How do I weave a common thread through my essay?

IvyGrad09
Fri, 22 Sep 2017 07:32:18 +0000

I don’t see a hard and fast rule about creating a common thread throughout your essay–the only common thread is you. The essay is an opportunity to illustrate the way you think, in a way that allows your reader to appreciate you.

For early drafts, just focus on describing your experiences or why you like something, as thoroughly as possible.

You could write about one thing or dozens, it doesn’t really matter. What matters is that you outline it months before your deadline, to give yourself time to fully revise, as often as it takes.

Writing an essay is just as much about the process of editing as it is about choosing a topic and approach. Think of your essay as an organic, natural lifeform that needs time to fully open.

In addition, you’ll find that paying attention to the connections between paragraphs as a writing problem–instead of an analytical problem–will solve the issue of how to connect your many ideas or experiences. As you create the links between paragraphs, the philosophical connections will emerge (perhaps through devices such as metaphors and similes.)

If you are relaxed and not rushed, you will be delighted by what emerges when making the awkward connections work. You may even find that you are smarter than you thought.

IMO the biggest mistake essay writers make is failure to give themselves ample time. It’s over time that the essay really tells you what it’s about and how it works. Create the possibility of surprising yourself at how good the essay can become, no matter how really bad its start. To me, that’s a delicious process.

If you relax into it (while keeping your mind’s sharp focus,) you’ll come to enjoy your writing process. Then your readers will enjoy it too.

One other thing–have someone who is great at grammar read it over before you turn the final copy in.