Tips for Good Essays?

Factual Questions
1

Disclaimer: Please do NOT post anything that, if I were to use it, would be considered plagarism.

I just want basic tips on how to write a good in-class (thats a 40 minute time limit) essay with no advanced knowledge of what it will be on. I usually have trouble writing a conclusion, so tips on that will be especially useful.

Obviously, I already know about using a varied vocabulary, correct spelling and grammar (although you might think otherwise from observing some of my posts :D.)

Note: If the moderators think this belongs in another place, please accept my apologies and move it.

2

Use the same structure as you use with an impromptu speech:

             Read question carefully!
             Read question carelully!

Then:

A. Tell what you are going to say (opening paragraph).

B. Say it (two, three or more paragraphs.)
Use journalistic rules of:
WHO WHAT WHEN WHERE HOW

C. Tell them what you said (closing paragraph).
oh, and don’t forget:
READ THE QUESTION CAREFULLY!

3

1)Your first sentence is your thesis (no need for an introduction on an in class essay). It should stand alone, and it should answer the question completly

Example:

Question: What caused the War of 1812?

First line: The War of 1812 was caused by A, B, and C

  1. After you have your thesis, move on to proving that your answer is correct. Your watchwords here are orginization, detail, and clarity

Orginization: Each paragraph should discuss exactly one idea–not two ideas, and not part of an idea you didn’t finish explaining in that other paragraph on the last page.

Detail: Use as many concrete details as you can think of. Advanced in-class essay writers know to structure thier answers around the concrete details they know, not vice versa. Give examples, names, dates, and make comparisons.

Clarity: Use simple sentences: subject-verb-object. Use the active voice as much as possible (The War of 1812 sucked ass, not What sucked ass was the War of 1812). This is not the time to show off your Faulkner imitation. Your instructor has a great many of these to grades, and he/she wants to be able to discover quickly what you know and what you understand. It is better to be so clear as to be obvious than to be a bit to complicated. Trust me on this.

Examples:

One difference between feudalism and capitalism is the presence of a ready source of specie[detail]–cold hard cash. Feudal economys suffer from a shortage of money, and relay on labor as the medium of exchange. This is clunky and inefficient, and it limits how much cash any one man can control. Furthermore, labor cannot be spent on demand due to things such as disease, weather, and lack of training. Capitalistic societys have a cash surplus, which allows for investment in projects that are not immediatly useful, such as irrigation systems, computers, and clown shows (these are details, though they are bullshit. In real in-class essays, bullshit as little as possible. But have details, whatever the cost)

Another difference between feudalism and capitalism is . . .

The last, critical difference between feudalism and capitalism is . . . .

Using phrases that tell the grader exactly what you are doing (first, another, lastly) keeps the bored, sleepy grader on target. Always visualize the bored, sleepy grader. Your job is to HELP me, I mean, him or her.

  1. Conclusions

Frankly, by the time you get to your conclustion, you’ve already got your grade. A good conclusion mostly serves to reconcile a borderline grade. HTe thing to remember about conclusions is what they are not. A conclusion is not about proving your thesis. The body paragraphs prove your thesis, and if they have not done so, go back and redo them. So start you conclusion with “therefore” and a repeat of your thesis. The rest of the conclusion is about discussing the signifigance of the thesis that you have already proven-it is about why it matters that such-and such is true. To do this, you should link your thesis to some sort of wider issue, put it into context.

Examples:

Therefore, Napoleon should never have invaded Russia. This is yet another demostration of how astute leaders can still make critical errors in judgement, and stands as a reminder of the dangers of meglomania.
I hope that helped. Ignore the spelling errors.

4

Both posts were helpful. I especially liked Manda’s advice on conclusions. One thing I should add is that this is an AP class. The reason I asked this question is that, although I can already right a pretty decent essay, this year I have to kick it up a notch. Thus, I cannont forgoe an intro sentence.

5

Bah. Do you mean an intro sentence in addition to the thesis statement? (In my Ideal In Class Essay, the thesis statement is a one sentance paragraph). In actual college, no one will expect a full fledged introduction on an inclass essay. You should be using those precious momments to defend your thesis with clear, vivid terms and picky, explicit detail, not crafting introductions. But I digress.

A good introduction moves from the general to the specific. It is the mirror of a conclusion. Start with setting up the context behind the question, then move to your specific answer to the question, your thesis. This thesis should be the last sentence in your introduction.

Examples:

The United States of America truly came of age in the Civil War. [Very general] The war was an opputunity for hundreds of new officers to put to the test the theories they all studied together at West Point [more specific]. The only officer who surpassed these theories was U.S. Grant [Very specific–this is your thesis]

The U.S. truly came of age in the Civil War.[very general] It changed the role of women in America [more specific]. Jane Doe is one woman who made her mark during the Civil War. {Very specific–this is your thesis.

You thesis should be the only sentence in your introduction that in arguemenitive–the others should be self evident truths. Otherwise, you end up trying to prove two things in one essay, and you havn’t time for that.

6

My 9th grade hisotry teacher taught us the “hamburger method.”

First, read the question. Then, before you do any writing, figure out the three (or however many) items that answer the question.

The top “bun” is simply a list of the three items.

The “meat” is one paragraph (or page, depending on how long it’s supposed to be) for each item, in the same order as the thesis. For each paragraph, follow a similar model as the whole essay recursively. That is, introduce the paragraph, give the “meat,” and then conclude the paragraph.

The bottom “bun” then mirrors the top one, it simply restates the thesis.

Example:
Question: “Discuss some of the economic implications of the Foobar Bazzer Tax Bill.”

Thesis: There are three important implications of the Foobar Bazzer Tax Bill. They are, A, B, and C.

[Paragraph about A.]
[Paragraph about B.]
[Paragraph about C.]

Conclusion: In conclusion, A, B, and C are the most significant implications fo the Foobar Bazzer Tax Bill. Therefore, you should vote against it and/or start a violent revolution.

7

What is the teacher’s answer to the question? More than anything else, this should be your answer. Mention the opposing answer, but do not make the mistake of being troublesome with either taking the side of your teacher’s rival, or coming up with an original answer except in letting them know you know the difference.

Practice before you get in there. A little leg work will get you past exams from former students and/or the library if at a college. Practice by answering these exams. It is not unheard of to see the same exam questions recycled on a four or five year basis. There is nothing wrong with learning of it through this cycling. It will also let you know all the subjects the teacher thinks are important and you may learn something.

The outline of the essay is what everyone else has said. Intro, Body, Conclu. Say it say it with exposition and say what you said.

To be a really good writer, write a lot. If it isn’t for someone else’s eyes, even better. Write like real people talk, unless a technical essay, in which case use the jargon correctly. When in doubt, say it in English rather than jargon. Nothing looks worse than misusing jargon.

8

I’m very impressed at what people have said here - stated really well, too, MandaJO.

Can I add one thing I believe in - I am certain that it often got me good marks during my academic career. It may not be so applicable to in-class essays, but nevertheless…

I always liked to identify a hero and a villain. A point of view might be the villain, or a particular writer I disagreed with, or whatever. But when I sincerely believed one point of view added more to the sum of human knowledge I would defend it - not in a sentimental way, but with vigour.

When I marshalled arguments, quoted studies or research, or quoted other writers, it was like being in a courtroom and defending an innocent man. In a sense, my essay was the address to the jury.

I have a feeling that if you are passionate about the subject, an enthusiasm is conveyed, and your work stands out from that of the safe time-servers.
Redboss

9

I know that you said in the OP that you knew that correct spelling is important, and I know that it’s not considered polite to quibble about spelling on this message board, but look at your second post:

> Both posts were helpful. I especially liked Manda’s
> advice on conclusions. One thing I should add is that
> this is an AP class. The reason I asked this question is
> that, although I can already right a pretty decent essay,
> this year I have to kick it up a notch. Thus, I cannont
> forgoe an intro sentence.

That’s three spelling mistakes in five sentences. (It should be “write” instead of “right,” “cannot” instead of “cannont,” and “forego” instead of “forgoe.” If you have a teacher who’s a stickler on this sort of thing, he’s not going to be nearly as tolerant as we are here on the SDMB. You need to be careful about this in your in-class essay.

10

:sigh:

Wrong. :frowning:

As a teacher, it saddened me to see a class full of parrots repeating what they all thought I wanted to see. Oh, and by the way, have you ever considered what it must be like for a teacher to read 35 in-class essays which all say the same thing?

Most of the advice here is sound, Qwertyasdfg. The only things I argue with are DPWhite’s comments (above) and some of the things said about conclusions. A solid conclusion is the difference between an acceptable paper and one that shines: simply stating an answer is easy - a well-written conslusion demonstrates to the teacher that you understand the answer’s significance… and that’s the whole point.

It’s interesting to note that a solid conclusion is what changes the essay DBWhite supports into one worth reading. A good conclusion answers the key question every teacher wants you to answer: “So What?”

11

Haha. I hope I didn’t make those mistakes in the essay (it was this morning, and every Friday for the rest of the year). Generally, when I’m writing where spelling counts, if I’m not sure about spelling, I circumvent the word. “Cannont” was a typo and “right” was absentmindedness.

Thanks for pointing that out. I’ll be more careful about homonyms (or is it homophones, or homophones?)