How to write an Essay

There are many ways to write an essay. However, the standard essay form follows the same basic patterns as discussed in this `how to`.

Here`s How:

1. Select the topic of your essay.

2. Choose the central idea, or thesis, of your essay. For example: Information technology has revolutionized the way we work.

3. Outline your essay into introductory, body and summary paragraphs.

4. The introductory paragraph begins with an interesting sentence. For example: Home workers have grown from 150,000 to over 12 million in the past 5 years thanks to the wonders of the computer.

5. After this first sentence, add your thesis statement from above.

6. Use one sentence to introduce every body paragraph to follow. For example: The Internet has made this possible by extending the office into the home.

7. Finish the introductory paragraph with a short summary or goal statement. For example: Technological innovation has thus made the traditional workplace obsolete.

8. In each of the body paragraphs (usually two or three) the ideas first presented in the introductory paragraph are developed.

9. Develop your body paragraphs by giving detailed information and examples. For example: When the Internet was first introduced it was used primarily by scientists, now it is common in every classroom.

10. Body paragraphs should develop the central idea and finish with a summary of that idea. There should be at least two examples or facts in each body paragraph to support the central idea.

11. The summary paragraph summarizes your essay and is often a reverse of the introductory paragraph.

12. Begin the summary paragraph by quickly restating the principal ideas of your body paragraphs. For example: The Internet in the home, benefits and ease of use of modern computer systems...

13. The penultimate sentence should restate your basic thesis of the essay. For example: We have now passed from the industrial revolution to the information revolution.

14. Your final statement can be a future prediction based on what you have shown in the essay. For example: The next step: The complete disappearance of the workplace.

Tips:

1. Use strong verbs and avoid modals to state your opinion. It is better to write: The workplace has evolved than The workplace seems to have evolved

2. Do not apologize for what you are saying. An essay is about your opinion.

3. Do not translate from your mother tongue. It will quickly get you into trouble.

How to write an Annotation

An annotation is a brief summary of a book, article, or other publication. An abstract is also a summary, but there is a difference between the two. An abstract is simply a summary of a work, whereas the purpose of an annotation is to describe the work in such a way that the reader can decide whether or not to read the work itself. An annotated bibliography helps the reader understand the particular usefulness of each item. The ideal annotated bibliography shows the relationships among individual items and may compare their strengths or shortcomings.

The following points provide guidance for writing annotations. As appropriate each of these issues might be assessed and commented on in the annotation.

1. Qualifications of the author, unless very well known.

2. The scope and main purpose of the publication (e.g., book, article, web site).

3. The intended audience and level of reading difficulty.

4. The author's bias or assumptions, upon which the work's rationale rests.

5. The method of obtaining data or doing research.

6. The author's conclusions.

7. Comparison with other works on the same subject.

8. Materials appended to the work — e.g., maps, charts, photos, etc.

9. The work's importance or usefulness for the study of a subject.

Not all of these points are necessary for every annotation, and they certainly do not have to be noted in the order listed here, but they at least ought to be kept in mind when writing an annotation.