For as long as you can remember, you’ve wanted a pet – you’d love to have a dog. In order to convince your parents, you collect various arguments why, in your opinion, a dog is an indispensable part of every household.
Essays have a similar purpose: they always try to persuade. In this article you will find out how to write an essay and what you have to pay attention to.
Definition essay
What exactly is an essay?
A essay is a written elaboration on a specific topic. You put yours in it personal opinion dar and supports she with specialist readingor. facts/arguments.
Essays are often intended to provide food for thought.
Types of essays
in one argumentative essay (argumentative essay) you present your opinion, which you back up with facts.
There are three other types of essays:
- narrative essay: At a narrative essay Are you describing a personal experience? As a result, this form of essay is very individual and begins with a narrative introduction. The end is usually a punch line, expressing what you have learned.
- descriptive Essay: At one descriptive essay is about bringing the reader closer to a certain experience. This type of essay should be convincing through pictorial and comprehensible descriptions.
- exhibition Essay: At one review essay write down what you already know about a topic. This means that you do not do any research for the time being, but work with the knowledge that you already have.
Writing an essay in English – preparation
Before you start writing, it is important to do some research on the topic. You can use the following tools for research:
- teaching material and technical texts: If you are asked to write an essay for school, the topic (or part of the topic) may have already been covered in class. You can use the information discussed there in your essay. Specialist texts are e.g. B. Books from a library that match your essay topic.
- conversations with experts and acquaintances: If you know someone who has specialist knowledge of the topic of your essay, it makes sense to speak to this person. But conversations with friends or family can also be helpful to find out different perspectives.
- Internet: You can also find a lot of relevant information on the Internet. When researching on the Internet, make sure that you only use legitimate sites as sources in your essay. Pages that share opinions can be used for inspiration, but cannot be cited as sources of your facts.
Legitimate or reputable internet sources are those who cite sources for their information. Information should best be checked by a second, also reliable site.
Write down the most important ones at the beginning keywords on. A mind map can help relate these keywords to each other and capture additional notes.
In the «Notes» explanation you will find more about writing notes!
Pros and cons list
If you want to weigh up the positives and negatives of a topic in your essay, a pros and cons list is a good idea. In this you list arguments in favor of your topic/thesis on one page. On the other hand, there are arguments that speak against the thesis.
Such a list can help you find a page to argue for. Usually this corresponds to the side for which you find more and stronger arguments.
Writing an essay in English – structure
When you have gathered enough information on the topic, you can create an outline. In English means «outline» outline. This can help to structure a text. It is important to have a common thread that guides the readers and allows them to follow your arguments.
In the following table you will find a possible structure for one outline:
English
German
Introduction Justification of topic thesisintroduction Justification of the subject thesisbody Reason 1 supporting fact exampleBulk Reason 1 supporting fact exampleConclusion Justification of findings restate thesisConclusion short summary of the results call thesis again
Writing an essay in English – Introduction
An essay usually begins with a headline. You can write this right at the beginning if you already have a good idea. Otherwise you can leave enough space and enter the headline at the end.
Next, you write the introduction, so introduction. Here you declare how come you have chosen your topic. Among other things, you can introduce current knowledge or events or a topic-related anecdote.
In the introduction you also explain your thesis (thesis). That means you provide one claim that you justify in your essay. Throughout the essay it is important to keep referring to the main thesis. This results in a red thread for the readers.
Sample essay introduction
To make the theory a little easier to understand, here’s a practical application of what you’ve just learned. The sample topic of the essay is «Why a Dog Makes a Good Pet».
Why dogs make great pets
Dogs are among the most liked pets. Well over 76 million dogs were a part of US residents’ households in 2018. In this essay, I wish to share reasons for how dogs make such great pets and why every household – with the time, money and space to spare – should consider getting a dog.
I want to discuss this topic because I think our family life would improve by having a dog.
This introduction includes:
- a headline (Why dogs make great pets)
- a reason for the choice of topic (you want to convince your family to get a dog)
- a thesis (here in italics)
formulations for the introduction
You can start the introduction of your essay with the following formulations:
EnglishGermanThe topic of … is ever present.The topic of … is omnipresent. In this essay, I wish to show/highlight…Recent developments have shown the importance of…Recent developments have shown the importance of….
Writing an essay in English – main part
After the introduction comes the «main part», in English body or mainpart. In this part you explain your arguments with which you justify your thesis. Here you can have yours subjective opinion contribute and also contradict other points of view. You can justify your opinion by supporting your arguments with examples. Try to orientate yourself on your previously created outline in order to maintain a clear structure.
It is also helpful for the comprehensibility of your essay, per paragraph an argument to explain. So you can each new paragraph with a reason, i.e. a «reason». This can separate the paragraphs from each other and introduce the argument. After every reason Facts and examples follow to support your point of view.
You sort your arguments in the main part from weakest to strongest. If your main body ends with the strongest argument, you can convince the readers of your point of view towards the end.
You can also title each paragraph with subheadings if your essay spans multiple pages.
Sample essay body
In the following you will find an exemplary main part for the dog example above. The main part shown here contains only one argument for the sake of clarity. In a full essay, however, you would present and elaborate on several arguments.
The most important aspect to consider in this matter is the overall happiness and well-being of everyone involved.
It has been proven that people who own a dog live longer. This is because they tend to be more active than the average person because their dog encourages them to go outside every day. The presence of a dog lowers the stress levels of those surrounding due to the extra exercise and its general loving nature. A study from Washington State University showed that just ten minutes of petting a dog dramatically lowers cortisol – a hormone that indicates stress.
I remember my mother telling me about the first dog she ever got. She was a university student who had recently split up with her long term partner and had a difficult time staying on top of uni work as well as her personal life. She decided to get a dog: The dog would need a routine that she needed to stick to as well. Getting a dog made her think about other things than university, thus reducing her stress. I can personally attest to the happiness a dog adds to everyone’s lives because even seeing a dog out on the street lifts my mood instantly.
This main part includes:
- an argument/thesis: dogs make people around them happier (1st paragraph)
- a fact to support the argument: statistics that petting dogs reduces stress hormones (2nd paragraph)
- an example that makes the argument more tangible (3rd paragraph)
Formulations for the main part
You can supplement the main part of your essay with the following formulations:
You can find more such connecting words in the «Connectives» explanation.
Writing an essay in English – that’s it
At the end you write the «conclusion» (conclusion)your essay summarizes. You also explain your conclusion in a few sentences. So you formulate your thesis from the introduction again – either you repeat this confirmed thesis or you reformulate it if you have come to a different conclusion.
Sample essay conclusion
The following is a closing part for the example above:
All in all, dogs do not only make loveable but also health enhancing pets. I think I showed the need for a dog in every household that has the capacity to house one and would thus urge any family member of mine to read this to consider adding one to our family again.
This conclusion includes:
- a summary of the main content
- a conclusion that can be drawn from the essay
Formulations for the end
You can introduce the conclusion of your essay with the following formulations:
EnglishGermanThe stated facts should have shown that…The stated facts should have shown that…All in all …To sum up …In summary…
Writing an essay in English – the most important things
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An essay is a written elaboration on a specific topic. In an essay you present your personal opinion and support it with specialist reading, reasons and arguments.
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You can write an essay in four steps:
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preparation: Gather enough information about your topic and create an outline.
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Introduction: Formulate your thesis and introduce the topic in an appealing way for your readers.
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body: Explain your arguments and support them with examples.
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Conclusion: Summarize your arguments and write a conclusion.
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You can write your introduction e.g. B. with In this essay I wish to show start with your body Connectives how Furthermore or However round…