A. Select a topic or Study your assignment (Page 1)
B. Gather ideas and organize them (Page 2)
C. Express your ideas effectively, use structure and language to do that (Page 3)
D. Practice! (Page 4)
Source: Your teacher's notes from A New English Course by Rhodri Jones adapted to your learning situation.
Printer-friendly version of all 4 pages: How to Write Compositions (3 pages)
A. Select topic/theme, or Study the title/assignment
1. Select topic/theme
• Choose a subject you know something about. You must have in your mind some facts, some knowledge, some opinions and relevant details and some acquaintance with the subject (personal background experience).
• Distinguish between the different types of subjects.
Practical: letter, reports, articles and so on. It is important to express yourself with clarity, smoothly, with appropriateness and logic. You will have to deal with facts and everyday situations. Little imagination and creative response is expected from you.
Imaginative: characters, descriptions, personal, argument, narrative, critical, dialogue/play/diary/letter/report... Creative response (originality, stimulating content or persuasive arguments).
The division is often relative, or difficult. Use this while it helps, OK?
2. Study title/assignment
If you are given a title or theme for your essay... studying it will:
• enable you to know whether you know something about the subject or not,
• make you see different ways in which a subject can be tackled (Could this be a description, a narrative, something humorous, ironic, dramatic...?),
• show you if any of them appeals to you, or if you can make it appeal to you. If you are interested in the subject, your essay will be better.
Continue...
How to Write an Essay/Composition:
Page 1. Page 2. Page 3. Page 4.
More...
How to Improve your Writing
How to Write/Think/Speak (< How to Learn)