Writing an essay

Abstract

More than in any other subject, success in English depends upon the ability to write a good essay. This is fine for those lucky people who are natural writers, but is very depressing for the rest of us. We are likely to delay as long as possible the actual moment of putting pen to paper, hoping that inspiration will strike. But, fortunately, there are more practical methods of guaranteeing that you will produce a reasonably competent piece of work. What you need, above all else, is a clear idea of what you are setting out to do in an essay, and some ideas about how to organise and present your material. It is often apparent to the examiner marking A-level papers that the books have been read carefully, and carefully analysed, but that candidates are very unclear about how to organise an essay. The intention of this chapter is to provide some basic guidelines.