Before You Begin
Set yourself up for a successful essay by eliminating all distractions. Seriously.
Consider your surroundings. Put your cell phone in a different room. Shut off the TV. Ignore your social media. Close any distracting tabs. If you listen to music, make sure it is instrumental. Tell those around you that you need a quiet space in which to work.
If you want to write well and quickly, this is the best advice we can give you.
Done?
Ok, now read our step-by-step approach for a successful beginning.
A step-by-step approach for a successful beginning:
Read the instructions and review the rubric. No, really. You never know what individual quirks each teacher may have or what they will emphasize in their grading, so read, review. If your teacher didn't give you a rubric, check out the OPHS Essay Rubric as an example. Teachers can tell you many stories of how students make costly mistakes that could have been avoided if only they had read the instructions. Save yourself time and points. Read. AND, if you have any questions, ask the teacher before you begin. As the MLA handbook explains, students "should also be responsive to the specific demands of [their] project, which may have unique needs” (MLA Handbook 1).
Carefully read the prompt. Make sure you understand every word. Look for key words which give clues for how you should address the prompt. Consider key words which help indicate your approach. Most importantly, make sure you address the entire prompt.
Argue - take a stand and bring evidence in the form of quotes and examples to prove your point
Compare/Contrast - state the similarity and differences of the topic and/or works
Describe - state clear details about the topic, but remember, most English papers are arguments. So, describe, but also bring evidence to support your description.
Interpret/Explain - state what the author means or what you think the author is trying to tell the reader. Again, bring evidence to support your claim/thesis.
Summarize - state the main idea/s, state just the general idea of the topic. Remember, even when you summarize, you must cite.
Outline. Even if the outline is not required, an outline is the best way to organize before you begin. This does not have to be super detailed — even a quick outline can act like a roadmap for your essay.
Craft your thesis. This can happen before, during or after you write your outline. A thesis is, in its most basic form, a ONE sentence response to the prompt. Remember, all thesis need to be arguable — meaning, you need to take a stand, voice an opinion, take an angle. While the thesis reflects YOUR opinion, do NOT use personal pronouns (I, me, us, we), unless your teacher has said otherwise. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT SENTENCE OF YOUR ESSAY.
Collect your proof. All English essays are in some form an argument. This means you assert your major point in your thesis, your sub-points in your topic sentences and your PROOF in the form of quotes in your body paragraphs. Get your book (article, poem, literary work, research) out, mark or note quotes that you can use to SUPPORT your arguments. Make sure you note the page numbers so that you can properly cite these quotes or paraphrased quotes.
Write! Butt to chair. Sit down and DO it. Students are generally given around 60 minutes to write an in-class essay. So, even if this is an at-home essay, set a 60-minute timer to give yourself the pressure that we sometimes need to inspire us to write. Just write.
Remember writing is a process. While you do go step by step through the process, certain steps may need to be repeated and revisited. The steps: Pre-Write (steps 1-4). Research (read the work and step 5). Draft (step 3 and 6). Write (step 6). Revise and Edit (see the "Before you Submit" page).