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ESSAY WRITING STYLE

In the Essay/Note/Writing task, there is a separate weight for the writing style. Thus, please write in paragraph
format. We have written the e-book primarily in point form only for remembrance and to make issues more clear for
the reader. Do not write in point format in the essay. An essay should have the following three components a)
Introduction b) Body and c) Conclusion. We will give some pointers about each of these:

INTRODUCTION:
The first component of the perfect essay is the introduction.
A strong, powerful introduction is needed in order to capture the readers attention.
You can also start with a famous quote linking it with the topic, if possible.
The second purpose of the introduction is to establish the argument that will follow in the essay.
Lay down the basic argument in the introduction without getting into detail: For example: The French Revolution led to
the complete upheaval of European society in the social, political, and religious realms may be mentioned in the introduction. It
demonstrates that the writer intends to prove the argument in three specific areas. These three identified topics will
then form the second part of the essay, the body.

BODY:
The body of an essay is where the main thrust and support for the argument and/or thesis will be found.
In the above example of the French Revolution, the second paragraph would offer support for the argument
using examples from the social changes that took place in France.
Likewise, the second paragraph of the body would offer examples from the political situation in Europe.
The third body paragraph drawing on religious changes.
While going from one paragraph to another, use a linking line that alludes to the argument in the next paragraph.
There should not be a sudden sharp intellectual break between points of the argument.
Without transition, an essay would read more like an outline, bulleting points one after another.
Write around 2/3 small paragraphs. Each paragraph should be around 5 lines each. Make small paragraphs
for each argument you present and use connectors to link the paragraphs.

CONCLUSION:
After the body of the essay has been written, a conclusion must be drawn. Do not end abruptly. A small concluding
paragraph (1-2 sentences depending on space and time) must be there. A conclusion is your opportunity to shine
stylistically, the work of the essay has been completed, the thesis proven with great mastery, and so the reader should
be left satisfied.

Conclusions can be of various types and you should choose depending on the topic and your knowledge.

Kind 1: Summarising Conclusion: It reiterate that you have proven the argument you intended to. This reminds the
reader that there was a purpose to the entire essay, and you as the writer have proved the thesis.

Kind 2: Suggestive Conclusion: Let us say you have analysed a particular problem/situation eg: Inflation,
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Communalism etc. In this you give suggestions to solve the problem or situation at hand. The suggestions should
not be baseless and imaginary. Some realistic suggestions should be mentioned in brief.

Kind 3: Scenario Reader: In this conclusion you read the scenario which is present and enumerate some emerging
trends in the field and their impact. Eg: In an essay on Stock Market boom in India, in the conclusion you might like
to say that, Some new instruments have recently been launched by the NSE like derivatives on volatility, currency futures etc. which
would help in deepening the market and provide more accurate hedging solutions for corporate and individuals.

Kind 4: Visionary Conclusion: Here you provide your vision for the future and how thing might be in the future.

Depending on the topic you should think how you are going to end the essay. The points in the conclusion should
not be a repetition of what you have already said in the Essay. So preferably a summarizing conclusion should not be
selected. A repetition in a 1-pager will be not be taken well by the examiners. So choose the Kind 2, 3 or 4. You can
also end with a quote in case you have one appropriate for the moment. Do not try to forcefully insert a quote as that
might not be useful.

OVERALL PREPARATION FOR THE WRITING TASK

1. Preparation for the Essay Regular reading is the only stable and time-tested way to prepare for the Essay. There
is no short-cut to improving ones language. One must read and learn to apply what one has read. One should read
the editorials of papers like the Hindu, Economic Times, Indian Express etc. One should also try remembering
some quotations that one comes across while reading books etc. Maintain a notebook/word document for keeping
track of such quotations. Practice Writing Essays for those who are not very sure of their abilities to tackle Essay
paper. Write at least 4-5 essays before the D-day so that you can see what mistakes you generally make and to judge
your writing speed etc. In case you write slowly, you need to be succinct as you will be short of time. If you write fast,
then you should devote more time in thinking as all the time given should be utilized to the optimum. You will not
win a race by being the first to put the pen down.

2. Attempting the Essay
You must study the topic and think about all the ideas that come to your mind. Mind-mapping or jotting points may
help. Take up the topic and ask yourself, What can I say about this. Candidates must answer the question posed
in the essay. Writing a general answer without taking a stand when the question is asking you for a stand
will not fetch you high marks because then you would not be answering the question.

Planning Spend the next 10-15% of the time allotted in planning your essay. Planning has some very important
steps:
i. Identify Key Words Read the topic you have chosen and identify the most important words in the topic.
Think about these main terms and try to understand their meaning from all aspects, so that you understand
all the aspects being asked in the Essay. If needed, define the terms in 1-2 lines in the essay.
ii. Scope of the essay Often one needs to limit ones analysis due to time and space constraints. Identifying
the scope of the essay means identifying the issues that the writer will focus on. For instance, the topic
Good Fences make Good Neighbours can be interpreted in many ways. Neighbours can be countries, your
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immediate next-door neighbors, your colleagues in office or could simply be animals living in symbiotic
relationship in the wild. Limiting ones scope means that one is going to focus on certain aspects of the issue
although one recognizes that there is a much broader interpretation of the topic. The writer must be
able to recognize the breadth of the topic but draw his/her own borders for discussion. However, given the
limited time allotted to the Essay, define a scope which you can cover well in the given time.
iii. Planning your introduction Spend some time doing this (not valid where only 10 mins are given for the
whole essay). Recall any quotations that might be relevant. Your introduction must be clear and should
immediately reflect that you have understood the topic. You should define/talk about the key words of the
topic and what they mean to you. You should spell out the scope of your essay. And finally you should
present your Thesis Statement. Devote 1-2 lines to this and not more. The length depends on the total
allotted time for the essay and it differs across various institutes.
iv. Thesis Statement Thesis statement is your succinct one line answer to the Essay question. It may
be simply I agree with the statement or a more refined and sophisticated complex sentence. For instance,
for the question whether handicrafts are dying in India, the thesis statement (if you are in favour) could be
Despite efforts being made by the government and various NGOs, our traditional handicrafts continue to
face challenges, which if not overcome, will verily lead to their slow death. In fact, the process may be faster
than it appears at the moment. This has clarified your stance right away to the examiner that you believe that
a slow death for handicrafts is likely. (A candidate could actually take a view that the slow death is inevitable
but something can be done about it to prevent it. Alternatively, its also possible to argue that traditional
handicrafts are anachronistic and neednt be kept alive on artificial life support systems. The view depends on
the candidates perspective but he must justify his view.) A solid thesis statement wins points right away and
makes the reader / examiner keen to read the rest of your essay. Thesis statement is an indispensable part of
the Introduction to any good Essay. It is like setting the stage for the onslaught.
v. Planning the body of your essay Mindmapping is a useful tool for this phase. Basically, this involves
writing a point and drawing arrows around it with some examples or sub-points. This depends on the
candidate. Some people like to do this while brain-storming for ideas. The candidate must think of different
dimensions of the essay here. Typically, this is the part where you need to think about the arguments in
favour or against your stand. Jot down both sets of arguments. You need to know both sides because you
want to reflect that you understand both set of arguments and are making a balanced assessment. Now
take each argument, especially those that support your stand, and think of some examples, anecdotes etc. to
support your points. (This is called substantiation). Also think of how you would reconcile the two
ideologies if your stance is that there is no necessary dichotomy between the two.
vi. Conclusion Think of a powerful conclusion to your essay. Something that ties up the loose strings and
completes your analysis. You could end with a reiterating statement that reflects your stance or a quotation.
You could also end with some recommendations.

c. Writing your Essay Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance. Once planning has been done, the final task is
just to put down in good grammatically correct English all your thoughts. Focus on the grammar here. That must be
as accurate as possible. Refrain from using tough words if you are not confident about their meaning. Simple, clear
sentences are much better than complicated, flowery language which is hard to understand. The purpose of the Essay
is not to show-off your language, but to show your thought process and your refined ideas. Focus on linking your
paragraphs. Use connectors like Moreover, In Addition, Furthermore, However, Nevertheless, While to traverse
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from one paragraph / point /argument to the next. For giving examples, use different terms like for example, for
instance, consider this, notably etc.

d. Revising your essay Once you have written your essay, spend at least 1-2 minutes revising it for grammatical
and spelling mistakes and for making sure your sentences bring out exactly what you mean. Would you like to read an
essay or an article in which there are mistakes or which you feel has not been revised by the editor? Similarly, the
examiner also wouldnt think very highly of you if there are glaring mistakes. Revision helps us eliminate these errors.


OVERALL THE FOLLOWING POINTS SHOULD BE KEPT IN MIND:

1. Think about the introduction as that is the first impression on the reader. Similarly, conclusion is the final
impression and so some time should be devoted to that too.
2. Do not write the words Introduction, conclusion in the essay.
3. Write less but write sense. Just filling the page will not help.
4. Stick to the TOPIC and do not write extraneous facts.
5. DO NOT USE ABBREVIATIONS/ACRONYMS (Eg. & govt. etc)
6. There is no time or space for writing detailed examples. Just quote the names/incidents.
7. Avoid repetition
8. Write the heading of the essay at the top
9. Write legibly and in a good handwriting
10. Think clearly about all 3 parts of the essay and not only about the BODY as most candidates do and will do.
Make 2-3 small paras for the Body too and it should not appear as just 1 long paragraph. Each para should
provide a different facet/argument for the topic.
11. Be calm and composed. If you do not know anything about the topic, think hard. Think about various kinds of
people like Rural/Urban, Women/Children/Men, Rich/Poor, Developing/Developed countries,
Diseased/Healthy, Current generation/Future generation and see how the topic will affect each of them.
Everything that happens around the world is discussed because that affects someone out there. That will help you
to get clues on what to write.
12. If it is a difficult topic, it is difficult for everyone. Be confident that you know much more than the other
candidates would know. Just try to link things and you will be able to find a lot to write.

Best of Luck to you all!!!

Team EssaysforIIM.com
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