How to journal your mind to be an Essayist!

Like your fingerprints, everything that you write bears a unique stamp that resonates with you and your thoughts. Words and expressions are the two hands of the clock if they strike at the right place and at the right time can create a revolution in the mind.

What is an Essay?

An essay is a lens through which readers can peer into the mind of the writer. It focuses on one idea in the mind -a record of a personal experience, a remembered person or a place, or a studied opinion.

Ideating and processing facts through organized and structured statements paves way for a good read.

To be precise there are two types of essays, Formal and Informal. Both are validated and tested in all the CBSE schools. How should I curate my thought process into writing? A well knit productive rendition is already a success by itself. To support your purpose and the effect even before it is acknowledged, you need to focus on a certain sequence followed by research.

Format of an Essay:

Introduction:

The topic statement which chooses the thesis statement that states the main idea or the theme with a clear purpose followed by the tone that expresses the writer's attitude towards his or her subject and the audience. It can be reflective, straightforward or casual.

Body:

The supporting paragraphs laid with facts, examples, incidents, comparisons and contrast or any of a variety of details that help explain the main idea should be included in the body. Braiding the words with perfect coherence unleashes the personality of the written script from the perspective of both the writer and the audience. The writer should focus on the interest to capture the attention of the selected audience. The writer should battle with himself and the audience viewpoint to render victory over the assumptions which are much more difficult than said. To put it in a nutshell ‘A victory without survivors.’ The writer should have empathy to transcend his ideas to the audience because everyone can write an essay but not everyone can succeed to kindle the minds of the reader.

Conclusion:

Once the supporting details have been presented the writer usually returns to more general comments—often referring to ideas in the introduction —-to round off the essay. The length of the conclusion, like the length of the introduction, depends on the length of the essay itself. The conclusion is to complete the essay and drive home the main idea.

Cues:

Suggestions for beginning an essay

1. Begin with incident that shows how you became interested in your subject
2. Begin by giving some background information
3. Begin with an example or incident that catches the reader’s attention

Tips for achieving coherence

1. Repeat a keyword from an earliest sentence
2. Repeat an idea from an earlier sentence, using new words
3. Use a pronoun in place of a word used earlier

Ways to end an essay

1. Summarize the essay or restate the thesis statement in new words
2. Refer to ideas in introduction to bring the essay full circle
3. Appeal to the emotions
4. Draw a conclusion based on the details in the essay body
5. Use clincher because it fixes the message firmly in the reader’s mind, adds a strong ending

Editing checklist

1. Are your sentences free of errors in grammar and usage?
2. Did you spell each word correctly?
3. Did you use capital letters where needed?
4. Did you punctuate sentences correctly?
5. Did you use the correct manuscript form?
6. Is your typing or handwriting clear?

A good essay finds a way to reach the essence of contemplation that enhances and processes the idea projected through salient words and expression combined with an attitude that carries the value of the thesis.

As Benjamin Franklin once said, “Either write worth reading or do something worth writing.” Let's reform our ways of writing through thinking!

By
Ms Rosario Selvarani
HOD - English Department