Developing writing skills:

essay writing
Eglė Petronienė
14-12-2012
Ukmergė
 Etymology of the word “essay”

O “Essayer“ – Fr. to try out, to try one’s hand at

sth. / at doing sth.

O „Exagium“ – Lat. to weigh, to evaluate in the

mind, to consider carefully in order to reach
an opinion, decision, choice.
O An essay is an attempt to answer a question.

O The aim of an essay is to draw the reader’s

attention to the problem and invite him/her to
consider (compare, make conclusions) the ideas
presented in the essay.

O The reader does not necessarily accept the

ideas.
O Michel de Montagne (1533 – 1592) –
„Essais” (1580).

O Francis Bacon (1561 – 1626) –

„The Essays, or Counsels, Civil and Moral“
(1612).

O In the XVIII-XIX c.c. an essay as a genre evolved

from self-reflexive, philosophical essays to
modern journalistic essays.
 Michel de Montaigne “Of Idleness”

O “… Just as land must be cultivated to produce crops and

women must be fertilized to produce children, the mind
can only be productive if it thinks about a particular
subject in an ordered fashion… The soul that has no
fixed goal loses itself…
When I retired to my home, … it seemed to me I could do
my mind no greater favour than to let it entertain itself
in full idleness… But I find – it gives birth to so many
chimeras and fantastic monsters… that I have begun to
put them in writing…”
 Francis Bacon “Of Revenge”

O “Revenge is a kind of wild justice; which the more

man’s nature runs to, the more ought law to weed it out.
For as for the first wrong, it doth but offend the law; …
Certainly, in taking revenge, a man is but even with his
enemy; but in passing it over, he is superior; …
vindictive persons live the life of witches; who, as they
are mischievous, so end they unfortunate.”
 From the “Spectator” by Joseph Addison

O “I shall be ambitious to have it said of me, that I have

brought philosophy out of closets and libraries, schools
and colleges, to dwell in clubs and assemblies, at tea-
tables and coffee-houses.”
 Alexander Pope “An Essay On Criticism”

O “A little learning is a dangerous thing;

Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring:
The shallow draughts intoxicate the brain,
And drinking largely sobers us again.”
O Since the XIX c. essays have been used to teach
people to write well.

O By learning to write an essay, the learner

develops his/her distinctive and confident voice
in writing.

O The essay is a journey of ideas between the

writer and the reader (Georg Lukacs 1910).
O The essay is a judgement but not a verdict. It is
the process of judging.

O The essay is a form of communication. The

writer and the reader are participants in a
particular communicative situation.

O The essay allows the reader to trace the writer’s

thought-patterns, ideas and opinions.
Conventions of academic writing

O Seriousness of approach. The reader expects a

seriousness in the way the writer addresses the
issue and a seriousness in his voice.

O Formality of register. It is in keeping with the

seriousness of approach. The register is
formal, not colloquial. The writer expects the
reader to be an interested aquaintance, not a
best-mate.
Conventions of academic writing

O Consistency. The writer is expected to be

consistent in his/her judgements as well as in
the formal register (suddenly becoming
intimate, or very pompous)

O Objectivity of tone. Although the writer

expresses his/her opinion, he/she is expected
to be objective in persuasion, argument or
assessment (use of modal expressions)
Conventions of academic writing

O Reasoned, analytical and logical thought-

process. The reader expects the writer to be
analytical and to present reasoning in a
sequential, logical way and to explain the
decisions as they are made.
In 2013 English state examination, B2 level
students will have to develop an essay. Their
essays will be assessed in accordance with the
established criteria:
Orelevance to topic; variety of ideas; coherence;
Oorganization and paragraphing; logical
sequence; a variety of linking devices;
Orange of vocabulary and grammatical
structures, appropriate and accurate use.
O The ability to express one’s ideas in writing is
closely related to the ability to think and
reason.

O Writing skills and critical thinking can be

developed through integrated writing,
speaking and reading tasks.

READ →CONSIDER →DISCUSS →WRITE

Three types of text:

O- narration (process)
O- description (scene)
O- reasoning (thinking)
O An essay is a written (narrative, descriptive or
argumentative) text developed to express the
writer’s opinion on a particular issue.
O The goal of a narrative essay is to tell a story.
Parts of the story are related through time. It is
a coherent sequence of actions. Besides
narrating a story, such an essay conveys some
important idea or a valuable lesson.
O The goal of a descriptive essay is to give a
detailed description of an entity (a person, a
plant, a place, an event, etc.). Such an essay is
based on the place relationship, not the time
relationship (like in a narrative essay). The
reader usually has a particular reason for
writing a description.
O An essay of reasoning is based on one
important idea, or thesis. The thesis is
developed through supporting ideas whose
order reflects the order of thought.
There are two methods of logic used in academic
writing: deductive and inductive.
ODeductive reasoning works from the more
general to the more specific. First, the main idea
is presented. Then, it is expanded on.
OInductive reasoning works the other way,
moving from specific observations to broader
generalizations or, in other words, to the main
idea.
4 strategies to develop the main idea:
Oargumentation (based on deduction),
Ocause-effect (based on induction),
O comparison and contrast (based on deduction;
part-to-part and whole-to-whole development of
ideas)
Oadvantages and disadvantages (based on
advantages and disadvantages of an entity)
 Essay types in different languages

Lietuvių k. Anglų k. Prancūzų k. Vokiečių k.

argumentacinis argumentative texte m Aufsatz: Argumentierung
/ essay (based on argumentatif (Für und Wider
argumentavim arguments and Argumente)
o tekstas counter-  
arguments)
 Essay types in different languages

Lietuvių k. Anglų k. Prancūzų k. Vokiečių k.

aiškinamasis/ cause and effect texte m explicatif Aufsatz:
aiškinimo essay (based on Problemdarstellung/Erört
tekstas causes and ern von Problemfragen
effects) (Abwägung von
Ursachen/Gründen und
Konsequenzen)
 Essay types in different languages

Lietuvių k. Anglų k. Prancūzų k. Vokiečių k.

lyginamasis/ comparison and Aufsatz:
texte m de
lyginimo contrast essay Gegenüberstellung
tekstas: (based on comparaison /Vergleich
nuoseklaus similarities and (Erörterung nach
dėstymo, differences): einzelnen Kriterien oder
paralelinio whole-to-whole, der Unterschiedlichkeiten
dėstymo part-to-part und der
Gemeinsamkeiten) 
 Essay types in different languages

Lietuvių k. Anglų k. Prancūzų k. Vokiečių k.

svarstomasis/ Aufsatz: Freie
advantages and texte m de
svarstymo Erörterung/Begründete
tekstas disadvantages raisonnement Stellungnahme
(Darlegung der meist
essay (based on
persönlichen, aber auch
advantages and sachlichen und
schlüssigen Argumenten
disadvantages)
zur Überzeugung) 
All types of essay have a structure:

OIntroduction
OBody
OConclusion
 Introduction

Lietuvių k. Anglų k. Prancūzų k. Vokiečių k.

temos komentaras hook commentaire m Einführung in das
Thema
tema background thème m Thema der Erörtung
information
pagrindinė mintis- thesis statement idée f maîtresse Hauptgedanke:
tezė Behauptung/Auffor
derung
 Body

Lietuvių k. Anglų k. Prancūzų k. Vokiečių k.

pastraipa paragraph paragraphe m Absatz

teminis/ the topic sentence Behauptung

phrasef thématique
pagrindinis  
sakinys
aiškinamieji supporting phrasesfpl Begründungs-,
sakiniai sentences explicatives Beleg-,
Beispielsätze
apibendrinamasis the concluding phrasef Zusammenfassende
sakinys sentence généralisante r Satz des Gesagten
 Conclusion

Lietuvių k. Anglų k. Prancūzų k. Vokiečių k.

apibendrinimas conclusion conclusion f Schluss,
Zusammenfassende
Schlussfolgerung
 What is characteristic of an argumentative essay?

O Logical argumentation is based on one controversial

issue. The writer takes a position and tries to persuade
the reader to agree with the presented opinion by using
strong logical reasons to support the argument.
O The main idea – thesis – is usually presented in the
Introduction. Each Body paragraph presents a concrete
argument supporting the main idea. Supporting details
in each paragraph support the topic sentence of the
paragraph. Supporting arguments of the main idea
become main ideas of the paragraph. An argumentative
essay ends in a summary which restates the main idea.
O Argumentation in most cases is based on
deduction. However, induction is used when the
writer has both strong arguments and
counterarguments. In the latter case, the
introductory paragraph introduces the problem
only. The body paragraph presents contrasted
opinions, and in the end, the writer summarizes
what precedes and introduces the main idea.
O Deductive pattern is more often followed when the
writer comes up with the arguments supporting the
main idea without adding contradictory views.
 What is characteristic of a cause-effect essay ?

O In a cause-effect essay, the writer aims to explain

the cause-effect relationship. Such essays explain
why certain actions, situations or behaviours
happen. The writer analyzes the causes, facts,
processes and comes up with the effect
(consequence or benefit).
O The introduction presents the problem and the
writer’s purpose of writing. One by one, the body
paragraphs introduce causes which lead to a
particular effect. The concluding paragraph
contains the topic idea – the effect which fulfills
the purpose and expresses the writer’s opinion.
What is characteristic of a comparison and contrast essay?

O A comparison and contrast essay is structurally similar

to an argumentative essay. The “hook” introduces the
problem. The “background information” helps the
reader to get familiar with the entities to be compared.
The last sentence of the Introduction may contain or it
may not the main idea of the essay. The writer can
merely state the criteria for the comparison and make
the conclusion at the end of the essay.
O Comparison is expected to be motivated.
When the topic sentence states the similarity
of a few entities, the result is likely to be a
descriptive essay. However, if the purpose of
comparison is presented, what follows is a
motivated comparison or contrast of the given
entities.
There are two patterns to organize paragraphs based
on comparison and contrast:
OIn a whole-to-whole development, the writer
evaluates one entity according to all establish criteria.
Then, the writer describes another entity on the basis
of the same criteria.
OIn a part-to-part development, the entities are
compared / contrasted according to each and single
criterion established for the comparison.
What is characteristic of an advantages and disadvantages
essay?

O The purpose of an advantages and

disadvantages essay is not to persuade. It is to
give information, to reveal different properties
of an entity (good sides and drawbacks,
advantages and disadvantages).
O Such an essay may not have a clearly defined
position of the writer. This strategy is used to
draw the readers attention to particular issues,
to encourage him/her to think and consider.
O The Introduction presents the entity (place,
event, phenomenon) which is either important,
or interesting or attractive to the writer.
O The body paragraphs reveal different aspects
or qualities or features of the given entity.
O In the concluding paragraph, the writer may
come up with the conclusion or he/she may
leave it to the reader to phrase.