In this article you will get helpful tips and tricks on how to write a good text in English! The topic is a subtopic of the subject English. We will show you the general structure and other important aspects that will help you to write successful texts in English.
General structure of English texts
There are many different types of essays in English, be it a comment, an essay or a cartoon analysis. But they all have one thing in common – and that is their general structure. We will explain how to structure an English text clearly and correctly so that nothing can go wrong in your next English exam!
Introduction—Introduction
It is important that you immediately convey to your reader which one target you follow with your text. Therefore, your introduction is very important for your subsequent text.
In your introduction you reflect the intention of your text, ie you say what your text is about. Also you slowly introduce the readers to your topic in your introduction.
The following text will explore the current situation of student exchange programs between Germany and the United Kingdom.
Fast Food is a huge problem in the USA – The next paragraphs will debate health measures and solve the problem of “fat USA”.
Main Part
Figure 1: Scroll
In the Main Part you support your core ideas, which you mostly already mentioned in your introduction. Here, for example, you explain your arguments in more detail, answer the most important W-questions or examine the most important features of your given text. Also try some suspense build up: The readers should be captivated by your text. Therefore, you should use good transitions and save the most exciting aspects for the end of the main part. Pay attention too
- meaningful connections,
- an appropriate choice of words,
- and phrases appropriate to your topic.
Differs depending on the type of text himself of course Construction your body: the structure of a letter, for example, differs significantly from that of a comment. For this reason, this article will give you a first insight into the various types of text.
If you would like more information about the respective text types and their main parts, then simply click on our related articles!
conclusion
In the conclusion or conclusion you summarize the essential core statements and finish your text. Depending on the type of text, you can also Conclusion pull or one outlook give for the future. If you are writing a personal text (e.g. a letter), you can also use a personal farewell Select (Best Regards, Kind regards, Best Wishes). Possible formulations with which you can introduce your conclusion are:
To conclude/In conclusion/Concluding, …For that reason, …To sum up, …
Different texts – different structures
As mentioned earlier, not all text follows the same structure. If you are looking for more specific text forms such as the comment or the summary or similar, this section will help you! Text production can basically be divided roughly into two types of tasks: Analyzing texts and writing.
analyze texts
In order to be able to analyze a text, it is of course important that you understand this text. reading him to you multiple times through, mark important passages and look up (if possible) words you don’t know. A bilingual dictionary (= bilingual dictionary) good help.
For more tips on how to best understand English texts, see our Understanding Texts article.
In the following, we will introduce you to the most important types of text analysis that you might encounter in the course of your school career.
Poetry Analysis
Text analysis includes, for example, the poem analysis (= poem analysis). As in German, you are presented with a poem that you have to analyze and then interpret. Among other things, you have to look out for features such as the authorthe epochthe rhyme scheme and rhetorical devices respect, think highly of.
Fictional and non-fictional texts
In the fictional text analysis, the analysis of fictional texts, one analyzes a fictional (imagined, fictitious) text. You take a close look at aspects such as structure, atmosphere and setting, character and dialogue analysis or narrative perspective and finally interpret your results.
In contrast, it is non-fictional texts factual texts that provide information about people, facts or events from reality. Aspects such as the narrative perspective are omitted here.
drama analysis
the drama analysis (= drama analysis) is a special form of text analysis of fictional texts. At this will just a specific scene of the drama examined, not the entire drama. The scene is broken down into its individual components, examined and then interpreted.
factual analysis
At an English one factual analysis Do you want to analyze a text in more detail – similar to German text analysis? You pay attention to aspects such as Construction, language and author’s intention.
image description
Captioning is one of the basics of English text composition, so it’s important that you master it well. Essentially, the image description is quite simple: as the name suggests, you describe a given photo, caricature or cartoon. Sometimes an interpretation or analysis is required of you.
The cartoon analysis sometimes differs somewhat in the procedure, as it is often associated with a political statement connected is.
The analysis of a diagram (= diagram) also requires you to describe an image. Here you first explain what the diagram generally should represent before you die individual details explain.
Writing
In addition to text analysis, there are also classic text production tasks in English Writing Tasks. This is less about dealing with the given material. Rather, you have the opportunity to put your own writing skills to the test. In the following, we explain the different types of text that can be used.
mediation
There is often one in English exams mediation part. The procedure is always the same. First you read the given text carefully and try to understand it. You then look at the associated questions and search the text accordingly to filter out the correct answers from the text. In most cases, you have to translate a German text into an English text, but the reverse can also apply. This is not a word-for-word translation, but a task-related summary that shows that you have understood the original text.
In contrast to mediation, the Translate (= Translating) about writing a text word by word to translate. In contrast to mediation, individual passages of text cannot be left out.
Comment
A comment is basically the same as a opinion in English: You take a certain attitude (usually your own opinion) towards a certain topic.
A comment is structured in a similar way to an argument: it can either one-sided be, ie you choose whether you take the pro or contra position; or you also use arguments of the oppositionto then refute them with your own arguments.
Very similar types of text are:
- the critique (= criticism) and the review, in which you judge a thing or a text. A critique or review can be negative or positive, but must be supported with arguments.
- the statement, in which you present your opinion in an argumentative manner, similar to the critique and review. You will be presented with a statement or question, which you should either agree or disagree with in the course of your statement.
Summary
As you can probably imagine, a summary is nothing more than one summary or table of contents in English. In a summary you summarize a given text by naming the most important points.
letter and e-mail
Figure 2: Envelope
Would you like to write a letter in English? The rough structure is very similar to that in German. However, in English a finer tone of voice chosen and the speech is general more polite and courteous.
Writing works in a similar way emails. In contrast to a letter, however, the address of the sender and recipient is not given here, after all, an e-mail is electronic mail.
One invitation (= invitation) for various occasions is also written in the form of a letter or an e-mail. Here it is important that you answer the following questions: who, what, when and where?
essay
In an essay, a given question is formulated different perspectives observed and illuminated. It’s less about presenting an argument and more about providing new food for thought on a specific topic. The essay is one of freest essay forms at all and also requires a certain creativity and Author’s openness.
characterization
As the name suggests, there is one characterization It is about describing a character or figure in a text by, among other things, observing and analyzing their behavioral patterns. Often a characterization is part of an interpretation or analysis.
report
At a report (= report) you produce a factual text yourself that refers to a certain fact from real life. A report should at best without any subjective evaluation answers to all W-questions deliver: who, what, where, how, when, why, what for?
Biography
using a biography (= biography) you collect the most important life experiences of a person. This includes information about origin, the path to success and the greatest achievements of the person.
Continuing a story
Figure 3: Pen
You can also be given the task of continuing to write a story independently. You have to contact the characteristics of the given text orientate. In which tense is the story written? which persons are relevant to the plot? To which time of action does your continuation of the story tie in?
Other types of text
There are a variety of other types of text that can appear in the form of text production tasks. These include diary entries (= diary entry), dialogues (= dialogue), application and curriculum vitae (= application and curriculum vitae/CV), songwriting or notes (= notes).
linking words
Of course, the connections must also be right: so that you can also convey what you have written sensibly and sympathetically, you must ensure that the connections in the text are understood by the reader. Your arguments should be conclusive, especially in the main part.
«Connectives» are particularly important here, i.e. connecting words so that you can formulate the transitions between the sentences well and…