Writing

How to Write an Essay

Writing an essay is a difficult thing to do. You have to organize your thoughts. Sentences should have good grammar. Paragraphs can't be too short. Putting it all together isn't easy.

It is hard to organize your thoughts. You may have many different ideas about the subject. It's important to pick an idea that's easy to write about. Brainstorming is a good tool for finding the right idea. Organizing your thoughts is an important first step to writing an essay.

Writing good sentences for an essay takes time. All sentences need to be written correctly. Every sentence needs to support your topic. The sentences should not all start or end the same way. Taking the time to write good sentences makes your essay more interesting.

The paragraphs in an essay should have more than a few words. A good paragraph has at least five sentences. There should be a structure to each paragraph. The paragraph should fully develop one of your ideas. Longer paragraphs make your essay more effective.

Writing an essay is hard, but rewarding. It's good to learn to organize your thoughts. Being able to put a good sentence together will help you in lots of ways. When you know how to write a paragraph, you can answer test questions easily. Essays help you learn about your topic, and about writing, too.

Topics for Compositions (expressing an opinion). Look at Summit pages 94-95 to review the formats.

Use the following topics for practice for Module G. You can e-mail them to me (teach10@walla.com) and receive them later with my comments. You can also suggest new topics that interest you.

Self-study: use it to improve your writing.

Express your opinion:

1. Many Israelis believe that Israel should have a presidential election system, like USA, with only 2-3 political parties.

2. Israel's defense budget is enormous, while its education budget is reduced repeatedly.

3. Boys and girls should be given the same toys to play with.

4. Many people think that honesty is the best policy, whereas others believe that little white lies and / or flattery can be very helpful.

5.  The world belongs to the young.

6. There should be no capital punishment because it does not deter criminals from committing crimes. Agree or disagree.

7. In different places around the world, certain breeds of dogs, such as the pit bull terrier, have been banned because it is felt that these dogs have the potential to be killers.

8. The use of cell phones in public places should be banned.

9. Many people feel that the technological advances have not necessarily made us happier people.

10. The world is quickly becoming a global village. Many people think that this is a positive development, while others feel that it is not.

11. Today youngsters around the world have much more in common than they had in the past. Do you agree?

12. With the advance of medical technology, it is possible for a patient to be kept alive even when his/her medical condition is hopeless. Should doctors be allowed to terminate a dying patient's life if he/she wishes it?

13. Controversy in public discourse plays an important role in developing ideas in democratic societies. However, it usually leads to verbal violence. Describe the aggressive atmosphere in Israel, explain the dangers and suggest peaceful methods for solving controversy.

14. Exprss your opinion on ecological preservation in Israel.

15. Lack of students' discipline in school leads to violence and poor academic achievements. Write an article which describes the problem and its effect on academic achievements and school atmosphere. Suggest ways to improve the situation.

16. Towards the 21st century: write an article for a youth magazine in which you describe future reality as you predict it. You can relate to political, ecological, social, religious, technological, economic, military aspects. Suggest ways to prepare for this reality.