Hello, to whoever stumbled by!

I’m writing this as I should be studying for my Spanish mock exam. Two finals down and three more to go before my well-deserved (or so I think) Christmas break. Before that time comes, I’ll have to write a thing or two, and why not this blog post? I’m going to share with whomever is reading this, a trick that one of my teachers showed me last year. Chances are that your teacher might already have shown you this method of getting started on your essay. Either way, I hope you find this helpful and that I haven’t scared you away yet!

There are five steps in total, and the first starts after you have gotten a topic or subject. I’m going to follow through with the steps with an example of my own. My topic is that computer use in the classroom can be either a recourse or a distraction.

1| Pressure-write for 10 minutes

Set a timer for 10 minutes and write down everything you know on the subject. Don’t pay attention to sentence structure or grammar, just try to write everything that comes to mind. This is so that your mind can start to recollect what you already know about the subject. That is one on the things that we don’t do very often – think about the things we already know about the subject and therefore it might be harder to start writing. You might be surprised by how much you remember.

EXAMPLE: Computer use in the classroom can be both an asset and a distraction. It can make the schoolwork easier with the wide access of the web; however with this access comes also other things that can distract the students from what they should be doing…

2| Get an overview of your main points

Read what you have written and pick out your main points. Try to complete the sentence: “What I want to get across is…”

EXAMPLE: “What I want to get across is that computer use in the classroom can be both an asset and a distraction.”

3| Make the sentence from step 2 and make it into a thesis statement(or question)

The sentence you made in step 3 is essentially, what your essay is going to discuss. Therefore, it is the perfect foundation to make a solid thesis statement, or a question if you prefer.

EXAMPLE: “Computer use in the classroom is both an asset and a distraction” OR “Can computer use in the classroom contribute to the education or is it just a distraction?”

4| Make 5 sentences

A) Your thesis statement or question

B) A sentence that supports A

C) A sentence that contradict A

D) A sentence that supports A

E) A sentence that sums up the sentences above

EXAMPLE:

A) Computer use in the classroom is both an asset and a distraction.

B) Computers in the classroom is a great tool for learning, with the access to information and much more.

C) With the access to information comes access to other things that might distract the students from their schoolwork.

D) When teachers can limit the students’ internet access, it prevents the students from doing something that they shouldn’t.

E) Overall, computer access can both contribute in the classroom and be a distraction if it’s not limited to what they should be doing.

5| Elaborate on the sentences from step 4

You may as well as noticed by now that the sentences you made in step 4 are all good topic sentences, sentences to start a paragraph. What you have now is an outline for your essay. All you need to do now is to thoroughly elaborate on each of the topic sentences and you are well on you way!

EXAMPLE: Aha, no way I’m going to elaborate on this!

There you have it, a way to get started on that damn essay that you have put off until the night before the dead line. Now if only I followed my own advice… I hope that you found this helpful and will pass it along to your friends. Thank you for reading so far and I hope to see more of you here!

Sincerely,

Beulah