Chapter six covers issues such as long-range planning, prewriting, and understanding the topics. Tips on writing to your audience and striking a balance between for¬mality and informality are also explained. | Untimed Essay Writing Strategies CHAPTER 6 HOW TO WRITE GREAT ESSAYS 79 Ask a question. When have you ever heard of a basketball coach reading poetry to her team Why would I want to give up my poolside summer as a lifeguard to work in a rundown school without air conditioning Take your subject and first ask yourself what is unusual or in need of an explanation. Turn it into a question that does not have an obvious answer. Cite an unusual fact. Telling your reader something he or she doesn t know and wouldn t guess can compel her to read on. If you are writing about a travel experience hunt down some statistics that might seem startling. The . Department of Transportation reported that during the month I was traveling over 255 000 pieces of luggage were lost. Did your youth group volunteer with migrant farm workers picking oranges A few minutes of research can help you begin your essay Florida s Valencia orange forecast for April was 86 million boxes. BODY The body of your essay should be the easiest part to write. Using your outline and notes put down your thoughts in clear sentences that flow logically from one to another. Tell your story seamlessly using transitions see the list of transition words in Chapter 7 pages 90-91 to move from one point to the next. Remember that you are writing a rough draft don t worry over every word. If you find weaknesses with your outline as you write such as missing details or a paragraph that would work better in another part of your essay make adjustments. Keep in mind though there is plenty of time to refine your essay during the revision and editing processes. Provide an obvious connection between your introduction and the body of your essay. Don t waste a dynamic start by dumping the reader into a new context that leaves her asking where am I Show clearly why you began as you did. For example if you opened with a statistic such as the introduction example about Valencia oranges the next sentence must connect the numbers .
