3 Tips For Creating Engaging Essays
Introduction
You want to write a good, engaging essay for your English 'O' levels composition or your 'A' levels GP paper. You've tried many ways and listened to advice from many different people, but nothing seems to work.
I am a lawyer. My writing skills are why clients pay me S$400 an hour to create legal contracts and make written submissions to court. Writing, at its core, is a skill. This is a good thing - with the right methodology and sufficient practice, you can definitely improve your grades within a short amount of time.
The following are 3 short tips that you can apply straight away and you should be able to see your English / GP grades jump by 1 or 2 grades. Try it for yourself if you don't believe me.
1. State Your Conclusion First
The key to any good argumentative essay is to make it easy for your reader to read and understand your writing. Unless you are writing a story (which, in this case, you aren't), you don't want to leave your conclusion only to the end. Although it is counter-intuitive, conclusions should always be stated upfront so that the reader / teacher understands from your very beginning few paragraphs what your essay is seeking to establish - this is called "setting the context".
This also applies to every single one of the paragraphs you write. Consider the following examples -
Example A: Wesley was part of the Gifted Education Program. He scored 260 for his PSLE, 8 points for 'O' levels (with 'A1's for English and Literature) and 4 'A's for 'A' levels (with an 'A1' for GP). He graduated in the top 50% of his NUS Law cohort and practiced law at a top-tier law firm (Rajah & Tann LLP). Therefore, Wesley is more than qualified to tutor you or your child in English or GP.
Example B: Wesley is more than qualified to tutor you or your child in English or GP. Wesley was part of the Gifted Education Program. He scored 260 for his PSLE, 8 points for 'O' levels (with 'A1's for English and Literature) and 4 'A's for 'A' levels (with an 'A1' for GP). He graduated in the top 50% of his NUS Law cohort and practiced law at a top-tier law firm (Rajah & Tann LLP).
Which one was easier to digest and follow? If you are honest, you are likely to say Example B. For most of us reading Example A the first time, we don't know what the point of the paragraph is until we get to the end. However, if we read Example B, we know immediately from the first sentence what the entire paragraph is seeking to establish.
Remember - the goal is to allow your reader / teacher to be able to follow your arguments in a logical way without having to re-read your writing to search for clues and context.
2. Have A Balanced View
We are all humans - so are your readers / teachers.
Part of the human condition is to understand that none of us are perfect and similarly, no one single viewpoint is perfect. Opinion and argumentative writing is not like mathematics - it is not as clear as 1 + 1 = 2.
Topics in such essays are usually deliberately chosen to provoke discussion. Overly one-sided views will usually not be taken well by your reader / teacher (unless he/she takes exactly the same view as you - but this is very unlikely). Conversely, balanced and well-reasoned views shows you off as being much more credible and trustworthy.
Let's consider the following examples -
Example A: Wesley is more than qualified to tutor you or your child in English / GP. This is because Wesley is a wonder-kid and managed to achieve academic success at all levels. Wesley cruised past law school, making it into the top 50% of his cohort and secured a job with one of the most prestigious law firms in Singapore. You or your child should sign up with Wesley immediately!
Example B: Wesley is more than qualified to tutor you or your child in English / GP. Wesley scored 'A1's for English and Literature for his 'O' levels and scored an 'A1' for GP for his 'A' levels. Despite his strong command of English, he is weaker in his command of Chinese, which is why he is unable to assist students looking for Chinese tuition. Nevertheless, if you or your child requires assistance in English / GP, Wesley can use his strengths in English to give you or your child a head-start!
Again, which did you feel more comfortable following? Most people would prefer Example B because it is well-balanced and resonates with us as human beings much better.
In general, if you take a stand on an issue, you should have about 3 arguments supporting your stand, and 2 arguments which go against your stand.
3. Write Legibly
This is actually one of the most important points. If the reader / teacher cannot read your handwriting, he/she cannot even begin to give you any marks at all. If the reader / teacher can read your handwriting but takes a lot of effort to re-read your writing because certain words / phrases are illegible, they will penalize you for it.
Example A:
Example B:
Which is easier for you to read? I definitely prefer Example B - and your reader / teacher would too.
Remember that your reader / teacher has to go through at least 20 of these scripts in a day. If you persist in using handwriting like the one in Example A, your reader / teacher will definitely mark you down for it even if your content is beautifully crafted and your structure and logic flow seamlessly.
If I cannot read it, I cannot understand it. If I cannot understand it, I cannot give you any marks for it. It's as simple as that.
Concluding Remarks
Apply these 3 tips immediately and I can guarantee that your grades should at least improve by 1 or 2 grades.
Getting to an 'A1' requires you to practice these skills (amongst other skills), while putting in the effort to read widely to absorb content and to find your own writing style.
You can get to an 'A1' yourself - it just requires a lot of hard work and huge investments of your time. You can save a lot of time by learning from an experienced and professional writer, especially a fully qualified and practicing lawyer.