Conquering Essay Writing To Pass Your Praxis II Test!

The Praxis II test has a reputation among future teachers as being a tough test to pass. And for many, the part that is the toughest is the essay part. The essay section in the Praxis II test is meant to test your writing skills. You have only around one hour in which you have to write a grammatically correct and informative essay.

When it comes to essay writing, there isn't anything much that you can study for. However there definitely are some tips that you can use to prepare yourself to score big on your Praxis II essay section. These simple techniques have been taught by Praxis II test experts to countless test candidates and so far these techniques have not let anyone down. Read on to learn them.

Four Steps To Score On Your Praxis II Essay Section

Here are four main steps that you should take if you want to write a good, informative essay:

1. First, make sure you understand the topic given to you.

2. Create the main theme of your essay.

3. Write the outline of your essay down.

4. Finally, you're ready to write your essay.

Understanding your essay topic is the most important step to take before you start writing. If you don't know what your essay should be about, you'll end up writing an essay with a different theme altogether. So take a few minutes to read the topic given to you and understand it. This shouldn't take more than three to four minutes as the Praxis II essay questions are usually easy to understand.

After you've read and grasped the topic of your essay, it's now time to think of your theme. It's also known as the main argument or the thesis statement; however you want to call it. This is important because your main theme is the foundation of your essay. This should also take a short time only if you've understood your essay topic well.

In writing an essay, you'll need to write down your outline for the essay. This should just take around five minutes as you only need to write down what is your main argument, an introduction to it, your supporting points and also your conclusion to further strengthen your argument. You are scored mostly on how well your supporting points strengthen your essay.

The only step left is to write your essay. You should have enough time to write a clear and grammatically correct essay if you have already a good outline. Also don't forget to read through your essay again to correct any mistakes if there are any.

With these steps, I'm sure you'll ace the essay part of your Praxis II test. Don't forget to practice your writing and do a lot of reading as well. All the best!

English Essay Writing

A few observations could be made on English essays and English essay writing. The first thing about the essay is that it is a literary work that is indefinable in nature. It is a definitely a type of literature, but it is not exactly possible to be analyzed, and that is the reason for which literary men and critics differ widely in their assessment of the nature of an essay. Secondly, an essay may be written on any subject irrespective of it being high or low, slight or great. The art of English essay-writing is dependent on the adequate treatment of the concerning subject. The third relevant issue is the importance of the manner in writing an essay. In fact, it is the very manner, as a customary practice, a few observations may be made on essay and not the subject itself that counts in the essay, which has to be impressive and attractive enough in expression. The mode or the pattern of writing is the fourth aspect in the essay. There are no golden rules in terms of the narrative, reflective, subjective and so on, and the essayist may have his own choice of method. The golden key to good English essay writing is freedom of writing.

The writer is given the liberty to choose his own technique in order to make his writing impressive and attractive at the same time. The final observation in English essay writing is that there the style of the essay writer that cannot grow under the fetters of instructions. The style with which the essayist writes is the product of his independent self and may differ from other essay writers. It is needless to mention that English essay writing is a distinct form of literary art, and needs a very creative spirit as well as well as a creative way of writing. A good English essay writing depends, too, like other successful literary form, on the right interpretation of the matter and the manner, of the content and the form. Informality and freedom are the qualities of an essay as distinguished from a dissertation. The want of an organic quality and the absence of that orderly and logical mode of procedure that we look for in the more ambitious kinds of literature may be reckoned among the most pronounced structural peculiarities of the English essay writing. Essay rose because men felt a desire to express through a vehicle in which they could enjoy something of a freedom of expression.

The well-marked tendency among modern English essayists towards greater logical regularity and consistency of structure is only one among many other signs of the evolution of the literary type of English essay writing in response to changing conditions. With Lamb, Hazlitt and De Quincy, the English essay writing became the popular form in which the mind roams independently, soars and sinks. The mantle has fallen on the modern essayists.

Lucas says:

"His body lies a-moldering in the grave

But his soul goes marching on"

The Best Ways for English Essay Writing

Dr. Johnson defines English essay writing as "a loose sally of the mind, and irregular, indigested piece, not a regular and orderly performance". It has also been called, "the after-dinner monologue of an interesting and well-informed man". It has been called by Saintsbury as, "a work of prose art". These definitions do not apply to such philosophical essay as Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding or to Pope's Essay on Criticism and Essay on Man. Hugh Walker has divided essay into two types-Essays per excellence and compositions to which custom has assigned the name. the true essay is essentially personal. English essay writing belongs to the literature of self-expression.

Alexander Smith in his paper on English essay writing has characterized the essay par excellence as a literary form which resembles a lyric in so far as it is molded by some central mood-serious, whimsical or satirical. "Given the mood, and the essay from the first sentence to the last grows around it as the cocoon grows around the silkworm". Essays are "attempts", and the guiding principle is determined by the mood of the essay writer. Just as in a lyric, the poet pours out his whole heart delighting in the passing mood of the moment, so the literary English essay writing has a pre-eminently subjective character.

Charles Lamb is the perfector of the Literary type of essay-- subjective, literary and personal. Leigh Hunt in his Indicator revived the manner, quiet narrative and the style of Steele. Jeffrey in the Edinburgh Review and Hazlitt in his Table Talk took to literary criticism and raised the standard of literary taste. But Hazlitt has to much bitterness to be affable; De Quincey is often too imaginative in his conceptions and florid in his style. But Lamb is critical, imaginative and romantic. The central subject matter of the Essays of Elia is Lamb himself-Lamb's mind re-acting to his studies and environments-to life itself. This another interesting attribute to English essay writing.

Walter Pater would say, "With him as with Montaigne, the desire of self-portraiture is, below all the more superficial tendencies the real motive in writing at all-a desire connected with that intimacy, the modern subjectivity, which may be called the Montaignesque element in literature". The egotism of Lamb is blended with a sweetness all its own. There is the unmistakable stamp of his lovable personality in his essays and his essays are enlivened by genial humour and impish wit. The English essay writings of Lamb may be called confidential chatters as they are rich in autobiographical pathos and wide sympathy for humanity.

In the modern century the mantle of Lamb has fallen on many writers. Stevenson in the later Victorian age inherited the tradition of Lamb. He may not have the same humour and whimsicality of Lamb, hut he has the same urbanity in his style, the same informal and fresh approach to commonplace subjects. Chesterton writes on trifles but makes the trifles tremendous by his inimitable style while the writings of Hilaire Belloc are on nothing, on something, on everything. He has a clear incisive style in which humour plays an important part in his English essay writings.

Essay Writing Tips - 6 Steps to Writing a Great Essay

If writing an essay seems like a daunting experience, then learning how to break the process down into a number of easy steps will give you the confidence you need to produce an interesting, high quality piece of work. This article provides 6 essay writing tips that will take you from an initial idea through to the finished product.

1. Select your topic carefully

If your topic has many different aspects, then a very useful essay writing tip is to narrow it down to one specific area, and make sure you explain this in your introduction. This will make for better reading than if you try to cover everything, and will definitely improve the quality of your work. If you get to choose your own topic, make it something you are interested in. This way the research will become much easier and your enthusiasm will 'rub off' on your readers.

2. Do Your Research

Another useful essay writing tip is to make sure you spend sufficient time looking into all the aspects of your chosen topic. Read as much relevant material as possible, and make notes along the way so you don't forget anything. Also note down where you have got your ideas from; i.e. author name, book or article title and page number.

3. Write Down the Main Arguments

Once you've researched your subject, summarise the main arguments and ideas you have read. Do not copy other people's words, just choose the important points and summarise these in your own words. This is a highly important essay writing tip - whatever you do, make sure you don't plagiarise another author's work.

Prepare the basic structure of the essay in dot point headings, using only a few words to describe each main point. Play around with the structure until you feel that the sequence is right. Put the most important point first, followed by the next most important point, and so on.

Then paste your research summaries under each heading (you can delete these later).

4. Fill Out the Body of the Essay

This is where you discuss in detail your thoughts and ideas on the chosen topic, and 'fill out' the summaries you wrote earlier. Under each main point, introduce the evidence supporting your theories, together with arguments and any other points you wish to make. A good essay writing tip is to make sure these are thought provoking and interesting, as well as informative.

End each paragraph or section with some type of conclusion, or 'lead in' sentence to the next paragraph.

Now that you have written the main body of the essay, you can go back to writing the 'Introduction', followed by the essay 'Conclusion'.

5. Write Your Introduction

In some ways this is the most important part of your essay. One of the best essay writing tips is to use the introduction to grab the reader's attention and give them a 'taste' of the information to come that will make them want to keep on reading.

Describe briefly what the essay is about, and your research sources, and explain what the reader will get out of reading the essay. Finish the introduction with a clear explanation of your point of view, or of the main essay idea.

6. Write Your Conclusions

Start this section by briefly summarising the results and conclusions of your research. Tell the reader what your main conclusion is, and why. Make sure you have also checked and formatted your references that will go at the end of the essay.

A great essay writing tip is to end the essay with a memorable, thought provoking statement that in some way 'sums up' your findings.

These essay writing tips will help you to produce a well structured essay, but don't forget to edit and proof read your work thoroughly to ensure there are no spelling, grammatical or punctuation errors.

Admission Essay Writing Tips

As admission to colleges and graduate schools becomes even more competitive, there is increasing importance placed on the essay as part of the admissions process.

Most of the colleges and graduate schools have different requirements and publish these in their guidelines. However, there is a basic approach to admission essay writing that you should use.

Your essay should be original and unique and make a good impression on the selection committee. In addition, your essay should reflect your analytical skills and your ability to deal with different situations, whilst also giving insights to the selection committee to help them understand why you want to do the particular course and how you will benefit from it.

Since admission essay writing does not come easy to everyone, it is always a good idea to start early so that you have plenty of time to proofread your essay and check your spelling and grammar.

The instructions provided by the college or graduate school that you are applying to will give you valuable tips on how to format and approach your essay, and you should follow these strictly. You would be surprised how many college applicants ignore these!

It is very important at the outset to develop your admission essay writing plan and then write your essay according to this plan. Your writing should demonstrate your ability to think clearly and express ideas properly while at the same time the essay should reveal your scholarly side.

The admission essay should clearly articulate your motivation for attending the college or graduate school and how you will benefit from the course. Your essay also needs to state what the institute will gain by accepting you as a student - many applicants forget this aspect.

It is very important to use a first person narrative while writing the admission essay and include active words that demonstrate the qualities and abilities that you will bring to the course. However, at the same time you should remember not to go overboard, or it may come across as false. Also don't make the essay too long as that will potentially lose the interest of the reader. One or two pages are likely to be sufficient but adhere to the published admission essay writing guidelines.

It is very important to keep your readers in mind while you are writing the essay. Check that your objective is clear and that your essay reveals the purpose and enthusiasm that you have for your chosen field of study.

As you can see, admission essay writing does not need to be difficult. The admission essay should portray your writing abilities and also reveal the clarity of thought and the depth of your knowledge in relation to your chosen field. In addition, you need to convey your motivation and commitment to study the course you are applying for and you can also use this to mention the career opportunities that you want to explore once you graduate.