At various competitions and exams in English, almost always one of the tasks is to write an essay, which the participant must submit to the evaluation commission or jury. According to this work, it is possible to characterize the student as accurately as possible, because it shows not only the level of literacy and freedom of proficiency in a foreign language. This is a creative task, which means that it contains a personal perception of a person, his worldview, a look at certain things, potential, knowledge. And to write a beautiful, lively and interesting essay, you need a rich vocabulary.
Perhaps that is why many students are horrified by the need to write a story on a given or free topic in a strictly allotted time. But if you understand in advance all the rules for writing such works, read examples and practice, then nothingit's not difficult.
Compliance with standard
Although the word “essay” itself is not directly related to the English language, its historical roots go back to France, but this light essay of the prose genre has firmly strengthened its position and is used as a test of knowledge in almost all educational institutions. Usually it has a free style of presentation and a small volume. Many students are interested in how to write an essay in English, because it is included in the assignments for the exam.
There is a certain standard according to which it is necessary to perform creative tasks. So, an essay in English is written in 40 minutes, its volume is from 200 to 250 words. In the allotted time, the student must read and understand the task, draw up an essay plan and put his creation on paper. Since 2012, a little more time has been allocated for a foreign language exam, and an approximate essay plan is also provided, which greatly simplifies the work of the student. It is important to adhere to the prescribed size of the essay - 200-250 words, if it is less, then the work will receive 0 points, if more - the examiner will read only 250 words, the rest will be ignored.
The main components of the work
In order for the result of the work to exceed all expectations and please the examiners, it is necessary, first of all, to carefully read the task and understand it. A fluent, inattentive reading of the text very often leads to unsatisfactory grades. The task mainly consists of elements for and against andis no more than two sentences. If the English essay plan is already indicated, then you can immediately start writing the work, if not, you will have to work hard on your own. Without it, writing an essay is problematic, because it perfectly structures thoughts and helps to concentrate. The point of the plan is the basis, the key idea that needs to be developed and described in more detail. An essay in English should consist of three main parts: introduction, body and conclusion.
Introduction
The beginning of the essay is a very important part of the work. Here it is important not to “pour water”, but to clearly and competently highlight the key idea of the essay, identify the main topic, which will be disclosed in more detail in the main part. The introduction mainly consists of two, maximum three detailed sentences, which are a smooth transition to the consideration of the main issue. A big plus would be the presence in it of a quote in English, some kind of proverb or thought of a famous person. It should be concise, concise and fully relevant to the topic under consideration.
Main part
Essay topics in English basically involve considering one issue from different points of view, saying all the pros and cons. The reader must consider both positions and their arguments. You should not use abstruse, bookish phrases in the essay that make the text too boring and uninteresting. Regardless of the topic, you need to write in competent, but simple and lively English. This is the main part of the essay, so it needs to be completelyreveal the issue under consideration, express a point of view, give it a refutation or prove its veracity. In any case, examples should be given. Since the essay is a creative task, it should express one's own thoughts and attitude to the problem.
Conclusion
The final part of the essay in English is a summing up, completion of reasoning, final conclusions. It consists of three or four sentences, in which the author not only summarizes all the information, but also expresses his personal opinion on the issue under consideration. The final part should find a logical end, and not break off in mid-sentence. Introduction, body and conclusion should flow smoothly from one part to another and be connected.
How to make an English essay interesting and lively?
An essay is not a scientific treatise, but a light prose essay. The author in it expresses his opinion, personal views on some problems, so such a work should be written in a living language and be interesting to readers. The introduction is necessary in order to interest, it usually contains a key idea and quotes that smoothly lead to the main part of the essay. The following are concrete examples to support this point of view. To enliven the text, you should use adjectives, adverbs as much as possible, select synonyms for verbs. Mistakes need to be eliminated, writing an essay in English is a serious test of literacy and vocabulary. To make the transition from oneparts to another smoothly, special vocabulary should be used.
Useful phrases
Certain phrases can be used in an essay, they will help to connect parts of the essay, display opposition and effectively finish the work. Text will be easier to read if you include:
- one of the major factors in … is… (one of the major factors is);
- generally speaking, … (generally speaking);
- furthermore (besides, besides);
- as well as, … (same as).
To contrast two opinions or characteristics, the following phrases should be used:
- on the other hand (on the other hand);
- on the contrary (on the contrary);
- but (but);
- yet (yet);
- however (however).
The following vocabulary will help express the result of something or the reason:
- so (therefore);
- therefore (for this reason);
- consequently (hence);
- as a result (thus);
- this results in (as a result).
Also, the presence of adverbs does not hurt: lastly (finally), then (then), after (after), next (then).
The main mistakes when writing an essay
Very often, students make the same mistakes when writing essays in English. Unified State Examination, competitions, school competitions - all these events require strict adherence to the rules for composing a creative story, in which the authorconcisely expresses his point of view on a specific problem, talks about his personal attitude to some issue. The main problem of students is the inability to clearly, concisely and competently express their thoughts on paper. In order to increase the volume of the text, or simply from ignorance of the topic, the author begins to “pour water”. It should be understood that the examiner evaluates not the size of the work, but its content. Therefore, this approach will not be an advantage, but a disadvantage of the essay.
If the essay is given at home, then you should ask friends or relatives to evaluate the work, express their personal opinion about it. You also need to re-read the essay yourself several times, correct not entirely successful moments, eliminate grammatical and semantic errors.
