How to write a good essay
Summary
TLDRThis video explains how to write a successful essay by organizing it into five key paragraphs: introduction, supporting arguments, counterarguments, main argument, and conclusion. The speaker emphasizes the importance of planning, focusing on key ideas, and using quotations effectively. Quotations should be brief and supported by explanations to strengthen the essay’s argument. Paragraph four, the 'crunch,' is highlighted as crucial for presenting the most compelling points, while the conclusion should summarize without introducing new ideas. Following these steps ensures a clear, logical, and persuasive essay.
Takeaways
- 😀 An essay is a presentation of your own ideas and acquired knowledge, proving your understanding of the subject.
- 📚 Essays, especially in exams, are structured into five paragraphs: introduction, two body paragraphs for and against, a main argument paragraph, and a conclusion.
- ✍️ Planning is essential for writing an essay. It helps you organize ideas and focus on the most important points.
- 💡 Paragraph 4 is the most important, where you present your strongest arguments and back them up with facts and quotations.
- ⚖️ Balance your essay by presenting both sides of an argument before debunking opposing viewpoints in a logical, calm manner.
- 📝 Quotations should be used wisely and need three sentences: one to introduce, one to quote, and one to explain its relevance.
- 📏 Quotations should not dominate the essay—keep them brief and relevant to the argument you're making.
- 🔍 A well-placed quotation can greatly strengthen your argument, but only if used selectively and correctly.
- 📚 Avoid adding new ideas in the conclusion—use it to summarize and naturally follow from the argument presented in paragraph 4.
- 💼 Writing an essay is like engaging in a polite debate—listen, acknowledge, then calmly present why your argument is stronger.
Q & A
What is the main purpose of writing an essay according to the speaker?
-The main purpose of writing an essay is to present your ideas and demonstrate that you understand the subject by incorporating both your own thoughts and the ideas you've acquired.
How does the speaker suggest structuring an essay?
-The speaker suggests structuring an essay into five paragraphs or 'units': 1) Introduction, 2) Main reasons for the argument, 3) Main reasons against the argument, 4) Crunch paragraph with the core argument, and 5) Conclusion.
What is the role of the 'crunch paragraph' in an essay?
-The crunch paragraph (paragraph 4) is where you present your strongest argument, refute previous points, and include critical information backed by quotations. It's usually the longest and most important part of the essay.
What should be avoided in the conclusion of an essay?
-In the conclusion (paragraph 5), avoid introducing new ideas. It should naturally follow from the previous paragraphs and wrap up the discussion, summarizing your argument.
Why is planning important when writing an essay?
-Planning is crucial because it helps organize your main ideas and prevents you from including unnecessary information. It ensures that your best points are presented effectively in the essay.
How does the speaker suggest balancing arguments in an essay?
-The speaker suggests balancing arguments by dedicating paragraph 2 to the main reasons for your argument and paragraph 3 to the reasons against it, ensuring a well-rounded discussion.
What is the correct way to use a quotation in an essay?
-A quotation should be used strategically, requiring three sentences: one to introduce the quotation, one to present it, and one to explain its relevance to your argument. Quotations should be brief and directly support your point.
Why is it important to choose quotations carefully?
-Choosing quotations carefully is important because you may not have time to use all the quotations you've prepared. A well-chosen quotation can strengthen your argument, while excessive or irrelevant quotes can distract from your main points.
What does the speaker mean by 'winning' with your essay by using quotations effectively?
-The speaker means that by using quotations strategically and correctly, you enhance your argument and stand a better chance of receiving a higher mark, as the quotations provide evidence for your points.
What is the main mistake students make with quotations in essays?
-One common mistake is using quotations that are too long, sometimes even longer than the student's own writing. This detracts from the essay’s clarity and focus, as quotations should be concise and relevant.
Outlines
📝 How to Structure a Good Essay
The first paragraph discusses how to write a compelling essay by breaking it down into five essential units, referred to as paragraphs. The first unit is the introduction, and the last is the conclusion. Paragraphs 2 and 3 focus on presenting arguments both for and against a particular proposition, while Paragraph 4 is the 'crunch' section where the writer establishes their key argument and backs it up with evidence. The importance of planning the essay, including deciding what to leave out, is emphasized, as is ensuring a logical flow that leads to a strong conclusion. Paragraphs 1 and 5 are typically brief, while Paragraph 4, the argumentative core, tends to be the longest.
💬 Using Quotations Effectively in Essays
The second paragraph focuses on the proper use of quotations in an essay. The writer advises that a quotation should consist of three parts: establishing the quotation, quoting it, and then explaining its relevance. The misuse of lengthy quotations is discouraged. Instead, brevity and relevance are stressed, ensuring that the quotation supports the point being made. The metaphor of a jewel in a ring is used to explain that only certain facets of the quotation should be highlighted. Overusing quotations or failing to explain them properly can detract from the essay’s effectiveness. Selecting the right quotes and balancing them with the student’s own ideas is crucial to a strong essay.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Essay
💡Introduction
💡Conclusion
💡Argumentative essay
💡Crunch paragraph
💡Quotation
💡Plan
💡Balanced discussion
💡Supporting evidence
💡Logical structure
Highlights
An essay should present not only your ideas but also the ideas you have acquired, demonstrating your understanding of the subject.
The same principles used for writing short exam essays can be extended to longer essays by expanding paragraphs.
An essay is made up of five units: introduction, argumentation, additional argumentation, analysis, and conclusion.
The introduction establishes the approach to answering the essay question, while the conclusion summarizes the discussion without introducing new information.
Paragraphs two and three are where you demonstrate knowledge of the topic by presenting both sides of an argument.
Planning is essential for writing a good essay; focus on what not to say, and reserve the best ideas for key points.
The fourth paragraph is the most critical part of the essay, where you establish your position clearly and provide key information.
The fourth paragraph, often the longest, should include solid evidence, well-chosen quotations, and present your argument in a logical manner.
Paragraph five should not introduce new ideas, but rather conclude the discussion based on the previous arguments.
It is important to listen to opposing arguments first and then dismantle them logically, calmly presenting your point of view.
Use of quotations must be strategic; don't use too many—focus on selecting and explaining the best ones.
A quotation should have three components: introducing the quotation, quoting it, and explaining its relevance.
Avoid lengthy quotations; they should support your point without overshadowing your own writing.
In addition to direct quotations, referencing characters or events from the source material can also add value to an essay.
Using well-chosen quotations effectively can enhance your essay significantly and contribute to achieving a higher grade.
Transcripts
how to write a good
essay it's a bewitching question and
it's one I'm going to answer in
approximately uh 2 minutes and then
we'll go on to something else which is
dependent on that which is how to use a
good quotation an essay is about a
presentation of not only your ideas but
also the ideas that you've acquired
which prove that you understand the
subject when we're thinking about the
essay we're particularly thinking about
these brief essays which we write in
examinations which are going to last
what 3/4 of an hour but the same
principles will also work by extension
simply by expanding um what here we're
going to refer to as paragraphs so an
essay is made up of a series of units
let's say five units um we're going to
write them down 1 2 3 4 five and we
might call these paragraphs unit one
would be the introduction
and unit five would be the
concl
conclusion uh units 2 and three
paragraphs 2 and three are those
paragraphs where you are going to
demonstrate to the reader that you know
what you're talking about these
paragraphs uh need to establish that
everything is balanced so for example in
an argumentative essay maybe paragraph
two paragraph two would be the
reasons for the preposition and
paragraph three would be the
reasons
against the proposition um but uh
there's a certain um uh leeway here
maybe paragraph 2 would be your main
reasons for and your main reasons
against and paragraph three would be
your subsidiary reasons for and against
now there is only one uh way to write an
essay and that is to plan it and the
plan the important bit of the plan um is
not necessarily about everything that is
in the essay I've seen some plans where
people have written so much they might
just well have written the essay anyway
uh the plan is about what you don't say
about what you're not going to say at
the beginning the plan is about getting
your main ideas your best ideas on paper
and then saving them and saving them for
the crunch paragraph 4 paragraph 4 is
where you establish very clearly that
maybe some of the points in paragraph 2
or three are not points you agree with
you also maybe add your own special bit
of information and it's that bit of
information which is so important which
is so vital to your essay and which is
vital to your getting the good Mark at
the end paragraph four the
crunch is probably going to be your
longest paragraph it's going to be the
paragraph where you back up your facts
with good quotation it's going to be the
paragraph where you present your
argument in a clever logical or ordered
way now uh a point about um uh about
length here just very quickly uh
paragraphs one and paragraphs five are
probably going to be quite brief
paragraph one you establish how you
intend to answer the
question paragraph 5 follows naturally
from the crunch paragraph five is
exactly what it says on the bottle it is
the conclusion of all this discussion if
you want to start in paragraph 5 make a
new discussion if you want to start a
new idea you might as well write a new
essay it's a waste of your time to add
anything new to the par to paragraph 5
paragraph five concludes what you've
been writing it follows naturally
paragraph 4 is your argumentative
paragraph paragraph four is what you've
been waiting for now look it's exactly
like the situation where you get into an
argument with one of your friends or
indeed maybe not one of your friends you
want to say uh there's no point in going
in in going onto the offensive right at
the beginning and uh battering
somebody ridiculous childish silly you
listen very politely to what somebody
else has got to say oh yes I understand
and you reason with them how how clever
your points are how wise is your is is
is is your
position but paragraph 4 1 two three
reasons why your position is wrong and
bang
you've flawed them you've destroyed them
you've established your own point of
view very calmly and very brilliantly by
conceding that they also had a point of
view too but that it was
wrong
now as a um as an addition to this talk
uh here we've got our our our five
paragraph system for the essay we've
also got to
consider how we defend and how we back
up points and we do this with the
quotation now the quotation is something
which has been routinely misused in the
past today we are told that we must not
plagiarize uh this would have been a
nonsensical concept to a first century
uh Greek or a first century Roman uh
they routinely adopted somebody else's
name to give um uh credibility to their
to their
writings um this is something that we're
not allowed to do we also supposed to
attribute our quotations we're supposed
to tell people where we got them from no
that's the that's the legal business out
of the
way what you've got to do is to use a
quotation in a clever way now imagine
you've got six brilliant
quotations you've got 35 or 40 minutes
in which to write your essay you're
probably not going to have time to use
all six of those quotations you have to
choose very carefully because a
quotation by definition requires three
sentences a sentence to
establish the quotation to use the
quotation to quote and then to
explain the quotation it's like taking a
jewel from a ring looking at a ring and
you you look at the ring and you think
oh gosh what a wonderful ring how how
bright and glistening it is how how
sparkly it is and then you take the
jewel out of the ring if you're a
jeweler and you look at that again and
you can you can turn it round and you
can see it by many different facets well
in your essay you're only interested in
one or two facets you're not interested
in the whole thing so you have to apply
your quotation you have to apply that
Jewel put it back into its setting in
the
ring um now uh uh if you get your
quotation right uh you you're you're
going you're going to win with your
essay you can't you can't use every
quotation that you've got in your head
now not only can you use quotations of
course you might um be able to um refer
to characters or events um without
necessarily explicitly quoting this is
useful too but but the the art of the
quotation requires these three
points these three sentences
establishing using the quotation and
explaining the quotation there is no
point in making your quotation
longer than the things that you are
writing I have seen essays where the
quotation is twice the length of the um
of the original work written by the
student this is absurd your quotation
should be brief and add REM to to the
point if you follow these steps you will
you will write a brilliant essay there
is no question
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