ESSAY WRITING - THE SECRET TO WRITING A GOOD ESSAY

Why I can't write good English Essay for my PMR or SPM or any kind of English Essay writing exams? This is a very famous question asked by many local and foreign students, especially those who take English as their Second Language Studies.Be at peace, nobody is a born writer. You need to put a lot of hard work and time if you want to be a good writer.

Do you want to know how you can improve your English Essay Writing? In this post, I would like to share some of the methods I teach my students on how to improve their essay writing.The methods mentioned below are age old methods which are being used around the world by many teachers.

Pointer 1- Read some good English Novels 
 

Read as many books as you can. Read some good English novels. Observe how the writer uses different techniques and styles to tell the story. Good novel writers usually like to use simple and straightforward language. They also like to use a variety of literary devices to make their novel come to life. 

 

Pointer 2- Read Newspaper Articles

 

Read newspaper articles in your local English Dailies. For students sitting for SPM, read articles or news on family issues, health, accidents, sports, teenagers etc. Reading these articles can help to improve your vocabulary list and your grammar.You can read articles from the 'STAR' newspaper ( for weak students ) or from the 'News Straits Time' ( for those who have a good command of English).

 

 

Pointer 3- Read Articles From Magazines

 

Read good English Magazines like the Newsweek, Times ,Readers Digest etc. This method I would only recommend to those who have a good command of English. Articles from the Readers Digest have been used in SPM examinations before.

 

 

Pointer 4- Copy Back Sample Essays

Find some short essay samples and copy them into a work book. Read slowly as you copy them. This method is very helpful for those who are weak in writing a simple English essay.

 

 

Pointer 5- Group Discussion

 

Form a group and discuss and exchange ideas on how you can write a good essay. It would be helpful if you can find an English teacher or your friend who is good in English to help with your writing. 

 

Pointer 6- Don't Memorize Essays For Exam

This is my secret to being a good writer. Never memorize an essay for your examaminations. Many students like to cram their head memorizing few essays for their PMR or SPM examinations and just simply write without giving thought to what is actually required. This method will not help you in the long run when later you are in the real world. In the real world you'll have problems to write even a simple letter if you keep on with this method.

The best way to write an essay is through the 5 methods which I have mentioned above and a lot of hard work goes with it.

Remember, you can't be a good writer in a day. You need to start from young to be able to write a good English Essay. It is never to late to start even if you are only in Form 4 or Form 5. Perseverance and hardwork will always bear fruit. It is better to get a 'CREDIT' for your own essay rather than getting a 'DISTINCTION' memorizing someone else's essay.