How does the presentation of climate change in American media differ according to audience, purpose and scale?

World Studies Extended Essay Introduction Global Climate Change has become a growing concern among nations on a global, national and local scale. Global Climate Change is used to describe the recent changes in patterns of temperature and rainfall, sea level, habitats and the incidence of drought, floods and storms, resulting from changes in the earth’s … Read more

Development of the English language shown through literature

Language is first and foremost a communication device. Human beings also communicate in forms of mannerism like facial expressions and hand gestures, but our most important communication device is language.Communication with language is called linguistic communication, while communication with facial expressions and such is called non-linguistic communication. The only ones who can use linguistic communication … Read more

Give an outline of how the American Dream is interpreted in texts 2,3 and 4

Text 2: Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Perspective In the text Arnold Schwarzenegger has written about the American Dream. Arnold Schwarzenegger tells that the American Dream, no matter what country you are from or who you are. You can be something great and accomplish anything beyond your wildest imagination if you work hard. This statement is aligned with … Read more

How might the English language have been different if the Norman conquest had never happened?

Throughout history the English language has seen many changes and to this day it can be argued that the English language is constantly evolving as societies reach new eras, new trends and new words are introduced and added to the dictionary such as modern words relating to the modern world they’re relevant to like; nomophobia, … Read more

To What Extent Have Class Systems Been Influenced By Mass Literacy?

Introduction: The dawn of a writing system. (600) 13,000 years ago a written language didn’t exist, now, 1 billion messages are sent on facebook everyday. Reading and Writing hasn’t always been this ubiquitous, once it was reserved for the rich and powerful. From this comes the interaction between literacy and the hierarchy of society. This … Read more

Adjectives and Adverbs

Definition Adjectives are words that describe nouns or pronouns. They may come before the word they describe (That is a cute puppy.) or they may follow the word they describe (That puppy is cute.). Adverbs are words that modify everything but nouns and pronouns. They modify adjectives, verbs, and other adverbs. A word is an adverb if it … Read more

What constitutes an Essay?

Before we answer the question we have to start by asking ourselves how can we define an essay? Is it an argument or a recollection, an email or blog post, a food review or a piece of literary criticism? Is it some sort of learned, well written prose – bound in leather and tucked away … Read more

Comparing Chinese versions of Uncle Tom’s Cabin: Lin Shu and Wei Yi, Huang Jizhong, and Wang Jiaxiang

Traditional translation studies stayed at the language level and sought one-to-one correspondence in language forms in order to obtain the equivalence between the original text and the target text. Gradually, translation theorists turned their attention from the linguistic level to the scope outside the text, and began to study translation theories in a cross-cultural context. … Read more

Distinguish fact from opinion

The distinction between fact and opinion in academic writing can often be subtle and complex. In disciplines outside the pure sciences, academic arguments frequently intertwine opinion with facts to bolster claims. Recognizing the difference between the two is crucial for critical reading, effective writing, and robust argumentation. This guide explores the definitions of facts and … Read more

Girl by Jamaica Kincaid

Throughout time mother/daughter relationships have been tattered as woman’s liberation has taken place. Many mothers have the “old fashioned” opinion about what a woman should be. The short story “Girl”, by Jamaica Kincaid, is a prime example of this relationship. The theme in “Girl” strongly suggests that a woman should be domestic and there is … Read more

How to write an English language essay

The difference in essay types

The difference between an English language essay and other essay types lies in its substance rather than its procedure.

Its substance is the semantics of the language which include grammar, style, or literary theory. This is unlike, for example, writing an English essay whose focus is literature works and author. However, the procedure of writing an English language essay is the same as that of writing any other essay. You begin by selecting a topic of interest, distilling this topic into a thesis statement, carrying out research, developing an outline and writing your paper.

Topic selection

You can never run short of topics to write when writing your English language essay. There are as many topics to write about as there are English words. It all depends on your ingenuity to invent topics. Here are a few topics you might write about: 1) How language is learned 2) How people perceive and understand language 3) How language is misused 4) How slang is invading the English language-the list is endless.

Thesis statement

After selecting your topic of interest you are now supposed to distil it into a clear and manageable thesis statement. The thesis statement will be the central point of your essay. It describes the overall point of the essay. Your essay will get its unity-flow and coherence- from the thesis statement. The Thesis statement for the topic “How Slang is Invading the English Language” can be: By including slang words in the dictionary, developers of the English language have inadvertently permitted the usage of such words in both formal and informal forums. The whole essay will be a development of, or connected to, this statement (Thesis statement).

Doing Research

Learning how to write an english language essay can take a long time and doing the research is a part of this. Your argument will be founded on the kind of research you conduct. That is why it is critical that you know how to distinguish between what is a fact from that which is an opinion. A fact is a reliable piece of information that can be identified through independent sources or procedures. An opinion, on the other hand, is a judgment or inference that may or may not be based on facts. You lose credibility when you peddle opinions as facts in your essay. For example, when doing research on “Misuse of Language” you may come across statements such as: “Americans speak bad English.” While a good number of Americans speak bad English, there are some who speak fluent English. Such a statement is not a fact but an opinion.

The places you seek your sources will determine the credibility of your research. The internet might be a combination of all the world libraries but it is not the best place to do your research. Some websites give opinions as facts. Specifically, avoid Wikipedia, Ezine articles, About.Com etc. You probably have access to databases such as Jstor which contain peer-reviewed journals. Basically, use your library and lecture notes for a factual and credible research.

Remember to capture specific, interesting examples which illustrate a particular point about the English language. In this way readers can be aided in their understanding. Moreover, keep tabs of these examples as they will come in handy when crafting your outline.

Developing an outline

Before you begin the writing the essay, take some time to develop an outline. An outline will provide you with an organized framework which is essential for logical flow of thoughts. It will also give your essay a convincing and easy to follow argument that is connected to your thesis statement. In the outline, each section will be divided into paragraphs. Each of these paragraphs should have their own micro-thesis which are tied to the main thesis. These micro-thesis are popularly known as topic sentences. A topic sentence in each paragraph is followed by four to six sentences that develop it.

Writing of the paper

Part of knowing how to write an english language essay is leanring the steps. The final step is writing the essay. An English language essay, just as any other essay, can be broadly divided into: the introduction, the body and the conclusion.

Introduction

In most essays the introduction is captured in a single paragraph known as the introductory paragraph. The introductory paragraph announces the topic, sets the tone and captivates the reader. It also has the thesis statement which is a single idea that is clearly focused and specifically stated.

Body

The body of the essay contains a discussion of the thesis statement. Indeed, the body is the essay. Unlike the introduction and conclusion which have one paragraph each, the body has several paragraphs. Each paragraph has mini-thesis that explains, develops or is simply connected to the main thesis. These mini-thesis are followed by four to six sentences which can be examples, facts, or opinions. The last sentence in paragraph is closing summary that will connect the thought to the next paragraph.

Conclusion

The conclusion, like the introduction, comprises one paragraph. It is a paragraph that reviews all the main points in the essay. You can also conclude your essay by rephrasing your thesis, directing the reader to larger issues, or encouraging your readers to alter their actions.

Revision

What you have written is the first draft. The first draft might have a faulty structure; may be it has fallacies; may be the language you used cannot be understood by your audience; or may be some ideas which need to be enfleshed. You need to revise this draft. Revision is different from editing and proof reading. Revision means, “to see again.” It entails taking a fresh look at your essay and rethinking what you have written.

Editing

If you are satisfied with your revised paper, you now need to edit individual sentences for effectiveness, clarity and variety.

Proofreading

The last thing to do is to proofread your essay for grammatical mistakes and spelling errors. Your English language essay is now good for your professor’s eyes.

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