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Theme Writing

Seven Secrets To Creative Writing In Primary Schools - For Parents

As a primary school teacher with 30 years experience, now retired, I have turned my attention to teaching the parents of young children. Why? I hear you ask. Well, perhaps I can illustrate this with a couple of phrases you have probably heard before.

 

“Oh, but we don’t do it that way mum”

 

“My teacher said that you’re doing it wrong dad”

 

So, let me help you to get it right.

 

Firstly, I want to turn my attention to creative writing, or story writing, for the 7-11 year olds. But don’t forget, I am writing for the parents in order that you can help your child. The areas we will look at break down into 7 categories.

 

1) Reading

2) Story Mountain / Story Board

3) Descriptive Writing

4) Characters

5) Introduction

6) Main Theme

7) The Ending

 

So, number one. Reading. What has reading to do with creative writing? Well, everything really. I found in my career that those children who had had books read to them from a very early age and who were read with as they grew older had much wider experiences from which to draw information and ideas for their own writing.

 

Next, number two. The story mountain or the story board. A structure on which to build the story. Using the idea of the story board, as that is an easier concept to understand in text, we would have anywhere from 3, for six year olds, to 8-12 boxes for ten and eleven year olds like a cartoon strip and the different parts of the story are literally sketched out with phrases written underneath to elaborate on the pictures.

 

This then forms the basis of the writing but with the storyboard structure it is far easier to keep on track building good description and have a beginning – middle – end to the story.

 

And now, my favourite, number three, the descriptive writing. The use of adverbs and adjectives. Now, I am not just going to assume that you all know what adverbs and adjectives are. What would be the point of writing this article just to lose some of you right now because you felt out of your depth. So, an adverb describes an action and an adjective tells us more about a thing. Let me show you.

 

Sir Gwain leaned carefully over the rough parapet.

 

The word ‘carefully’ describes how Sir Gwain leaned. The action he was doing was leaning and carefully is the adverb telling us how he was doing it, ok?

 

Now the adjective.

 

Sir Gwain leaned carefully over the rough parapet.

 

The word ‘rough’ here describes the thing he leaned over, the parapet, and in describing the parapet the word rough is an adjective. So there you go, an adverb describes an action like walking, running, shouting, singing, it tells us how these things were done. Adjectives describe things like tables, walls, shoes, things, objects.

 

So let’s see what good use of description can make of a simple statement like,

 

The man sat on the bench.

 

The dappled sunlight danced mischievously on the stranger’s shoes as he sat, slouched beneath the old sycamore.  The bench had been there for years, and had seen better days, one arm missing, and writing in spray paint all over the back.  This did, however, seem in keeping with his shabby appearance, dishevelled hair, unshaven and uncared for. His eyes………………………..

 

I could go on, but I think you get the drift.  I could write a short boring sentence, or with a little bit of work and imagination, something that is much more interesting to read, and leaving you wanting to read more.  What about his eyes?  Well, why don't you try to finish it?  Go on, I bet you can.

 

Number four, the characters in the story.  A boy or girl who is well read, and has enjoyed the experience of books from an early age, will have more mature characters featuring in their work than those children who have not had the same experience.

 

You see, once again we see how important reading is as an aid to story writing. When children have only a limited experience of books, or no experience at all, how can we ask them to write a story and compete with others in the class who have read a lot and have a wealth of experience on which to draw for their characters etc.

 

The characters in a story have to be so credible for the reader, that the writer has to know them better than anyone else. Character profiles or studies are important to the believability of the story and the action within.  If the characters are weak, the story will not hang together very well, and the best way to change this is to write character profiles for those in the story.  Who they are, where do they come from, what physical characteristics do they have, how do they know each other, what are their favourite foods, hobbies, likes, dislikes etc.

 

For the younger children, when they are starting out, there is nothing wrong with them retelling stories they have heard and using the same characters.  They could also use the characters from one story and give them another adventure.  Authors do this all the time.  Popular characters will be in whole series of books with new themes and in different situations.

 

And now, number five, the introduction.  The introduction serves a couple of purposes.  Firstly it introduces the characters to the reader, and secondly, it should capture the reader’s attention within the first paragraph or two, or they may just put the work down and not pick it up again.  Obviously this is not about a teacher marking the work, they are going to finish it and grade it.  Listen, having marked thousands in thirty years, it is far easier and much more enjoyable to mark a good one than it is to mark a bad one!

 

Here I will give you one of my best tips.  The introduction is just to set the scene, introduce the characters, and capture the interest of the reader.  It has nothing to do with the main theme of the story.  I used to give the children in my class a theme for the story like ‘Shipwreck’ or ‘Disaster in Space’, or whatever, but, if they mentioned anything to do with the theme in the introduction, then they were marked down.  That way they learned to write superb introductions, introducing the characters to the reader and capturing the reader’s full attention in the first few paragraphs.

 

On to number six, the main theme.  This is the easiest, it can be about anything.  As long as the characters have credibility, and the introduction is sound, the story can be about anything the child wants.  Who in their right mind would think to write a story about wizards in a school called Hogwarts, and travelling from A to B by jumping into a fireplace, and a train platform that only existed through a wall?  There you go, they can write about anything.

 

Lastly, number seven. I mentioned a story mountain earlier.  If we think about the foothills of the mountain as the introduction, and the mountain as the main theme, then the foothills on the other side have to be the end.  Stories have a start, a middle, and an end.  Quite often it is suitable to end the story by taking the characters back to the setting for the introduction for the ending.  Too often, children end a story too quickly before it has resolved.  This happens a lot with those children with limited experience of reading books.  They do not understand the pattern of a story.  So you see, even right at the end I am still banging on about reading and how important it is to the art of creative writing.

Well, there you go.  I know you can do this, but if you need further help please feel free to visit my Bio below.

 

About the Author

As a retired teacher, Ken has a wealth of experience and wants to help children make greater progress in their primary school. Not being involved at the 'chalk face' any more, he feels that the next best step is to teach the parents to help their child and so support the valuable work that the schools do.

Check out how Ken can help you to help your child.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtTeh_H17UY

Mortal Kombat Annihilation Theme

Nature of writing

THE NATURE OF WRITING

v    Writing is a skill that requires a great deal of practice.

v    It is a skill that is not only interesting but easy to acquire.

v    Writing demands that you should be able to think and organize.

v    You will also need to appreciate the importance of words, their form, functions and meaning in sentences.

v    In order to write well, you will need to be selective in your words and be discriminating in  how you put the words together to form sentences.

v    You must be able to appreciate the nature, types and functions of sentences so that you use them effectively to show the relationships between the ideas, thoughts and feelings expressed in your writing.

v    When people speak, they do so mostly in sentences – one, two, three sentences. Each time people speak on an issue, topic or theme, they often show some relationship between and among their sentences. After the first sentence, you will notice that the other sentences are there to explain, elaborate or provide additional information to that which is provided by the first or the introductory sentence. In writing,the practice is similar.

v    In writing, once you pick a theme, you need to settle down and think of what to say first- that is, how best to introduce the theme or topic or idea to the reader.

v As soon as you write this introductory sentence, you should then think of three statements (i.e. sentences) or more that explain, elaborate or provide additional information on your introductory   sentence.

v This general statement must then be followed by other three reasons, or three ways, or three proofs, or three causes, or three effects or four examples which are intended to make the introductory statement clearer to the reader.

v   Each of these statements must be closely related to the introductory statement.

v   This is continuous writing.

Writing Skills

v    Writing is a productive literary skill, which uses language in a graphic or written form.

v    A writer's intention is to convey information to a reader.

v    To ensure that this information is properly grasped and understood, he has to do the following:

• Outline the idea either in fragments or sentences.
• Discuss the content thoughtfully and thoroughly.
• Explain the information clearly.
• Arrange the ideas sequentially.
• Paragraph the Writing Properly by making use of adequate topic sentences, several supporting details as well as transitory words.
• Punctuate the writing carefully and thoroughly.
• Summarize and conclude the writing properly.

v    Thus, effective writers are noted for:

getting the grammar right,

having a range of vocabulary,

punctuating meaningfully,

spelling accurately,

using a range of sentence structures,

linking information across sentences to develop the topic,

developing and organizing the content clearly & convincingly.

 

THE Writing Process

v    Broadly speaking the writing process is divided into four stages:

1                   The pre-writing stage

2                   The writing stage

3                   The revising stage

4                   The proof –reading stage

Stage 1: Pre - Writing

v    This is the getting –ready – to- write stage.

v    The problems of this stage are the motivation to write and knowing what to say.

v    To overcome this stage, ask yourself two important questions; what is the function (purpose) of the writing and for whom is the writing meant?

v    Once this is done, you are likely to be motivated.

v    The moment the function or purpose of the writing is settled, your answer will influence both the choice of the organization you will impose on your writing as well as the choice of language.

v    Once you also decide on for whom you are writing, it will help you to select what you are going to write and in what style.

v    Have you ever been given an essay topic about which you did not have the faintest idea as to what to write?

v    To be able to write at all, you must have ideas as to what to write.

v    It is in this pre-writing stage that you will generate ideas as to what you will write.

v    At this stage, you create, examine and select ideas relevant to the topic.

v    To do this, you use all your senses productively.

v    All your senses give you a goldmine of information on sight, sound, smell, feel, etc

v    Also, use your memory.

v    Your past is full of ideas you may recall on the topic.

v    The experience you have built up may become relevant in  your generation of ideas relevant to the topic you are treating.

v    Finally, use reflective thinking. Your mind is never vacuous.

Thoughts are constantly passing through your mind. Get these thoughts focused on the topic and jot them down.

v    When you have generated a lot of ideas by your brain storing, stop to look at what you have jotted down, give it a focus, edit, look at the ideas, place an order on the ideas, rearrange them in some logical sequence to form an outline of your essay.

v    With these outline, you have determined what you plan to write about.

v    You can add some other details.

To outline one should do the following:

i.                   Identity the ideas in the topic.

ii.                 Organize them in a logical order by grouping them into paragraphs.

iii.              List their details.

v    For instance, given the topic, "the causes of accidents on Nigerian roads".

The outline could be this way:

Identifying the ideas in the topic.

a        Causes of road accidents.

b        Steps being taken to solve the problems.

c        Recommendation for solving the problems.

d        Types of accidents on the road.

2        Organizing the ideas in a logical order:

a        Types of road accidents.

b        Causes of road accidents.

c        Steps being taken to solve the problem.

d        Recommendation for solving the problem.

Listing the details of the outline.

1        Types of road accidents.

i         Motorcycle accidents.

ii        Car accidents.

iii       Bicycle accidents.

The detailed outline will therefore be something like this:

1        Causes of road accidents.

i         Bad roads.

ii        Lack of road signs.

iii       Corrupt and inefficient traffic officers.

iv       Careless pedestrians.

v        Un-roadworthy vehicle being allowed to ply the roads.

vi       Drunken drivers.

vii      Streets / road markets.

2        Steps being taken to  solve the problem:

i         The road safety corps has started to enforce the use of safety belts.

ii        Motorcycle riders have been mandated to use crash helmets and to carry only one passage at a time.

iii       The government have commissioned the repair of the roads.

iv       There is a law against street trading to ease the flow of traffic on the roads.

v        Careless pedestrians who prefer to cross the express road instead of using the foot bridges are fined.

vi       Police officers who extort money from drivers and allow

un-roadworthy vehicles to ply the roads are caught and disgraced.

 

 

 

3        Recommendation for solving the problem:

i         The footbridges should be maintained so that they are safe for use.

ii        Government should hasten the repair of the roads.

iii       Traffic signs should be provided at every nook and cranny of the road.

iv       The police should let the road safety officers control traffic.

 

Stage 2:     Writing

• This is in itself a complex stage.
• With time on the writer's side, he often makes a first draft based on the outline he developed at the pre-writing stage.
• Often, this draft-making is interrupted as the writer stops to read over and review parts of the draft, brings in new ideas or rearranges those already expressed.
• This stage could be called that of writing and re-writing.

v    As already noted, sensory, memory and reflective ideas constitute the materials for writing.

v    Writing is no more than organizing these ideas through words and phrases turned into sentences and sentences joined into paragraphs within an overall structure.

v    The paragraph is not just a collection of sentences.

v    It is the most important unit of thought in an essay or in any piece of writing.

v    A paragraph is usually so organized that it presents and supports just one main idea.

Stage 3: Revising

v    The revising stage merely demands that you take  a second look at what you have written with a view to revising it.

v    Unlike talking, writing lack spontaneity.

v    Writing is deliberate, preplanned, logically presented composition whose final product must have undergone a series of revisions and rewriting.

v    Your revising consists of adding, subtracting, rearranging and substituting details to improve your style.

v    In revising, attention is paid to variety of sentence length and type, grammar, tense and tense patterns and generally making the writing say what it intends to say in a smooth, logical and coherent way.

v    In revising note these questions:

• Are your sharing your thoughts clearly enough with your reader(s)?
• Have you left out any line of argument or failed to explain something?
• Have you missed out any main point?
• Does your vocabulary need to be strengthened?
• Are there any sentences which are superfluous or repetitive?
• Are there sentences or paragraphs to be rearranged to make the piece clearer and more interesting?
• Are the links between and among the sections or paragraphs clear?

Stage 4: Proof Reading

v    In this last stage of the writing process, the writer will now assume the role of the reader.

v    With the reader's perspective, you assess how clearly your ideas might be followed.

v    You now make final readjustments to check the accuracy of the text to make it maximally accessible to the reader.

v    Proof – reading enables you to look at the mechanics of what you have written with a view to making it as good as possible.

v    In proof – reading your essay, you attend to issues like mechanical accuracy in the use of punctuation and the correction of punctuation errors, spelling errors, capitalization review, simple grammatical errors like plurals, tenses, concord, etc.

PARAPGRAPHING

v    This is the idea of dividing a continuous discourse into segments to make it meaningful.

v    The group of sentences that make up a paragraph is marked off by a space or indentation at the beginning of each paragraph.

v    Each paragraph is supposed to contain information on a specific idea in the topic, but at the end, each is linked to the other to present a meaningful logical discourse.

v    In a paragraph, one is expected to define and give examples, compare and contrast, present and refute arguments, narrate, describe and present facts logically.

 

THE STRUCTURE OF A PARAGRAPH

v    The paragraph is divided into two parts – the topic sentence and supporting details.

v    The Topic Sentence is one that states the central idea of the paragraph.

v    Sometimes, it is placed at the beginning of the paragraph, at other times, it comes at the end.

v    The topic sentence usually helps the reader to understand the major idea of the paragraph.

v    The Supporting Details on the other hand are sentences that add flesh to the topic sentence.

v    They are used to clarify the issues raised in the topic sentence.

 

PARAGRAPH DEVELOPMENT

v     A well developed paragraph should have unity, coherence and  completeness or emphasis.

UNITY

v    The essential feature of the paragraph is unity.

v    In order to achieve this unity a paragraph must deal with a central theme.

v    A paragraph is said to have unity when all the sentences in it stick to the topic of the paragraph without straying to secondary issues or irrelevance, and the whole should be capable of being summarized in a  single sentence.

v    As an illustration, let us examine the following paragraph:

In another ten to fifteen years, the car you will own

would have undergone some revolution. The future price

of oil and its availability will contribute to this. The oil

factor will determine the percentage of petrol versus

electric cars. In either case, cars will be at least partly

robot-built and computer controlled.

• The paragraph has four sentences.
• The first sentence states an idea that future cars would undergo some revolution.
• The second sentence talks about oil price and its availability contributing to the revolution.
• The third sentence expands the oil factor by talking about electric cars as possible alternative to petrol cars.
• The last sentence also spells out the revolution: that cars will  be partly built by robots and controlled by computers.

v     The first sentence  of  the paragraph makes a general statement which is  the main idea of the paragraph.

v     The other three sentences of the paragraph merely support or expand the  general statement of the first sentence by giving more details of what constitutes the revolution.

v     Thus, the paragraph has unity because it deals with only one topic.

v     As a further illustration, road the following paragraph:

The committee, at its meeting on November 7th, approved

the  recommendations of the catering sub-committee. The

committee also agreed that a milk – vending machine

should be installed at the north end of the canteen. The

welfare officer investigated complaints that there were

excessive draughts in the rest-room. The members of the committee decided to make their annual tour of

inspection on December 12th

v     This paragraph is an example of one that violates paragraph unity

v     There is really no topic sentence.

v     Sentence 1, 2 and 4 describe the actions of the committee, but sentence 3 does not.

v     This makes the paragraph lose its unity.

v     If this sentence were made to read "The Welfare Officer was asked to investigate", the unity of the paragraph would be restored.

v     The actions of the committee would then constitute a connecting thread running through it.

v     The topic sentence can occur anywhere in the paragraph – at the beginning middle or ending.

2        Coherence

v     One of the qualities that a good writing has is coherence.

v     This involves having the parts of a piece of writing in a meaningful order (logically connected.)

v     Coherence in a paragraph could be achieved through the use of transitory words.

v     The following are the transitory words that could be used to link paragraphs:

1. To add to what had been previously stated:

• furthermore, in addition, first, secondly, also moreover, likewise etc.

2. To give specific examples of what had earlier been stated:

• for instance, for example, to illustrate, namely, evidently, thus, that is, etc

3. To state something similar to what had been  stated earlier, that is to express a comparison:

• similarly, as, likewise, like etc

4. To express an idea contrary to what had been stated, that is to state a contrast:

• conversely, alternatively, on the other hand, however, inspite of,                 nevertheless, on the contrary, yet, contrary to, etc.

5. To derive something from what had been stated that is expressing a situation of cause and effect:

• as a result, consequently, sequel to, therefore, so that, hence, etc

6. To  express ideas happening at the same time:

• meanwhile, while, concurrently, etc

7. To conclude or summarize a paragraph or an essay:

• therefore, thus, consequently, finally, in conclusion, to conclude in the final analysis, summarily, etc.

 

3.       Completeness or Emphasis

• A paragraph is complete when it has a topic sentence and adequate supporting details all logically connected.
• Thus, to write a complete paragraph, there must be a topic sentence placed in a position of prominence , and several supporting details all linked by proper transitory words.
• Part of the strength of a paragraph also comes through the use of emphasis.
• Emphasis in a paragraph is achieved through the use of contrast and repetition.

PUNCTUATIONS

v    These are marks used to convey meanings, feelings, attitudes, as well as tone in writing.

v   Punctuation marks show how words are arranged and placed alongside others so that their meanings and usages become clearer and unmistakable.

v   The various functions performed by punctuation marks could be classified into two broad headings:

1. Specification of language functions

-    This means that a punctuation mark specifies if a particular   expression is a question, a statement, or if a word is abbreviated, contracted, etc.

2. Separation of successive or included units

-      In this instance, the punctuation mark shows whether an expression is part of the sentence or not.

The following are examples of punctuation marks and their uses:

 

 

 

1. The Full Stop (.)

v Used at the end of a sentence that is neither exclamatory nor  interrogatory, that is, statements and sentences where simple information are given out.

v It is also used to mark off abbreviations or initials:

(i) She is writing.

(ii) U.S.A

(iii)The Elephant Cement Co.

(iv)The correct reference is on pp. 16-18.

2.  The Comma (,)

-    It represents the shortest pause in a sentence.

-    Specifically, it is used for the following:

(i) To list items: yams, beans, and goats.

(ii) After greetings/salutations in letter:

Dear Femi,           Yours sincerely,  e.t.c

(iii) To mark off an interruption in the normal structure of a sentence; this may be a clause, phrase or a single word.

(a)  He is planning, so I am told, to start his own business. (clause)

(b) Her own mother, an experienced midwife, was present at the birth. (phrase)

(c)  The noise, however, continued to increase. (word)

(iv)           To separate initial clauses from their subordinates:

When she saw him bleeding profusely, she started to cry.

(v)             To mark off transitory words:

Infact, indeed, inspite off, however, furthermore, etc

(vi)           To separate a vocative from the rest of the sentence:

John, did you visit Jane as you promise?

3.       The Colon (:) is used:

i.   To introduce a list.

a.  He talked about the following: unemployment, education, governance.

b.  The ingredients of this cake are: flour, sugar, eggs, lemon juice.

ii.  To introduce a statement in support of the previous one:

There are three major ethnic groups in Nigeria: Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba.

iii. To introduce a direct speech or a quotation:

He declared: " I was the first to arrive and the last to leave."

4.  The Semicolon (;)

-    Also used to express a pause.

-    Its own pause is longer than the comma.

-    It performs the following specific functions:

i.To separate connected clauses especially when they are not joined by a conjunction, that is,it can be used in place of a conjunction or other sentence link.                                                                                                                                 E.g.(i)  I wanted to buy a motorcycle; she insisted on having new curtains.

ii.  To separate long clauses

e.g The workers agreed not to strike if their pay was increased;

If their working hours were reduced; and if the present factory manager was replaced immediately.

iii.      T separate clauses that are connected by such conjunctions as therefore, else, otherwise, so, till, then, etc.

e.g He did not study hard; so he failed his examination

5.  The Question Mark(?)

-    Can only be used after a direct question (interrogative statement)

e.g How old are you?

-    It is never to be used after an indirect or reported speech

-    It is never to be followed by a full stop because it serves the purpose of one.

6   The Exclamation Mark(!)

-      Used after exclamations or exclamatory statements

-      Like the question mark; it should not be followed by a full stop

 

7.  Inverted Commas(" ")

-    May be single or double according to preference

(i) Used to indicate a direct speech or the actual words spoken by somebody

E.g "To be or not to be, "-spoken by Hamlet

(ii)     Also used to enclose the title of poems

e.g "Night Rain "- by J.P Clark

(iii)    To record certain unfamiliar or technical expressions:

e.g A common form of dress in West Africa is "Agbada".

-    Commas, full stops, etc, which belongs to the words spoken come inside the inverted commas.

e.g (i) "Get out of here!"  (ii) "Are you ready?"

8.  The Hyphen (-)

(i) It is used in the formation of compound words:

e.g Maids-of-honour; passer – by (iii) Mothers in - law

(ii) To divide words in syllables:

e.g Geo-gra-phy; De - mo-cra-cy

(iii)    To divide words between one line and the next.

-    It is best to avoid doing this where possible

-    Where it is necessary, the syllabic divisions of the word should be taken into consideration.

-    The word should be split so that the part on the upper part should be recognizable as a sense unit:

e.g (i) Wonder – ring      not   won –dering

(ii)     avail – ability       not    av-ailability

(iv)    It is used after a limited number of prefixes such as ex-, anti-, co-

e.g (i) Ex-wife,       ex-pupil,          ex-minister

(ii) anti-aircraft gun,   anti-colonial,   anti-Christian.

(iii)         Co-operate,   co-ordinate,      co-opt.

(v) Verbs followed by particles are not hyphenated; while related nouns form (where they exist) often are:

e.g (i) to work out,         to take over,           to own up, etc

(ii) a hold-up,       a break-through,     a  sit-in, etc.

(vi)    Adverbs are not usually hyphenated with adjectives, but a few such expressions may be, particularly when place before a noun:

e.g (i) neatly dressed                a well –known actor

(ii)     well prepared                 an ill-mannered person

(iii)    deeply involved             a wide –open door

(iv)    fast asleep                      a fast - flowing river

9.  The Apostrophe (')   is used:

i    To show that one or more letters have been omitted:

e.g don't (do not)  he'll (he will)        haven't (have not)

I'd (I would)         they're (they are)       o'clock (of the clock)

ii.  with nouns to show possession

-    In a singular possession, the apostrophe is put before the "S".

e.g (i) My brother's child        (ii) The boy's room

-    In plural possessions, it appears after the "S"

e.g (i) My Brothers' house       (ii) the boys' room

-    In plurals that do not end in "S", the apostrophe is placed before an "S" as in a singular:

e.g (i) the men's club, (ii) the women's school (iii) the children's toys

10.     Capital letters are used

(i) to begin the first word in a sentence

(ii) to begin proper nouns, i.e specific names of persons, places, etc

(iii) To begin day of the week, months of the year, names of special events (Easter, Christmas etc)

(iv)    for the personal pronoun ‘I'

(v)     for the exclamation "O" or "Oh"

(vi)    for words referring to God – Him, He,  etc

(vii)   for first letters in titles of books, Poems, Publications etc.

(viii)  for initials

(ix)    for abbreviations

(x)     for common nouns that have become part of a person's name

e.g Mother Theresa,   Lady Diana,   Father Kalu

-    Correct punctuation, therefore, is the proper use of all these items treated here.

-    Many sentences can be made more intelligible by correct punctuation.

ESSAY

-        This is a piece of writing in prose form

-    Essays and letters are normally assessed using the following criteria

1.  Content

-    This assesses how effectively and thoroughly one has dealt with the topic of the essay.

-    for instance, one could be asked to write an essay on the causes and effects of air pollution.

-    If one deals only with the first part and ignores the second or vice-versa, the person has not dealt thoroughly with the topic.

-    Mastery of the content, therefore, shows how accurately one has interpreted and treated the issue or topic.

2.  Organization

-    This represents the logical arrangement of the essay or letter.

-    The organization of an essay or letter should answer the following questions.

(i) Is the essay or letter written in paragraphs?

(ii) How organised are the paragraphs?

(iii) Are the ideas in the paragraphs as well as the entire essay logically connected and do they present a unified entity?

(iv) Do the topic sentence in the essay stand out?

(v)      Are the topic sentences accompanied by adequate and appropriate supporting details?

(vi)    Are the paragraphs linked with one another by proper transitory words?

(vii)   Does the essay show the formal features of a formal letter, an informal letter, an article for publication, or an argumentative essay as the case may be?

3.  Expression

-    This stands for how well you can express yourself in English language.

-    Every essay and every topic has its own unique expressions and register.

-    The language of a formal letter, for instance, is different from that of an informal letter.

-    The method of addressing  a formal letter is also different form that of an informal letter.

-    How well all these are adopted is examined under expression.

4.  Mechanical Accuracy

-    How accurately one obeys the rules of grammar and syntax is examined here.

-    Mechanical Accuracy (M.A) should answer the following questions:

i.   Is the work properly punctuated?

ii.  Is the correct tense for the particular letter or essay one is writing adopted?

iii. Are spelling rules obeyed?

iv. Are the sentences good and properly constructed, for instance, are the compound and complex sentences properly co-ordinate?

(v) Are errors of concord noticeable?

The Structure of an Essay

-    An essay has a three level structure- the beginning, the body and the end

Beginning/Introduction

-    The beginning of an essay must be very captivating so as to arrest the interest of the reader.

-    This will make him want to read through the entire essay.

-    It must be brief and straight to the topic of the essay without straying to unnecessary secondary details.

Methods of Introducing an essay

i.   Through a general statement which is related to the topic of discussion

ii.  By appropriate quotations which are closely associated with the topic and within its context.

Iii  By explaining clearly (defining) the topic of the essay

iv  Through proverbs and idiomatic expressions

e.g Honesty is the best policy;       A stitch in time saves nine, etc.

v.  With short stories which clearly explains the theme of the essay

-    such a story must capture the readers attention.

vi. Through the use of Rhetorical Questions

-    Answers to such questions must, however, be provided in the essay

The Body of a Essay

-    This should be written in paragraphs.

-    Each paragraph must treat a particular idea or section of the topic.

( the paragraph referred.)

Ending/concluding an Essay

-    This is also an integral part of the essay, so it should not contain any idea not discussed in the essay.

-    Like the introduction, it should be impressive and captivating

Various ways an essay could be concluded:

i.                   By summarizing the major points that were discussed.

ii.                 Through a general statement that sums up the ideas in the essay.

iii.              With a quotation that is relevant to the topic of the essay.

iv.              With proverbs and idiomatic expressions that explain the major issues in the essay.

v.                 With a suitable short story.

vi.              With a rhetorical question that sums up the major ideas discussed in the essay.

TYPES OF ESSAY

-    They are (i) Narrative (2) Descriptive (3) Argumentative (4) Expository.

1.  Narrative

-    It tells a story of an event or incidence.

-    Like stories, it appeals to the reader's imagination.

-    The story could be real or imaginary but it must be convincing and believable.

Techniques in Narrative Essays

-    Like stories, the principal tense should be the past tense

-    A good narrator, however, should be able to combine the past with the present and other tenses.

-    The story should follow the sequence or logical order in which it occurred, that is, it should be grouped into paragraphs according to the time and stages each event in the story occurred.

-    Dialogue is another technique that can be employed.

-    Every direct speech in the dialogue, however, should be enclosed in inverted commas.

2.  Descriptive

-    Here, the writer paints a mental picture of something for the reader

-    It must be vivid so that the reader might recognize the object or the person being described.

Techniques in Descriptive Essays

i    The description must be vivid and lucid, detailed and interesting.

ii   Like narrative essay, it should be logical.

-    For instance, in describing a person, if you begin with the appearance, deal with it thoroughly before dabbling into the other features like personality, occupation, etc.

-    Don't mix them up in the same sentence or paragraph.

iii  The most useful word classes for descriptions are Adjectives and Adverbs.

-    They are word classes that portray, size, shape, colour, texture, time, place, manner and other features of what is being described.

iv  The tense to be employed in most cases are the simple present and future tenses.

3   Argumentative

-    It is like a debate.

-    It tries to force one into accepting the other's point of view.

-    Some might expect you to either support or oppose a motion

-    Therefore, be sure of what you are expected to do before going into the essay.

Techniques in Argumentative Essays

i    The argument should show a clear understanding of the terms mentioned in the topic.

ii   Vocatives  -   the chairman, panel of judges, ladies and gentlemen - should be used at the beginning of the essay.

iii  Choose vocabularies -  figurative expressions like rhetorical questions, hyperbole, euphemisms, similes, etc -  and sentences that will convince the reader.

iv  Conclusion should clearly state the side of the writer.

4   Expository Essays

-    Used for definitions, explanations of how things work, how things are made and giving direction of how to get to a place.

-    It is concerned with passing information as precisely as possible.

-    It is usually factual.

Techniques in Expository Essays

i    It is factual, so accuracy of what is written about is important.

ii   Specialized registers should be used.

-    For instance, in writing about religion, science, photography, politics, football, library, etc. special registers that describe these subjects accurately should be used.

iii  The passive voice is mostly used.

About the Author

Aremu Abdullah A......