DOs AND DON'Ts FOR ESSAY WRITING: PAU.

DOs AND DON'Ts FOR WRITING

DOs

DON`Ts

Spend a couple of minutes thinking of ideas, choosing the best ones and the order you will discuss them in. Try to have a good introduction. This creates the first impression on the examiner, and first impressions are very important. Make sure that each paragraph in the main body of your essay has a clear topic. Develop your ideas by giving arguments for the opinions you mention, and/or giving examples, or drawing a contrast, or by acknowledging the opposite point of view (if you have not planned to do that in the following paragraph). Imagine that you are writing for someone who is not quite as well-informed as you are, so that you really have to make your points clear. Try to use a good range of vocabulary. Find ways to avoid repetition. Use expressions such as "On the one hand," "Secondly," "By contrast," "Furthermore," "Last but not least," "All in all," etc, where appropriate, to make the connection between your sentences perfectly clear. Vary the length of your sentences. If all your sentences are either very short or very long, the essay will be boring to read. Use some of the advanced grammar structures you have learnt throughout the two Bachillerato years. Keep one eye on the clock and leave yourself a minute or so to check your work. We all make mistakes, and if you can correct some of yours, you will save valuable marks. Write out all numbers below 100 (forty-four, fifty, seven). Use transitions and connectors to help you move from one sentence to another... However, Otherwise, Finally, On the other hand, Thus, Moreover, Yet, Equally important, In other words, In addition, First, Second, Last, For instance, For this reason, Similarly...

• No contractions (shouldn't = should not, won't = will not) • No first or second person (I, me = first and you, our = second) Detach yourself from the writing and the reader! • Do not use “dead”, empty words (for example, thing, stuff, good, very…). • Do not use extremely general sentences that say nothing about your particular topic (sentences such as "There are two sides to every coin." "Everything has its drawbacks." "Nothing is perfect." etc). • USE OF VOCABULARY: Do not just use the simplest expressions that come to mind first, and avoid repeating the same words if you can.

When you finish:

1. Check your spelling.

2. Check your grammar.

3. Read your composition again.

4. Make sure each sentence has a subject.

5. Make sure your subjects and verbs agree with each other.

6. Check the verb tenses of each sentence.

7. Make sure that each sentence makes sense.

8. Style and Organization:

1. Make sure your essay has an introduction, supporting paragraphs, and a summary paragraph.
2. Check that You have a thesis statement that identifies the main idea of the essay.
3. Check that all your paragraphs follow the proper paragraph format.
4. See if your essay is interesting.