Essay Strategy - IAS SQUAD

EXAM PATTERN

PREPARATION STRATEGY FOR ESSAY

General tips for effective writing of an Essay

Avoid Grammatical or spelling mistakes.
Do not use unnecessarily complex and figurative words to show off your vocabulary and to try to wow your reader. Use the right word to convey the meaning.
Organize your thoughts with techniques such as brainstorming and outlining which is called as pre-writing.
There should be proper flow in writing points.
Try to give as many dimensions as possible to the topic.
Effective presentation will fetch you better marks.
“Practice makes a man perfect”. Practice writing essays regularly.

How to write good Essays

Selection of Essay and Planning an Essay

See all the topics given in the question paper in section A and in Section B
Examine and make sure which one of the given topics in each section allows you to present yourself.
You should “choose the right vehicle to express yourself” This is possible by making pre-writing notes.
Pre-writing notes are rough notes. Theses notes can be anything that comes to your mind in response to that topic. Here the newspapers and magazines you have read will come handy.
Your ideas may be in the form of a list in the order of importance or may be random needing more organization later.
After making the pre-notes try to examine each pre-note and take a final decision on which topic to write on . The Essay in which you have made most comprehensive pre-note covering all the dimensions should be selected for writing.
This step should be completed within first 20 minutes out of the 3 hours which leaves you with 160 minutes to write two essays ie. 80 minutes per essay.

Introduction of the essay

Your introduction should immediately entice examiner to read further. There are a number of effective methods for “hooking” your reader from the very first sentences of your essay. Some of the methods are discussed below

Get emotional – In this method the examiner will relate to your subject if you engage his emotions and cause him to make a connection with you and your writing. For example beginning the essay with the way you felt about something, rather than first describing or otherwise revealing that something.
Anecdote or a Quote – This is the most common method adopted by aspirants . An inspiring quote by a famous personality relating to the topic or very short slice of life story that keeps the reader guessing where you are headed to can make a good impression upon the examiner.
Ask a question.
Cite an unusual fact or statistics

The introduction should also provide the foundation for the body. Body should be in consonance with the introduction
The purpose of above methods is to keep the interest of the examiner to read your essay. These are only a few methods of introduction for an essay and you can use any other suitable method.

Body

Body of the essay is the easiest part to write.
Using your outline and notes, put down your thoughts in clear sentences that flow logically.
Provide an obvious connection between your introduction and the body of your essay.
Use concrete examples, details and evidences to support the points you make in your essay. The official data of the govt. or from reliable sources will be helpful.
You can also divide the body into different subheadings which makes the essay more presentable.
Try to be logical in your arguments and prove it with evidence or statistics.
It will be beneficial if you re-read what you have written, after every paragraph to ensure that you are not going off the topic.

Conclusion

Futuristic / Visionary – You can conclude your essay in a futuristic or visionary manner. For example you may conclude by stating where it might lead, what it might mean to future generations, or how it might be resolved.
Quotations – If it works well with your content, conclude with a quotation by someone famous. Be certain that the quote substantiates what you have said, and speaks obviously on your topic.
Echo your introduction to provide balance – Use some of the same words, phrases, or ideas mentioned in your first paragraph.
Personal experience – You can also conclude an essay by giving your personal experience about the issue in question.

These are some of the methods generally used to conclude an essay. You can use other method also.
As per our analysis the marks of Essay and Ethics are crucial for clearing the exam. Irrespective of the fact that essays are unpredictable, you can score good marks with constant practice and consistent writing .

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