Writing Great Essays - Introduction
As a writing professional, I occasionally get asked to help someone’s child nail an important essay. Whether it is for College or High School, the type of essay that succeeds is the same.
Nailing the Essay
One of the most important things to remember when writing an essay in the academic world is that academic writing does not necessarily conform to what is considered good writing elsewhere. In fact, the kind of writing that succeeds well in academia is generally not the kind of writing you want anywhere else. Newspapers need a grabbing headline followed by the necessary who, what, when, with a lot less emphasis on how and why. Fiction writing is very much about pacing and keeping reader interest. Magazine writing requires “writing to size” which means either cramming information into too short of article, or bloating too little information into a bigger article. None of these will win you any A+ marks in school.
The Five Paragraph Essay
As a writer, the temptation to be creative is a powerful one. However, this impulse should be resisted unless you are well into graduate school. Most high-school teacher and many college professors are experts in their subject area, not in writing. They understand and expect a specific style of essay. When you get creative, they may not see that you have written everything necessary for a high mark because the format is distracting.
Keep in mind that you are writing to prove subject mastery, not to prove writing ability. You wouldn’t answer the questions on a multiple choice test by singing limericks. Yes, it is very creative and very original, but it isn’t how you answer test questions. The same concept applies to writing an essay. Even if the teacher expresses an interest in originality or creativity, do so within this structure or risk a lower grade.
The standard academic essay is the Five Paragraph Essay. In a nutshell, this format is an introductory paragraph, followed by three proving paragraphs, and finished with a conclusion paragraph.
The Introduction Paragraph
The most common flaw from students writing an essay can be traced to an incorrect introduction paragraph. Problems here lead to issues throughout the essay, so it is important to hit all the points before moving on.
The first thing to write (though it does not come first in the final product) is your “thesis statement.” This is a fancy way of saying what your essay will be about. The key to a thesis statement is that it must be a supportable opinion. The number one mistake is not stating an opinion. An opinion is not a fact. To verify that you have chosen an opinion, ask yourself, what is the opposite opinion? If there isn’t a reasonable one, then you have not stated an opinion.
For example, in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, teachers and professors love dissecting the role of Lady Macbeth. Stating that Lady Macbeth is an influential character, or central character is not an opinion. Any statement to the contrary is false. She obviously is both. Stating that she is more responsible than Macbeth for the tragedy that befalls them both is an opinion. One could just as easily argue that she is doing nothing more than supporting her husband’s ambitions, and that Macbeth is responsible for his own actions. One could even argue that the witches are more to blame.
Once you have your opinion, turn it into a thesis statement. In our example above, a good thesis statement is something like, “Lady Macbeth’s manipulation of her husband’s emotions is the true cause of both their tragedy.”
The next thing you will need is your “essay map.” This is a fancy way of saying what proof you have to support your thesis statement. Since, your essay will have five paragraphs, you need three “locations” on your essay map. All three of these points must be directly supportive of the thesis statement. If you want to write about something that is not going to support the thesis statement, then you need to change your thesis statement. In other words, if you want to go down Main Street, then pick a location that requires travel in the direction of Main Street. You cannot be a bad taxi driver and take a longer route just because you like Main Street.
In our example above, your essay map might include a discussion of what happens before the king arrives, what happens after the king name’s his heir, and what happens after the king’s murder.
Now that you have your thesis statement and essay map, you are ready to write your introductory paragraph. Ready?
First, write a sentence that would clue someone who did not know the assignment in. For maximum grade points this sentence should also praise the subject matter.
- Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a masterpiece of tragedy that fully explores the both the depths of human depravity in the name of ambition and the related consequences.
- Harry Potter is a fascinating look at the life of a young boy who suddenly finds that he is capable of so much more than he ever imagined.
Notice how these sentences both state the subject matter (This essay is about Macbeth or Harry Potter) and praise the subject matter (masterpiece, fascinating).
Second, write a sentence that moves toward your point and acknowledges that there were other equally wonderful topics.
- Although Macbeth provides a wide exploration of the human condition, the manipulation of Macbeth by Lady Macbeth is perhaps the most powerful example of human interaction.
Now, insert your thesis statement. No editing required.
Next, insert your essay map. This should be one sentence stating how you will prove your thesis statement by examining your three points. It must be one (and only one) sentence and it must name all three points.
Never ever use the words “this essay will prove” or “this essay will show”. In fact, the words “this essay” should NOT appear anywhere in your paper. If they do, re-write.
- Lady Macbeth’s manipulation of her husband’s emotions is the cause of both their tragedy. When the king arrives, she plants the seed of greatness in her husband’s head, then when the king names his heir, she plants the seed of murder, and following the murder, she plants the seeds of both their doom.
Orange=Essay Map
Done! Move on to paragraph two. At this point, many students want to write about other things they want to say. The answer is NO. If your introduction paragraph has anything other than these five sentences, I guarantee you it is weaker, not stronger. You don’t need anything extra. In fact, if you have something else in your introduction, the reader has a right to expect that you will further address it in your essay. Since you will not deviate from proving your thesis, this is a problem. Do not offer any proof in your introductory paragraph. Like a lawyer at a trial, this is your opening statment. You can say, “The evidence will show that my client is innocent.” You do not say, “The picture on the desk proves that my client has never been to the conservatory and has never even picked up a candlestick.” This is not evidence time, this is coming attractions time.
Introduction Paragraph Summary
- Write thesis statement.
- Write essay map.
- Write one praising introductory sentence.
- Write one “there were many wonderful things but I chose this one” sentence.
- Insert your thesis statement.
- Insert your essay map.
- Move on to paragraph 2.
- If you followed the above, you will only have 5 sentences in your intro paragraph. Don’t get cute.
Bonus A+ Tips
If you really want an A, pick a topic that your professor or teacher has raised and had the class discuss. Obviously, you don’t want something that has been covered ad nauseam, but you do want something that came directly from the professor. If your professor made only a passing reference to Lady Macbeth’s influence, then that means he or she doesn’t believe in its importance.
It is easier to prove something the other person already believes. So, pick something your professor believes. If instead, he or she has discussed the powerful use of imagery (river of blood) or the role of the witches (would he have done any of this if they hadn’t said those things?) then write about that. The time for writing what you want to write is when you are not writing for grades. Until then, write for grades (which means writing what the professor wants to hear).
Up Next - The Proving Paragraphs
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How to Not Write Copy That Sells!
Let’s face it, if you look around long enough at information about business writing eventually you are going to come across an article about writing copy that sells! This information will no doubt tread the well worn ground of grabbing your reader’s attention, creating urgency, and most importantly of all, a can’t miss call to action. Don’t get me wrong, these are indeed the critical tenants of well crafted copy, but the implementation often goes horribly wrong, mostly due to an inability to update with the changing times.
A Free Trial?
Most writing instructions will implore you to seriously consider using a “free trial” for your call to action. This was once good advice, but that time has past. You see, not long ago, several good honest hard working businesses offered free trials of their products. The theory was that once someone experienced just how great the product or service was, then they would gladly become paying customers. The problem is that many not so honest businesses quickly joined the fray with trial offers that were sneaky or outright fraudulent. Now, the words, free trial offer, conjure an immediate eye roll in most any reader whose first thought is not the possibility of just how wonderful it might be to test your product for free, but rather, “What’s the catch?”
Think about it another way. When was the last time you took advantage of a free trial offer? I’m willing to bet that either a) you were going to buy the product anyway, and the free trial just meant you saved some money, or b) you never intended to become a paying customer and you just wanted to use the free period. Does either of those scenarios sound like the kind of activity you want to be generating?
When AOL built its entire Internet empire on the free trial offer, business noticed. Free trials became very common. But, someone else noticed too. Customers who signed up for a free trial, but forgot to cancel noticed that most free trial offers come with the requirement to provide a credit card number or other billing information. Most Americans by now are all too savvy to the fact that half the reason companies offer free trials is to get a few payments after the customer forgets to cancel.
This stigma on the free trial means that not only will the reader not take the free trial offer, but they may also regard the entire copy as suspect and chose to simply not believe or further investigate anything it says.
Better Than a Free Trial
Any good writer or marketer knows that simply sending out great informative copy is worthless unless it compels the reader to take steps that ultimately lead to a sale. After all, you aren’t just trying to get people to agree with you that your product or service is great. No one is trying to win a popularity contest. So, how do you implement a solid call to action without a free trial offer?
This is where a freelance writer with real world professional experience can be a great help. One size fits all has never been the way to go, and that is especially true in marketing. While a sweepstakes or raffle may be a good route for one product, it may be a blunder for another. Tailoring the call to action to the specific product or company is paramount to success.
A Buy One Get One Free Sale for eyeglasses will tend to draw more past customers (especially families who can get one pair each for husband and wife) than it will new customers. That is fine if the goal is to increase sales for that period, but not so great if the goal is to expand your client base. To get new clients into an eyeglass business a straight 30% off sale would work better. Even better might be a free eye exam for anyone who brings in an old prescription. But something more original could be even more powerful.
Take the increasing number of people investigating buying eyeglasses online. Glassy Eyes details one man’s success with online eyeglass vendors, but even a cursory reading throws up many cautions and red flags. Read closer and you will see that the number one hang-up for many who want to go this route is getting the prescription from the eye doctor who doesn’t want to give it out. An offer to provide a free eye exam in exchange for the customer brining in a printout of the online glasses they are thinking about buying so that you can match the price. Better yet, if you can use your expertise to point out that the pair they have selected won’t look very good on their round face and even point them to a similar pair (they can even check the dimensions if they want) that they can try on may not only give you a customer today, but a loyal future customer who recommends you to friends. “I was going to buy a pair online, but when they showed me a similar pair they looked awful. I didn’t end up paying that much more, and my glasses actually look good.”
Mission Accomplished.
Hiring a Freelance Writer
As a small business owner or as a manager, you may eventually come across a reason to hire a freelance writer. Most of the time, freelancers are hired by businesses who don’t have the time or expertise to create the documents they are looking for. For example, a busy web entrepreneur knows that in order to rank well with the search engines that he needs fresh keyword heavy content. Yet, running the business, filling orders, and keeping the website code and functions running is a full-time job.
That is where a freelance writer comes in. A professional freelance writer can produce several pages of solid content quickly. The biggest catch for most professionals is that they have never hired a freelance writer before. In many areas there are definitive standards or associations that can help with contacting a solid professional. For example, you can look to the CPA designation to ensure that an accountant meets a certain level of training and experience. With writers, there isn’t the same kind of designation in use. Therefore, many of those looking to hire a professional writer attempt to use other concepts as a way to screen writers, often to their own detriment.
Freelance Writing Degrees
Without a standard writing certification, many employers turn to college degrees as a way to find quality writers. Many job postings or RFPs require a degree in English, or other “writing” type degree. The flaw in this strategy is readily apparent. While it is true that an English major may require more writing than other majors, it is not a writing degree. A person who completes an Bachelors of Arts in English can be reasonably assumed to have taken several classes in which reading is the primary focus. Most writing comes in the form of writing about what you have read. Again, this is not a bad thing, but does it help determine if some is a good choice to write for your business?
Academic writing is both very traditional and structured in nature. Does your brochure need a 5-paragraph essay structure? Should each of your paragraphs on the website begin with a topic sentence? Will Google rank your page higher if the conclusion refers back to all main points raised in the body of the essay?
Consider instead whether a degree in what is being written ABOUT would be more useful. In articles about engineering or marketing, engineering or marketing degrees may imply a certain depth of knowledge. That knowledge may be more useful than classical training in writing.
Freelance Writers and Buzzwords
When I read through various ads or postings requesting writers, I can see that the person who posted the ad did a little bit of research first. Unfortunately, this research can take the form of simply copying terms or phrases that have been seen often enough to look important.
One of the most common terms is “familiarity with AP Style.” This does indeed sound impressive, and it is likely to be seen on ads from important companies like the New York Times or Wall Street Journal. Of course, there is a reason it is seen there. AP Style, is literally, the style used by the Associated Press or AP. Most people know AP from their local newspaper. The AP service writes news articles and allows others who subscribe to the service to either reprint them, or use them as the basis for their own articles. Not surprisingly, then AP Style is very tailored to news.
Curious about what AP Style is? There is actually a book. The Associated Press Stylebook, details the AP Style and contains the rules for how to use various terms and phrases. For example, in stories about wildfires, there will often be a reference to a firefighting technique known as a backfire. This raises some issues. Is it back fire, backfire, or back-fire? In that same sentence are firefighting and wildfire, also in the AP Style guide. What about words a little closer to home?
According to AP Style it should be Internet and Web site. Do you need your articles to use a capital W and a space between ‘web’ and ’site’? Then, maybe you don’t need AP Sytle.
Samples, Samples, Samples
In real estate, they say the three most important things are location, location, and location. When hiring or contracting with a freelance writer the most important things are samples, samples, and samples. Nothing will give more insight into a person’s ability to write than seeing examples of what they have written. Don’t worry if the writing isn’t exactly what you are needing. If an author can clearly explain technical medical jargon, it is a good bet that they can also explain technical financial jargon and so on.
If the position requires the ability to turn over material quickly, a “live” example of such writing can also prove useful. For example, if a writer has links to several websites that have writing samples clearly produced in rapid fashion, then that is extra assurance that he/she will be able to turn around the projects quickly as well.
Questions About Professional Writing
If you have any questions about professional writing, whether hiring or being one, please don’t hesitate to ask.
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