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Mindmapping
Mindmapping is a useful technique when you present ideas in a radial, graphical, non-linear manner that is used to generate, visualize, structure, and classify ideas, and as an aid to studying and organizing information, solving problems, making decisions, and writing.
A mind map is a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks, or other items linked to and arranged around a central key word or idea. A complete mind map may have main topic lines radiating in all directions from the center. Sub-topics and facts will branch off these, like branches and twigs from the trunk of a tree.
The author of mindmapping is Tony Buzan, who suggests using the following rules for creating mind maps:
1.Start in the center with an image of the topic, using at least 3 colors.
2.Use images, symbols, codes, and dimensions throughout your Mind Map.
3.Select key words and print using upper or lower case letters.
4.Each word/image is best alone and sitting on its own line.
5.The lines should be connected, starting from the central image. The central lines are thicker, organic and flowing, becoming thinner as they radiate out from the centre.
6.Make the lines the same length as the word/image they support.
7.Use multiple colors throughout the mind map, for visual stimulation and also to encode or group.
8.Develop your own personal style of mindmapping.
9.Use emphasis and show associations in your mind map.
10.Keep the mind map clear by using radial hierarchy, numerical order or outlines to embrace your branches.
Advantage
By using mind maps, you can quickly identify and understand the structure of a subject, and the way that pieces of information fit together, as well as recording the raw facts contained in normal notes and associate ideas and make connections that you might not otherwise make.
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Journalistic questions
Asking journalistic questions is a technique when you use the six questions that journalists rely on to thoroughly research a story. The six are: Who?, What?, When?, Where?, Why?, and How?.
Rules
Write each question word on a sheet of paper, leaving space between them. Then, write out some sentences or phrases in answer, as they fit your particular topic. You might also answer into a tape recorder if you'd rather talk out your ideas.
Now look over your batch of responses. Do you see that you have more to say about one or two of the questions? Or, are your answers for each question pretty well balanced in content? Was there one question that you had absolutely no answer for?
Advantage
Asking journalistic questions can help you to frame your thesis claim and organize your paper. It also can reveal what you must work on further, doing library research or interviews or further note-taking.
Types of essays
In this paper we are going to describe the following types of an essay: comparison and contrast essay, admission (entrance) essay, cause and effect essay, classification essay, definition essay, description essay, narrative essay and persuasive essay
Comparison and contrast essay
Comparison and contrast essay is a piece of writing in which you have to compare two (or several) things, problems, events or ideas and evaluate their resemblances and differences. Thesis is one of the most important parts of your comparison and contrast essay, the guide of your writing process where you should show the importance of the things and events that you compare.
There are two methods of organizing and designing this type of an essay.
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“Item-by-item” is a method where you first list all information on the first subject of comparison and then list all points of another subject of comparison according to the chosen criteria. Then you should do the same with the third subject (and so forth, depending on the number of subjects of comparison).Thus, you should devote one paragraph to one item of comparison.
“Point-by-point” is a method which is used to compare each point of the objects, rather than describe one thing at a time. For example, if you are assigned to compare two sport venues, your first paragraph might comprise the comparison of their locations. Your second one can be devoted to the description of the designs of the venues. In the third paragraph you may describe sport events that these venues host.
This type of an essay advances and develops your critical thinking as well as your argumentation and understanding of the importance of the events and things that you compare.
Admission (entrance) essay
An admission essay is a piece of writing which is used as a test when entering foreign university or college. The aim of the admission essay is to convince the committee that you will successfully add up to the educational environment of their particular establishment.
An admission essay is a chance to make a conscious self analysis where you should show your progress in self-development and the reader should see you as a person of great potential.
Cause and Effect Essay
A cause and effect essay is a piece of writing in which you explain the reasons of the event or interpret the consequences of the event.
You may open your essay with a well-known outcome or situation and study what caused such a result. Another way of starting such an essay is to describe some event and then analyze its consequences. To differentiate cause and effect, you can ask yourself “why” (to define the cause of something) or ask yourself “what” (to determine the effect).
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A cause and effect essay explains, for example, why earthquakes happen and what the consequences are or what happens to people after loosing a job.
You should provide the reader with facts, give examples. You may finish your cause and effect essay with a call for action.
Classification essay
A classification essay is a piece of writing in which you rank the groups of objects according to a common standard. Classification is a convenient method of arranging data and simplifying complex notions. You should point out the common classifying principle for the group you are writing about. It will become the thesis of your essay.
You may classify, for example, popular inventions (may be classified according to their significance to the humankind), or rate the films (according to their influence on people), or classify careers (according to the opportunities they offer).
Definition essay
A definition essay is a piece of writing in which you define some word; it may be either a specific term or abstract notion. Your analysis should go beyond the dictionary meaning of the word.
You may open your introductory paragraph with the dictionary definition of the word. Another option is to start your essay with an opposing interpretation of the term. In a thesis you will state your personal definition of the term. The body paragraphs serve to express your own understanding of the term backed up with illustrative examples. You can define the term with the help of the story and the reader will infer its meaning. You must write a sound conclusion that unites the elements of the definition and explains the reader how he can apply this definition.
Description essay
A description essay is a piece of writing in which you describe or depict some place, event, and person, anything that is significant to you and will be interesting to the readers. Basically you are free to describe anything you want. You can write about something from your point of you.
There are two methods of description when creating a description essay:
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Objective description to describe physical objects, technical things or present reporting. It is a direct, real to life description of something. The author is inclined to provide the reader with the facts. Objective description lacks emotions and feelings. It does not give the reader an idea of writer’s attitude to the object.
Subjective description is quite the opposite. The reader will see the picture with your eyes and you are to evoke strong feelings in his mind. Unlike objective description, it employs all the senses to convey the desirable meaning and achieve the necessary effect. You will share your view on the presented subject. This type of description tends to be very sensual, emotional and thoughtful.
Narrative essay
A narrative essay is a piece of writing in which you tell a personal story using the first person to ensure a closer contact with the reader. Your reader must be an active participant of the story, involve him in the narration. If you share your point of view with the reader, it will capture the reader’s interest.
You should embellish your story with real-life, vivid details to produce a lasting impression on your audience. In the conclusion of your narrative essay you must come to some meaningful conclusion resulting from the described story.
In your narrative essay you can tell about your most exciting childhood experience, your summer trip to an exotic country, your usual morning routine.
Persuasive essay
A persuasive essay is a piece of writing in which you try to show that your argument is true and convince the reader that your point of view is more solid than others. Once you have developed some argument, you should back it up with reliable and trustworthy evidence (it might include some statistics), examples (to enhance the reader’s credibility) and quotes from reliable and reputable experts.
It is also important to understand another point view and find out why other people hold a different point of view. Examine the weak points of their arguments.
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A summary
Definition and origin of a word “summary”
There is a quotation of the famous Argentinian author Jorge Luis Borges (1899–
1986) about a summary: “Writing long books is a laborious and impoverishing act of foolishness: expanding in five hundred pages an idea that could be perfectly explained in a few minutes. A better procedure is to pretend that those books already exist and to offer a summary, a commentary”.
According to different dictionaries a word “essay” has the following meanings:
1.a short statement that gives the main information about something, without giving all the details [Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English];
2.a short clear description that gives the main facts or ideas about something [Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary];
3.a brief statement or account of the main points of something [Oxford Dictionary];
4.a brief statement or account covering the substance or main points; digest; abridgment; compendium [Webster's New World College Dictionary];
5.a shorter version of the original. Such a simplification highlights the major points from the much longer subject, such as a text, speech, film, or event.
[Free Encyclopedia Wikipedia].
In this paper we will apply the following definition of this term: summary is a formal piece of writing that gives the main facts or ideas of the original text to help the audience to get the gist in a short period of time.
A word summary first appeared in the 15th century from a Latin word “summa”
meant “whole, gist” [Online Etymology Dictionary].
The main concepts of writing a summary
1.A summary, like any other writing, has to have a specific audience and purpose, and it should be written carefully to serve that audience and fulfill that specific purpose.
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2.Structure of a summary should be clearly arranged. It begins with an introductory sentence that states the article's title and author and contains the main thesis or standpoint of the text, restated in your own words.
3.Summary should be written in the 3d person and the present tense. In summaries only indirect speech is used and depictions are avoided. Summaries of scientific books or dissertations present the major facts in common scientific language.
4.Summary is still the material of the author and it includes only the author’s ideas; excludes personal opinion.
Rules of writing a summary
There are several rules to keep in mind when writing a summary:
Do not rewrite the original piece, but you must not change the order of the ideas of the original text or add information when you summarize.
Keep your summary short. A summary is always shorter than the original text. An article or paper may be summarized in a few sentences or a couple of paragraphs. A book may be summarized in an article or a short paper. A very large book may be summarized in a smaller book.
Use your own wording and sentence style when summarizing.
Use quotation marks when using phrasing directly from the article or source.
Refer to the central and main ideas of the original piece. A summary should include only important information.
Do not put in your opinion of the issue or topic discussed in the original piece. In contrast to a resume or a review, a summary contains neither interpretation nor rating. Only the opinion of the original writer is reflected – paraphrased with new words without quotations from the text.
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Steps of writing a summary
There are several steps to follow when summarizing a text
1)Pre-reading. First of all, skim the text you are going to summarize and divide it into sections. Focus on any headings and subheadings. Also look at any bold-faced terms and make sure you understand them before you read.
2)Reading. Then read all the text straight through. At this point, you don’t need to
stop to look up anything that gives you can’t understand, just share the author’s
tone, style, and main idea.
3)Re-reading. Rereading should be active reading. Underline topic sentences and key facts. Label areas that you want to refer to as you write your summary. Also label areas that should be avoided because the details (though they may be interesting) are too specific. Identify areas that you do not understand and try to clarify those points.
4)Making one sentence to one section. You have already divided the text into
sections and located the author’s main ideas and points. Now write down the main idea of each section in one well-developed sentence. Make sure that what you include in your sentences are key points, not minor details.
5) Writing a thesis statement. This is the key to any well-written summary.
Review the sentences you’ve made. From them, you should be able to create a thesis statement that clearly shows what the entire text was trying to achieve.
6)Writing a summary. You can use the thesis statement as the introductory sentence of your summary, and your other sentences can make up the body.
7)Revising. Revise your summary for style, grammar, and punctuation. Be sure it is easy to understand the main text based on your summary alone.
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Sources of information
The Internet resources
1.http://www.bestessaytips.com/.
2.http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/brainstorming.html/.
3.http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/1/.
4.http://writing.richmond.edu/writing/wweb.html/.
Dictionaries
1.Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary [Electronic resource]. - Available: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/.
2.Collins English Dictionary [Electronic resource]. - Available: http://www.collinslanguage.com/.
3.Free Encyclopedia Wikipedia [Electronic resource]. - Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/.
4.Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English [Electronic resource]. - Available: http://www.ldoceonline.com/.
5.Online Etymology Dictionary [Electronic resource]. - Available: http://www.etymonline.com/.
6.Oxford Dictionary [Electronic resource]. - Available: http://oxforddictionaries.com/.
7.Webster's New World College Dictionary [Electronic resource]. - Available: http://www.yourdictionary.com/.
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