... explained.
Chapter 7 shows you howto prepare for timed essays. Learn howto research your exam,
how to familiarize yourself with possible topic choices,and howto budget your time dur-
ing the ... howto organize your thoughts and ideas before you begin writ-
ing, with techniques such as freewriting, brainstorming, and outlining.You will even
learn why it’s important to read good writing ... Writing Strategies 85
8
Sample Essay Prompts and Essays 97
Resources 111
Contents
Lauren Starkey
NEW YORK
WRITE
GREAT
ESSAYS
®
HOW
TO
HOW TOWRITE GREAT ESSAYS
Introduction
viii
Chapter 1 shows...
... you have focused your topic; more ideas may be
generated.
2. BRAINSTORMING OR LISTING
Brainstorming is similar to freewriting in that it is a timed, flowing exercise meant to elicit
many thoughts ... scheme onto their prewrit-
ing notes.
OUTLINE
Creating an outline begins with a reading of your prewriting notes. First, group related ideas
together, looking for major topics (which can be headings) ... are going into a timed writing situation. Making
the effort to think through what you want to say, and finding the best way to say it, will sig-
nificantly improve your essay.
PERFECT TIMING
Regardless...
... mean to say. The five guidelines in
this chapter show you howto clarify your writing.
CHAPTER
Clarity
2
2
Clarity CHAPTER 2
HOW TOWRITE GREAT ESSAYS
Clarity CHAPTER 2
HOW TOWRITE GREAT ESSAYS
13
M
ODIFIERS
A
DD
P
RECISION
Clarity ... career instead of using a pronoun in order to eliminate the
possibility the reader will not understand the sentence. Write instead:
Trini is interested in
teaching and farming, but farming is ... antecedent
■
useless
Example:
Trini is interested in teaching and farming, which is her career choice.
What is her career choice? Which could mean either teaching or farming, making it unclear.
The writer needs to restate...
... looking forward to something
among: used when comparing or referring to three or
more people or things
between: used for two people or things
bring: moving something toward the speaker
take: moving ... climbing or rising
assent (verb): to agree or accept a proposal or opinion
assure (verb): to make certain (assure someone)
ensure (verb): to make certain
insure (verb): to secure from harm; to ... CHAPTER 3
HOW TOWRITE GREAT ESSAYS
27
acceptable to many people. But to good writers and the readers of your essay, they are glar-
ing errors. Take the time to learn the denotative meanings of...
... nagging
incur—incurred, incurring
kid
—kidding, kidder
Word Choice CHAPTER 3
HOW TOWRITE GREAT ESSAYS
35
When in doubt, look up the singular form in the dictionary, where you will also find the
plural ... sly
30
HOW TOWRITE GREAT ESSAYS
CHAPTER 3 Word Choice
3434
plan—planned, planning, planner
begin
—beginning, beginner
set—setting
transmit—transmitting, transmittal, transmitted
BASIC SPELLING ... RULES—DROPPING FINAL E’S AND Y’S
When adding an ending to a word that ends with a silent e, drop the final e if the ending
begins with a vowel, such as
advancing and surprising.
If the ending begins...
... books that contain grammar lessons,
practice exercises, and quizzes to reinforce the material.
CHAPTER
Mechanics
4
4
Mechanics CHAPTER 4
HOW TOWRITE GREAT ESSAYS
HOW TOWRITE GREAT ESSAYS
CHAPTER ... are too many meetings scheduled on Tuesday morning.
Incorrect:
Here are the report you asked me to write.
Correct
:Here is the report you asked me to write.
44
Mechanics CHAPTER 4
HOW TOWRITE ... assignment?)
Correct:
While Tony was working on his English assignment, his computer
crashed.
Note that correcting a dangling participle involves adding and/or rearranging the words
in a sentence to make the meaning...
... HOWTOWRITE GREAT ESSAYS
CHAPTER 5 Revising, Editing, and Proofreading
56
Also included in this chapter are professional writers’ and editors’ tricks to help you with
revising, editing, ... wasn’t in class today: he had to fly to Houston to present a paper.
My teacher wasn’t in class today. He had to fly to Houston to present a paper.
The first example, with the colon, has the tone ... used in two ways: to separate independent clauses,and to separate the items
in a list when those items contain commas.
HOW TOWRITE GREAT ESSAYS
CHAPTER 5 Revising, Editing, and Proofreading
58
As...
... menu.
62
HOW TOWRITE GREAT ESSAYS
CHAPTER 5 Revising, Editing, and Proofreading
66
F
OR
Y
OUR
R
EVIEW
Finish your essay by revising, editing, and proofreading. Follow these guidelines:
■
Put ... sessions exploring the topics, if you
have a choice. Read the section in this chapter that explains what the topics require and how
best to approach them. Then, move into prewriting, using one or ... inventory.
68
Revising, Editing, and Proofreading CHAPTER 5
HOW TOWRITE GREAT ESSAYS
61
Inserted text
An underline is the default. You may change it to bold,
italics, or double underline. Choose...
... Writing Strategies CHAPTER 6
HOW TOWRITE GREAT ESSAYS
75
1. For each different topic or question, use a separate sheet of paper, and write the
topic at the top.
2. Write anything that comes to ... trip to Belize to study the marine
ecosystem, I was excited. The thought of escaping the cold New England winter
76
HOW TOWRITE GREAT ESSAYS
CHAPTER 6 Untimed Essay Writing Strategies
70
■
Write ... about beginning with the way you felt about something, rather than
first describing or otherwise revealing that something.
■
Be mysterious or intriguing. Your introduction needs to relate to the...
... should contain financial implications of the plan in terms of contributions to the company’s
bottom line. HOWEVER, as was stated in the beginning of the Marketing Plan tutorial, the marketing
plan ...
forces the marketing personnel to look internally in order to fully understand the results of past
marketing decisions.
•
forces the marketing personnel to look externally in order to fully understand ... component in obtaining funding to pursue new initiatives.
The Marketing Plan is generally undertaken for one of the following reasons:
1. Needed as part of the yearly planning process within the...
... worthwhile insurance: you do not want the extra hassle of back or neck
pain. Try to intersperse long sessions of typing with other tasks, such as reading,
drawing, calculating, thinking or doing research. ... n, you will think "Oh I must
refer back to/ discuss this in Chapter m" and so you put a note to do so in the file
for Chapter m. Or you may think of something interesting or relevant ... or in detail. It explains the key
ideas in a short multimedia presentation, which is supported by links
to broader and deeper explanations.
deadline, or if you are thinking about postponing...