Why simple essays are the best essays
Your teen does not need to be Shakespeare to write good essays
Hi there,
Today I want to show your teen how simple essays are the best essays.
Developing their writing skills will be a crucial part of your teen’s academic success at high school and beyond. Every subject, from Physics to Drama, requires your teen to demonstrate writing skills to some extent.
But my sense is that the vast majority of high school students lack confidence in their writing skills.
They may not understand how to apply what they have learnt in class to the essay format, or how to structure an essay, or how to structure paragraphs or sentences, or how to convey what they understand about the topic to the reader in a clear and concise manner.
For many it’s probably all of the above.
Naturally, developing these skills is not something most students can do overnight. It takes practice. But essay writing absolutely should elude as many high school students as it does.
Learning how to write a good essay is a learnt skill that any student can learn and develop.
As a starting point today I want to highlight to your teen how a good essay is actually, in many ways, a simple essay:
1. One point per paragraph
A lot of teens trip over themselves trying to cram as much information as possible into an essay, or even into one paragraph. The points they are trying to make get lost in the rubble.
A good rule to live by is to stick to one point per paragraph.
If your teen wants to discuss something new, it should go in another paragraph.
If two points are related, they can be linked with a simple leading sentence at the end of the first paragraph or beginning of the second, but they should each have their own paragraph.
2. A good essay uses simple language
If your teen thinks that they need to use a thesaurus to make every word they write sound smarter, they might end up sounding like Joey in Friends.
To get a good grade in an essay, your teen does not need the vocabulary of Stephen Fry.
Plain and simple language is all they need.
In fact, simple, straightforward language can enhance writing. It brings clarity and makes essays easier to read. This will make the examiner happy.
3. Thinking before writing
Your teen’s writing will come across MUCH clearer if they hit pause for a second before writing and ask themselves, what do I actually want to say in this sentence.
This will prevent the waves of verbal diarrhea that fill so many high school essays.
It will force them to think about they’re going to say before they put pen to paper, and it will help them figure out their sentence structure before they start writing.
A lot of students launch into writing, get half way through a sentence, only to realise they don’t really know what they’re trying to say. The result is a ramble that the examiner struggles to decipher the main point from.
Cutting the crap
This is what good essay writing is all about. Getting rid of the fluff. Cutting the fat and leaving just a simple, solid structure.
If your teen approaches essay writing with the aim of keeping it simple, it should be a much less daunting task.
Is there a particular part of essay writing your teen is struggling with? We’d love to hear and help each other in the comments.
Clare