Practice Essay Writing

It is NOT a good idea to try to impress examiners with fancy vocabulary you do not understand completely!

Before you even get to this thesis statement, for example, the essay should begin with a "hook" that grabs the reader’s attention and makes them want to read on.

Examples of effective hooks include relevant quotations ("no man is an island") or surprising statistics ("three out of four doctors report that…").

" "No man is an island" and, as such, he is constantly shaped and influenced by his experiences.

People learn by doing and, accordingly, learn considerably more from their mistakes than their success.

For proof of this, consider examples from both science and everyday experience.

Because this is the first paragraph of your essay it is your opportunity to give the reader the best first impression possible.This packet is a less expensive version of my Basic Academic Vocabulary packet. It also has a free download of the Revision & Proofreading Checklist included in the packets above.It is 33 pages and contains almost all of the resources and practice activities in the Basic Academic Vocabulary packet except the task cards. You see, the conventions of English essays are more formulaic than you might think – and, in many ways, it can be as simple as counting to five.Though more advanced academic papers are a category all their own, the basic high school or college essay has the following standardized, five paragraph structure: Paragraph 1: Introduction Paragraph 2: Body 1 Paragraph 3: Body 2 Paragraph 4: Body 3 Paragraph 5: Conclusion Though it may seem formulaic – and, well, it is - the idea behind this structure is to make it easier for the reader to navigate the ideas put forth in an essay.Basics of Essay Writing includes six lessons demonstrating and practicing essential academic vocabulary and essay writing skills.It includes brief readings on communication and essay organization, a vocabulary game and crossword puzzle and practice with transition words and proofreading before students try essay writing themselves. See English Grammar Worksheets if you would like to practice different tenses (especially irregular past tense verbs).The only time not to express your own opinion is when you are specifically asked to paraphrase (restate) or summarize other people’s ideas or when asked to objectively (i.e.without personal bias or opinion) present or analyze data.(See the packets below, or Essay Organization.)However, most of the requirements for writing good essays are the same as for any formal writing in English.You can get essay writing practice by yourself using the guidelines above.