At all kinds of competitions and exams in the English language, almost always one of the tasks is to write an essay, which the participant must submit to the evaluation committee or jury. According to this work, you can characterize the student as accurately as possible, because it shows not only the level of literacy and freedom of knowledge of a foreign language. This is a creative task, which means that it contains a person’s personal perception, his worldview, a look at certain things, potential, knowledge. And to write a beautiful, lively and interesting essay, you need a rich vocabulary.
Perhaps this is why many students are appalled by the need to write a story in a strictly allotted time on a given or free topic. But if you understand in advance all the rules for writing such works, read examples and practice, then there is nothing complicated about this.
Compliance with the standard
Although the word "essay" is not directly related to the English language, its historical roots go back to France, but this easy composition of the prosaic genre has firmly strengthened its position and is used as a test of knowledge in almost all educational institutions. Usually it has a free presentation style and a small volume. Many students are interested in how to write an essay in English, because it is included in the exam.
There is a certain standard according to which it is necessary to perform creative tasks. So, an essay in English is written in 40 minutes, its volume is from 200 to 250 words. In the allotted time, the student must read and understand the assignment, draw up a plan for the essay, and put his creation on paper. Since 2012, a little more time has been allocated for a foreign language exam, and an approximate essay plan is provided, which greatly simplifies the work of the student. It is important to adhere to the required size of the essay - 200-250 words, if it is less, then the work will receive 0 points, if it is more, the examiner will read only 250 words, the rest will be left unattended.
The main components of the work
In order for the result of the work to exceed all expectations and to please the examiners, it is necessary, first of all, to carefully read the assignment and understand it. A cursory, inattentive reading of the text very often leads to unsatisfactory grades. The task basically consists of the elements “for” and “against” and represents no more than two sentences. If an
essay plan
for the English language is already indicated, then you can immediately start writing a work, if not, you will have to work hard on your own. Without it, writing an essay is problematic, because it perfectly structures thoughts, helps to concentrate. A plan item is a basis, a key idea that needs to be developed and described in more detail. An essay in English should consist of three main parts: introduction, main part and conclusion.
Introduction
Starting an essay is a very important part of the work. It is important here not to “pour water”, but to clearly and competently highlight the key idea of the essay, to outline the main topic, which will be described in more detail in the main part. The introduction mainly consists of two, maximum three detailed proposals, which are a smooth transition to the consideration of the main issue. A big plus will be the presence in it of a quote in English, some kind of proverb or thought of a famous person. It should be concise, concise and fully consistent with the topic under consideration.
Main part
Topics for essays in English basically involve examining one issue from different points of view, saying all the pros and cons. The reader should consider both positions and arguments for them. You should not use abstruse, book phrases in an essay that make the text too boring and uninteresting. Regardless of the topic you need to write literate, but simple and lively English. This is the main part of the essay, therefore, it is necessary to fully disclose the issue under discussion, express a point of view, give it a refutation or prove its truthfulness. In any case, examples should be given. Since the composition is a creative task, its own thoughts and attitude to the problem should be expressed in it.
Conclusion
The final part of the essay on the English language is a debriefing, completion of reasoning, and final conclusions. It consists of three or four sentences in which the author not only summarizes all the information, but also expresses a personal opinion on the issue under consideration. The final part should find a logical end, and not break off at a glance. Introduction, the main part and the conclusion should smoothly move from one part to another and be connected.
How to make an essay in English interesting and lively?
An essay is not a scientific treatise, but a light prose essay. The author in it expresses his opinion, personal views on some problems, so this work should be written in a living language and be interesting to readers. The introduction is necessary in order to interest, usually it contains a key idea and quotes that smoothly lead to the main part of the essay. The following are specific examples that support this point of view. To revive the text, you should use as much as possible adjectives, adverbs, select synonyms for verbs. Errors need to be nullified; writing an essay in English is a serious test of literacy and vocabulary. To make the transition from one part to another smooth, you should use special vocabulary.
Useful phrases
Certain phrases can be used in the essay, they will help to relate the parts of the essay, display the opposition and effectively complete the work. The text will be easier to read if you include:
- one of the major factors in ... is ... (one of the main factors is);
- generally speaking, ... (generally speaking);
- furthermore (besides that);
- as well as, ... (same as).
To contrast two opinions or characteristics, the following phrases should be used:
- on the other hand (on the other hand);
- on the contrary (vice versa);
- but (but);
- yet (already, yet);
- however (however).
The following vocabulary will help to express the result of something or the reason:
- so (therefore);
- therefore (for this reason);
- consequently (therefore);
- as a result (in this way);
- this results in (as a result).
Adverbs are also welcome: lastly (finally), then (then), after (after), next (then).
Major mistakes in writing an essay
Very often, students make the same mistakes when writing an essay in English. Unified state examination, competitions, school olympiads - all these events require strict observance of the rules for writing a creative story, in which the author sets out his point of view on a specific problem in a laconic form, talks about his personal attitude to a certain issue. The main problem of students is the inability to clearly, concisely and competently express their thoughts on paper. In order to increase the volume of the text, or simply from ignorance of the topic, the author begins to "pour water." It should be understood that the examiner does not evaluate the size of the work, but its content. Therefore, this approach will not be an advantage, but a disadvantage of an essay.
If the essay is set at home, then you should ask friends or relatives to evaluate the work, to express a personal opinion about it. You also need to re-read the essay yourself several times, correct not very good points, and eliminate grammatical and semantic errors.