Need help writing descriptive essay on first day of college?

Question

Need help writing descriptive essay on first day of college?

Answer 1

Here are my notes that I have collected about writing essays:



Essay Notes

Using Quotes:

-Use a colon

-Get rid of end punctuation except for ! and ?

-Put a period after ( ).

-Capitalize the first word of a quote

-No slant lines when indenting quotes

-Explain who the pronouns are referring to before the quote!



Persuasive Essay:

Intro

-Defines the controversy

-Explain opposing and pro sides

-Unbiased

-No one should know what side I’m on

-Thesis = KABOOM! Your argument/reveal what side you take.

Body

-Convince w/reason and evidence

-gather info, ed myself then bring in the big guns

-Method #1 – present con’s in one paragraph. This method is not as

strong because I don’t respond to each individually. Show flaws.

-Method #2 – match pro and con arguments in order to weight. 2 obvious concessions0 address one per paragraph, rebut one at a time

-Do not revisit your concessions. Idea: They have disappeared! Done! Don’t remind the reader of them

Conclusion

-not too broad

-be concrete

-restate thesis

-significance or why?

-If this were true…..

-What if?

General Essay Notes:

Topic Sentence- must support the thesis, come from the thesis, answer the question, be the 1st sentence the paragraph, related issues.

Elaboration- an idea, focused point, direct quotations

Constructing the Paragraph- create topic sentence, gather evidence

Body Paragraphs and Topic Sentences- build upon the claims made in the introductory paragraphs

Conclusion: reemphasize the points I made in my paper. It should have a call to action or speculate on the future of my topic, have no new claims



Tips for Writing Good Sentences

·Fix run-on sentences by rewriting the sentence or adding punctuation between two independent clauses.

·Correct sentence fragments by adding the missing subject or predicate to phrases or subordinate clauses.

·Eliminate faulty agreement by making subjects and predicates agree in person and number.

·Avoid misplaced modifiers by keeping them near the word they modify.

·Prevent faulty parallelism by matching grammatical structures in a sentence.

·Combine short, choppy sentences and vary word order for a smooth style.

Tips for Better Punctuation

·Commas should be used to join introductory clauses, after introductory clauses and phrases, to set off interrupting elements, with restrictive and nonrestrictive elements, with appositives, and between items or modifiers in a series.

·Semicolons are used to join closely connected independent clauses and between items in a series.

·Colons are used to introduce a list, formal statement, or restatement in a sentence.

·The dash, used to add interrupting phrases or clauses, and the parentheses, which sets off incidental information, should be used sparingly.

·Use quotation marks to identify quotes.

·Punctuation usually belongs inside the quotation marks.

Tips for Word Usage

·Watch out for frequently confused words.

·Hyphenate most compound adjectives that appear before a noun.

·Generally, spell compound adjectives that follow a noun and words with prefixes or suffixes as one word.

·Most compound adverbs are spelled as two words.

·Experience and a dictionary can help you choose the correct idiom when writing.

·Eliminate clichés, jargon, faddish words, and slang in your writing.

·Avoid redundant expressions and wordiness in writing.

Improving the Writing Process

·Be aware of your audience.

·Choose a topic that is narrowly defined and interesting to you.

·Begin by writing a thesis, an assertion about your topic.

·Develop several logical main ideas to support your thesis statements.

·Avoid plagiarism by identifying other writers' research and words with citations.

·Paraphrase long passages or main ideas in your own words.

·Organize your main ideas and outline them in writing before you begin drafting.

·Introductions should catch the reader's attention and provide a general orientation.

·Paragraphs should be unified around a central idea and connected to one another and to other paragraphs through transitional devices.

·Conclusions should bring all your main ideas together and leave the reader thinking.

·Never bring up new points or apologize in the conclusion.

·Always carefully edit and revise your drafts.







Constructing a Thesis:

-Answers a question

-Screams to be argued

-THESIS = TOPIC + SPECIFIC ASSERTION

-lets the reader know the main idea of the paper

-Answers the question: “what am I trying to prove?”

-Not a factual statement, but a claim that has to be proven throughout my paper

-it should guide the reader through my argument

Answer 2

If you are 40 to 50 years old, I think you can handle a descriptive essay. Just write an essay with alot of detail in the description.



Describe the beach, look, odor, how it makes you feel. The feeling of the sand in between your toes. The sound of the birds. The color of the sand, the color of the water, the temp of the water, the taste of the salt water, the feel of the wind, the color of the kids flying kites on the beach the color of the houses, etc.



You can do it.

Answer 3

Pick something you like,

chose a killer topic sentence.

LOVE your topic....

the school will help with the language issues.

You can do it!

Answer 4

So what do you need help with? We don't write essays for people here -- or at least we shouldn't. If you are just returning to school, you should know that plagiarism is taken VERY seriously these days and can actually get you expelled.



Here is a web site that will walk you through an essay step-by-step. It's quite good and should get you on the right track.



http://members.tripod.com/~lklivingston/essay/

Answer 5

First Day Of College Essay

Answer 6

Something palpable for college audience, eh? Search with the term "Socrates" in this Yahoo Answers site and describe the "Plato or Socrates, who is the real Socrates?" discussion in a stage play about only three characters, your professor, you, and a cartoon character of your choice. You can have in all happen in your bedroom - this will keep the production costs way down when you video tape this for YouTube or Yahoo Studio. Remember that I get a cut of the profits.

Answer 7

you cant make us do everything.

start with why, how, and etc.

describe how you feel, your school..

when will it start, what you expect

and roll it with bravery -

like making learning fun and gaining friends amidst the

pressure of the typical first day where every body

seems to be a stranger divided into teams that

you're worried you might not belong -

bring the positiveness of what first day will do for you.

Answer 8

Ok, first, is this a descriptive essay about you or descriptive about something else? How long is it supposed to be?



Here are some tips for descriptive essays:



Use descriptive language. Use adjectives! You want imagery in this piece. Don't just describe an object or a person. Paint a picture of them/it and make the reader really feel connected to the subject of your essay.



Provide details and make your description very dynamic. Pull the reader in with active verbs and active language.



Don't let your sentences get too long or you'll lose the reader. Use short sentences to draw attention, but don't overuse them.



If this is a descriptive assignment, sit down and think about the thing/person you are describing. Maybe brainstorm and write down the first things that come to mind when you think of this thing/person. This will give you a good starting point and you can weave all the ideas together.



Incorporate all of the senses--sound, touch, feel, etc.



Good luck! You'll do great!

Answer 9

Here are some guidelines from an online website. There many others--just google "how to write a descriptive essay" if you want several pieces of information. (Or see sources below)



Once you have written your essay, take it to your teacher for help with grammar and sentence structure, or talk to a counselor about how you might be able to get a tutor.



How to Write a Descriptive Essay



Descriptive essays are often subjective tasks. The first issue at hand is to make sure you know what type of paper you are writing. The descriptive essay is often creative, personal, or simply artistic. Discuss the assignment with your professor or teacher before you begin.



Even though your descriptive essay is more personal than a standard five-paragraph or compare-contrast essay, there is still quite a bit of homework to be done. Here is a list of important rules to follow as your write this essay.



Understand the concept

Do your research

Outline the paper

Write the paper

Re-write the paper

Edit (outside editors)

Descriptive essays rely on their nominal stature. It is more important to use imagery and metaphorical language than scientific data. Descriptive essays are not mathematic entries, nor are they always factual. They are opinions. Consequently, you can try to write and describe anything you desire. You simply have to do it well. As horrible as that sounds, your professors and teachers will tell you the same thing.



Here are some tips to remember when writing your descriptive essay:



Actually describe something

Use concrete and abstract images

Use concrete and abstract ideas

Do not go overboard with adjectives and adverbs

Do not go overboard with similes and metaphors

Give it to someone else to see if your essay actually describes something

While it may seem rather vague initially, sometimes a descriptive essay can be the most liberating and pleasurable essay to write. You are just writing something as you see it. If you can prove and describe an idea or image in language, then you have accomplished your task. Documentation and hard research are not always necessary components (although they may be).