NDM School

Writing a good essay is a demanding skill. You are required to balance technical language and informative content with readability. Many people, who can fully grasp the former, stumble on the latter. The three areas of style, structure and language must be observed, and the following can be regarded as general advice that can be applied to most types of essays, from scientific journals to English literature dissertations. Essays – in newspapers and journals – are extremely popular in the UK, and examples of wonderfully written essays can be found in such publications as the Paris Review.

Most people are well versed in the general art of essay structure: the introduction, content paragraphs and conclusion. However, problems start to occur with internal paragraph structure and the arc of the essay in its entirety. A good paragraph will be supported by an internal framework that leads the reader through the argument. The individual paragraph should obviously have a clear message, but also a beginning, middle and end. Each paragraph should navigate the reader though the premise, from an overview of the fundamental issues to a close analysis of these points. The ‘end’ of the paragraph should in some sense relate to the essay as a whole entity. This leads to the second point, which is the arc of the essay. The essay should be felt to develop, increasing in complexity and thoroughness of argument; unifying towards a collective whole. This can be achieved through the interrelation of paragraphs, as well as by language and style. Incisive essayists such as TS Eliot could be read as sources of inspiration.

The style of an essay is the tone it takes towards the content. The style of the essay tries to warm the reader to the subject matter. Few people will make the mistake of assuming a too informal tone with the reader, while many may make the converse problem. Incorporating jargon into your argument may be necessary with academic or scientific texts, but this should be approached with caution, as the overcrowding with technical terms can generate some unreadable, and sometime ungrammatical, sentences. One should leave enough space to elaborate on technical terms, and no essay should be so technical as to be a pain to read. Style is something that requires an extensive grasp of the language, and foreign students could benefit from studying English in London, whether in a school or with personal tutors.

There are certain pitfalls to avoid with language in essay writing. The use of the personal pronoun ‘I’ should be avoided in most, if not all, scenarios. Furthermore, the desire for every writer of essays is to convey their message in the most direct way. A full grasp of the meanings of words is of paramount importance, and efforts should be made to avoid certain common errors. The use of ‘effect’ and ‘affect’ is one such example. To ‘affect’ means to influence and change, while an ‘effect’ to instigate and cause. A quick study of similar problems can avert some major errors of usage. Many native speakers have problems with such intricacies, and the issues for foreign students can be more extensive. Many language schools, such as www.uiclondon.com, provide support for those studying in English universities and can offer extra language teaching to them to allow them to improve their essay writing skills.