How to Start/Brainstorm an Essay

How to Start/Brainstorm an essay
By ToeKnee

Thank you b1b for revising this guide.
Introduction:


This Guide is dedicated to:
- I went to a middle school as a requirement for my high school research course to help many student and I found out many of them are having trouble with their essay.

- To anyone that needs help starting an essay.
1.Topic:
- Choose an topic that you will be writing on, pick a general topic then brainstorm.

- Your topic should be clear and coherent to the later body paragraphs.

- ALWAYS HAVE A STRONG THESIS.

2.Research:
- Gather facts that you will need, do not do detail research at this point, just jot the ideas down.

- Never use an online encyclopedia, such as Wikipedia or Botanica. These online encyclopedias are editable by anyone, most encyclopedias do the research for you; therefore these aren't accepted as sources; However, you are allow to use these as reference.
3. Audience:
- Know who is reading the paper, don't explain everything if you are analyzing a book, Always assume that the reader read the book, NEVER summarize anything in your essays.

- ALWAYS ANALYZE.

4. Outline:
- Assert your argument, each argument should have at least 2 or 3 pieces of evidence that supports it.

- Make sure these are coherent and in order.

5. Point of View:
- It is very important to ALWAYS write in third person unless other wise instructed such as a letter.

- Always use PASSIVE VOICE when doing a science lab or essay.

- Always use THIRD PERSON when doing a ENGLISH OR HISTORY PROJECT.

6. First Draft
- Have A STRONG THESIS.

- Have at least 2 sentences explaining every piece of evidence and quote.

- Discuss with a friend.

7. Proofread and Edit:
- Grammar and Spelling, Make sure you have everything in agreement.

- Singular verbs requires Singular Subject, i.e: The BOY EATS dinner.

- Ask a friend to find the mistakes, it'll be much easier because you might not always get the correct spelling.

8. Bibliography
- Always give source for everything, EVEN IF YOU PARAPHRASED IT.

- There are 2 basic citation styles for your project or essay, MLA (Modern Language Association, which is mostly used for academic writing in the humanities, English/History). And the APA (American Psychological Association, which is used for everything science related projects.)

- Most entries will include:
1. The name(s) of the author(s) or editor(s):
Put the first author or editor, in (Last,First) Format.
Put the following author(s) or editor(s), in (First,Last) Format.

2. Title of the book/website:
Make sure to put book titles in italics.
Make sure to put quotation marks around articles.

3. Location/Date:
Where the book was published.
Where the book or article was published, and the day you used it.

4. Publisher:
The publisher is usually a company. (Usually Magazine, Newspaper and Books)

5. Page Number:
Site the page number of articles and newspaper.

*6. Line Number:
You should cite line numbers when they are present, i.e: Poems, Shakespeare books.
- Quote everything that you paraphrased.

- Always use footnotes on a HISTORY PROJECT.

- Use footnotes for special words that is not usually known.

- It's important that you jot down the source when you read it on the internet because you may forget it later.

-NEVER PLAGIARIZE

8. Publish Your Essay:
- Give 1 last look at the essay, make sure its lucid and coherent.

- Most essay should be double spaced with 12 font Times News Roman if no special instruction is given.

Disclaimer: This guide is 100% made by imxtoeknee, redisturbtion is not allow unless consent is given.​

 

This is nicely laid out... But I find that most of it is incorrect or a bad way of doing things. Encyclopedias should be one of your main sources... The ones that you go and read as a today... They do not lie.... And you should evaluate... Not analize... Evaluation is the highest form of thinking pretty much....

 

I do agree on some parts; However, I'm sure most teachers do not let you use Wikipedia or any Encyclopedia as a source, I'm sure everyone still read it for help, I believe that evaluating should only be used in History Subjects.

Thanks for the comment.

 

I was forced to use 2 different encyclopedias for like all of my research papers until this year... Now I just use wikipedia since I do not even try in school...

 

Fix up your grammer,
I've seen a lot of mistakes.

This made no sence where is currently is..
I do not see how its dedicated to, whatever the heck your trying to say there..

I doubt you know the exact percentage of what Wiki's information is correct/incorrect.

Use the word "Fact".

Most essays are not always 3rd person, it is a variety mostly either 1st, or 3rd.

I hope you see where I'm getting at, review this guide please, correct your mistakes, and goodluck!
I liked the structure of the guide.
Keep it up, 3/10

 

This is an okay guide if you're looking for the skeleton of an essay, but I don't think this does much in helping someone start or brainstorm a topic for an essay. You should elaborate more on the introduction to the essay as well. The majority of readers will judge you based on the first paragraph. You need to know your audience and how to construct a thesis statement that will capture that audiences attention.

For different essays, there are different thesis statements. A basic thesis statement is just a sentence that includes a subject and an opinion. Below is an example thesis statement from one of my compare and contrast essays for AP United States History.

(I got a 6 - 7 on that essay by the way)

The point though, is that it depends on the subject and type of paper you are writing. I like how you stated that you should never summarize a story in an essay. That is 100% correct. You ALWAYS assume the reader has read the story unless told otherwise.

I think there is still a lot of work that needs done on this guide. You can include things such as MLA formatting (there is a guide in User Education somewhere on it if you want to just provide a link to it), drafting various types of thesis statements, how to narrow down a topic (provide an example), and how to use proper tone in order to help capture the audience (I remember the acronym FLISD², which stands for Figurative Language (Including Personification, Metaphors, and Similes), Imagery, Syntax (Word order and sentence structure) and Diction (Word choice) and Detail.)

I hope my advice will help you

 

Thanks guy, I'm changing this guide now

-How are most essays not 3rd person? Everything should be in 3rd person.
-Sentences that started with I think, I conclude shouldn't be in essays unless its a letter, diary or journal.

 

Code:

This Guide is dedicated to:
- I went to a middle school to help many student and I found out many of them are having trouble.

What's this doing here? Also, it should be: When I was in middle school many of my friends had trouble writing essays. etc.

-------

Code:

- Never use an encyclopedia, such as Wikipedia or Botanica; First off, more than 30% of facts on Wikipedia are made up or not complete true.

- No homeschooling or college will accept an encyclopedia as an source

First off, the way you state this, the reader would think that an ENCYCLOPEDIA is not an acceptable source. Specify the fact "online encyclopedias such as Wikipedia aren't allowed" and not "Encyclopedias are not allowed."

Second, your grammar is way off in this one too. Fixed version:

Code:

- Never use an online encyclopedia, such as Wikipedia or Botanica. These online encyclopedias are editable by [B]anyone[/B] so these aren't accepted. Other references could be encyclopedias, etc. 

- No teacher or professor will accept an online encyclopedia that is editable by any and all, as a source

---------------------

Code:

- Assert your argument, each argument should have at least 2 or 3 [B]evidence [/B] that supports it.

Evidence? If you want to keep the word, use :"each argument should have at least 2 or 3 pieces of evidence" or just use the word proofs.
-------------

Code:

- Have at least 2 sentence explaining every evidence and quote.

- Have at least 2 sentences explaining every piece of evidence and each quote.

or

-Have at least two sentences explaining each proof and quote.

----

 

Thanks alot, Correcting these mistakes now .

 

No problem if you want me to fix everything just ask.

---

Info:
When I was in middle school many of my friends had trouble writing essays, papers etc.

1.Topic:
- Choose a topic that you will be writing on, pick a general topic, and then brainstorm.

- Your topic should be clear and coherent to the later body paragraphs.

- ALWAYS HAVE A STRONG THESIS.

2.Research:
- Never use an online encyclopedia, such as Wikipedia or Botanica. Other references could be encyclopedias,the web etc.

- No teacher or professor will accept an online encyclopedia (like Wikipedia) as a valid source. Wikipedia is freely edited, so the information might not be 100% accurate.

3. Audience:
- Know who is reading the paper, don't explain everything if you are analyzing a book, Always assume that the reader read the book, NEVER summarize anything in your essays.

- ALWAYS ANALYZE.

4. Outline:
- Assert your argument. Each argument should have at least 2 or 3 pieces of evidence supporting it.

- Make sure these are coherent and in order.

5. Point of View:
- It is very important to ALWAYS write in third person unless other wise instructed such as a letter.

- Always use PASSIVE VOICE when doing a science lab or essay.

- Always use THIRD PERSON when doing a ENGLISH OR HISTORY PROJECT.

6. First Draft
- Have A STRONG THESIS.

- Have at least 2 sentences explaining every piece of evidence and each quote.

- Discuss with a friend.

7. Proofread and Edit:
- Grammar and Spelling, Make sure you have everything in agreement.

- Singular verbs requires Singular Subject, i.e: The BOY EATS dinner.

- Ask a friend to find the mistakes, it'll be much easier because you might not always get the correct spelling.

8. Bibliography
- Always give source for everything, EVEN IF YOU PARAPHRASED IT.

- There are 2 basic citation styles for your project or essay, MLA (Modern Language Association, which is mostly used for academic writing in the humanities, English/History). And the APA (American Psychological Association, which is used for everything science related projects.)

- Most entries will include:
1. The name(s) of the author(s) or editor(s):
Put the first author or editor, in (Last,First) Format.
Put the following author(s) or editor(s), in (First,Last) Format.

2. Title of the book/website:
Make sure to put book titles in italics.
Make sure to put quotation marks around articles.

3. Location/Date:
Where the book was published.
Where the book or article was published, and the day you used it.

4. Publisher:
The publisher is usually a company. (Usually Magazine, Newspaper and Books)

5. Page Number:
Cite the page number of articles and newspaper.

*6. Line Number:
You should cite line numbers when they are present, i.e: Poems, Shakespeare books.
- Quote everything that you paraphrased.

- Always use footnotes on a HISTORY PROJECT.

- Use footnotes for special words that is not usually known.

- It's important that you jot down the source when you read it on the internet because you may forget it later.

-NEVER PLAGIARIZE

8. Publish Your Essay:
- Give 1 last look at the essay, make sure its lucid and coherent.

- Most essay should be double spaced with 12 font Times News Roman if no special instruction is given.

Disclaimer: This guide is 100% made by imxtoeknee, redisturbtion is not allow unless consent is given.
__________________

 

Thanks b1b, you helped me so much .

 

What exactly is your thesis?

Just to use this as an example... A few things you should also look for when writing...

1. Avoid repeating words or phrases... Especially in the same sentence...
2. Avoid shorter sentences except for strong emphasis on a certain point.
3. Make sure that the reader understands what your thesis is

BTW: I write papers in first person a lot... Especially for philosophy type classes, or classes based on religious things... History and English can be written in first if it asks about your personal opinion about something....

 

That wasn't my thesis, anyways, you should never use I think in History or English classes?, Professors assume that you are writing on your own behalf and using your own ideas, if you keep using I think that is just repetitive, can you give some examples?

 

Well... If the question starts with "In your opinion" you are allowed to use I... But... most teachers will not give you a question like that... Some might if they have a special reason for it.

 

Even if it said in your opinion, you shouldn't use it its the same reason, its implied that you are using your own opinion, I'm not sure what high school or college you are in, but I was taught that you NEVER use First-Person unless its an letter or diary.

 

If I were given a "In your opinion" starting question, I would use I. I would make a lead in sentence or two and my thesis would be something like:

If you are given a question that starts with "In your opinion" it is basically telling you to talk from what you think or feel. If the question was phrased "Is animal cruelty wrong?", then you you do a third person paper. Why? Because it asks a question, but not about your opinion on the matter. You as the writer can take either approach to answering this question. Either affirmative or negative, but it may not represent your personal opinion on the matter. An example of this is when I argued against freedom of speech in my history class. It was me VS the class. The question was "Is freedom of speech good?" basically. I agree with freedom of speech, but I was able to argue against it claiming that Hitler would have not come to power if there had not been freedom of speech.

Now during this argument, I did not say I think or I feel at all. I simply used facts and such to get my point across. Now had the question been "In your opinion is freedom of speech good?", I would have had to have argued for freedom of speech or I would not have been answering the question correctly. It deals with my personal feeling towards the subject. With this question I could have said "I feel that without freedom of speech, people will be taken advantage of." This statement is arguable, and not a fact. This is my personal opinion and if I had simply said "without freedom of speech, people will be taken advantage of.", it would not be a good argument because I can not prove it, but if it is my feeling I do not need to prove it.

So, even if they tell you never to use I, and they give you a question that asks about how you feel about a subject, I would personally fail you if you did not use I... And if they fail you for using I, give me their number. I will tear them a new one... >.<

 

Go to bxscience.edu email mr.rubin , [email protected] LOL, [email protected] for my global teacher. GL

As I said saying in my opionion is just repetitive. Try it on a SAT

 

The SAT will not ask personal questions as you may not have a take on it your self... They ask you a question that forces you to think about it, not a personal one...

In my opinion is not repetitive... it is letting the reader know this is my opinion on this matter.... In the last few months I have written like 13 2 page "essays" that I have used first person in... They were all for a class based on religion but........ Still.........

If your teacher tells you NEVER under ANY circumstances write a paper in the first person.

A. They are wrong and I do not care if they are 50 and have a masters degree. They are still wrong.
B. They are retarded.
C. They do not know what they are talking about.

I can go on all day about shitty teachers. teaching, schools ect... But I would rather not.

 

I personally like this guide, Definatly helpful, seeings im not a writing type of person, I am going to give you some tips to help you improve this guide or making a new one! here we go!

1st. You have alot of the basics down for guide making, like format. You could improve by adding some bolding fonts!! I love bold fonts personally, definatly when reading a guide. Help alot, and shows what is important or the topic of the paragraph.

For Example

​

Just little touch ups like that are great.

3rd. Your grammar looked fine, now next time, I expect to see a 10/10 guide form you

I rate this guide 7/10

 

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