Yoshikaの英語ワンポイントレッスン Vol. 51
これはタメになると大好評!ネイティブのカウンセラーによる英語ワンポイントレッスン! 今回は、高校や大学で何度も書くことになるエッセイ。そのスタイルについて。
HOW TO GIVE A SPEECH
At American institutions, essay writing is an important component of study and how teachers will grade your critical thinking, English and organizational skills. It can be a way to express yourself, to make a point and to inform the reader on an issue. The word "essay" can be traced to Latin to mean "to examine" or "to test." Many international students have difficulty writing essays because it may not be a requirement in his or her home country. Here are some styles of writing essays. Please note that this is different from essay topics, which is what you are writing about. Styles are "how" you write an essay. See below.
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Expository Essay: The most common type of essay in pre-college English writing, the expository essay is a genre of essay that requires the student to investigate an idea, evaluate evidence, expound on the idea, and set forth an argument concerning that idea in a clear and concise manner. This can be accomplished through comparison and contrast, definition, example, the analysis of cause and effect, etc. Here are some guidelines to help you through an expository essay: |
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Use a clear, concise and defined thesis statement that occurs in the first paragraph (introduction). |
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Clear and logical transitions between introduction, body and conclusion paragraphs. The reader must be able to follow the essay clearly and it must flow naturally. |
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Evidential support: provide support in the form of other texts, statistical, logical, anecdotal or factual. |
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Descriptive Essay: This type of essay asks the student to describe an object, person, place, experience, emotion, situation, etc. It requires the student to create a written account of a particular experience. This type of essay allows for the most artistic freedom. Some tips on how to write a descriptive essay: |
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Be organizes and brainstorm. |
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Use clear and concise language. |
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Use vivid language: instead of using the word "horse" you can use the word "stallion" |
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Use your senses: explain how your topic smelled, felt, sounded, tasted, or looked. |
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What were you thinking?: Describe your emotions and what you felt when you had this experience or encountered the object. |
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Leave the reader with a clear impression: your goal is to make the reader become familiar with your topic, as if he or she was experiencing it with you. |
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Narrative Essay: This type of essay is the writer telling a story. It can be anecdotal (lesson to be learned/moral of the story), experiential, and personal. This can be the writers chance to write something in a moving and emotional way. Keep these things in mind when you are writing a narrative essay: |
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Include all parts of a story: introduction, plot, characters, setting, climax, and conclusion. |
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Have a purpose: what is the point of your essay? |
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Clear and concise language. |
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It is not necessary but okay to use "I" language. |
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Argumentative Essay: My favorite type of essay! This essay type requires the student to investigate a topic, collect, generate and evaluate evidence, and establish a position (are you for or against it) on the topic. Here are some tips to write an argumentative essay: |
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Research: unlike an expository essay, an argumentative essay requires A LOT of research. |
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Why is this topic important? Who does it effect? What are the consequences? The student must establish clearly and concisely what these are. |
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Evidential support: whether it is statistical or anecdotal, you must provide support for your point of view. |
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Opposition's point of view: provide your oppositions point of view and describe why it doesn't work. |
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