LAN 123: LECTURE NOTES (COHORT 2017)

EXPOSITORY WRITING

The kind of writing usually required for written assignments is called ‘expository’.
Think of ‘expose’ as presenting all the relevant information you have read about
on the topic, and ‘position’ as meaning that you should take a stance on the topic.
So in your assignments you should give your opinion and back it up with reasoned
arguments and support from your reading.

Writing Model/Theory

When we talk about theories, we are simply referring to a set of ideas that are
meant to explain why things happen the way they do. In most cases these are
assumptions. You must be aware that there are a number of theories that attempt to
explain away people write.

When we look at theories in writing, we look at explanations that give us insight

into good writing.

Before civilization began, communication was mainly a survival mechanism: keep

the fire going; don’t make any noise; find more food; search for a lake on the other
side of that hill (White, 1986:3)

Communication is still necessary for our survival, but the need has become more
complex. There are billions of us now, not just thousands. We are a global society,
not scattered, isolated tribes. And thanks to that mode of communication known as
writing, our thoughts and visions, our urgent messages, can be reproduced,
preserved, and put to any use.

Writing and Thinking

Another special quality of writing is its capacity to extend the range of human
consciousness. When you sit down to write you are engaging in several acts of
consciousness, not just one. Imagine, for example, that you are writing an article
on how to develop your own photographs. Many different types of thoughts will be
spinning around in your head, including the following four examples:

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  Content thoughts: What can I say about the topic at hand? What should I
say? What are the best examples to use? How specific should I be (e.g.,
discuss the chemical reactions of developer on film emulsion; the reaction of
the fixer on the newly developed images)?

 Organization thoughts: How should I begin? with an anecdote? with a

“pep talk” on the joys of developing one’s own film? Should I use a step-by-
step format? What step should I present first? Should I divide each section
with subheads? with a numbering system? What should I say in the
conclusion?

 Style thoughts: Should I use a technical vocabulary? with or without

parenthetical definitions? Should I adopt a formal level of word usage? a
witty, informal one?

 Purpose thoughts: Who is my audience? Beginning photographers? adults?

young people? What points do I want to emphasize accordingly? Do I want
the article to be purely informational? Do I want to argue for a certain
technique of film developing?

Audience

Let’s consider further the purpose thoughts relating to audience, to the people who
are going to read what you write. Audience awareness is one of the most crucial
aspects of learning to write well, and one of the easiest to overlook. Any kind of
writing, except perhaps private notebook jottings, is public communication.
Whenever you put words on paper, you are almost always writing for a readership
of some kind, large or small, general or specialized. The larger the audience, the
more public the communication needs to be; that is, you need to present your
thoughts in a manner that is acceptable and comprehensible to most readers,
regardless of their backgrounds. Writing for a general audience means that you
must adopt a standard of usage, of correctness, of organization. Such a standard
might, for example, compel you to use and spell words according to established
dictionary definitions and spelling conventions.

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Writing an Essay

Definition of an essay

An essay is a group of paragraphs that support a controlling idea called thesis. In

simple terms an essay has a couple of paragraphs put together in order to convey
ideas. If someone writes on a topic in less than two sentences that does not
constitute an essay. Essay paragraphs are composed on a specific topic in order to
come up with ideas that are properly organized, nicely written and professionally
presented.

Parts of an essay

The Greek philosopher Aristotle likened an essay to an animal. He contended that

any essay has head, body and tail just like an animal has. In his words, the head of
an essay is the introduction, the body is the actual body where your facts are
properly explained and the tail denotes the conclusion. In line with this analogy,
you should always remember that an essay must have an introduction, body and
conclusion.

The introduction

This is the introductory paragraph of an essay. Sentences put in an introduction

aim at attracting the reader’s interest as such deliberate effort needs to be made so
that readers’ attention will be properly grabbed. Within the introduction you find a
thesis statement. This is the controlling statement that will develop in the essay. In
other words, a thesis refers to a statement or opinion that is discussed in a
logical way and presented with evidence in order to prove that it is true. It
constitutes the main idea in your piece of writing.

Elements of a thesis

The thesis statement consists of a subject and a treatment. The subject is what you
intend to write about and it indicates the general area to be dealt with in your essay.
The statement refers to what you intend to do with the subject. Let us have an
example that sheds more light on these two concepts:

 Playing soccer is a worthwhile career in this modern age.

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The above thesis statement can be analysed as follows;

 Playing soccer: subject

 is a worthwhile career in this modern age: treatment

If you were to write an essay on the above topic you were supposed to talk about
soccer and you would certainly explain how today soccer is profitable in
comparison with soccer that was played several years back.

In a nutshell, the thesis statement:

 tells the reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter
under discussion.
 is a road map for the paper. It is a guide that gives readers a preview of what
to expect from the rest of your essay.
 directly answers the question asked of you.
 is usually a single sentence somewhere in your first paragraph that presents
your argument to the readers. The rest of the paper, the body of the essay,
gathers and organizes evidence that will persuade the reader of the logic of
your presentation.

Sources of theses

You can get a thesis from

a. choosing your own thesis. This is arrived at after lengthy thinking

b. an assignment given to you by your lecturer. Generally lecturers will give
you a thesis statement on which you will be required to advance some
argument.
c. an examination question. Sometimes, you get thesis statements from
examination questions that require you to supply essay answers.

Writing the thesis

Writing a good thesis starts with sound thinking. Before you develop an argument
on any topic, you have to collect and organize evidence, look for possible relations
between known facts (such as surprising contrasts or similarities), and think about
the significance of these relationships. Once you do this, you will probably have a
“working thesis,” a basic or main idea, an argument that you think you can support
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with evidence but that may need adjustments along the way. If this task is done
properly, you are likely to come up with an interesting subject and a well-defined
treatment.

A well-defined treatment is one that can be developed with supporting

information and gives you just the right amount of information that fully supports
your controlling statement. You should exercise care when choosing a thesis to
ensure that your thesis is not vague, too broad or too narrow. Let us look at this
in depth:

 Vague thesis – Private Schools (Subject) are good institutions

(Treatment). This thesis is vague because the treatment is so general. It does
not really give us an impression of what we are looking for when we say
“good”. As a result if we were to write an essay based on this, we will
certainly lack direction. Worse still, the concept of ‘good’ is subjective and
difficult to perceive when advancing our arguments.

 Better thesis – Private Schools (Subject) produce better MSCE results

than Government institutions (Treatment). We are saying that this thesis
is better because it is focused as a result our essay is going to elucidate how
private schools perform well compared with government institutions.

 Too broad a thesis: Private Schools (Subject) have many problems

(Treatment). This thesis is too broad because the treatment is open-ended
and generic. It does not limit us on how many problems we should tackle in
our essay as a result we may be left in dilemma – whether to write a short
essay or an extremely long one. A good thesis should strive to give a hint of
what the writer is supposed to do. This has been highlighted below:

 Better thesis: Private Schools (Subject) are generally more crowded than
Government schools (Treatment). This thesis is good because it is focused
in that the writer is going to concentrate on the problem of overcrowding in
private schools.

 Too narrow a thesis – Zomba was declared a city in 1960. This thesis is
narrow in the sense that the writer is not given much room to flex the writing
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 muscle. Obviously, it would be difficult to write more than two paragraphs
on such a topic. It is a simple fact that does not require much support. Such a
statement is sometimes called a dead-end statement; there is no place to go
with it. This can be improved as below.

 Better thesis – Zomba is Malawi’s most expensive city. This thesis is

much better because if you were to write an essay, you would take a
comparative approach which would give a lot of information.

Functions of the introduction

The introduction serves the following purposes:

 It attracts the reader’s interest. The introductory paragraph should start with
several sentences that attract the readers’ attention and encourage them to
continue reading the essay.
 It states the thesis statement. Here the introduction brings to light the thesis
statement by advancing the thesis that will be developed in the essay and
sometimes it provides a plan of development or a preview of major points
supporting the thesis.
 It leads the readers smoothly into the support paragraphs, i.e. the body of the
essay. These supporting paragraphs should be listed in the order in which
they will appear in the essay.
 It supplies any background information that may be needed to understand
the essay.

Types of introduction

When writing an essay, you are required to use any one method or a combination
of methods, to introduce your subject in an interesting way to the readers.

1. A direct statement of the thesis statement

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 With this introduction, you simply state the thesis statement directly. Attempt to
give a preview of what your thesis is all about and how you will go about
writing your essay.

2. Background information

In this type, you give details about something. Make sure that you elaborate the
way things are done or happen. For instance, if you were to write an essay on
problems faced by poorly established private schools, you could firstly provide
information on how private schools came into being and what happens when
people are opening private schools. This background information may set the
platform that will be fully expounded in the body

Example:

Mzuzu University opened its doors in 1999 as the second public university in
Malawi. Prior to that, there was only one university in Malawi. Mzuzu
University was opened with the aim of training secondary school teachers.

3. Definition of terms

In this type of introduction, writers can start their essay by firstly providing a
definition for the most important terms in the thesis. For example, if the essay is
on impacts of deforestation, the writer might begin by providing a definition for
the term deforestation. He or she may also go on to talk about causes of
deforestation and this may act as a preview of what he or she will say in the
body.

Example:

Global warming is the rising of temperatures to the levels never experienced

before that has made the earth much warmer than it used to be.

4. Use of quotation

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 Another method of introducing your essay is by using a quotation. This
quotation can be something you have read in a book or article. It can also be
something that you have heard: a popular saying or proverb, a current or recent
advertising slogan, or a favourite expression used by friends or families. Using
a quotation in your introductory paragraph lets you add someone else’s voice to
your own.

Example:

According to Rubenstein “most developing countries are in danger of

desertification due to tremendous pressure being exerted on forests due to
rising populations”.

5. Use of a shocking statement

You deliberately start with a startling fact that is aimed at raising curiosity in
your readers. This will motivate your readers as they will want to find out more
about the shocker that you have given them.

Example:

If you wanted to attack private schools, you could start with a statement that
may be bent at shocking your readers, i.e. talking about lack of teaching and
learning resources, immorality of the teachers and also absence of portable
water and good toilet facilities.

6. Ask one or more questions

Here you may ask a rhetorical question that simply wants the reader to think
about possible answers or you ask a question you intended to answer yourself
later in the essay. For example, if you want to write a paper on love, you would
come up with questions such as below:

“What is love? How do we really know that we are really in love? When we
meet that special person, how can we tell that our feelings are genuine and not
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 merely infatuation? And, if they are genuine, will these feelings last? Love…”
(Langan, 2003: 89)

7. Use of an incident or brief story

Stories are naturally interesting. They appeal to a reader’s curiosity. In your

introduction, an anecdote will grab the reader’s attention right away. The story
should be brief and should be related to your main idea. The incident in the
story can be something that happened to you; something you have heard about,
or something you have read about in a newspaper or magazine.

Example:

A couple of months ago, I was travelling to the Northern Region. I left Lilongwe
early in the morning. And as I drove, I kept looking sideways with an interest on
our forests. My eyes didn’t like what they say. Most forests have been cleared
and I was particularly touched by the way trees are being removed in
Chikangawa Forest. The situation is very appalling. I met many trucks carrying
timber and yet very little re-forestation is taking place. I felt like crying.

N.B.: When developing an introduction, make sure that you do not use some
mechanical methods (methods that are normal but just demonstrate the routine way
of doing things which may sadly be boring because they have been used over and
over again), which though simple and pretty effective, take away the interest in the
reader’s mind. In other words, mechanical introductions sound dry. Examples of
mechanical introductions are:

 The purpose of this essay is to write about…

 I will now write a paper about…

The above examples need to be avoided, if not, make sure that you combine them
with some better ways of introducing essays as we have discussed.

Activity: (20 minutes)

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Think about any topic and write an introduction using any one of the method
above.

The body

The body of an essay deals with supporting points that are developed in
paragraphs. It is extremely important that you carefully choose material to be
included in your essay. What you include in the body will be determined by the
treatment of your thesis and it is advisable that you gather adequate information
that best supports your essay before you actually take the trouble of starting
developing the body.

When you are writing your body each of the supporting paragraphs should begin
with a topic sentence that states the point to be detailed in that paragraph.

Topic sentence

A topic sentence is a key sentence that provides a focus for a supporting paragraph.
The topic sentence is most often found at the beginning of a paragraph though
occasionally it may feature in the middle or at the end of the paragraph. To fully
understand the concept of topic sentence, read the essay below and answer
questions that follow:

The hazards of movie-going

I am a movie fanatic. My friends count on me to know movie trivia and to

remember every big Oscar awarded since I was in secondary school. My friends,
though, have stopped asking me if I want to go out to the movies. While I love
movies as much as ever, the inconvenience of going out, the temptations of the
theatre, and the behaviour of some patrons are reasons for me to wait and rent the
video.

To begin with, I just do not enjoy the general hassle of the evening. Since small
local movie theatres are a thing of the past, I have to drive for fifteen minutes to
get to the nearest multiplex. The parking lot is shared with several restaurants and a
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supermarket, so it’s always jammed. I have to drive around at a snail’s pace until I
spot another driver backing out. Then it’s time to stand in an endless line, with the
constant threat that tickets for the show I want will sell out. If we do get tickets, the
theatre will be so crowded that I won’t be able to sit with my friends, or we’ll have
to sit in a front row gaping up at a giant screen. I have to shell out a ridiculous
amount of money – up to $8 – for a ticket. That entitles me to sit while my shoes
seal themselves to a sticky floor coated with spilled soda, bubblegum, and crushed
raisins.

Second, the theatre offers tempting snacks that I really don’t need. Like most of us,
I have to battle an expanding waistline. At home, I do pretty well by simply not
buying stuff that is bad for me. I can make do with snacks like celery and carrot
sticks because there is no ice cream in the freezer. Going to the theatre, however, is
like spending my evening in a Seven-Eleven that’s been equipped with a movie
screen and comfortable seats. As I try to persuade myself to just have a diet Coke,
the smell of fresh popcorn dripping with butter soon overcomes me. Chocolate bars
the sizes of small automobiles seem to jump into my hands. I risk pulling out my
fillings as I chew enormous mouthfuls of Milk Duds. By the time I leave the
theatre, I feel disgusted with myself.

Many of the other patrons are even more of a problem than the concession stand.
Little kids race p and down the aisle, usually in giggling packs. Teenagers try to
impress their friends by talking back to the screen, whistling, and making what
they consider to be hilarious noises. Adults act as if they were at home in their own
living room. They comment loudly on the ages of the stars and reveal plot twists
that are supposed to be a secret until the film’s end. And people of all ages create
distractions.

They crinkle candy wrappers, stick gum on their seats, and drop popcorn tubes or
cups of crushed ice and sodas on the floor. They also cough and burp, squirm
endlessly in their seats.
(Adapted from Langan, J. (2003) College Writing Skills)
Activity: (30 minutes)

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a. What is the topic sentence for the first supporting paragraph of the model
essay?

The first topic sentence is then supported by the following details (fill in the
missing details)

a. Have to drive fifteen minutes

b. __________________________________________________________
c. Endless ticket line
d. __________________________________________________________
e. __________________________________________________________
f. Sticky floor

b. What is the topic sentence for the second supporting paragraph of the essay?

The second topic sentence is then supported by the following details (fill in the
missing details)

a. At home, the only snacks are celery and carrot sticks.

b. Theatre is like a Seven –Eleven with seats.
(i). Fresh popcorn
(ii). __________________________________________________________
(iii). __________________________________________________________

c. What is the topic sentence for the third supporting paragraph of the essay?

The third topic sentence is then supported by the following details (fill in the
missing details)

a. __________________________________________________________
b. __________________________________________________________
c. _________________________________________________________
d. __________________________________________________________

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Based on the explanatory text and the activity, you should remember that the body
of an essay has a topic sentence that is supported by some sentences found in the
paragraph.

Methods of organizing the body

You need to use some methods that help to foster clarity and cohesion of your
essay. You may use one or a combination of the following methods:

 Using division of parts of a unit

You must split your essay into different parts. You do this mainly by carefully
analyzing points that fully support your thesis. When you are certain, you are at
liberty to divide the supporting points into different parts, i.e. first part, second
part, third part, etc. Once these divisions are made, you will develop your body
part by part by initially tackling the first part and progress on chronologically.

This method is important as it enhances clarity, brevity and coherence in your

essay.

 Division of a process (explanation of how something is done)

In this method, you take the trouble of explaining how something is executed. For
example, if you were to write about how nsima is prepared, you would talk about
all the processes involved from the moment the pot is cleaned through to the
moment when the meal is ready for consumption. Conversely, if you were to write
an essay about steps of doing a thing, you would write your essay by
chronologically highlighting what happens at each stage or step. By doing this,
your essay is going to demonstrate the highest degree of unity and coherence.

 Using a narrative approach

When you are writing your essay, using this approach, you write in a story telling
manner. You tell about events that happen, i.e. personal events, incidents or
experiences.
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When developing your body using this method, you may either use chronological
order or flash-forwards and flashbacks. In chronological order, your essay starts at
the beginning of a sequence of events and follows those events step by step until
the conclusion. For example:

I had an important appointment in town yesterday, and I had planned to leave for
the city at 2:30 p.m. I drove to Petroda Filling Station with plenty of time to spare
but then discovered that I had left my wallet in the office. I raced back to collect it
unfortunately the road was very congested and I was forced to drive at a snail’s
pace. A five-minute journey took me almost fifteen minutes.

By the time I got back to the filling station, it was too late. My appointment was at
3 p.m. but I had not yet arrived to the venue. Though I finally got there, I was late
by a good ten minutes.

The above example gives us clear details of how the above event unfolded. It starts
from the beginning until the end. That is how you should write your essay when
the narrative approach is used. On the other hand, use flash-forwards and
flashbacks to create a special emphasis. A flash-forward is a device that you use to
tell about an event before it actually happens. A flashback tells about an event that
happened at an earlier time. Look at the following illustration to appreciate how
flash-forward works:

When I stepped on the stage at the age of six to give my first violin recital, my
heart was racing and the blood was pounding in my throat, I walked timidly to the
centre of the stage, made a stiff bow, brought the instrument up to my shoulder,
and started to play.

Had I been able to anticipate the thunderous applause that would greet me at the
end of my performance, I would have been less nervous. My mother shouted
“bravo!” my father leapt to his feet and cheered, and my grandmother led the
audience in a rousing display appreciation. There were calls for an encore, which
I gladly granted.

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But all that adulation had been far from my mind as I made those scratchy noises
on my half-size violin. At the start of the recital, all I had wished was its
conclusion.

(Adapted from Word-power 2, p. 217)

 By using comparison and contrast

You write your essay based on comparison and contrast. Comparison refers to
statements of similarities between two or more related things and on the other
hand, contrast refers to statements of differences between two or more related
things. What you do is to group together all similar points and those that are not
similar. Sometimes you may synchronise points or ideas that are similar with those
that are different in order to come up with a balanced argument.

 By argumentation

Here you write an essay by presenting an argument. You construct an argument by

giving facts and examples; relate incidents and present opposing views. An
effective argument must be supported by evidence. It is not enough to simply give
an opinion. Sometimes in order to impress your readers, you can either put strong
points first or end with weak points or vice versa. You may also advance
arguments by looking at both sides of the coin that present both advantages and
disadvantages. If you are interested in having a very sound argument, you may
look at an idea from the left, centre and right. This will bring about an essay that
encapsulates different facts and ideas that make your write up worthwhile and
weighty.

The conclusion

This is a crucial part of the essay and it needs to be given all the time and effort.
You do not have to rush otherwise; you will spoil all the good work you have done
in the introduction and the body.

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Make sure you impress your readers for the last time by writing a conclusion that is
catchy. The concluding paragraph often summarises the essay briefly by restating
the thesis and at times, the main supporting points. In addition, the writer often
presents a concluding thought about the subject of the paper.

Functions of the conclusions

The conclusion performs the following functions:

 It satisfies the reader’s interest that was aroused in the introduction. The
conclusion should complement what the introduction does. The introduction
arouses the reader’s interest and the conclusion satisfies the reader. The
introduction makes the reader curious, raises expectations in the reader
concerning what the writer intends to do. The conclusion makes the reader feel
that his/her expectations have been met.
 It makes the reader feel that the job the writer set out to do has indeed been
completed.
 It reminds the reader about the thesis. As you close your essay, make sure that
you touch on the thesis so that your reader can be reminded about the focus of
your discussions.
 It provides the writer the last opportunity to impact on the reader’s mind in
order to create the desired effect on them. Make sure that you develop your
conclusion in an enticing way so that you retain your reader’s attention up to
the last word of your essay and probably leave a life-long impression on them.

Types of conclusion

 Conclude with a quotation

You end on a high note if you choose a very good punch-line to conclude your
essay. You must observe that the quotation you choose has some bearing on your
thesis. It may not help matters choosing a quotation though good but very
divergent from the thesis of your essay.

Example:
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In summary, it has been discussed that “deforestation is indeed a major problem in
most developing countries and that unless something is done the entire Sub-
Saharan Region will be a huge desert” (Banda, 2004: 34)

 End with a summary and final thought

Here you follow three classical steps off wrapping up your essay:

a. Tell them what you are going to tell them

b. Tell them
c. Tell them what you have told them

Step (a) and (b) are executed in the introduction and body respectively. However,
step (c) “Tell them what you have told them” is executed in the conclusion where
you restate the thesis with supporting points. Don’t use the exact wording you used
before though.

Example:

In this essay, we have been talking about deforestation. And as it has been
highlighted, deforestation is more rampant in developing countries where among
others things high population growth, urbanization and need for settlement land
are exerting pressure on the forests.

 Conclude with a thought-provoking question or a series of questions

Concluding with a question is another good way to successfully end your essay. A
question tends to grab the reader’s attention. It is a direct appeal to your reader to
think further about what you have written. A question should follow logically from
the points you have already made in the paper. Your question must deal with one
of these areas:

a. Why the subject of your paper is important?

b. What might happen in the future?
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 c. What should be done about the subject?
d. Which choice should be made?

In your conclusion, you may provide an answer to your question. Be sure though,
that the question is closely related to your thesis.

Example:

In conclusion what is pollution? What causes pollution? What are the dangers of
pollution and how can we avoid pollution?

 Conclude with a call to action

Here you may present a recommendation that asks your readers to do something.
This will be in light with your thesis statement.

For example, if you had been writing an essay on “poor educational standards in
primary schools” you would ask your readers to embrace measures that will
address the problem.

Example:

It’s now crystal clear that standards of education have gone low. We are now
calling on the government and all stake holders to put mechanisms in place which
will improve our educational standards as soon as possible.

 Conclude with a summary of the main points

This is one of the easiest ways of ending the essay. You just present a summary of
what your essay has highlighted. In doing this, concentrate on main points and
condense them in a manner that gives one a picture what your essay is all about.
Generally, this method is most appropriate for complex topics.

Example:
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This essay has highlighted four main causes for the decline in education standards.
We have cited proliferation of private secondary schools, lack of well trained
teachers, poor salaries and lack of learning and teaching materials. It has been
suggested that unless these challenges are addressed, our education standards will
keep on going down.

 Conclude with a warning

When using this method, make sure you present a sentence that sounds a warning.
It is particularly effective when you are writing on a subject that has social
connotations. You structure your conclusion in such a way that the warning is
clearly seen.

Example:

HIV is real. If we do not change our attitudes we may all die.

 Conclude with a restatement of the thesis

This is another simple but effective way of ending your essay. You merely restate
the thesis. Concluding thesis should be paraphrased in slightly different words
from your earlier thesis. You should also aim at pointing at the significance of the
thesis statement.

Example:

From the overwhelming evidence provided in this essay, it can safely be said that
abstinence is the only way of avoiding HIV and AIDS.

Stages in essay writing

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Prewriting

Many people have trouble getting started with writing. You may not be able to
think of an interesting topic or thesis. Or you may have trouble coming up with
relevant details to support a possible thesis. Sometimes even after starting your
essay, you may hit snags – moments when you wonder, “What else can I say?” or
“Where do I go next?” Below are some techniques that will help you think about
and develop a topic and get words on a piece of paper.

Technique 1: Brainstorming

In this technique, you ask the six big questions: Who? Where? When? Why?
What? How? These questions will help you generate details for your topic. Asking
questions can be an effective way of getting yourself to think about the topic from
a number of different angles.

Technique 2: Listing

In this technique, you make a list. You collect a list of ideas and details that relate
to your subject. Pile these items up, one after another randomly (without trying to
sort out major details from minor ones or trying to put details in any special order).
Your goal is just to make a list of everything about your subject that occurs to you.

Techniques 3: Clustering

This is also known as mind mapping or diagramming. This method is useful for
people who like to do their thinking in a visual way. In clustering, you use lines,
boxes, arrows, and circles to show relationships among the ideas and details that
occur to you.

Begin by stating your subject in a few words in the centre of a blank sheet of
paper. Then as ideas and details come to your mind, put them in boxes or circles
around the subject and draw lines to connect them to each other and to the subject.
Put minor ideas or details in smaller boxes or circles and use connecting lines to
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 show how they relate as well. Keep in mind that there is no right or wrong way of
diagramming or clustering. It is a way to think on paper about how various ideas
and details relate to one another. Below is an example of how diagramming can be
used.

Diagramming of hazards of movie going

traffic getting to line at box office

theatre

too many people

Hazards of movie
going
temptations
many people

chocolate bar popcorn teenagers

adult

yelling

coughing telling plot

showing off

Technique 4: Free-writing

Free-writing means jotting down in rough sentences or phrases everything that

comes to the mind about a possible topic. See if you can write non-stop for ten
minutes or more. Do not worry about spelling or punctuating correctly, about
erasing mistakes, about organizing material, or about finding exact words. Instead,
explore an idea by putting down whatever pops into your head. If you get stuck for
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words, repeat yourself until more words come. There is no need to feel inhibited,
since mistakes do not count and you and you do not have to hand in your paper.

Free-writing will empower your writing muscles and make you familiar with the
act of writing. It is a way to break through mental blocks about writing. Since you
do not have to worry about mistakes, you can focus on discovering what you want
to say about a subject. Your initial ideas and impressions will often become clear
after you have gotten them on paper and they may lead to other impressions and
ideas.

Drafting your essay

When you have gathered your facts in the prewriting stage, it is now time to get
started in writing your essay. The first step in this journey is by coming up with a
draft where you prepare rough work. Drafting involves making preliminary version
of your essay. In the first-draft stage, you want to get all your thoughts and ideas
down on paper.

With your writing purpose, audience and method of development in mind, write
your first draft fairly quickly. Do not stop to make corrections in such areas as
spelling, grammar and punctuation as your main aim is to put your ideas on paper.
The mistakes committed here will be rectified later on. As you develop your draft,
make sure you stick closely to your outline otherwise if you do not then your piece
of work lacks sound organization.

Revising your essay

The literal meaning of revise is “to look again”. Therefore, during revision you
should see if you have said what you wanted to say and if you have said it clearly
and effectively. Ensure that you take a careful look at the following: content (the
material you have included in your essay, i.e., is it suitable?); organization, i.e.,
has the material been well organized? and language, i.e., have you used language
effectively – thus have you used the right words in the right manner?

Things to consider when revising

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If you want to do a good job during revision then the following things have to be
considered:

a. Coherence

This refers to the fitting together of all parts of the essay. It is important when
you are writing to ensure that your essay clearly connects to the thesis.
Coherence should also be achieved within and without a paragraph(s). This is
attained by having sentences that proceed logically. Coherence is characterized
by the use of logical connectors linking ideas, summing up phrases or pointers
to what you are going to say. Obviously, the ones you choose will depend on
what type of essay you are writing and your particular purpose at the moment of
writing. There are several logical devices you as a writer can use. Here are a
few links and a brief indication as to when you would be likely to use them.

1. If you are listing a number of points, an obvious method would be to use:

Firstly…; Further…; Again…; Secondly…; Next…; Finally…; Moreover…;

Furthermore…; Equally…; In addition…

2. If you are outlining a series of events:

Many years ago…; Next morning…; After some time…; At last…; Once this
had been done…; Once the … was over …; Eventually…

3. If you are discussing cause and effect

Thus…; Consequently…; Because of this…; Hence…; As a result…;

Therefore…; For these reasons…; For this reason…; Because of these
(factors)…; Accordingly…

4. If you are presenting contrasting arguments in a discussion or argument:

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 On the one hand… on the other…; But…; Yet…; Nevertheless…; A different
aspect…; Still…; It is true…; After all…; Despite…; Likewise…;
Similarly…; Having dealt with…; However…; In contrast…; On the
contrary…; Instead…; In comparison….

5. If you are summing up and turning to a completely fresh aspect:

Under these circumstances…; In view of this…; Therefore…; Taking this

into account…; For this purpose…; To this end…; With this purpose in
mind…

6. If you are presenting stages in a discussion:

Against this…; Another reason…; Others claim…; For instance…; Even

though…; A very convincing argument…; Moreover…; Another
advantage…; For example…; That is to say…

7. If you are drawing to a conclusion:

Finally…; In conclusion…; The evidence, therefore, suggest…; Thus, I have

attempted to show that…; Lastly…; In sum…; Taking this into
consideration, there can be no doubt that…; To sum up…; On the whole…;
In brief…; Therefore…; Consequently…; Thus…; Then…; As a result…; In
summary…; To conclude…; Last of all…; Finally…; In a nutshell…

8. Time:

Meanwhile…; Earlier…; Already…; First…; Hitherto…; Then…; By

then…; At present…; Afterwards…; After school…; At length…; In the
meantime…; Immediately…

9. Place:

Here…; There…; On the veranda…; At school…; Nearby…; Beyond…;

Adjacent to…; Opposite to…
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 10. Emphasis:

Indeed…; In fact…; In any event…

b. Language

Another area that needs careful consideration when you are writing an essay is
language. It is important to note that your essay is a formal document as such it
must maintain formality. Always use formal language and never use any
contracted versions of words. For instance, never write can’t instead write
cannot. You should also guard against use of slang language (these are very
informal words and expressions that are more common in spoken language,
especially used by a particular group of people). For example, words like
“guys”, “bucks”, “buddies”, etc. should not find any place in your essay.

You should also avoid using clichés. As you may recall a cliché is an
expression that has lost its impact and meaning due to overuse. It may sound as
a good expression but the fact that a myriad others have used it, renders it
useless. More importantly, use of clichés undermines your creativity. Some
examples of clichés include last but not least and green with envy.

c. Unity

An essay should show unity when all the components are related to the thesis
statement or topic sentence. In other words, if you advance a single point and
stick to that point, your essay will have unity. When writing make sure that all
the material you include in your essay relates to the thesis. In addition, all the
ideas in a paragraph should relate to the topic sentence. Avoid wandering off
the topic.

To achieve unity, remove or rephrase all sentences that do not relate to the
thesis and the topic sentence.

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d. Support

Points advanced in your essay have to be supported with specific evidence.

Make sure that the topic sentence of each paragraph is fully supported, i.e.
proved by adequate material such as examples and explanations. Do not just
make an argument without any backing points. Also make sure that the
treatment of your thesis is fully supported with materials it promises. You will
recall that your thesis may state some points to be expounded in your body and
when you are developing the body, ensure that this is done by providing as
many facts as possible.

e. Sentences

Another way to demonstrate that you are a good writer is by writing good
sentences. Good sentences are those that are free from errors and are composed
in an especially impressive way. This is done by varying sentence lengths and
sentence patterns. On sentence lengths, what you have to do is ensuring that
your essay has both short and long sentences. Short sentences are particularly
useful when you are emphasing points or introducing ideas. No matter what,
never confine yourself to one type of sentences but blend. Remember variety is
the spice of life.

Similarly, make sure that your sentence patterns are varied. It is important to
see to it that your essay contains simple, compound, complex, and compound-
complex sentences.

PARAGRAPH

Principle for Ordering Paragraphs – Theory

English paragraphs tend to be organized in a linear fashion: one point is dealt with
in a paragraph, this leads to the next point in another paragraph, and so on.

Para. 1 Para. 2 Main point Para. 3 Main point and so on

and development and development
Introduction

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Paragraphs are organized in a line: Each paragraph makes one main point, and the
points are ordered according to some organizing principle.

The ‘line’ of paragraphs is ordered according to some kind of logic, or principle of

ordering ideas.

For example:

1. Time: the main points are sometimes treated in the order in which they
happened; so time is the organizing principle

2. Space and distance: some paragraphs are ordered according to space and
distance. For example, objects far away might be described first. And after that
those which are closer. Finally, the essay will conclude with a description of the
things which are closest.

3. Size and importance: other ideas for ordering paragraphs include size (from
the largest to the smallest, or vice versa), and importance (from the most
important to the least important, or vice versa).

Theory of Paragraphs – The topic sentence

The theory of paragraphs (which is not always true in practice) states that the main
point of a paragraph is expressed in the first sentence of the paragraph. This
sentence is called the topic sentence. Like a signpost it points the way, and
prepares the reader what follows.

Sometimes, however, the topic sentence is the last sentence in a paragraph. This is
very common in concluding paragraphs. Then the signpost shows readers where
they come from! According to the “theory,” each paragraph starts with a topic
sentence which points the way. Each topic sentence is developed by the writer who
gives facts, examples, illustrations and explanations to support the main point.
Frequently, however, the last paragraph concludes with the topic sentence.

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 Topic Sentence

Development

Topic Sentence

Development

Diagram illustrating theory of paragraphs

Techniques for Developing Paragraphs

There are many ways of developing a paragraph. However, as explained above,

typically a good paragraph starts with the main point in the first sentence (the topic
sentence). Then the paragraph can be developed in many ways.

One (or more) of the following techniques is commonly used: example; cause and
effect; comparison and contrast; definition; and analogy. In practice, several of
these techniques are often used together.

1. Developing paragraphs by using examples

The main point of a paragraph can be developed by using examples. The writer
gets the message across to the reader by giving facts and illustrations. In this way
the writer supports and develops the main idea, and so helps the reader to
understand and appreciate the passage.

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2. Developing paragraphs by explaining cause and effect (or result)

Another way to develop a paragraph is by explaining causes and effects. The topic
sentence is the first one. (Give reasons in support of the main point.)

3. Comparison and contrast

The writer develops the main idea by referring to similarities and differences
between two things, or ideas. Once again the topic sentence starts the paragraph.

4. Developing ideas by definition

Sometimes a paragraph will be devoted to the explanation. This often happens

when the writer is using a technical term and wants to make quite clear that it is
being used in a special way.

5. Developing paragraphs by analogy

Instead of giving a direct explanation, a writer gets the message across by using
something which is similar in some ways to the main idea. For this technique of
developing a paragraph, the writer depends on using the known to explain the
unknown.

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