Better Essay Writing - BRING IT ON!

One of my classes asked for some help on how to make their essays stronger. They gave me four categories and here is what I came up with for each:

1. TRANSITIONAL PHRASES – Consider the difference between ballet and cheerleading. Ballet consists of a series of fluid motions, each dance move flows into the next. Ballet partners even synchronize their movements to coincide or look like one moving body. Cheerleading is very different. While still incorporating dance moves these moves are held by the cheerer for a moment before abruptly moving on to the next position. Cheerers usually shout one or two syllables at a time while keeping their arms strong and powerful, not gentle. Hopefully, you see where I’m going with this. The English equivalent of a cheerleading would probably be a brainstorming list of bullet points. When writing an essay you should not be shouting at me or abruptly moving from sentence to sentence without explaining how they connect; an essay should be like a ballet. A very rudimentary set of transitions would be: Firstly, Moving on, Finally, etc. Perhaps we could see them as elementary school students learning ballet? Strong transitions that fluidly weave one paragraph with the next usually references the point previously made: An even stronger example of this, Another character that reinforces the author’s message to the reader, etc. If you do not feel confident in your transitional phrases, use the web! A site you could use as a jumping off point is: http://www.studygs.net/wrtstr6.htm.

2. QUESTION IS TOO BROAD – Whenever you receive a writing prompt, always break it down into pieces; it makes life a lot easier. So, let’s take a look at the prompt I give you for essays: What is the author’s message to the reader/ purpose for writing the novel? What does he feel so strongly about and what must the readers do with this information once they understand the message?

This would be my train of thought: The focus is the author’s message – so I need to identify a theme from the work. And it’s the message to the reader, so I need to mention “the reader” in my essay. So, what is the author writing about? I know that, usually, authors are upset with the way the world is and they write books to warn us. What is the author trying to warn me about? And once I figure that out, what should I change about my life or my behavior?

So, in cheerleader form:
1. Identify a theme
2. Consider why the author thinks this theme is important for the reader to know
3. Predict how the author wants the reader to change

Now, just start with step 1. Think back on what we have been discussing in class. What have I, as the teacher, been emphasizing? Come up with a theme you feel confident in explaining. Here is an example:

1. People need to be more accepting of others’ differences
2. Currently, the author’s readers are too judgmental of others
3. Readers should not stereotype others based on their appearance or social standing in the future so as not to lose out on potential friendships and romantic relationships.

Can you guess what work I chose this theme from? Too general? That is the sign of a strong essay. If you have character names, locations, scenes, etc. you are being too specific. Save those details for when you need to find examples to back up your thesis. And lastly, when in doubt, ask me! I am always hear to help and sometimes all a student needs is someone to listen to them talk out their ideas.

3. THEME/READER’S ACTIONS – This is a leap in inferential thinking. It is not easy. I completely realize I am pushing you a great deal here, but believe me - you will get so much more out of literature if you can train your brain to be more aware of the messages the author is sending to you. I relate this to my sister’s job. She sells and promotes high end contemporary art in New York City – very glamorous. Sometimes I will go to visit, she will show me the latest exhibition, and I will enjoy the work but not truly get it. The last work I saw was a sculpture made to look like a cloud of black velvet. Birds were placed in and around the velvet to look as if they were flying in and out of the cloud. Obviously, it does not translate well to the written word, but I found the piece very moving, despite the fact I had no idea what was going on. Then my sister began to tell me the artist’s purpose. The artist had taken her inspiration from the epic poem “The Divine Comedy” by Dante (and, I, a literary geek! How cool!). In the poem Dante describes the three options for the afterlife Christians’ had: Heaven, Purgatory or Hell. The black cloud sculpture was actually an interpretation of one of Dante’s layers of Hell. The birds were symbolic of humans in Hell, constantly in a state of trying to escape and being sucked back in. It was AMAZING. As I moved around the exhibition my sister continued to describe each of the sculptures, explaining another layer of Hell from the epic poem. Once I had gotten the artist’s purpose I was able to experience the work on a completely different level than I had before. We must train ourselves to do this with literature.

4. CREATIVITY – The most difficult thing to teach and the reason why despite my artistic abilities I am in the English, not Art, department. I will do my best, though: First off, you need to put yourself in my shoes. Imagine you come home from work, sit down at your desk, uncap your purple pen and begin to read 20-70 essays on the same text. You have done this for several years already. Now read the first line of the first essay: “In the novel, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the protagonist Holden Caulfield runs away to New York City.” Now be honest: Are you excited to read this essay? Now look at the 19-69 essays you have left to read. Are you excited to read those? THAT is why creativity is so important. Find your voice and manipulate language in creative ways.


Ideas:
1. Think about what you are passionate about and use it as a connection to the text: a song, a poem, pop culture, historical events, soccer, dance, cooking, etc. You will be surprised at how easy this is.
2. Use your five senses when describing scenes or people: Twain shows how vile Huck’s father Pap is on the inside by making him ugly on the outside with scraggly hair, unwashed clothes and a strong stench of alcohol. Utilizing your five senses like this makes a scene or person come alive in a far more interesting way than just saying “Huck’s dad is gross.”
3. Here is a list of others: Play on words (if you consider yourself clever or sarcastic this one is for you), alliterations (slippery slope), analogies (can help with fluidity), creative sentence structure (please do not start every sentence with a subject and then a verb – Oy!!)


QUESTION: How did I make these tips creative and interesting to read?