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The judicious use of "I" in English essays is generally accepted.
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Stylistic Notes for Writing the English Essay The Use of "I"
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Remember that your goal is clear expression use a formal tone, avoid slang and colloquial terms, and be precise in your language. When you revise, you can refine your ideas by making your language more specific and direct, by developing your explanation of a quotation, and by explaining the connections between your ideas. Review your sections as you write, but leave most of the revision for when you have a completed first draft. The best writing is the product of drafting and revising.Īs you write your rough draft, your ideas will develop, so it is helpful to accept the messy process of drafting. Work to convince this reader that your argument is valid and has merit. If you have followed good essay-writing practice, which includes developing a narrowed topic and analytical thesis, reading closely and taking careful notes, and creating an organized outline, you will find that writing your essay is much less difficult than if you simply sit down and plunge in with a vague topic in mind.Īlways keep your reader in mind when you write. Read more on organizing your essay Writing the Draft If you conscientiously make an outline that is ordered to best support your thesis, which is there in print before your eyes, your essay’s organization will be based on supporting your argument not on the text’s plotline. An essay under 1500 words may fall naturally into three sections, but let the number come from what you have to say rather than striving for the magic three.Ĭreating an outline also helps you avoid the temptation of organizing your essay by following the plot line of the text you are writing about and simply retelling the story with a few of your own comments thrown in. Or you may structure an essay around four, five or six points, depending on the essay's length. It is possible to structure an essay around two major points, each divided into sub-points. The number of sections you have will depend on what you have to say and how you think your thesis needs to be supported. Remember that an essay and its outline do not have to be structured into five paragraphs. Think about major points, sections or parts of your essay, rather than paragraphs. It forces you to think about the best possible order for what you want to say and to think through your line of thought before you have to write sentences and paragraphs. Making an outline before you start to write has the same advantage as writing down your thesis as soon as you have one.
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