Essay Lab Group at eNotes

I believe you are asking for guidance in writing an essay describing and...

Sat, 4 Jul 2009 03:28:47 PST

I believe you are asking for guidance in writing an essay describing and analysing the nature of a character or other objects in a story or a novel. The most important task in writing a character analysis is to first read the source story or novel and understanding the character adequately. While you do this you can also take down notes on the passages that serve to show some important traits of the character. Once this has been done you can...

When we analyze a character to look at that character closely and try to...

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 16:11:41 PST

When we analyze a character to look at that character closely and try to figure out what motivates them to do what they do? Or we try to figure out how they became the person that they are. We try to figure this things out by examining the novel closely, paying attention to: 1. The character's dialogue 2. How do other characters describe the character? 3. How does the narrator describe the character? 4. How does the character react in...

When you analyze a character well, you should be able to answer these...

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 20:10:23 PST

When you analyze a character well, you should be able to answer these questions in some detail: What kind of person is this, and how do we know? Using the guidelines in the previous post should help you answer both of those questions. In addition to what others say about your character, you can consider what others think and feel, as well. Sometimes what one character says about another character is different from what he or she really...

Character analysis is analyzing those factors (characteristics and...

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 18:51:18 PST

Character analysis is analyzing those factors (characteristics and traits) that make up the essence of the person. Chaucer had a simplified view of character analysis. It came down to: 1) What the chacter said. 2) What the character did. 3) What the character thought. 4) What the character wore. 5) What the narrator says about the character. 6) What other chracters say about the character. So, for you to write a character analysis, you would...

Character Analysis

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 18:03:51 PST

What do I do for character analysis?

It looks like you have two subjects: beauty and virtue. You should...

Thu, 28 May 2009 01:31:08 PST

It looks like you have two subjects: beauty and virtue. You should narrow it down to one, and create a theme from that one subject. Then in your analysis, try the block method rather than the point-by-point method. That should work well for your essay. If you have any problems, send me a message.

You appear to be quite clear on what you want to cover in your essay,...

Thu, 28 May 2009 01:15:11 PST

You appear to be quite clear on what you want to cover in your essay, but are unable to proceed because you are not able to decide on the details of how you will present your ideas. In situations like this is to a technique called "brain dump". Just write down what ever you have to say without bothering about the presentation. Once you have done this, it will be very easy to revise this first draft to improve the presentation and language.

The most important information that you need is the requirements that...

Tue, 26 May 2009 22:13:43 PST

The most important information that you need is the requirements that your teacher has outlined for you if they have told you previously what they expect. After that, you need information that would support your thesis, such as quotes, statistics, other forms of evidence. And, if you are using a Rogerian strategy, counter claims to evidence for the opposition.

The most important tip that I could give you is to look at the paper...

Tue, 26 May 2009 22:06:39 PST

The most important tip that I could give you is to look at the paper from a different perspective. I don't know why you put things off, but the result is that you have to write the entire paper at once. You have to do it all at the very last minute. Try this. When you get an assignment, just try to write a few sentences of it as early as possible. Only start with either a few lines of the introduction, or if it is a short paper, the...

Planning is definitely a good way of ensuring timely completion of any...

Tue, 26 May 2009 19:55:23 PST

Planning is definitely a good way of ensuring timely completion of any work. What I would like to talk about a special approach to planning any long written work that helps you to counter tendency for procrastination. You start with a set target completion time for completing the essay. Then you divide the total available time in approximately three equal parts. Say if you have six days available to complete a paper than you will allocate two...

An essay of this type should focus on three points: requirements of the...

Tue, 26 May 2009 19:38:30 PST

An essay of this type should focus on three points: requirements of the summer job, your knowledge and experience, and how these match the summer job requirements. This best way to start is to find out the nature of job that you will be required to do, including the details of organization where you will be doing the job. Next is to think critically how your knowledge, experience and any other skill or achievements will be helpful to do a...

To write a strong conclusion, do not merely sum up what said previously....

Tue, 26 May 2009 19:05:41 PST

To write a strong conclusion, do not merely sum up what said previously. There is not need to review the material if that is all you do. For a great conclusion, try these: 1) Your final thoughts 2) A suggestion 3) A warning 4) A final dramatic quote 5) A final message relating back to an initial quote or statistic.

I would say that you not only have to introduce the quote but include...

Tue, 26 May 2009 19:02:37 PST

I would say that you not only have to introduce the quote but include its significance. I don't think you can merely say, "He stated that ..." It requires much more than that to become more natural. If all you include is he said, she stated, he exclaimed, etc., those are poor ways to introduce a quote. To borrow the quote from post #2, you would introduce it in a more relevant way such as: In reviewing literature concerning the opinions of...

Conclusion is the last part of an essay. It is very important as it...

Tue, 26 May 2009 18:56:40 PST

Conclusion is the last part of an essay. It is very important as it affects substantially the way reader will remember the essay in the long run. The conclusion must be short and to the point to be most effective. A writer has a very wide choice of matter to be included in the conclusion. The choice will largely be guided by the purpose of the essay and the contents. For example: An essay dealing with current social problem may end with...

Use of quotations is justified in two situations. One, when someone...

Tue, 26 May 2009 18:42:07 PST

Use of quotations is justified in two situations. One, when someone expressed an idea more clearly and interestingly than you can do it yourself. Two, when you want to support your views and statements with those of well established authority. In both these cases that it is absolutely essential that you suitably mark out the quotations from your original quotations. When writing formal papers it is also necessary to properly cite and reference...

The problem with elaboration is that many students can't find enough...

Tue, 26 May 2009 18:38:13 PST

The problem with elaboration is that many students can't find enough evidence and that results in weak analysis. Look at this model for each paragraph: Topic sentence, Evidence, Analysis (TEA). Your topic sentence should be an assertion or an opinion that is arguable. Next, cite sources where you find that the information supports your topic sentence. Include citations as naturally as you can without using dropped quotes. Then analyze why...

It all depends on what kind of risk is involved. If the health of the...

Tue, 26 May 2009 18:31:09 PST

It all depends on what kind of risk is involved. If the health of the person would be in jeopardy, then I would be against it. But if it only results in embarrassment, and that's what it takes to join, then I would be for it. We have too many drinking rituals in Korea for students to get into fraternities and clubs in which many students die from alcohol poisoning. I can see nothing positive about that.

How risky and how dangerous will depend on the the nature of rituals,...

Tue, 26 May 2009 18:21:09 PST

How risky and how dangerous will depend on the the nature of rituals, and whether or not worth it will depend on what you are being initiated into. However, the concept of rituals implies that these do not form the core of any useful activity, though they may serve some useful purpose. general rule I follow is to avoid all secret rituals. For other rituals I go along without much hesitation commonly accepted rituals, such as we may follow for...

I can see four ways of increasing the size of an essay in a meaningful...

Tue, 26 May 2009 18:06:44 PST

I can see four ways of increasing the size of an essay in a meaningful way. Increase the information contents on the subject matter. This can be done on giving information on more aspects or more details on the same aspects. Give information on related matters that puts the subject of essay in a proper perspective. Give your analysis and views on the subject. Provide information on what others have said or written on the subject.

There are alternative ways of writing reports or essays on surveys...

Tue, 26 May 2009 17:40:03 PST

There are alternative ways of writing reports or essays on surveys conducted. The choice of appropriate format will depend, among other things, on the subject and purpose of the survey. However I am giving below a list of sections that may be included in the essay. The background covering why and under what circumstances the survey was conducted. The objective of the essay. In some research project this can be in the form of a proposition, the...