Guide to spelling, punctuation and grammar

P
RACTICE
1. Look at some of your past essays and having read them through,
consider how your concluding paragraph could have been improved.
Write an alternative closing paragraph to the one you wrote
originally.
2. Look at some exam questions from past papers. Prepare a brief plan
for one or two of them, then concentrate on writing a closing
paragraph to these based on your plan notes.
3. Read some feature articles from newspapers and analyse how the
closing paragraphs of these articles are written. Do they function
appropriately as conclusions to the articles?
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HE CLOSING PARAGRAPH

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5
SUMMARY OF 
ESSAY STRUCTURE
Your essay needs a beginning, a middle and an end. In
that order!
The opening, usually consisting of one paragraph for an
average-length essay, should get to grips with the set
topic immediately. Avoid just filling up space with empty
waffle. Say something specific without going into much
detail at this stage. Your intention at this stage should be
to alert the reader to the approach you are going to take
in the remainder (or the body) of the essay. Your ultimate
objective in this opening paragraph is to reassure your
reader that you are going to answer the topic that has been set, that your
approach is going to be detailed and structured and to get the essay off to
a relevant and brisk start.
The body of the essay is where you carry out what you have said you
would do in the opening paragraph. You need to write connected
paragraphs, each of which should deal with one key point. Express that
key point in a key sentence, usually the first sentence of the paragraph.
Use linking words and phrases to provide a sense of continuity and
development in your essay. Impress your assessor with the coherence,
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organisation and continuity of your essay. The body of the essay is the
section where the close detail of the essay is found. 
The concluding paragraph should round off your essay, drawing a
conclusion if you have been asked to do so, but certainly summarising
the content of your essay and leaving your assessor with the impression
that you have rounded it off succinctly and neatly.
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UMMARY OF ESSAY STRUCTURE

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