Types of Essays

... and why we write them.

Adapted from:
web.binus.ac.id/.../Types%20of%
20Essays_63499823094012125..
.
Why do we write essays?

Hint: The answer is NOT ‘because sir/miss told

me to’
Why do we write essays?

Measurement

Development

Professionalism
Measurement??!!??
Implying that it is to:
Assess your knowledge and understanding?
Grade your achievements?
Judge your writing skills?
Measure you against your peers?
Measurement??!!??
Implying that it is to:
Assess your knowledge and understanding?
Grade your achievements?
Judge your writing skills?
Measure you against your peers?

Of course, but it isn’t the main reason

Development
Far more important is that you are given the
opportunity:
to explore what you think
to improve how you think
to practice communicating your thoughts
Development
Writing is a tool which can allow us to:
Organise our thoughts clearly
give ourselves room to examine
what we think
why we think it
whether we should continue to think it
Professionalism
Sustained, coherent and complex thinking
cannot be done silently.

That is to say, most people cannot sit alone

and think CLEARLY about something
COMPLICATED for A LONG PERIOD of time
Professionalism

But, what do you do when there is no-one you

can talk to
Professionalism
Planning an essay is like having that
conversation with yourself

Writing the essay is sharing those thoughts with

other people
Professionalism

Which is important because….

Professionalism
Anybody can make a gut decision
but

only someone who is practiced in

communicating and reasoned argument will
be able to justify how the more difficult
decision was made
Steps to develop an accurate
IELTS composition
Steps to develop an accurate
IELTS composition
Always bear in mind:
• Proof reading (Free from grammar and
spelling mistakes)
• Coherence
• Cohesiveness
• Punctuation (Let’s eat grandma / Let’s eat,
grandma)
Steps to develop an accurate
IELTS composition
Outline
Introduction (your trailer) (1 paragraph with 50 words (3
sentences that are super general connecting society and
people, open; never direct; no examples.
Second sentence, unite section 1 and two of the topics
given; third is your opinion: I personally believe...)
Example topic
 Celebrities make a very good living out of media attention and
have chosen to live in the public spotlight. They have no right
to complain when they feel the media are intruding on their
privacy.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
Steps to develop an accurate
IELTS composition
Main body
(begin with supporting arguments 2
paragraphs with 80 words, start with your
opinion and concrete, proving examples.
Second paragraph, it will look like for and
against; you need to circle supporting your
ideas)
2 paragraphs with 80 words
Steps to develop an accurate
IELTS composition
Conclusion
Restate your opinion, paraphrasing it.
Use words like, to sum up.
1 paragraph with 50 words.
Hyphenated words count as one.
Essay Assignment for 10th grade
Contrast-compare Essay about a current topic or a
TED TALK (as a raffle, students brainstorm current
topics and put them in a bag to choose from it)
Students will have 40 minutes to create the essay in
class, they can have vocabulary selected from home.
This activity is to be done weekly as a quiz
Prompts:
•Write at least 190 Words (1st term), 200 words (2nd
term), 210 words (3rd term), 220 words (4th term)
(IELTS Band Descriptors 7.5 - 9)
• (-30 points if you don’t complete this task)
•- 3 points for any mistake in Language Focus
(Grammar), punctuation, cohesion or coherence.
•-10 for not quoting
Essay Assignment for 10th grade
Contrast-compare Essay about a current topic or a TED
TALK (as a raffle, students brainstorm current topics and
put them in a bag to choose from it) Students will have 40
minutes to create the essay in class, they can have
vocabulary selected from home. This activity is to be
done weekly as a quiz
This activity can be linked to the weekly dictation,
after saying the 5 Words (IELTS Band Descriptors 7.5 -
9) you can use these variants:
•Show a mute video so that students create a story for it
•Play music so that students write according to what they
hear (Spring, Storm, joy, sadness)
•Read a headline of a magazine and write their opinion
•Use Toefl or Ielts prompts
Essay Assignment for 10th grade
Contrast-compare Essay about a current topic or a
TED TALK (as a raffle, students brainstorm current
topics and put them in a bag to choose from it)
Students will have 40 minutes to create the essay in
class, they can have vocabulary selected from home.
This activity is to be done weekly as a quiz
Prompts:
•Write at least 190 Words (1st term), 200 words (2nd
term), 210 words (3rd term), 220 words (4th term)
(IELTS Band Descriptors 7.5 - 9)
• (-30 points if you don’t complete this task)
•- 3 points for any mistake in Language Focus
(Grammar), punctuation, cohesion or coherence.
•-10 for not quoting
Essay Assignment for 10th grade
Contrast-compare Essay about a current topic or a TED
TALK (as a raffle, students brainstorm current topics and
put them in a bag to choose from it) Students will have 40
minutes to create the essay in class, they can have
vocabulary selected from home. This activity is to be
done weekly as a quiz
This activity can be linked to the weekly dictation,
after saying the 5 Words (IELTS Band Descriptors 7.5 -
9) you can use these variants:
•Show a mute video so that students create a story for it
•Play music so that students write according to what they
hear (Spring, Storm, joy, sadness)
•Read a headline of a magazine and write their opinion
•Use Toefl or Ielts prompts
So anyway, …..
….what kind of essays are there.
There are generally considered to be
four types of essay

Analytical
Descriptive
Contrast/compare
Argumentative
Compare and contrast
essays
Contrast or distinguish between
questions usually present you with
two or more terms, instruments,
concepts or procedures that are
closely connected, and sometimes
confused. The purpose of the essay is
to explain the differences between
them.
2. Compare and contrast
essays

The contrast essay

The compare essay

The compare and contrast essays

 Plan – Contrast

Questions are Introduction to differences

between A and B
often introduced
by: Contrast A & B in terms of first
•Contrast .... difference
•Distinguish between ...
•What is the difference
between.... Contrast A & B in terms of second
•What are the difference
differences between....
•How are ... and ...
different? etc

Conclusion
 Plan – Compare

Questions are Introduction to similarities between A

and B
often introduced
by: Compare A & B
•Compare .... in terms of first similarity
•What features do ...
and ... have in Compare A & B
common? in terms of second similarity
•What are the
similarities
etc.
between....
•How are ... and ...
similar? Conclusion
 Plan – Compare/Contrast

Questions are often introduced by:

•Compare ....
•What features do ... and ... have in
common?
•What are the similarities between....
•How are ... and ... similar?
 Types of Essays
... and why we write them.
Adapted from:
web.binus.ac.id/.../Types%20of%
20Essays_63499823094012125..
.