Essay Writing: How to Write a Good Essay

Summary
This lesson explains how to write a good essay.

Objectives
• To be able to identify what a thesis is.

• To be able to list the steps and goals of writing an essay.

• To be able to identify the parts of an essay.

Suggested Grades
3rd Grade
4th Grade
5th Grade
6th Grade

Excerpt
The very first step is to understand what is being asked. Essays for exams or applications are usually looking for a specific response. Make certain you understand what is being asked and of what the topic consists. Most topics fall under common categories. These categories include:
Definitions
Comparisons
Circumstances
Relationships
Testimonies

Being asked to write an essay about a topic usually means writing about what the topic is (definition), what happened (circumstance), how this compared to other scenarios (comparisons and relationships), and finally what the writer thinks about the topic (testimonies). It is necessary to remain on topic and respond directly to the question or topic. So, the first step is to Identify the Topic.

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