How to Write an Essay

The essay, in English essay, is a type of text that you will have to write in the Cambridge First, Advanced, and Proficiency exams, in which it is a mandatory part of the test. On the other hand, it consists of one of the most common types of text within the British educational system, so if you are going on Erasmus, it can also be useful.

How to Write an Essay in English

Next, I will explain how to write an essay in English, what aspects are the most important to take into account, and some tips to improve them.

Who Reads Essays?

Beyond the literary genre that four geeks read, the essay is only read by teachers who ask for it or, in the case of Cambridge exams, by the corrector. This is very important to keep in mind, as it will allow you to choose the right registry. You are neither writing to the king nor are you a compadreo; keep a neutral style.

This means that you should not use colloquialisms, informal connectors (for example, “so” or “and” at the beginning of a sentence) or vulgarisms. Do not use very formal expressions typical of motivation letters either. Look for the center, neither one end nor the other, nor the other.

Why Do I Write My Essay?

The essay should always be an argumentative text. That is to say: you are trying to convince the reader of your opinion, relying on reasons. This last section is important: it is not about explaining why I like popcorn but why popcorn is good. You have to try to give universal arguments, that can be applied to others. So, “because they remind me of when I was little I went to the movies with my grandmother and we bought them before the movie” is not a valid reason. If, however, you argue that “the association of popcorn and cinema is not new and, for many, brings back memories of childhood or adolescence”, you are already creating a more universal argument.

In Cambridge exams, you will always be asked to argue why one option is better than another. Always make it clear which one you have decided on.

Paragraphs

Every essay should begin with an introduction and end with a conclusion. The introduction should serve to give the reader an idea of the topic you are going to deal with. For example:

“The cinema is a spectacle and, from the Roman bread and circuses to the macaroni in the bulls, viewers have always loved to eat. But what is the best food to watch a movie?”

Here it is already clear the topic that you are going to deal with. However, you have not entered the matter yet. You must wait until the following paragraphs to start giving the options that you are going to consider and, above all, your arguments. It is very important that each option you enter is supported by a series of valid reasons. There are many ways to do this:

• Give examples (Homer Simpson as an example of the influence of cinema or television)
• Logical argumentation (if you eat pipes you leave them very dirty)
• Historical argument (cf. Romans and circus)
• The internal structure of the paragraphs of your essay is also important. Always leave the most important argument for the end, since it will be the one that your reader will remember the most.

“For example, from the moment you walk into the lobby, the smell of popcorn heralds one of the most appetizing options. The association of popcorn and cinema is not new and, for many, it brings back memories of childhood or adolescence. Likewise, the cinema itself serves to perpetuate this association, since there are many films in which the characters eat popcorn. However, they have one major drawback: the crunch that accompanies chewing is distracting to other viewers of the film.”

Pro and Con

In the English tradition, it is very common to pick up the arguments against your opinion in your essay. This gives the text an appearance of neutrality that serves to make the reader more willing to agree with you. So don’t be afraid to include arguments that go against your conclusion. Just be sure to give more arguments for or rebut the arguments against.

Conclusion

The conclusion is not the paragraph in which you explain the reason for your opinion. That should already be done before. Here you should not include reasons, arguments, or examples. At the conclusion, you simply have to explain which option you opt for. If you have written the previous paragraphs well, the reader should be able to deduce your conclusion before reading it. You should already be convinced and waiting no longer to read what you now think.

“So despite the strong association between popcorn and the movies, I think strawberries are the best movie food. Their flavor and lack of crunch make them excellent.”

How do I get to it?

The first thing in any writing test is not to write but to think. Think carefully about what you want to say. What option are you going to choose? Because? Write all your ratios on a diagram. Do not cut yourself and write all that occur to you.

Once you’ve written them all, it’s time to make a sieve. Choose the ones that seem best to you and try to organize them in the essay structure. Some of your main ideas can serve as a supporting idea or explanation. In other cases, they will help you come up with a good argument to justify. Sometimes you just have to throw them away.

When you have selected and related ideas you can start writing. Make sure you maintain good cohesion and also structure the paragraphs, not just the text as a whole. Add examples when you see necessary.

Once you have all the paragraphs of your essay written, start the revision and correction. This is the most laborious part. You should check that all your ideas are clearly linked, that you have not made spelling mistakes, and, above all, that you have clearly answered the question!

Finally, look at what level of language you have used in your text. Is it a simple language? Is there a word that you can change for another, more accurate, more appropriate? Is there a point where you can include complex grammar (conditionals, inversions, etc?) These little tweaks will make your text display all the language you know.