Writing an English literature essay can be very stressful, especially if you have never had to write an essay for this subject before. The many steps and parts can be hard to understand, making the whole process feel overwhelming before you even start. As an English literature student, I have written many essays before, and remember how hard it felt at the start. However, I can assure you that this gets far easier with practice, and it even becomes fun! In this article, I will give you tips and tricks to write the best essay you can. As well as a simple step-by-step guide to writing one that will simplify the process.
Writing an English literature essay has 3 main parts: planning, writing and editing. Planning is the most important, as it allows you to clearly structure your essay so that it makes logical sense. After you have planned, write the essay, including an introduction, 3-4 main points/paragraphs, and a conclusion. Then check through the spelling and grammar of your essay to ensure it is readable and has hit all of your assessment objectives.
how to write an english essay for a level
A common way of structuring a plan is in the TIPE method. This involves planning each of your main points and sections on a few lines, in the structure of the main essay, making it easy to write out. Always highlight the key word in the question before you start planning, then also annotate any given extracts for ideas. If you have an extract, the main focus of your essay should be on that.
Once you have created your mind map, find a thesis statement related to the question that you have 3-4 main points to support. It can be tempting to write lots of points, but remember, quality is always better than quantity in English Literature essays.
Some people find it difficult to write introductions, often because they have not already got into the feeling of the essay. For this, leaving space at the top of the page to write the introduction after you finish the rest of the essay is a great way to ensure your introduction is top quality. Writing essays out of order is ok, as long as you can still make them flow in a logical way.
Look at how they use quotes, their structure, their main points and their thesis, and compare them to how you write, and to the assessment objectives. Look at their analysis and whether their writing makes sense. This sort of analysis does not involve stealing ideas, but instead learning how best to structure your writing and create an individual style, learning from both good and bad essays.
For example, in an essay on Edmund in "King Lear" I might write: "Edmund has clearly suffered injustices throughout his life due to the position illegitimate children were in. (A point is made and extended via contextual knowledge) His bitter attitude is evident from the harsh language he uses, for example, "why brand they us with base? with baseness? Bastardy? Base, base?" The repitition of "base" and "bastardy" with harsh, plosive alliteration shows his fury at being considered inferior due to the nature of his birth. (A quotation is selected to back up the point and then the language is analysed to draw out further implications)
Are you a learner at C1 English level (advanced)? This section offers writing practice to help you write clear, well-structured texts about complex subjects. Texts include essays, proposals, articles, reports, reviews and emails.
Good English essays pay close attention to detail, noting specific words, phrases and literary devices a writer has used, and to what effect. They quote liberally from the text in order to support each point, deconstructing the writing and analysing the use of language; they look at different interpretations, seeing beyond the surface and picking up on possible deeper meanings and connotations. But they also consider the meaning of the piece as a whole, and the overall effect created by the specific details noted. All this should be considered within the framework of the genre and context of the piece of writing. For instance, a poem by William Wordsworth would be considered within the context of the Romantic poets, and might be compared with work by contemporary poets such as Shelley or Keats; the historical background might also be touched upon where relevant (such as the Industrial Revolution when discussing the poetry of William Blake).
Essay Writing is designed for the student who is ready to write a multi-paragraph paper, is familiar with the organizational process of brainstorming, outlining, rough draft, and editing final copy, and is able to work independently most of the time. It reviews how to write a multi-paragraph paper and focuses on formal essays, introducing the student to college level essay writing. More structure and mechanical requirements are introduced and encouraged.
Make sure you don't use or quote words whose definition or meaning you are not sure about. As a student of English literature, you should make regular use of a good dictionary; many academics recommend the Oxford English Dictionary. Not knowing what a word means or misunderstanding how it is used can undermine a whole argument. When you read and write about authors from previous centuries, you will often have to familiarize yourself with new words. To write good English essays, you must take the time to do this.
Often, the introduction is the hardest part to write. Here you make your first impression, introduce the topic, provide background information, define key terms perhaps, and, most important, present your thesis, upon which the entire essay hangs. Many people find it easiest to write the introduction last or to write a very rough introduction that they change significantly once the draft is complete.
The first steps for writing any college essay are coming up with a strong thesis statement and composing a rough introduction. Once you've done that, you can collect information that supports your thesis, outline your essay's main points, and start writing your body paragraphs. Before you can submit the essay, though, you'll also need to write a compelling conclusion paragraph.
Laila Abdalla, Ph.D., is a career coach and advocate for individuals on temporary state assistance. She taught college and graduate courses in English and writing for 20+ years. Abdalla devotes her teaching, leadership, and career to equity, diversity, and inclusion.\r\n\r\nAbove all, she is committed to her clients' and students' complete experience, raising awareness of BIPOC issues in employment, language, community, and culture. She leads with equity in management and nonprofit volunteering and continues to develop her own understandings of these complex issues \u2014 both professionally and in her lived experiences.\r\n\r\nAbdalla has her Ph.D. in English from McGill University in Montreal, Canada.\r\n\r\nAbdalla is a paid member of the Red Ventures Education Integrity Network.","image":"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/highereducation\/images\/c_fill,g_face,f_auto,q_auto,h_60,w_60\/v1659637724\/BestColleges.com\/laila-abdalla\/laila-abdalla.png?_i=AA","link":"https:\/\/www.bestcolleges.com\/contributors\/laila-abdalla\/","linkedin":"","twitter":"","web":"","career":"","subject":"Anti-bias ","categories":["name":"Reviewer","slug":"reviewer","name":"Writer","slug":"writer"],"interviews":[],"events":[]}],"date":"November 4, 2020","content":"The thesis is central to an argumentative essay. These strategies and thesis statement examples will teach you how to write a quality essay introduction.","id":629},"link":"https:\/\/www.bestcolleges.com\/blog\/essay-introduction\/","image":"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/highereducation\/image\/upload\/f_auto,fl_lossy,q_auto\/v1604426294\/BestColleges.com\/Blog\/BC-Blog_Collge-Essay-Introduction_11.4.20_FTR.jpg","title":"How to Write an Essay Introduction","author":["id":12104,"name":"Laila Abdalla, Ph.D.","description":"Laila Abdalla, Ph.D., is a career coach and advocate for individuals on temporary state assistance. She taught college and graduate courses in English and writing for 20+ years. Abdalla devotes her teaching, leadership, and career to equity, diversity, and inclusion.\r\n\r\nAbove all, she is committed to her clients' and students' complete experience, raising awareness of BIPOC issues in employment, language, community, and culture. She leads with equity in management and nonprofit volunteering and continues to develop her own understandings of these complex issues \u2014 both professionally and in her lived experiences.\r\n\r\nAbdalla has her Ph.D. in English from McGill University in Montreal, Canada.\r\n\r\nAbdalla is a paid member of the Red Ventures Education Integrity Network.","image":"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/highereducation\/images\/c_fill,g_face,f_auto,q_auto,h_60,w_60\/v1659637724\/BestColleges.com\/laila-abdalla\/laila-abdalla.png?_i=AA","link":"https:\/\/www.bestcolleges.com\/contributors\/laila-abdalla\/","linkedin":"","twitter":"","web":"","career":"","subject":"Anti-bias ","categories":["name":"Reviewer","slug":"reviewer","name":"Writer","slug":"writer"],"interviews":[],"events":[]],"date":"November 21, 2022","content":"College students write many papers, but what's the best way to compose an essay introduction? Learn how to come up with an interesting hook and thesis.","id":554,"link":"https:\/\/www.bestcolleges.com\/blog\/how-to-write-a-body-paragraph\/","image":"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/highereducation\/image\/upload\/f_auto,fl_lossy,q_auto\/v1613603198\/BestColleges.com\/Blog\/BC-Blog_HowToWriteBodyParagraph_2.18.2021_FTR.jpg","title":"How to Write a Body Paragraph for a College Essay","author":["id":12143,"name":"Staff Writers","description":"The staff writers for BestColleges collaborate to deliver unique, student-driven content on topics such as career development, college life, and college planning.","image":"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/highereducation\/images\/c_fill,g_face,f_auto,q_auto,h_60,w_60\/v1668538345\/BestColleges.com\/logo-circle_55998d056d\/logo-circle_55998d056d.png?_i=AA","link":"https:\/\/www.bestcolleges.com\/contributors\/staff-writers\/","linkedin":"","twitter":"","web":"","career":"","subject":"","categories":["name":"Writer","slug":"writer"],"interviews":[],"events":[]],"date":"November 22, 2022","content":"Part of doing well in college is learning how to write a body paragraph, which should support your essay's thesis claim through evidence and cogent analysis.","id":550]; Explore More College Resources View all Strategies for Writing a Compelling Thesis Statement by Laila Abdalla, Ph.D. November 4, 2020 How to Write an Essay Introduction by Laila Abdalla, Ph.D. November 4, 2020 How to Write a Body Paragraph for a College Essay by Staff Writers February 18, 2021 BestColleges.com is an advertising-supported site. Featured or trusted partner programs and all school search, finder, or match results are for schools that compensate us. This compensation does not influence our school rankings, resource guides, or other editorially-independent information published on this site. 2ff7e9595c
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