Composing Essays

1.Criteria of a good composition

2.Steps in writing a composition
 Definition of a good
composition:
It contains something interesting
and /or important ,and if
possible ,something new, to say
and that this something is
expressed clearly ,accurately ,
and appropriately.
 Example;
Tyranny of the Urgent
Have you ever wished for a thirty-hour day? Surely this extra
time would relieve the tremendous pressure under which we live
.Our lives leave a trail of unfinished tasks .Unanswered letters ,
unvisited friends ,unwritten articles ,and unread books haunt quiet
moments when we stop to evaluate .We desperately need relief.
When we stop to evaluate, we realize that our dilemma goes
deeper than shortage of time; it is basically the problem of priorities.
Hard work does not hurt us. We all know what it is to go full speed
for long hours, totally involved in an important task; the resulting
weariness is matched by a sense of achievement and joy. Not he
hard work, but doubt and misgiving produce anxiety as we review a
month or year and become oppressed by the pile of unfinished
tasks. We sense demands have driven us onto a reef of frustration.
We confess, quite apart from our sins, we have left undone those
things
Which we ought to have done; and we have done those things which
we ought not to have done.

A mans home is no longer his castle; it is no longer a place away

from urgent tasks because the telephone breaches the walls with
imperious demands. The momentary appeal of these tasks seems
irresistible and important, and they devour our energy. But in the
light of times perspective their deceptive prominence fades; with a
sense of loss we recall the important tasks pushed aside. We realize
weve become slaves to the tyranny of the urgent.
Analysis
This piece of writing is about something we are always confronted
with . Also it is a well-organized argumentative essay. Each paragraph
has its central theme . With the paragraph itself , the author use parallel
structures ,metaphor and repetition to connect the sentence, meanwhile
, to stress the authors standpoint and make it eye-catching.
The ideas are expressed clearly , accurately and appropriately.
The writer begins the essay by explaining that the prolongation of time
can not really help relieve people of the pressure. The he justifies the
argument that the pressure in our life originates from the mishandled
problem of priorities .In the concluding paragraph ,the writer points out
that we are slaves to the tyranny of the urgent.
We can see that the authors purpose is to tell people not to let the
tyranny of the urgent overwhelm the important tasks . With excellent
sentences , we are more likely to be impressed .
 Steps in Writing a Composition
Planning a Composition
Writing the First Draft

Revising the First Draft

Making the Final Copy

 When a topic is assigned,we should work out
a plan and manke sure that we have enough
material.

Some notes
Puttingdown all the relevant facts
Thinking of a proper theme and deciding on
our purpose
Re-examining our list of details and outlining
 Sometimes,after the outline is written,we may find
the topic we have first decided on does not express
our central idea.We should then revise or even change
the topic

Types of outline
Thesis(controlling idea)
1 Introduction
2 Main Idea
3 Conclusion
Outline
Rules for writing outlines
 Now that the outline is ready,we can
begin to write the composition.When
writing our first draft,it is advisable
to leave both a margin and enough
space between lines for future
improvement.
This is an important step but it is often neglected
. (1)Content:Look at the paper /composition as a whole
(2)Organization:Look at the arrangement of the material
(3)Sentences
(4)Diction
(5)Mistakes in grammar,spelling,punctuation,and other
mechanics
From the list we can see that content and organization are
most important to a paper.We should always make sure that
we have something significant to say and that we express
our ideas in good order.
After we have carefully revised the
draft,we are ready to make a clean
final copy,following the rules of
manuscripts form given in chapter1
of the book.The very last step in
writing a paper is to check the final
copy to correct careless mistakes in
grammar and spelling before we
hand it in.