Do you have any english essay writing tips? I can never get started or make things flow or even really answer the prompt given - i just kind of write.
Not sure if you've stumbled across these yet, but there's a mega-thread of
resources from high-scoring students that's got a heap of good advice. You can also check out the first page of our
Q and A thread which contains links to other frequently asked questions and concerns like how to 'answer' and dissect prompts, or how to use linking sentences to create flow.
To address your concerns: (i.e. getting started (1), achieving flow (2) and addressing the prompt (3))
1. You might be someone for whom planning is a necessity. It's kind of optional at a Year 12 level, though some teacher's say it's mandatory, but if you just find yourself sitting there like... 'how is an essay even supposed to begin' or start writing and think 'idfk what I'm even trying to say,' then take a step back, and write up an essay plan. Something like:
-------------------------------------
Prompt: I for Isobel demonstrates that while honesty is essential, it is not always enough to sustain successful relationships. Discuss.Mostly agree/Mostly disagree: Mostly agree
Challenge: honesty still helps sustain relationships, even if it's not totally essential
Contention: Although honesty can be a valuable asset in the characters' lives, ultimately
I for Isobel suggests that it is not the most essential factor in maintaining strong relationships.
Paragraph 1: focus on how the different characters value honesty
Topic Sentence: Throughout the novel, Witting foregrounds characters' differing ideas of what honesty is and why it is important.
Evidence: - Isobel's love of fiction and how she sometimes sees it as a dishonest kind of storytelling. - the lies that Isobel is told and how they warp her mindset. - how Isobel struggles to define the limits of truth and lies. - how Isobel's honest relationships are better and more conducive to her positive self-image, etc.
Concluding Sentence: Thus, the novel implies that although honesty can be complicated, it is still worthwhile to pursue honest relationships for one's own good.
Paragraph 2 + 3 (+ 4): ^as above^
Conclusion: Ultimately, Witting shows that... [revisit contention; talk about the text as a whole]
-------------------------------------
So before you start writing anything, begin by filling out something similar to the above just to put your thoughts into words and get some stuff down on the page. You don't have to do this during timed assessment tasks since it's somewhat time consuming, but it'd be a great preparatory exercise to aid your thinking.
2. I don't know if this is something I once said, or whether I've stolen it from a book, but flow needs to happen on two levels:
FLOW OF IDEAS and
FLOW OF SENTENCES. For our purposes, think of the flow of ideas as like being a bunch of floorboards all aligned neatly, and the flow of sentences as being a nice rug that we put over the top.
i. If neither your ideas nor your sentences flow, then you'll get something like:
Isobel reads lots of books. She doesn't get along with her mother...which is obviously not good. The floorboards are on opposite sides of the room, and the rug is upside down on the ceiling - this is just bad writing
ii. If your sentences flow, but not your ideas, then you'll get something like:
Isobel reads lots of books. Through this, Witting reveals that she doesn't get along with her mother...which might sound better, but it's kind of like we've got two floorboards that are a metre apart, and we've thrown a rug over the gap between them. Sure, it might look like there's a solid surface between them, but in reality, there's no underlying connection there!
iii. If your ideas flow, but not your sentences, then you'll get something like:
Isobel reads a lot of books. Isobel's obsession with fiction impairs her real relationships...which might be okay, but the assessors are still going to notice that the sentences don't connect. This is like having the floorboards laid out, but no rug over the top of them - we don't really want to walk on cold, splinter-y wood - we want that rug to make the process of getting from A to B easier, and so that sentence-level flow is necessary.
iv. finally, if both your ideas and sentences flow, you'll get:
Isobel reads a lot of books. This obsession with fiction impairs her real relationships, such as the one she has with her mother.Aaaahhh, that's better!!
The floorboards connect, and the rug sits on top, making the whole thing very appealing and easy to understand. That's the kind of level you want to reach.
So what you need to do is work out where you're going wrong with your flow - is it on an idea-level, or a sentence-level?
3.
See here and let me know if you have any questions after reading that
We have a SAC on i for isobel in 2 weeks and she wants us to write a few practice essays (about one every 2-3 days) to try and cover all the possible themes that can be questions in an exam or sac etc. but i cannot even write. I actually suck and cannot do english to save myself.
If you can't write essays, don't write essays.
Often it's not the most efficient use of your time, and clearly you're not learning anything from the experience. You wouldn't sit a 2 hour maths exam before you knew the formulas, right? You wouldn't attempt a 2 hour short answer/extended response humanities exam if you didn't even have a grasp on the basic definitions? The same applies here - learn the basics by practicing stuff on a small scale, and then combine those ingredients together when you feel ready.
Unfortunately you may have to rush this process a bit given your SAC is fairly soon, but nevertheless, this experience should help you better prepare for future English assessment.
This is definitely something I've said before, but try and work out whether you're having trouble with
what to say or
how to say it. If you don't know what to say, then you need to go back to the text and back to your resources. Make sure you understand the plot, and that you can link up this evidence with thematic concerns (ie. if I pointed to some textual evidence and said 'what is Witting saying about
truth here?' or 'what is Witting saying about
family here?' would you be able to answer that? If not, go back and reconsider.) But if you know what you're trying to get across and just can't put it into words, then think about your vocab and sentence structure. Maybe start with a planning method like the one outlined above, and just concentrate on communicating your ideas (ie. don't stress about sounding 'sophisticated' and writing at a 'year 12 standard;' just get your points out however you can, and you can jazz up the language later.)
Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any questions!
Home
Help
Search
Login
