Maybe the hardest question to answer is "Why is it important to write an essay?" We all know it is important, but do students know? The first stage is get them to understand why knowing to write one is a must in any English class. If we think about it, most students are learning English because they want to have better jobs or want to live in an English-speaking country. In general, they want a better life. If we keep thinking, we will find out that most situations that help us grow professionally, or even personally, require writing at some point: scholarships, jobs, forms, certifications, love letters, etc. Students should be aware of all this before actually starting to teach them the topic so they get excited and turn the class into lots of fun.
INTRODUCING ESSAY WRITING
Once students have gotten engaged with the topic, it's time to teach them what an essay is, and to do so, I present a controversial topic on the board and have them share their opinions with the class. Next, I write all their ideas and here's when I explain the concept of essay by telling them that it's a text used to express the opinions we commonly say orally but in a written way. I ask them if it'd sound okay if I just randomly connect all the ideas given and put them into a piece of paper? The answer is NO! Therefore, we need to have a structure.
To present this, I use the typical but helpful method of the hamburger whereby students analyse the structure of an essay:
1. On the top: An engaging introduction for the topic. I recommend starting it with a question, a quote, a study, or something that can get readers' attention to continue with the essay. Next, they should state their position to the topic in case we talk about an opinion or agree/disagree essay. It's crucial to clarify the types of essay they might face: Opinion essays as mentioned above, Pros and cons (advantages and disadvantages) essays, and Agree/Disagree essays.
2. In the middle: I ask them what the typical ingredients are (lettuce, meat, tomato) and tell them that this is what gives the delicious flavor to the whole burger, hence it has to be "tasty" and well-cooked. The ingredients come to be the three points that will defend our ideas. Each point is a different paragraph. Say, if we agree with something, here's where we must explain by giving three strong arguments, each supported by facts, examples or studies which help us convince our readers that our opinion is valid. I emphasize that in every paragraph we must give our main idea and then, explain why we think so with the "supporting ideas" to make it more believable.
3. The bottom: What holds all our ingredients and ideas is the last piece of bread we get at the bottom. There, students must summarize all their thoughts they have written in the previous paragraphs or they can make one last reflection on the topic. Again, this last lines of the essay should be impressive for the reader so even after days of reading the essay, they will still remember those last words. Challenge them to think out of the box and I'm quite sure they will come up with incredible ideas.
ACTIVITIES
1. Fine, now students know how to write an essay. What's next? To write one just like that?
Teach them that before starting with the essay itself, it's a good idea to write a draft of what each paragraph will contain. In the draft, students just write the very BASIC argument and general words they will use for their essay.
Afterwards, group them in threes and have them write an essay on a topic given. Hand out 5 pages to each group and in each page, they should write a paragraph (introduction, first, second, and third argument, and conclusion). Elicit a list of expressions typically used for each paragraph. Make sure they build the essay as a team and not individually, so they collect ideas and put them together.
Once all the paragraphs have been written, students will connect the pages so as to make one whole text. Hang them outside the classroom and have the groups walk around and read their partners' essays leaving comments next to the texts.
2. Provide feedback and now, students can write their own essay in a page following the structure taught.
3. If you want your students to keep practicing, you can have them create their own blogs and upload their essays there. What I do is to send them weekly a topic and they have a week to write about it in their blogs. Then, they reply to my email by sending me the link to their blogs. Here are some blogs my students have made
Milagro Ascencio’s:
Walter Portillo’s:
Bryan Cerén’s:
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