6. Planning the Essay and Writing the Outline
6.1 Subject
Remember you must answer the question proposed. Look for Topic, Focus and Comment. Topic and Focus should be the core of your documentation whereas the Comment or Comment Word will respond to the use of a specific type of language and also a specific arrangement of ideas. Here, there is a list of the most common Comment Key-Words with an explanation for each:
* Analyse: requires an answer which considers all the factors of the statement or concept and must be methodically and logically organise.
* Compare: requires a balanced answer which emphasizes the similarities as well as the differences between the issues proposed. ¨ Contrast: requires an answer which points out only the differences between two or more items.
* Criticise: requires a balanced answer focused on the analysis of the merits and faults of the subject of the question.
*¨Define: requires a precise answer which explains the meaning of a concept. Examples may be added.
*Discuss: requires a detailed answer which takes into account the explanation of the concept, supportive information, illustrations, points for and against, and clarification of facts
* Evaluate: requires an answer similar to the one in discuss but in this case the writer must adopt a clear position either for or against the concept discussed.
*Explain: requires a detailed answer which describes and makes clear an idea by revealing relevant facts and giving adequate reasons.
¨*Illustrate: requires an answer containing a list of examples, charts, pictures, etc. to support the subject of the question.
*Justify: requires an answer which contains a series of reasons for a position or argument.
*Prove / Disprove: requires an answer which supports the evidence connected with a proposition. Prove has to include arguments in favour whereas disprove includes arguments against.
*State: requires an answer that expresses relevant points without discussing them.
*Summarise /Outline: requires an answer containing a brief account of the main points about a subject. Details must be omitted.
*Trace: requires a chronological or logical and descriptive answer which explains the development of a process.
6.2. Brainstorrming
It is the best way of getting started with your essay. This technique consists in thinking for a couple of minutes about the topic chosen and jotting down as many ideas as possible as they come to your mind. You do not need to write complete sentences, just note down words or phrases. For example:
TOPIC:
Ideas: -------
It is also useful to write some questions next to your ideas. By doing this, you will be proposing possible subjects for discussion. Example:
TOPIC:
Ideas /questions: - - - -
In order to make brainstorming more entertaining, you can write your ideas in the form of a diagram. Use arrows to connect ideas and circle the main points, write in different colours to make it more straightforward. Visual representations are more easily stored in your mind. Example:
It is a good idea to practice brainstorming in groups. Discuss a point with some friends or engage a conversation with a professor. This will allow you to open your mind to a more varied range of points of view and perspectives on the same idea.
6.3. Sources of Information and Focus
Now you have build up your notes and your brainstorming map, it is time for a Fifth reading. Read all the material you have written on your notes and group ideas into sections. Discard irrelevant ideas. Take into account your own ideas, which should be in the brainstorming map and also in your notes.
The information of your essay will be based on your notes and its focus will depend on your personal experience and observation. Make interviews and questionnaires if you consider they will help you focus the information of your essay.
6.4. Settle on a Tentative Focus
As you explore your subject, you will begin to see possible ways to focus your material. At this point, try to settle on a tentative central idea, which could change as your drafts evolve.
In any case, with focus on mind, then formulate a Tentative Thesis in a Thesis Sentence.
A Tentative Thesis is the central idea; it is the main point of your essay and will be developed in the body of the text.
This central idea can be asserted in one sentence: the Thesis Sentence. It is the sentence that expresses a generalisation of the main idea of your essay. It is usually included in the introductory paragraph of your essay, preparing readers for the supporting details that will follow.
· It should be a generalisation, not a fact. Because a thesis must prepare readers for facts and details, it cannot be a fact itself; it must always be a generalisation which demands proof or further development. For example:
'The first polygraph was developed by Dr. John A. Larson in 1921'
'Because the polygraph has not been proved reliable, even under the most controlled conditions, its use by private employers should be banned'.
· It should be limited, not too broad. Although a thesis must be a generalisation, it must not be too general. For example:
· It should be sharply focused, not too vague. In fact, you could blueprint, i.e. outline the major sections of your paper, e.g.
6.5. Deciding upon the arrangement of information
The essay you are writing has a central idea, which must be structured into paragraphs and supported by a number of themes. Accordingly, These themes must be organized and linked together into sequences.
Paragraph 1: Theme A: Sequence a
Sequence a
Theme B:Sequence b
Sequence b
Theme C: Sequence c
Sequence c
Themes and sequences will follow a suitable method of development (or pattern of organisation) according to the comment word and topic of your essay title. Although paragraphs (and indeed whole essays) may be patterned in any number of ways, certain methods of writing development occur frequently, either alone or in combination. The most common ones are:
· General & Specific.
Generalizations are very useful in order to start dealing with a topic. However, they need to be supported with more specific information. More than one general sentence might be used to express a general idea, bearing in mind that after a general idea is stated, the immediate insertion of illustrations or examples is essential to refine the statement.
· Time order.
This kind of writing arrangement consists of the narration of a series of events or facts following one after another. It is often used in history, to tell plots, to describe a process and combined with other types of writing arrangements it is used to introduce backgrounds. Time order is not compulsorily chronological, you might decide to arrange the events in the order in which they happened or you might choose to begin with a dramatic moment and then flash back to the events that led back to it.
It is important that you make use of time indicators to specify when exactly the facts occurred. Some examples of time indicators are:
Then / At that time / In those days / last month / next Christmas / in 2001 / At the beginning of the year / at 5 o'clock / Nowadays / Ten years ago / within two years / etc.
Use time relators to show the relationship between different times:
Before: before T / until T / by T /up to T / In the weeks leading up to T / In the months prior to T / etc.
At the same time: in the meantime / at that (very) moment / simultaneously / while / when / etc.
After: afterwards / subsequently / then / next / after a while / later on / in due course / eventually / finally / at last / in the long run / etc.
· Spatial order.
When describing places, the most common writing arrangement in academic writing is the bird's eye view. However, you might also describe a place according to a pedestrian's view. Whichever you may choose, order plays a central role. Arrange items from general to particular, from whole to part, from large to small, from outside to inside, from top to bottom, from left to right, etc.
· Order of Climax.
When ideas are presented in the order of climax, they build toward a conclusion. It keeps the most dramatic facts or examples until the end.
6.5.1. techniques of presenting information:
These patterns of writing must be complemented with a good command of the following techniques of presenting information:
* Examples and Illustrations:
They are essential to support general ideas and facts. An example is shorter and more accurate whereas an illustration is an extended example which requires several sentences. These words may help you introduce your examples within the text:
Phrases: For instance, For example
Nouns: examples, illustrations, instances, cases, evidence
Verbs: show, exemplify, illustrate
Determiners: such, such as
Abbreviations: e.g. (Latin: exempli gratia)
Illustrations can also be visual, i.e. figures and tables. Figures can be any type of graphic illustration: maps, diagrams, photographs and drawings. They help clarify some ideas presented. Try to name them to facilitate their being referenced:
Fig.1 shows…
Table 1 shows…
From Fig. 1…
(See Table 1)
* Description: it sketches a portrait of a person, place or object using specific details that appeal to our senses. It must combine enumeration of characteristics plus explanations. In biology, descriptions are usually complemented with the use of diagrams and tables.
* Definition: they are very useful to explain specialised words in essays. Take into account that the reader may not understand the meaning of such terms and thus they need to be clarified. Words belonging to a specialised semantic field must be defined and words that have more than one meaning must be clarified. Similarly, acronyms must be explained.Definitions can be divided into two types: Naming and Formal.
Naming definitions follow this pattern:
| class | Wh- | Distinctive features | Verb in the passive | Term to define |
| A glass or plastic container | in which | drinks and other liquids are kept | is called / known as/etc. | bottle |
Formal definitions follow this pattern:
| Term to define | Verb 'to be' | Determiner 'a' ,'the' | class | Wh- + distinctive features |
| Language | is | a | System of communication | which consists of a set of sounds and symbols…… |
Extended definitions include the features of formal definitions as well as additional information that may include other details such as descriptions, examples, classification, comparison, etc. Whereas naming and formal definitions comprise only one sentence, extended definitions can comprise from more than one sentences to a series of paragraphs, always depending on the complexity of the concept to define.
*Process: Writing about a process requires the use of the present simple tense of the passive voice but this also depends on the writer's decision to emphasize either the process or the person who is carrying it out. The best way to describe a process is step by step following a logical- chronological order. Use one sentence for each step. Once you have pointed out all the steps, go to back to the first step and start to develop them. A connection between steps is essential, these are some connectors that will help you at this point:
Beginning of process : First(ly), To begin with, Initially,…
Middle of process: Second(ly), Third(ly), Then, Next, Subsequently,…
End of process: Finally, Eventually, Lastly…
*Comparison and contrast: Comparison draws attention to similarities between two or more items whereas contrast focuses only on their differences. The most suitable way of arranging these similarities and differences is shown below:
Comparison: "vertical arrangement"
Generalisation
Characteristics of A: 1, 2..
(compared to)
Characteristics of B: 1, 2.. …
Contrast: "horizontal arrangement"
Generalisation
Characteristic 1 of A
(in contrast to)
Characteristic 1 in B
Characteristic 2 in A
(in contrast to)
Characteristic 2 in B …
Some useful connectors that link these characteristics are the following:
A is exactly /practically/more or less /almost /approximately the same as B
A is not exactly/entirely the same as B
A is totally /completely different from B
A is not quite as [ADJECTIVE] as B
A and B are different/similar with respect to X.
* Cause and effect: Effect may be stated in the topic sentence, with the causes listed in the body of the paragraph. The relationship between the cause and the effect should be clearly drawn. Use appropriate constructions such as the following:
The cause of /reason for E is/was C.
The effect/result/consequence of C is E(noun/verbal phrase)
C. Therefore,/Thus,/As a result,/Consequently,/Because of this,/For this reason,/Now(present) E.
Because/As/Since/Now(that) C, E.
C often causes/results in/leads to E.
E is often caused by/due to/because of C.
E(verbal phrase) because of/as a result of/on account of/owing to C(noun).
E(verbal phrase) because/since/as there is C(noun).
When/If there is C, (then)E.
* Classification and division: this consists in dividing something into groups according to a criterion. In order to do it, you will need special vocabulary and constructions. Some is given below:
Determiners: (numerals)/Several/A number of/Various/The following/Main/General/Broad…
Nouns: criterion/criteria(pl.)/basis/bases(pl.)/features/ aspects/ characteristics/kinds/sorts/(sub-) categories/(sub-) classes/(sub-) groups/(sub-)types/(sub-)divisions/families/order…
Verbs: to (sub-)classify/(sub-)categorise/(sub-)group/(sub-) divide/arrange (in)/fall into/place in/ distinguish(between)/differentiate (between/from)…
Phrases:
There are X types/classes/etc. of Y: A, B and C.
There are X types/classes/etc. of Y.These are A, B and C.
The X types/classes/etc. of Y are A, B and C.
Y consists of /can be divided into X types/classes/etc. : A, B and C.
Y consists of /can be divided into X types/classes/etc. These are A, B and C.
A, B and C are types/classes/etc. of Y.
*Analogy: it consists in drawing comparisons between items that appear to have little in common. It is used to make familiar the unfamiliar and to promote fresh thoughts.
*Generalisation: It consists in interpreting information without giving too much detail. It requires the use of a cautious language. Generalisations can be made in terms of frequency, quantity and probability:
Frequency Generalisations: Always/usually/normally/generally/regularly/often/frequently/sometimes/occasionally/rarely/seldom/hardly ever/scarcely ever/never…
Quantity generalisations: All/Every/Each/a majority (of)/many/much/a lot (of)/enough/some/a number of/several/a minority (of)/(a) few/(a) little/not any/none…
Probability Generalisations: certainly/definitely/undoubtedly/clearly/presumably/likely/probably/possibly/conceivably/perhaps/unlikely/uncertain…
Some verbs can also express probability: will/is/are/must/have to/should/would/ought to/may/might/can/could/wont/is not/are not/cannot/could not…
6.5.2. Paragraph Writing
Having dealt with the methods of writing development, that is the structure that your essay will follow , and with some techniques of presenting information, we turn to focus more specifically on the structure of paragraphs. A paragraph should contain first a main idea (a new idea means a new paragraph) stated in main sentences, second underpinning ideas that develop the main one and finally examples, evidence and illustrations. However, a paragraph containing all these elements cannot be completed and well-drafted if its parts do not fit with each other. Therefore it should contain cohesion and coherence.
Cohesion refers to the way in which current information is linked to previous and following information. The best way of achieving cohesion within a paragraph is the use of connectors. Connectors can link topics, paragraphs, words an phrases. Depending on the nature of the connection between items, connectors will provide different meanings. We have already seen some of them in this section: time relation, exemplification, summation, parts of a process, comparison, contrast, etc.
Coherence has to do with the overall meaning of the text. A piece of writing will have coherence if it successfully transmit its main idea.
6.6 Write a formal outline
