The Process of Writing - Essay Example

The Writing Process Writing an excellent dissertation/essay is a challenging task for many often confront with difficulty in arranging their ideas in a well organized way probably failing to identify the central idea of the topic. Although no two people do writing the same way, there are certain logical steps that can be followed to design a good writing task (Cleveland). Common features such as introduction, body, and conclusion alone do not necessarily make a work outstanding. Even though some people think that introduction is the most important part of an essay, I tend to say that thesis statement is the significant part that determines the power of a paper. Obviously thesis sentence also is the part of introduction. Depending on a statement of my own choice, I will attempt to explain how a thesis sentence can be elaborated to an essay of high quality. Thesis sentence/introduction Initially, in order to decide the central idea, the writer needs to think what the purpose of writing the essay is (Carter, 2006). Further step is to identify the audience/readers whom the writing is intended to address. Once these two matters are determined, a thesis sentence can be made without any uncertainty. The thesis statement must be potential enough for exploration. See one thesis statement; ‘today the balance between work and play/recreation is not found in a justifiable ratio in the lives of professionals’. This assertion clearly indicates what the writer has determined to describe in the coming paragraphs. In other words, the following part of the essay is solely dedicated to establish this opinion. Obviously, the writer needs to bring supporting evidences and reasons to strengthen his view because it can have an inevitably refuting opinion. However, the introduction is exclusively meant for clearly stating the writers view before entering a deeper level of thinking. Draft In fact the initial step of writing an essay is to create a draft or master plan. The purpose of the draft is to organize the total content and structure of the essay since the thesis statement to the conclusion (Tarafder, 2009). It takes in various supporting ideas and examples that have to be presented in the following paragraphs. Writer can make a collection of appropriate phrases that would modify the chosen topic. For instance, consider some key words that can be used for the above mentioned topic; hectic schedule, stress and strain, amusement, pleasure, exhausted, revitalize, fatigue, turmoil, physical requirement, enhances immunity etc. A skilled writer will use a good range of synonyms to avoid the repetition of words. Thus even an uninteresting thought can be developed in to a well organized essay. Sometimes a draft has to be revised two or three times making reasonable changes until you find it a reliable one. Paragraphs As mentioned earlier, paragraphs are the expansion of the central idea with supporting reasons and evidences meant to prove that your view is rational. To illustrate, if you attempt to provide support to the same example thesis, you may (may not) start the first paragraph like this; The reason for my belief is that professionals like police officers and military contractors who run for social and political security, hardly get free time, and presumably feel a secluded life. If they were given enough time for play they could be more audacious and organized. See some common usages for beginning a paragraph or proposing a new idea; -the reason for my belief is -to illustrate -to begin with -to exemplify, Examples are the significant elements that make your argument strong. Therefore your writing must be rich in content with examples and evidences to convince your reader (Jakeman & McDowell, 2006). After finishing the first paragraph included with the most relevant ideas and examples, writer moves to the second one. Since it is the extension of the previous discussion, the writer can start the paragraph with any phrase like furthermore, further, secondly, moreover etc. to maintain the flow of writing. Adhering to the first example paragraph I would start the second as follows; Perhaps the best reason is that today organizations tend to follow a system of replacing the individuals with new potential candidates. Organizational ethics or intrinsic values are little considered in this case. They are willing to retain only those individuals who relentlessly work for them. As your writing advances you can enlarge your theme to new region of information. For instance, I can dedicate the third paragraph for explaining the significance of play/recreation in one’s professional life so that my argument would sound more logical. The following diagram shows the various advantages of play that can be described in my writing. It depends on the type of assignment if the diagram has to be presented as it is or only the points need to be described. Such a paragraph will enable the writer to open another paragraph to proceed with supporting suggestions. Since the importance of the issue/thought is clearly stated in the previous paragraphs, here, in the new section the writer can suggest some possible solutions for the issue. To demonstrate, see how I would proceed with my suggestions: Therefore, in order to ensure the work and play balance in the lives of employees, the team that designs the incentives and reward strategy must consider all possible motivating factors that would eventually contribute to the overall growth of the individuals. About paragraphs -each paragraph should contain a main idea -divide another paragraph if you want to present a new idea -include relevant examples/reasons -write in clear and concise language Now you have the opportunity to write a paragraph based on the possible refutation. Stating the other side of the issue does not weaken your argument; instead, it gives the opportunity to reiterate your view by presenting more reasons against the opposing ideas. In other words, the opposing view is intentionally stated to make the writing more persuasive. A good writer will have sufficient reasons to prove that the counter arguments are rather weak. Following example would shows how the argument is brought to an end. Generally, people are reluctant to evaluate the balance between work and play in their lives. If it was done they could identify the unfair proportion of both which must be the major problem that perturbs their comfort. About Conclusion The next step in the writing process is to design a concluding paragraph. Conclusion is nothing but restating the writer’s view once again relatively in a concise form to fix them in the minds of readers. The writer is not expected to include new ideas or examples in the conclusion. Moreover, conclusion has to be written in a different manner other than repeating the same sentences. Let us consider the possible concluding sentence for the example argument. To sum up, most of the difficulties people confront with are caused by the paucity of play/recreation in their chosen career. These challenges can be met easily if they have enough patience to examine the balance between work and play in their daily life. The various steps of writing a dissertation can be summarized as follows; -analyze the task -decide your position -introduce/state your position -arrange three-four paragraphs on main ideas with supporting evidences -use relevant vocabulary -conclude by restating your position Conclusion To sum up, a writer needs to make his position clear through the thesis statement and provide main ideas and supporting arguments (content). Thesis statement has to be developed logically from the introduction through several paragraphs to the conclusion (organization). By linking the ideas in different paragraphs using concise vocabulary, a writer expresses his range of language. References Carter (2006). A book on Writing, New Age International Publishers, p.4 Jakeman & McDowell (eds.) (2006). Action Plan for IELTS. Cambridge University Press,pp.70-72 Tarafder (2009). Essay Writing. APH Publishing, p.4 Thesis statement. The Writing Center, Cleveland State University. Viewed 16 July 2009 Read More