Transcript Planning & Writing a Well Structured Essay By: Nesreen Fakhr Planning _____________I_____________ ↓ ↓ Brainstorming Outlining Brainstorming What is brainstorming? This is a step that occurs after choosing a topic, as.

Planning & Writing a Well Structured
Essay
By: Nesreen Fakhr
Planning
_____________I_____________
↓
↓
Brainstorming
Outlining
Brainstorming
What is brainstorming?
This is a step that occurs after choosing a topic, as you start to generate the ideas.
What are the benefits of brainstorming?
It can make you start writing quickly & saves time in later stages of writing.
Types of brainstorming technique
_____________________________
↓
↓
↓
Listing/Bulleting
Freewriting
Clustering/Mapping/
Webbing
Clustering/Mapping/Webbing
Outline
This stage appears after choosing the topic and generating ideas by brainstorming.
In this stage you arrange the ideas you generated by brainstorming in the form of an outline.
What is an outline?
An outline is a formal plan for a paragraph or an essay.
In an outline you write the main points and the sub points in the order in which you plan to
write about them.
How to form an outline?
Step 1: divide the ideas that you generated by brainstorming into groups
after crossing out any irrelevant item.
Step 2: write a topic sentence for each group.
Step 3: arrange the main points and the sub points in each group.
Sample outline
I. Introduction
A. Thesis statement
II. Body
A. Point 1
1. Supporting Information
2. Supporting Information
B. Point 2
1.Supporting Information
2.Supporting Information
III. Conclusion/Summary
A. Restatement of the thesis statement.
B. Summary of supporting information
C. Conclusion reached
Newspapers Activity
What can be learnt from this activity
 The importance of brainstorming
 The importance of evaluating the ideas
 The importance of planning
Writing a well developed essay
 Introduction
 Body paragraph 1
 Body Paragraph 2
 Conclusion
Sample Essay 1
New situations always make me a bit nervous, and my first swimming lesson was no exception. After I
changed into my bathing suit in the locker room, I stood timidly by the side of the pool waiting for the teacher and
other students to show up. After a couple of minutes the teacher came over. She smiled and introduced herself, and
two more students joined us. Although they were both older than me, they didn't seem to be embarrassed about not
knowing how to swim. I began to feel more at ease.
Learning to swim was not easy for me, but in the end my persistence paid off. Not only did I learn how to swim and
to conquer my fear of the water, but I also learned something about learning. Now when I am faced with a new situation I
am not so nervous. I may feel uncomfortable to begin with, but I know that as I practice being in that situation and as my
skills get better, I will feel more and more comfortable. It is a wonderful, free feeling when you achieve a goal you have set
for yourself.
Things were not quite that easy for me, but the teacher was very patient. After a few more weeks, when I seemed to
have caught on with my legs, she taught me the arm strokes. Now I had two things to concentrate on, my arms and my legs.
I felt hopelessly uncoordinated. Sooner than I imagined, however, things began to feel "right" and I was able to swim! It was
a wonderful free feeling - like flying, maybe - to be able to shoot across the water.
Learning something new can be a scary experience. One of the hardest things I've ever had to do was
learn how to swim. I was always afraid of the water, but I decided that swimming was an important skill that I
should learn. I also thought it would be good exercise and help me to become physically stronger. What I didn't
realize was that learning to swim would also make me a more confident person.
We got into the pool, and the teacher had us put on brightly colored water wings to help us stay afloat. One of the
other students, May, had already taken the beginning class once before, so she took a kickboard and went splashing off by
herself. The other student, Jerry, and I were told to hold on to the side of the pool and shown how to kick for the
breaststroke. One by one, the teacher had us hold on to a kickboard while she pulled it through the water and we kicked.
Pretty soon Jerry was off doing this by himself, traveling at a fast clip across the short end of the pool.
Now try it yourself before checking
the answer
Learning something new can be a scary experience. One of the hardest things I've ever had to do was
learn how to swim. I was always afraid of the water, but I decided that swimming was an important skill that I
should learn. I also thought it would be good exercise and help me to become physically stronger. What I
didn't realize was that learning to swim would also make me a more confident person.
New situations always make me a bit nervous, and my first swimming lesson was no exception. After I
changed into my bathing suit in the locker room, I stood timidly by the side of the pool waiting for the teacher
and other students to show up. After a couple of minutes the teacher came over. She smiled and introduced
herself, and two more students joined us. Although they were both older than me, they didn't seem to be
embarrassed about not knowing how to swim. I began to feel more at ease.
We got into the pool, and the teacher had us put on brightly colored water wings to help us stay afloat.
One of the other students, May, had already taken the beginning class once before, so she took a kickboard
and went splashing off by herself. The other student, Jerry, and I were told to hold on to the side of the pool
and shown how to kick for the breaststroke. One by one, the teacher had us hold on to a kickboard while
she pulled it through the water and we kicked. Pretty soon Jerry was off doing this by himself, traveling at a
fast clip across the short end of the pool.
Things were not quite that easy for me, but the teacher was very patient. After a few more weeks,
when I seemed to have caught on with my legs, she taught me the arm strokes. Now I had two things to
concentrate on, my arms and my legs. I felt hopelessly uncoordinated. Sooner than I imagined, however,
things began to feel "right" and I was able to swim! It was a wonderful free feeling - like flying, maybe - to be
able to shoot across the water.
Learning to swim was not easy for me, but in the end my persistence paid off. Not only did I learn how
to swim and to conquer my fear of the water, but I also learned something about learning. Now when I am
faced with a new situation I am not so nervous. I may feel uncomfortable to begin with, but I know that as I
practice being in that situation and as my skills get better, I will feel more and more comfortable. It is a
wonderful, free feeling when you achieve a goal you have set for yourself.
Another Sample Essay
I first believe that abortion should remain legal because there are many people who have financial
problems, which create many problems in a baby's life. Financial problems result in malnutrition and
unhealthy living environments, which could cause a premature death for the baby and leave the
parent traumatized. For example, in the 1950's, when I was growing up, abortion was illegal. My
next-door neighbor was extremely poor; however, she was pregnant. She had little income and many
bills. Despite her financial problems, she had no choice but to have the baby. After a few months, the
baby died from sudden infant death syndrome because the mother was unable to afford proper
nutrients to feed her baby. As a result, my next-door neighbor had a nervous breakdown and was
institutionalized. If abortion were legal, she could have prevented this dramatizing experience.
Although there are many debates as to whether or not abortion should be outlawed, I believe that
financial problems, rape, and life threatening complications during childbirth are adequate reasons
to keep abortion legal. If my neighbor would have had an abortion, she could have been spared a
lifetime of torment and self-blame. Furthermore, if Rose would not have had an abortion, then
surely her child would have had severe mental defects and suffered greatly traveling with Rose into
darkness. Last, the ten-year-old child from the book would have been spared being sent to a foster
home if his mother would have listened to the doctors and had the abortion in the first place. As you
can see, abortion truly can have positive affects by saving lives in more than one way.
Over the years abortion has been a very controversial topic. It is all the more controversial because
there is no clear answer as to whether or not abortion is morally right. As a result of this ambiguity,
the argument as to whether or not abortion should remain legal continues. For many people, abortion
should be illegal because to them it is murder. On the other hand, many people believe that it should
remain legal because of issues such as freedom of choice. Despite the many controversies of abortion, I
believe that abortion should remain legal because many people have financial problems, incidents of
rape, and predictions that the mother may have life threatening complications during the labor.
I further believe that abortion should remain legal because of uncontrollable situations like rape.
Rape can cause the mother to have many mental complications. Consider the movie The Cider House
Rules. In the movie, Rose Rose's father, Mr. Rose, rapes her, and she becomes pregnant.
Consequently, Rose becomes very depressed. During the time period of this movie, abortion was also
illegal. Either way, Rose has an illegal abortion. Rose, after the abortion, kills her father, and
disappears into darkness. Now, imagine the kind of life Rose's baby would have had if Rose did not
have an abortion.
I finally believe that abortion should be kept legal because of predictions that the mother may die
giving birth. A mother who is told that she is going to die giving birth may already have three kids
and/or a husband. The children would probably suffer very much if their mother died during
childbirth. To illustrate, I read a book that was about a mother who was about to have a second
child. The mother already had a child who was ten years old. The doctors told the mother that
there are complications in her womb, and if she goes through with the labor she may die. The
doctors tried to convince her that an abortion would be best, but she refused. The mother did go
into labor and dies. She left her ten-year-old son behind, and the ten-year-old son had no choice
but to be placed in foster care. Should the mother have had the abortion, then she could have
survived and raise her son.
Now try it yourself before checking
the answer
Over the years abortion has been a very controversial topic. It is all the more controversial because
there is no clear answer as to whether or not abortion is morally right. As a result of this ambiguity, the
argument as to whether or not abortion should remain legal continues. For many people, abortion
should be illegal because to them it is murder. On the other hand, many people believe that it should
remain legal because of issues such as freedom of choice. Despite the many controversies of abortion, I
believe that abortion should remain legal because many people have financial problems, incidents of
rape, and predictions that the mother may have life threatening complications during the labor.
I first believe that abortion should remain legal because there are many people who have financial
problems, which create many problems in a baby's life. Financial problems result in malnutrition and
unhealthy living environments, which could cause a premature death for the baby and leave the parent
traumatized. For example, in the 1950's, when I was growing up, abortion was illegal. My next-door
neighbor was extremely poor; however, she was pregnant. She had little income and many bills. Despite
her financial problems, she had no choice but to have the baby. After a few months, the baby died from
sudden infant death syndrome because the mother was unable to afford proper nutrients to feed her
baby. As a result, my next-door neighbor had a nervous breakdown and was institutionalized. If
abortion were legal, she could have prevented this dramatizing experience.
I further believe that abortion should remain legal because of uncontrollable situations
like rape. Rape can cause the mother to have many mental complications. Consider the
movie The Cider House Rules. In the movie, Rose Rose's father, Mr. Rose, rapes her, and
she becomes pregnant. Consequently, Rose becomes very depressed. During the time
period of this movie, abortion was also illegal. Either way, Rose has an illegal abortion.
Rose, after the abortion, kills her father, and disappears into darkness. Now, imagine the
kind of life Rose's baby would have had if Rose did not have an abortion.
I finally believe that abortion should be kept legal because of predictions that the mother may
die giving birth. A mother who is told that she is going to die giving birth may already have three
kids and/or a husband. The children would probably suffer very much if their mother died
during childbirth. To illustrate, I read a book that was about a mother who was about to have a
second child. The mother already had a child who was ten years old. The doctors told the mother
that there are complications in her womb, and if she goes through with the labor she may die.
The doctors tried to convince her that an abortion would be best, but she refused. The mother
did go into labor and dies. She left her ten-year-old son behind, and the ten-year-old son had no
choice but to be placed in foster care. Should the mother have had the abortion, then she could
have survived and raise her son.
Although there are many debates as to whether or not abortion should be outlawed, I
believe that financial problems, rape, and life threatening complications during childbirth are adequate
reasons to keep abortion legal. If my neighbor would have had an abortion, she could have been spared
a lifetime of torment and self-blame. Furthermore, if Rose would not have had an abortion, then surely
her child would have had severe mental defects and suffered greatly traveling with Rose into darkness.
Last, the ten-year-old child from the book would have been spared being sent to a foster home if his
mother would have listened to the doctors and had the abortion in the first place. As you can see,
abortion truly can have positive affects by saving lives in more than one way.
References
 Oshima, A. & Hogue, A. Introduction to Academic Writing:
Second Ed. New York, USA. Addison
Wesley
Longman, 1997.
 http://www.essaywritinghelp.com/outline.htm
 http://ydiller.cukurova.edu.tr/Exams/NARRATIVE.pdf
 http://writing.wikinut.com/How-to-Write-a-WellDeveloped-And-Organized-Argumentative-Essay-5Paragraphs/1q_254oa/
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