Preface

Writing is both a challenging and interesting task that requires much writer’s attention, that is, it is a type of communication that expresses ideas and makes a chain between the writer and his readers. Thereby, it is unique, creative, and done for a purpose.

Among the most essential forms of academic writing are essays. Writers start to learn and write in college. They develop an idea in four or five paragraphs or a whole book, but the most commonly used are five paragraphs essays or timed essays because they can be written during the class period.

Our experience as teachers and writers has taught us that writing is the most difficult task that requires much practice. Learning how to write essays needs more basics rather than instructions, especially in classrooms. Indeed, classrooms are learning communities that are improved by evaluating their members’ writing skills. Henceforth, this booklet provides an unpretentious manner of teaching students how to write different types of essays through practices that reinforce their writing skills and provide them with a supportive learning environment that helps them to be good writers.

The book contains ten chapters. The first four chapters are devoted to essay writing starting with introducing the basic components of an essay and the process of writing with its different stages. Each type of writing is supported by examples. In this version, more importance was given to writing the thesis statement, structuring the topic sentences, and their textual evidence. While the last part displays essential explanations of argumentative, process, cause/effect, and comparison/contrast essays. Hence, this part addresses the writing process from paragraph to essay. The last two chapters shed light on how to write linguistics and literary analysis essays due to students’ needs and lack of knowledge on how to structure essays in linguistics and literary studies.

Through this version, the authors have also given importance to elements of writing including how to introduce definitions, mainly in the introduction section. How to prepare arguments and their counter-arguments has also a place in this chapter. Discussing previous scholarships is also present. Using examples, as a part of textual evidence, has also taken a place in the essay since the student cannot present his textual evidence without examples. Referencing and quoting are briefly introduced in the chapter.

This workbook offers activities and practices on topics that are linked to their daily lives. Furthermore, the different chapters supply the student with bases on the use of linking and transition signals.