ESSAYS

REVISION

What is a sentence? A sentence is a group of words. It has a subject a verb and an object. It makes sense. The boy was bouncing his football in the corridor. The boy bouncing his football. ( there is no verb)

What is a paragraph? A paragraph is a collection or group of sentences that relate to the same topic What can you remember about the topic sentence? The topic sentence is the sentence that relates or tells the reader what the paragraph is about.

What is an Essay?
An essay is a collection of paragraphs on one subject and relates to the topic being discussed. Essays are short pieces of writing consisting of a many paragraphs. It usually relates to one topic. It is also an expression of the writers opinion and/or research. The purpose of an essay is to encourage you to develop your ideas and concepts. Therefore, essays are brief, and require clarity (clearness) in purpose and direction. This means that there is no room for your thoughts to wander or stray from the purpose; you must be deliberate and interesting.

Would you agree that the photos are all of a Mercedes-Benz? Essays are no different to cars. They are the same, but their form and shape will differ according to their purpose. Types of Essays For the purpose of the Intermediate course you will need to know the following essays: Descriptive Narrative Comparative

THESIS STATEMENT

The thesis statement is a sentence in your text that contains the focus of your essay and tells your reader what the essay is going to be about. Many writers think of a thesis statement as an umbrella: everything that you carry along in your essay has to fit under this umbrella, and if you try to take on packages that don't fit, you will either have to get a bigger umbrella or something's going to get wet. The thesis statement should remain flexible until the paper is actually finished. It ought to be one of the last things that you fuss with in the rewriting process. The thesis

statement is always used in academic essays. You don't need a Thesis statement is a narrative essay where you are telling a story.

Examples
In this essay, I would like to discuss the violent earth and the effects that an earthquake has on the environment of a large city.

Many ships call in at ports designed with specific functions and these differ in Oman. I will attempt to show the differences between these ports in Oman in this essay.
In Oman it is almost impossible to get around without a car. The market is flooded with many makes and models of cars. I will compare the Toyota Yaris with the KIA Rio Sport showing their similarities and differences.

The thesis statement usually appears near the beginning of the essay. It can be the first sentence of an essay, but it more frequently appears at or near the end of the first paragraph.

Narrative (story)
Writing a narrative essay, you will need to tell a story (usually about something that happened to you) in such a way that the audience learns a lesson or gains some understanding. Example of narrative topics: 1. In an essay discuss your first day at school / college. 2. Your worst nightmare. 3. My favourite song. 4. The perfect fantasy island. 5. What happened you got caught?

Descriptive (describing something)

Writing a descriptive essay, you will need to describe a person, object, or an event in detail so that the reader feels like they could reach out and touch it.

Tips for writing effective narrative and descriptive essays:

 Tell a story about a moment or event that means a lot to you--it will make it easier for you to tell the story in an interesting way! Get right to the action! Avoid long introductions or long descriptions--especially at the beginning of your essay. Make sure your story has a point! Describe what you learned from this experience.

Use all five of your senses to describe the setting, characters, and the plot (storyline) of
your story. Don't be afraid to tell the story. Nobody wants to read a story that sounds like a textbook!

How to Write Vivid1 Descriptions

Having trouble describing a person, object, or event for your narrative or descriptive essay? Try filling out this chart:

What do you smell?

What do you see?

What do you taste?

What do you feel?

What do you hear ?

Look at the following essay topics. Choose two and fill in the table below.

My favourite meal That day on the farm( beach/ wadi /sea) Dubai The village gardens What do you see? What do you taste? What do you feel? What do you hear ?

What do you smell?

Remember: Avoid simply telling us what something looks like-tell us how it tastes, smells, sounds, or feels! Bad examples of sentences that are too general and don't say much.

Mountain rain smells different from a beach drizzle. A mountain breeze feels different from a sea breeze. We hear different things in one spot, depending on the time of day. You can taste things youve never eaten: how would sunscreen taste?

Effective narrative essays allow your readers to visualize everything that's happening, in their minds. One way to make sure that this occurs is to use concrete, rather than abstract, details. Concrete Language makes the story or image seem clearer and more real to us. Abstract Language ...makes the story or image difficult to visualize.

e.g. The car approached the fourway crossing tearing up the road and burning off the rubber of its tyres.

The car approached the fourway crossing at high speed.

gives us information that we can easily grasp and perhaps empathize with. e.g. He climbed higher up the rock face, his hands aching with pain from the cuts from the rocks, his heart beating faster and his mouth was drying out from all the excitement of being the first to reach the top of Jabal Akhdar.

leaves your reader feeling empty, disconnected, and possibly confused. He climbed higher up the rock face, his hands hurt, his heart and he wanted to be the first to reach the top of Jabal Akhdar.

Look at the following paintings. Which one is most real for you?

Both the paintings are called The Flowers. Why is one more easily seen as flowers than the other? The next paintings are of children playing. Which one could you write more about?

An abstract painting does not normally contain recognizable objects. In other words, we can't look at the painting and immediately say: "that's a house" or "that's a bowl of fruit." Avoid abstract languageit wont help the reader understand what you're trying to say! Examples: Vague: It was a nice day. Vivid: The sun was shining and a slight breeze blew across my face. Vague: Mr. Smith was a great teacher. Vivid: Mr. Smith really knew how to help us turn our thoughts into good stories and essays.

Compare and Contrast

We are always comparing things in our lives. My phone is better than yours. Im younger than you. You are more beautiful than Saud. But we need to understand and use comparatives well. What is a Comparison? A Comparison points out how two things are the same or very similar. Some expressions for showing equivalence are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. as + adjective as the same (+ noun) as as many + countable noun as as much (+ non-count noun) as as much as

For example: A Ford costs OMR 5,000. A Toyota costs OMR 5,000. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. The Ford is as expensive/attractive as the Toyota. The Ford is the same (price) as the Toyota. The Ford costs as many dirhams/dollars as the Toyota. The Ford costs as much (money) as the Toyota. The Ford costs as much as the Toyota.

Task : Now write your own sentences comparing any two things. Use the 5 model sentences/expressions given above. It is also possible to use: both or neither nor to show equivalence. For example: 1. 2. 3. The Ford and the Toyota are both OMR 5,000. Both the Ford and the Toyota are OMR 5,000. Neither the Ford nor the Toyota is very expensive.

Now write your own sentences comparing A. Pre Intermediate phase and Intermediate phase. B. Galaxy chocolate and Snickers Bar.

Use the 3 model sentences/expressions given above. To show that two things are almost the same, but not totally, you can use 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. alike/similar similar (+ noun) similar to like almost/nearly the same

For example: The Ford has four doors, power steering, and a top speed of 140 kph. Toyota has four doors, power steering and a top speed of 135 kph. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. The Ford and the Toyota are alike/similar. The Ford and the Toyota are similar (cars). The Ford is similar to the Toyota. The Ford is like the Toyota. The Ford and the Toyota are almost/nearly the same. The

Now write your own sentences comparing the features of : 1. Hyundai and Kia 2. BlackBerry and iPhone Use the 5 model sentences/expressions given above. What is Contrast?

Contrast is when you show how two, or more, things are different.
The main expressions for showing difference between two things are: 1. comparative adjective (_____er) + than 2. not as/so + adjective + as 3. more than 4. more + adjective than 5. less than 6. less + adjective than 7. not as many + count noun + as 8. 8. not as much (+ non-count noun) + as

For example: The Toshiba computer costs OMR 350. The Apple computer costs OM530. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. The Toshiba is cheaper than the NEC. The Toshiba is not as expensive as the NEC. The MacBook costs more than the Toshiba. The MacBook is more expensive than the Toshiba. The Toshiba costs less than the NEC. The Toshiba is less expensive than the NEC. The Toshiba does not cost as many dollars as the NEC. The Toshiba does not cost as much (money) as the NEC.

Now write your own sentences comparing any two things. Use the 8 model sentences/expressions given above. Superlatives Superlatives can be useful in any part of your essay but especially in the introduction and conclusion. To show relationships among more than two things, use superlatives - usually adjectives with -est are added.

the most + multi-syllable adjective (base form) the least + multi-syllable adjective (base form)

For example: The Nike shoes cost OMR 60. The Reeboks cost OMR 50. The Adidas cost OMR50. 1. 2. 3. 4. Reeboks are the most expensive shoes. Reeboks are the styliest shoes. The Adidas are the least expensive shoes. The Adidas are the cheapest shoes.

Now write your own sentences comparing 3 things. Use the 4 model sentences or expressions given above (you can also write in the singular e.g. "The Toyota is the most expensive car.") ESSAYS usually involve you being asked to compare or contrast two or more items , ideas or subjects. Examples: 1. Compare your life at school with being a student at a college.

2. Compare and contrast the effects of pollution on the environment in a city and a mountain village. 3. The same amount of hours is given to each person each day. Explore this thought with reference to a hard working student and a lazy student.