Why an English Paper Is More Similar to a Math Formula Than You Might Think

Many students think of an English paper or essay as a big amoeba-like project they must tackle without any rhyme or reason to it. Because of this, when they begin working on a paper or an in-class essay, they just begin writing whatever comes first to mind. And then they write and write until at some point, they’ve run out of ideas. They’re stuck, having no clue as to what to write next, and usually they just continue writing and sometimes perform some type of essay editing before turning the paper in. However, students who realize that writing essays is less like creative writing or poetry and more like math can write English papers, essays, and research papers for any class quickly. Why? Because similar to working with material in Algebra, Physics, and Chemistry, they know how to apply formulas for whatever paper they have to write. The simple formula is outlining, writing, and essay editing, but below are the specific steps for applying the basic formula for a typical English paper. 1. First, before writing the paper or essay, write down the exact formula you are going to follow: That means outline! Your outline is the basic equation of your English paper. If you’re missing even one variable, your final solution will be wrong. The basic formula for an essay is: Introductory Paragraph + Body Paragraph(s) 1 + Body Paragraph(s) 2 + Body Paragraph(s) 3 + Concluding Paragraph = The Complete Paper. Just as you must have all of the variables of the Pythagorean Theorem and the Quadratic Formula, you can’t have a complete paper without one of these parts. Before you begin writing an English paper for homework or an essay in class, you should list the parts of this formula on scrap paper! Essay outlining is the first step to writing an excellent and well-organized English paper. 2. Now that you’ve written down the formula, fill in each part with the content needed for your specific paper: So for your Introductory Paragraph, you know that you must, must, must have a thesis. This is what you are going to try to prove in your paper. Before you begin writing, you should write underneath the Introductory Paragraph, your thesis statement. Beneath Body paragraph(s) 1, you should write what the topic sentence / your first claim that supports the thesis is. Then, you should list the evidence, including quotes, which you will use to directly support that claim. Finally, you should write a sentence or two for each piece of evidence that you have listed that explains the way in which the evidence ties into the claim. You should then proceed to follow this process for Body Paragraph(s) 2 and 3. Lastly, in your outline or formula, you should list underneath the words, “Concluding Paragraph,” the restatement of your thesis. When you eventually write this paragraph, you will restate your thesis, briefly reiterate the points of evidence you’ve cited in the body paragraphs, and then leave the reader with an interesting point about the topic to think about. 3. Now you’re ready to start plugging away and writing your paper: Great! Now you’ve written down the formula and plugged in the information for this particular problem or paper, similar to when you plug in numbers 3, 4, 5 for a2 + b2 = c2. After essay outlining, you’re ready to begin writing your English paper. Begin by writing the introduction, working your way down your paper from a general statement related to the subject matter and writing more specific sentences related to your thesis statement until you are at the end of the paragraph. At the end of the paragraph, write your thesis statement. Using your outline as a blueprint, continue writing your English paper, making sure that you do not leave any parts of the formula out until you reach the very last sentence of the concluding paragraph. 4. The last part of the process is double-checking your work: As you would double-check the steps you have taken in a math problem to reach your final solution, you should double-check what you have written to obtain your final essay. You should proofread, proofread, proofread the entire paper. Essay editing is a last and crucial part to ensuring that you have a great essay! For more information about our Private Tutoring Services visit our website: www.theteachingtutors.comrn