Keeping your tenses consistent:
Click HERE to see information on keeping tenses consistent through your piece of writing.
Vary sentence structure:“This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It’s like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety. Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length. And sometimes, when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals–sounds that say listen to this, it is important.”
Formal Writing - planningClick here to access the online planning sheet. Click the 'get started' button, write your name and the title of your piece of writing. Once you have done that, you are ready to complete the formal writing planning sheet. Once you have typed in your information, you can print your plan to guide you through the writing process. You must complete one of these planning sheets.
Download the information on formal writing structure. This instruction manual will help you with the correct structure and style of formal writing. |
Structuring Your Writing
A formal essay needs a formal structure. Your writing will be more authoritative and convincing if it is well arranged.
If you are writing a persuasive essay, you are trying to get your reader to agree with you. You might try to imagine your reader is someone who needs to be convinced that your ideas are good ones. Your reader may have arguments of their own, can you think what those arguments might be? are you able to dismiss those arguments or counteract them in your essay?
If you are writing a persuasive essay, you are trying to get your reader to agree with you. You might try to imagine your reader is someone who needs to be convinced that your ideas are good ones. Your reader may have arguments of their own, can you think what those arguments might be? are you able to dismiss those arguments or counteract them in your essay?
Here is a simple structure to follow...
The introduction:
Just as you always begin with an introduction in your literary essays, you must also have an introduction in your formal essays. You should:
The body of the essay is where you actually present your opinions in detail. In most cases you should have at least three paragraphs.
All good paragraphs should have:
Topic sentence: Tells the audience what topic or idea will be in the paragraph. It is a simple sentence that states the idea.
Explanation: Explains to the reader exactly what you meant in your topic sentence. It will fill out the detail of the idea.
Evidence: Supports your explanation with an example that proves (or tries to prove) to the reader that what you say is actually true. You could use an anecdote, a quotation from an authoritative figure or relevant book or article, a useful statistic, an example from the news, the results of a survey you (or someone else) has conducted etc.
Link to central idea: Completes your paragraph by connecting it back to the main topic.
The conclusion of the essay:
The conclusion to your essay should leave the reader with something to think about. It should:
Just as you always begin with an introduction in your literary essays, you must also have an introduction in your formal essays. You should:
- State the topic in your first sentence
- State your point of view (which side of the topic you are arguing)
- Give the three main ideas you will use
- Make this paragraph interesting and convincing
The body of the essay is where you actually present your opinions in detail. In most cases you should have at least three paragraphs.
All good paragraphs should have:
Topic sentence: Tells the audience what topic or idea will be in the paragraph. It is a simple sentence that states the idea.
Explanation: Explains to the reader exactly what you meant in your topic sentence. It will fill out the detail of the idea.
Evidence: Supports your explanation with an example that proves (or tries to prove) to the reader that what you say is actually true. You could use an anecdote, a quotation from an authoritative figure or relevant book or article, a useful statistic, an example from the news, the results of a survey you (or someone else) has conducted etc.
Link to central idea: Completes your paragraph by connecting it back to the main topic.
The conclusion of the essay:
The conclusion to your essay should leave the reader with something to think about. It should:
- Restate the main points of the essay. (Usually with slightly different wording)
- Reinforce the writer's approach to the topic without giving any new information.
- End with a strong, thought-provoking statement or question.