries, etc.) and focused texts. Most
students today are also aware of Internet resources, although it should be mentioned again that
Internet sources carry a greater risk of invalidity since anyone can web-publish anything. What many
students seem to miss are periodicals and newspapers. Newspapers tend to be fairly current, but if
your library stores old papers (often on microfilm), you can access old articles that can significantly
benefit your essay. For example, for an essay I wrote on the racism inherent in the Quebec Separatist
movement, I was able to cite several newspaper articles in which Separatist leaders made clearly
racist remarks, as well as instances when the party issued anti-Native edicts or spoke out against
certain ethnic groups that weren't "French enough." Without those articles, I only had a couple of anti-
Separatist sources to work from. By adding in those direct bits of evidence, I made the essay's
hypothesis difficult to dispute.

Finding newspaper and periodical articles involves knowing how to use things like their respective
indices. If you don't know how or where to do this, ask your librarian. Any reasonable-sized library,
particularly at a university, should have a subscription to a periodical index that will list, year by year,
all of the articles printed in listed magazines. You then find the magazine in storage and read the
article. Some magazines and newspapers also have searchable web archives, but most still do not at
this time.
There may be other sources that you aren't aware of, particularly in a big university library. Many
such libraries run short, free courses on how to do research and where things are in that particular
building. Taking such a course might seem like a dull way to spend a few hours, but the reward of
much improved essay grades should serve as incentive.

Graphics and Tables

Graphics and tables can enhance your essay by adding a visual element to explain complex concepts.
Here are some examples of how they can be used well, so long as they are relevant to the essay:

• a timeline showing the important steps in the development of a science

• a flowchart summarizing a chain of command or family tree
• a table listing which countries import or export which materials
• a typical floor plan from the type of castles being discussed in the essay
• medical diagrams
• sketches of dress styles in an essay on changing fashions

The essential question to ask yourself when considering using a graphic or table is: is this directly
relevant to my essay's focus, or is it just a neat way to fill some space? Only include it if it helps the
reader understand your points better. Never use a blurry, faded, or otherwise hard to read graphic or
table. That is pointless and irritating. In our example of Joe Smith, it might be relevant to include a
labeled diagram of a widgetiscope. It would be superfluous, however, to include a picture of Smith's
childhood home, unless there was something about the architecture that was directly relevant to his
life.

Do not use a graphic or table in place of writing. Only use it to enhance a written explanation. For
example, if your essay assignment requires you to demonstrate a mathematical proof, it is not
acceptable to photocopy a text book's page on the subject. Your instructor wants to see that you
understand what you're talking about, not that you're skilled at using a photocopier, scanner, or word
processor.

Clipart has its uses in visual presentations, but almost never belongs in a formal essay. Essays are
primarily linguistic presentations, and visual elements should be minor enhancements, not major
detractions. Resist the urge to use every nifty clipart graphic you can find. Similarly, resist the urge to
use different fonts all over the place or different colours of font. These things are fun to play with, but
they make an essay very difficult to read. You don't want to do anything that takes attention away
from what you're saying.

If you do use a graphic or table that isn't your own creation, you must attribute it as you would any
other quotation. Copying a picture from a website into your essay without attributing it is plagiarism,
regardless of whether or not the website had a legitimate claim to the picture. Photocopying a picture
of Smith's notes from his biography and including it in your essay without attribution is plagiarism. It
implies you gained access to his notes yourself, and denies credit to the author of the source that
legally reproduced it.

Use of Humour, Puns, and Clever Twists

Sometimes your essay topic will lend itself to puns and twists galore. For example, in an essay on the
circulatory system, it might be difficult to resist the temptation to declare that you're going to get to
the "heart" of the matter. Try hard to resist such puns. Most of the time, they're gags your instructor
has read far too often, and they ceased to be funny long ago (assuming they were ever funny in the
first place).

That being said, humour can add to an essay in some cases. Don't use humour at all if your essay is on
an unpleasant topic such as the Holocaust or hunger in Africa. But if the essay topic is light and you
conceive of a bit of humour that would genuinely add to it, go ahead and put it in. To test if the
humour is effective and worthwhile, however, have a friend or two read the essay first. If they groan
about the humour or miss it entirely, take it out. What you thought was a clever twist on some element
of your essay may be so referential, so obscure, or so vague that nobody else gets it.

If you do use humour, use it sparingly. Professional humour writers can get away with a joke every
paragraph, but if you do this in your essay it is likely to come off as flippant as opposed to funny.

If you can truly make your instructor laugh with your well-placed, well-constructed humour, you're
likely to earn a good grade. You're also likely a good enough writer to not have needed this entire set
of lessons in the first place.

The best way to illustrate some of these qualities is to look at good and bad examples from real
essays, and discuss how the bad ones could be improved.

Next Lesson: Examples

Unfortunately, there is no surefire step-by-step method to writing a good essay. EssayEdge

editors will remake your essay into an awesome, memorable masterpiece, but every topic
requires a different treatment since no two essays are alike. However, we have compiled the
following list of tips that you should find useful while writing your admissions essay.

1. Answer the Question. You can follow the next 12 steps, but if you miss the
question, you will not be admitted to any institution.
2. Be Original. Even seemingly boring essay topics can sound interesting if creatively
approached. If writing about a gymnastics competition you trained for, do not start
your essay: "I worked long hours for many weeks to train for XXX competition."
Consider an opening like, "Every morning I awoke at 5:00 to sweat, tears, and blood
as I trained on the uneven bars hoping to bring the state gymnastics trophy to my
hometown."
3. Be Yourself. Admissions officers want to learn about you and your writing ability.
Write about something meaningful and describe your feelings, not necessarily your
actions. If you do this, your essay will be unique. Many people travel to foreign
countries or win competitions, but your feelings during these events are unique to
you. Unless a philosophy or societal problem has interested you intensely for years,
stay away from grand themes that you have little personal experience with.
4. Don't "Thesaurize" your Composition. For some reason, students continue to
think big words make good essays. Big words are fine, but only if they are used in the
appropriate contexts with complex styles. Think Hemingway.
5. Use Imagery and Clear, Vivid Prose. If you are not adept with imagery, you can
write an excellent essay without it, but it's not easy. The application essay lends itself
to imagery since the entire essay requires your experiences as supporting details.
Appeal to the five senses of the admissions officers.
6. Spend the Most Time on your Introduction. Expect admissions officers to spend
1-2 minutes reading your essay. You must use your introduction to grab their interest
from the beginning. You might even consider completely changing your introduction
after writing your body paragraphs.
 o Don't Summarize in your Introduction. Ask yourself why a reader would
want to read your entire essay after reading your introduction. If you
summarize, the admissions officer need not read the rest of your essay.
o Create Mystery or Intrigue in your Introduction. It is not necessary or
recommended that your first sentence give away the subject matter. Raise
questions in the minds of the admissions officers to force them to read on.
Appeal to their emotions to make them relate to your subject matter.
7. Body Paragraphs Must Relate to Introduction. Your introduction can be original,
but cannot be silly. The paragraphs that follow must relate to your introduction.
8.
9. Use Transition. Applicants continue to ignore transition to their own detriment. You
must use transition within paragraphs and especially between paragraphs to
preserve the logical flow of your essay. Transition is not limited to phrases like "as a
result, in addition, while . . . , since . . . , etc." but includes repeating key words and
progressing the idea. Transition provides the intellectual architecture to argument
building.
10.Conclusions are Crucial. The conclusion is your last chance to persuade the reader
or impress upon them your qualifications. In the conclusion, avoid summary since the
essay is rather short to begin with; the reader should not need to be reminded of
what you wrote 300 words before. Also do not use stock phrases like "in conclusion,
in summary, to conclude, etc." You should consider the following conclusions:
o Expand upon the broader implications of your discussion.
o Consider linking your conclusion to your introduction to establish a sense of
balance by reiterating introductory phrases.
o Redefine a term used previously in your body paragraphs.
o End with a famous quote that is relevant to your argument. Do not try to do
this, as this approach is overdone. This should come naturally.
o Frame your discussion within a larger context or show that your topic has
widespread appeal.
o Remember, your essay need not be so tidy that you can answer why your
little sister died or why people starve in Africa; you are not writing a "sit-com,"
but should forge some attempt at closure.
11.Do Something Else. Spend a week or so away from your draft to decide if you still
consider your topic and approach worthwhile.
12.Give your Draft to Others. Ask editors to read with these questions in mind:
o What is the essay about?
o Have I used active voice verbs whereverpossible?
o Is my sentence structure varied or do Iuse all long or all short sentences?
o Do you detect any cliches?
o Do I use transition appropriately?
o Do I use imagery often and does this make the essay clearer and more vivid?
o What's the best part of the essay?
o What about the essay is memorable?
o What's the worst part of the essay?
o What parts of the essay need elaboration or are unclear?
o What parts of the essay do not support your main argument or are immaterial
to your case?
o Is every single sentence crucial to the essay? This MUST be the case.
o What does the essay reveal about your personality?
o Could anyone else have written this essay?
o How would you fill in the following blank based on the essay: "I want to accept
you to this college because our college needs more ____________."
 13.Revise, Revise, Revise. You only are allowed so many words; use them wisely. If
H.D. Thoreau couldn't write a good essay without revision, neither will you. Delete
anything in the essay that does not relate to your main argument. Do you use
transition? Are your introduction and conclusions more than summaries? Did you find
every single grammatical error?
o Allow for the evolution of your main topic. Do not assume your subject must
remain fixed and that you can only tweak sentences.
o Editing takes time. Consider reordering your supporting details, delete
irrelevant sections, and make clear the broader implications of your
experiences. Allow your more important arguments to come to the
foreground. Take points that might only be implicit and make them explicit.
14.Have your Essay Professionally Edited. The application essay is too important not
to spend $50 for its improvement. Editing houses like EssayEdge will significantly
improve your essay's style, transition, voice, grammar, and tone; EssayEdge will also
make content suggestions to ensure your essay is unique and memorable

Introduction

Writing a comprehensive essay is an art which requires excellent literal as well as technical skills.
Essay writing is required not only in languages but also in many other fields. For example, commerce,
business, science, Journalism, show-biz, etc. need good essays for their appropriate understanding.
Therefore, it is always very much beneficial to know how to write an informative and impressive
essay. Here are given a few top class tips for writing a good essay.

Understand the given topic fully well

The first and foremost tip for writing a good essay is to comprehend the given topic thoroughly. One
must know what the topic actually demands before starting to write an essay. The real meanings and
requirement of the topic must be quite clear in the mind of the writer. A slight mistake on the part of
the writer in understanding the topic rightly may even make the whole essay irrelevant and futile. So
the first tip is to concentrate deeply on what the topic actually means and demands.

Recollect or Recall all the relevant information and knowledge about the given topic to your mind.

After a thorough understanding of the topic, the writer should recall to his mind the relevant facts and
figures, information and knowledge about that very topic. For this very purpose, he may consult
relevant books or other manual and electronic sources so that all the concerning material may be
updated and verified. This is very much necessary because if the information provided or written in
the essay is not up-to-date and confirm, the essay will be rejected at once. Therefore the collection and
recollection of relevant information is necessary for writing an appealing essay.

Make an out-line of the available information

The next important thing to do is to array the whole information available in a proper sequence in the
form of an outline. The essay will be written quite in accordance with the given or prepared outline
(sketch), so the sequence or order of the outline counts a lot so that the essay may look logical and the
flow of ideas may appear natural. Any irrational or illogical order of the ideas will make the essay
create no impression on the mind of the reader. Rather he will feel bore and irritated.

Apply excellent grammatical skills

While writing the actual essay, the writer must use the rules of grammar of that language correctly. A
wrong selection or misusage of grammatical rules will distort the whole essay and the actual message
will be misconveyed because the actual or original meanings of the information or knowledge will get
deshaped by the dangling use of grammatical rules. In order to write an impressive essay, the writer,
therefore, must be well aware of the grammar and its correct application and usage.

Keep the length of the essay accordingly

Another good tip for writing an excellent essay is to keep the length of the essay according to the age
and demand of its readers. The length of the essay should also vary according to the class or category
for which the essay is being written. If a long essay is required on a specific topic for a certain
purpose, it will be quite foolish and useless to write a short one and vice versa. Moreover, a writer
should never put an end to his essay if the subject matter has not been described thoroughly up to the
satisfactory level no matter what the length of the essay may become. In short, the length of the essay
must be just according to the requirement of the reader and the nature of the topic.

Editing of the written essay

Once the topic or essay has been written, it is very much essential that it must be edited at the end
before declaring it final. This is direly essential because any unintentional mistake left in the essay
may devalulize it to the bottom and the whole labor in writing it may go wasted. Therefore, to revise
and edit an essay is as much important as writing it for the first time.

These are some of the key points in writing a good essay following which will make a writer create
superb essays.