ESSAY OF THE MONTH
This month’s topic:
WHICH IS OUR WORST ENEMY: CLIMATIC CHANGE OR TERRORISM?
Send your entries to: essays.exced@gmail.com
Entry Requirements
Pages: Maximum of 4 pages (single or double spacing allowed)
Language English
Indicate Your Name with surname first
Age and date of birth
Your level of education and school
Contact address and location
Email address and Telephone number
Terms and conditions:
No abusive, racial or anti-religious language is allowed. All essays must be in good taste taking a global and holistic approach. It must not exult one race, religion or government above the other. It must remain politically neutral and morally tasteful.
By submitting entry to the competition you warrant that the essay is your original work and has not being submitted to any other site and organization.
By submitting your entry you give exceed.net and its affiliates the unhindered right/access to use, reproduce, publish and/or transmit the essay either in part or whole in any means necessary. The decision of the judges is final.
First prize ($50, Second prize ($25, Third Prize ($15)
Tips on Writing Good Essay
Always follow a systematic approach to writing an essay and you will produce a great final draft every time! Do not be in a hurry. It is like cooking a delicious three course meal. There are procedures and templates you must adhere to if you are to love your work and if (most importantly) you want your readers to love it.
No matter what topic you write on, it is important for you to remember that all essays are meant to enlighten, entertain, and/or educate your readers. Thus, you must treat your essay writing as you would for any article or novel (your three course meal); pay attention to the style, keep the ideas flowing, and eliminate all extraneous materials. The result will be an essay that would make any body proud
1. Research: Begin the essay writing process by researching your topic, making yourself an expert. Utilize the internet, the academic databases, and the library. Take notes and immerse yourself in the words of great thinkers.
2. Analysis: Now that you have a good knowledge base, start analyzing the arguments of the essays you're reading. Clearly define the claims, write out the reasons, the evidence. Look for weaknesses of logic, and also strengths. Learning how to write an essay begins by learning how to analyze essays written by others.
3. Brainstorming: Your essay will require insight of your own, genuine essay-writing brilliance. Ask yourself a dozen questions and answer them. Meditate with a pen in your hand. Take walks and think and think until you come up with original insights to write about.
4. Thesis: Pick your best idea and pin it down in a clear assertion that you can write your entire essay around. Your thesis is your main point, summed up in a concise sentence that lets the reader know where you're going, and why. It's practically impossible to write a good essay without a clear thesis.
5. Outline: Sketch out your essay before straightway writing it out. Use one-line sentences to describe paragraphs, and bullet points to describe what each paragraph will contain. Play with the essay's order. Map out the structure of your argument, and make sure each paragraph is unified.
6. Introduction: Now sit down and write the essay. The introduction should grab the reader's attention, set up the issue, and lead in to your thesis. Your intro is merely a buildup of the issue, a stage of bringing your reader into the essay's argument. The title and first paragraph are probably the most important elements in your essay. In the first paragraph you either hook the reader's interest or lose it.
7. Paragraphs: Each individual paragraph should be focused on a single idea that supports your thesis. Begin paragraphs with topic sentences, support assertions with evidence, and expound your ideas in the clearest, most sensible way you can. Speak to your reader as if he or she were sitting in front of you. In other words, instead of writing the essay, try talking the essay.
8. Conclusion: Gracefully exit your essay by making a quick wrap-up sentence, and then end on some memorable thought, perhaps a quotation, or an interesting twist of logic, or some call to action. Is there something you want the reader to walk away and do? Let him or her know exactly what.
9. Format: Format your essay according to the correct guidelines for citation. All borrowed ideas and quotations should be correctly cited in the body of your text, followed up with a Works Cited (references) page listing the details of your sources.
10. Language: You're not done writing your essay until you've polished your language by correcting the grammar, making sentences flow, incorporating rhythm, emphasis, adjusting the formality, giving it a level-headed tone, and making other intuitive edits. Proofread until it reads just how you want it to sound. Writing an essay can be tedious, but you don't want to bungle the hours of conceptual work you've put into writing your essay by leaving a few sloppy misspellings and poorly worded phrases..
Source: University of Brighton, School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, student safety and study skills handbook 09/10
Example of Essay Outline
I. Introduction
A. Get the reader's attention by asking a leading question; relay something enticing about the subject in a manner that commands attention. Start with a related quote, alluring description, or narration.
B. State the thesis, the causes and effects to be discussed; comparison of subject X and subject Y; your position on the issue; your proposal if applicable; and the main points that will develop your argument.
II. Body
. First Point, Assertion, Explanation
1. Supporting evidence (examples, facts, statistics, quoted authorities, details, reasons, examples)
2. Supporting evidence
A. Second explanation
1. Support
2. Support
B. Third explanation
1. Support
2. Support
C. Fourth explanation (continue as above with additional explanations as needed.)
1. Support
2. Support
D. Your proposal (if applicable)
E. Address opposing view points
Conclusion
a. Show how explanations (causes) are logical reasons producing the effects discussed; review subject X and subject Y; reiterate your assertion and proposition (if applicable). Reemphasize your thesis in a fresh way, showing how your have achieved your purpose. If you intend to draw to a conclusion about one subject over the other, emphasize that point.
b. Deal with opposing views unless done above in Section F.
c. Appeal to the reader to see how you have come to a logical conclusion.
d. Make a memorable final statement.
Types of Essays
There are many types of essays and each type is dependent on the purpose and sometimes audience. Listed below are some of the essay types and their description.
Expository Essay
Gives directions or instructions about how to complete a task, or how something is done.
Cause/Effect Essay
Focuses on a condition or situation and asks either why? (cause) or what is the result? (effect).
Definition Essay
Defines a topic both concretely (dictionary def.)and abstractly (extended def.). A dictionary often defines a word three ways:
1. the term
2. the class to which it belongs
3. the characteristics that distinguish it.
eg. truck (term) four wheeled vehicle (class) used for transportation (characteristic).
Comparison/Contrast Essay
Shows the differences and/or similarities between two persons, places, things, ideas, etc.
Argumentative or Pro/Con Essay
Your opinion on a subject is argued based on reasoning and understanding.
a) You present objections and refute them
b) You present points supporting your position
Literary Analysis Essay
Focuses on your observations about a book, story, poem, or play.
Character Analysis Essay
Focuses on your observations about a character in literature. Your evaluation of the character is based on what that character says, does, and/or what other characters say about him/her.
Critical essay
This essay is an analysis of a certain reading and basically it is a summary of the point of view presented in this reading and an evaluation of this work.
Exploratory essay
The author basically begins writing the work without having a definite position or attitude to the analyzed subject. This is a “flow” essay as the conclusions come to the author in the Exploratory of writing. It is different fro other essays as it is not aimed to reveal the author’s knowledge on the topic but the ability to learn throughout the Exploratory of writing
Reflective essay
Reflect a personal event or experience of the essay author. The main condition is that it has to be a certain personal experience on which the author has his very own perception. This experience or even is revealed in the essay in order to demonstrate its importance for understanding social relations and the essence of people
Personal Essay
This type of essay has a purpose of revealing the personality of the applicant for a graduate education in a certain field of study. Ordinarily, the applicant is expected to include his personal history and experiences that were vital for this specific educational choice