essay format

[shabani]

Hi everyone,
In what way do you think the essay for this question should be organized:
"the widespread use of the internet has brought about many problems.What do you think are the main problems associated with the use of the web? what sollutions can you suggest?"
should I put the problems each in one paragraph and give solutions in the conclusion paragraph? or should I put solutions in separate paragraphs? Should the solutions be stated in the introduction?

thank you in advance

[Khosro]

have you consulted an IELTS or TOEFL book yet?

[shabani]

Yes I have. Not many of them teach you how to organize the paragraphs in an essay, particularly for this type of questions.

[Mehrgan]

Thanks to OP.
Should there be a fixed pattern for organising such essays?


Thanks in advance.

[The Dude]

People will naturally have various methods of laying out such an essay, and initial planning of the work is perhaps the most important stage.

My own approach would be to use the introduction to grab the reader's attention and make him keen to read on. Perhaps this would mean recalling a dramatic recent case involving abuse or state security. I would certainly not put solutions in the intro.

Proposing a solution should logically take place after describing each problem, not necessarily in a separate paragraph if the problem is trivial. Leaving all the solutions to the end could be rather confusing.

I would then reserve for the conclusion a concise summary, trying to finish with some thought or proposal that would tie things up neatly and leave the reader in complete agreement!

[Mehrgan]

People will naturally have various methods of laying out such an essay, and initial planning of the work is perhaps the most important stage.

My own approach would be to use the introduction to grab the reader's attention and make him keen to read on. Perhaps this would mean recalling a dramatic recent case involving abuse or state security. I would certainly not put solutions in the intro.

Proposing a solution should logically take place after describing each problem, not necessarily in a separate paragraph if the problem is trivial. Leaving all the solutions to the end could be rather confusing.

I would then reserve for the conclusion a concise summary, trying to finish with some thought or proposal that would tie things up neatly and leave the reader in complete agreement!

Thanks. So, could the problems be dealt with each at a time by suggesting a solution in the same paragraph? And, what would be a thesis statement in such essays like? Aren't they supposed to give any clue what our solutions would be in the body of the essay?

Thank you a lot again.

[The Dude]

If it were a simple problem with a simple solution, then I would probably put both in one paragraph. Eg: 'One trouble with the internet is that people end up staring at a computer for long periods, which can damage their eyesight. The answer to that is, of course, for the user to control how much time is spent online. Special screen covers are also available to help with this problem."

I couldn't really have made the first sentence a paragraph all by itself! So the solution joined it.

On the other hand, the threat to a nation's security from hackers on the web is far more complicated, and would probably need a good paragraph just to explain it. So the solutions, also likely to be complicated, would need some separation.

I'm not clear about what a 'thesis statement' is - do you mean an essay in which you just argue a case for one proposal? If so, then you'd just separate each of your individual arguments into paragraphs.

Remember what paragraphs are all about. They make your work more readable by separating ideas, arguments, events, etc into their own 'bite-sized' blocks. So they should be neither so short as to be silly nor so long as to be boring.

[Mehrgan]

If it were a simple problem with a simple solution, then I would probably put both in one paragraph. Eg: 'One trouble with the internet is that people end up staring at a computer for long periods, which can damage their eyesight. The answer to that is, of course, for the user to control how much time is spent online. Special screen covers are also available to help with this problem."

I couldn't really have made the first sentence a paragraph all by itself! So the solution joined it.

On the other hand, the threat to a nation's security from hackers on the web is far more complicated, and would probably need a good paragraph just to explain it. So the solutions, also likely to be complicated, would need some separation.

I'm not clear about what a 'thesis statement' is - do you mean an essay in which you just argue a case for one proposal? If so, then you'd just separate each of your individual arguments into paragraphs.

Remember what paragraphs are all about. They make your work more readable by separating ideas, arguments, events, etc into their own 'bite-sized' blocks. So they should be neither so short as to be silly nor so long as to be boring.

Thank you very much for the answer. By Thesis Statement I mean the sentence (normally at the end of the first paragraph) which contains the main idea of the composition, and which is supposed to give the idea what your paragraphs will deal with.


Cheers!

[Mehrgan]

Could anyone please introduce us a website which academically deals with IELTS writing section? (in which we can find the standard layouts for different essay types)



Many thanks in advance.

[The Dude]

You should be able to work this out for yourself. Whatever you are writing, from scientific report to short story, the basic format is likely to be the same.

You have to introduce your theme in the first paragraph - you can't do that anywhere else.

The last paragraph has to tie things up neatly, bringing the essay to a distinct end.

Between these two paragraphs you only have to be sensible, laying out your work in a logical manner and dividing it into appropriate paragraphs. In a discursive essay, how you keep a balance between opposing arguments is up to you - ask yourself how you'd like to read it.

The two most important aspects I always emphasized to my students were:
1. to plan the content very thoroughly, especially in an examination. You don't want to run out of ideas halfway through. This includes researching appropriate vocabulary;
2. to look at your essay from the point of view of the reader. To hold anyone's interest you have to be interesting. Even writing a scientific paper, you don't have to send the reader to sleep! The tone of the introduction can switch the reader on or off for the rest of the essay.

Don't be afraid of writing an essay. With a positive 'I can do that' attitude, it really is not difficult. Sometimes I used to give my class 10 minutes to plan an essay. We'd then talk about it, before doing another one and then another. This is something anyone can do and it helps remove the anxiety.

Simple.