Writing+a+comparison-contrast+essay

Writing is the most important English Language skill you will acquire. As George Orwell said "If you cannot write well, you cannot think well, and if you cannot think well others will do your thinking for you."

To encourage you to think for yourself, and express your ideas clearly, here are some writing tips: 1) Keep it simple, but not too simple! Make sure as you write, you say what you mean and say it in language understandable to your audience. Which leads to the next point. 2) Know your audience. If you are assigned a paper with a prompt like: "As a writer for the local newspaper ..." You would be writing for a general adult audience. OR "Write a paper ... " You are writing for your teacher. OR "Write instructions for a fifth-grade class ..." You are writing for fifth graders. Be aware of the audience, and adjust your language usage. 3) Be concise (direct and to the point) Nobody wants to read lines and lines that can be summarized. "Blah, blah, blah, here's a little point, blah, blah, blah." The point will be missed. 4) Be organized. The better the structure of the writing, the easier for the audience to follow. Make a logical progression - also a strong introduction and conclusion (tell 'em what you're gonna tell 'em, tell 'em what you told 'em.) helps your audience tremendously. 5) Use a familiar format. Audiences like predictability. Essay format typically begins with the introduction (no surprise) with a Thesis statement as the last sentence of the introduction. Each point of the Thesis statement leads a paragraph or section of the essay. The conclusion summarizes (again, no surprise) the paper. 6) Vary your sentence structure, use figurative language, make a clear voice heard. Writing the same thing is boring, so is reading it. Purple prose is over the top, but figurative language is a good bet for success. HMM, voice. Voice is what makes your writing uniquely yours; your reader should know something about you based on how you write. 7) Edit! Revising writing for clarity and correcting spelling and grammatical errors gives weight to your writing. Use whatever resources are available; family, teachers and peers. 8) Compare Things that are the same. 9) Contrast Things that are different.

Some links for writing assistance and tips: [|Webser U C-C writing tips] [|Simple samples] [|Answers link] [|English Essay Writing Tips]

Here is a sample essay:

To help you read what I put on your papers: [|Proofreading marks]