Can you imagine writing a neatly manicured essay with the right points which are emphatic enough to stop someone dead in their tracks while reading?
Have you ever wondered what that secret ingredient is to writing successfully?
Gripping someone’s imagination is the easy part but sustaining their interest all the way through from the beginning till the end requires a little bit of effort and a little use of special writing techniques.
Let us get started with these writing techniques to help you pursue your writer’s dream.
First of all, let me tell you that you should stop listening to people who say there is no such thing as a secret formula to writing well.
They may say that you need to have read tons of books to write really well.
It is always useful to do that but it is not necessarily the only way to write successfully.
There IS a way to write well without tons of reading.
You will have to learn and memorise some of my special writing techniques and that is “the stuff that dreams are made of.”
I am going to teach you 2 easy and powerful writing techniques for successful writing today.
No one will bother to show you this and I have taken great pains to ensure that these writing techniques will usher you into that ‘million dollar A grade club.’
The Secret Sauce
#1 Writing Techniques to get immediate Attention
How do you get someone’s immediate attention so that they do not put down your work to being a boring exercise?
All you have to do is to insert an arresting first line at the start.
You may do this with a rhetorical question or you could do it by stating a general truth which is a regurgitation of a well-worn idea.
Most essayists will always start with that beautiful one-liner, that opening line which will tilt the entire book or essay in their favour.
It could be a witty statement.
Eg. “The art of romance was not really dead, it had merely been transferred to the fine art of love through social media.”
Now, this is rather funny and dry. What it really means is that love now exists mainly through the way people communicate through social media.
It is trying to say that the art of romance has changed. This is a kind of dry wit which 19th century essayists used to explore.
The successful completion of such an essay will get you plenty of attention and you will be regarded as a really witty writer.
Remember, people like to laugh! So you must mention something relevant and funny at the same time. This is a great writing technique and will definitely mean that you are on your way to becoming a successful writer.
Ok, so you have now got your foot in the door. How do you continue from here?
What is the next step?
The next step is to organise your Points in the first 5 minutes of writing your essay.
Why?
That’s because if you do not organise it at the start, all the good work with the witty beginning will start to backfire.
An essay is only as good as its content. CONTENT, CONTENT, CONTENT.
That is the backbone of a successful essay.
I am going to show you with this writing technique on how to organise your points and break them down for a topic which I will explore now.
#2 Organise your Content in the first 5 minutes
This is a common question which has appeared with unceasing regularity in exams.
Question : Discuss how the use of the Internet may or may not be helpful to us.
I have asked my students to organise the 3 Points for the Stand and 2 Points for the Rebuttal in 5 minutes. This is a very important writing technique to possess.
1st Point – The Internet makes everything faster and easier. Speeds up work.
Evidence – email, instant messaging. When did this become very rapidly used by everyone?
In Singapore, who uses it mostly? Specific group of people.
Elaborate – how it is very useful to yourself and fellow students. Personal comments/ views.
Link back – the Internet is definitely useful……
2nd Point – The Internet is useful to gain information.
Evidence – Information on location, background, history, information for projects or just to verify a piece of information. Booking apps.
Give examples
Elaborate – how it is useful for students – views.
Link back – this has made work easier.
3rd Point – The internet is useful for GPS
Evidence – travelling, commuting train/ bus/ walk…gives directions. Independence.
Give examples – how people use it on a daily basis. Travel apps.
Elaboration – mention before the internet and after…
Link back – life is so much easier. Simpler.
Rebuttal 1 – Fake news. Untrustworthy news sources through social media apps.
Evidence – Facebook.
Elaborate – give your views.
Link back – this is not helpful and many people are wary of social apps.
Rebuttal 2 – Internet scams/ hacks/ stalking.
Evidence – recent scams. Other examples.
Elaboration – not a safe place.
Link back – People have to be cautious.
Yes, we really did it in 5 minutes!! Isn’t this writing technique cool?
Every Point is followed by Evidence and Elaboration.
The link back should be done after that.
This is called writing in ‘PEEL’ format:
P – Point
E – Evidence
E – Elaboration
L – Link back
Why do I insist that you do this in the first 5 minutes?
That is because you will be able to concentrate on the flow of the essay and not be distracted by trying to think of points midway through your essay.
This will make your work seem more professional and you WILL get all your arguments done by the end of it.
These are the 2 special writing techniques that I have taught my students time and again to write a really successful essay.
There are many other techniques of course but these are the easiest and fastest ways to write successfully.
Try it today so that you will see how simple it really is.