Essay & Letter Writing

What this lesson covers

Essay & Letter Writing is a 10-part Class 7 English lesson. Each part makes one point and then hands over to the next, so it can be read in a sitting or picked up again at the part you stopped on. It defines the idea in plain words before using it, works through an example step by step, breaks the topic into its parts and compares them, shows where it is used outside the textbook, names the mistakes that cost marks in an exam, ends with a recap of what to remember.

How it begins

An essay is not a collection of everything you know about a topic. It is an argument: a position, supported by reasons and evidence. Every paragraph should move that argument forward. If a paragraph could be deleted without weakening the case, it probably should be. Before writing, be able to state your point in one sentence. If you cannot, the essay is not ready to be written.

The 10 parts

1. An essay makes a point
2. The structure
3. Planning before writing
4. Strengthening an argument by conceding
5. A formal letter that gets a response
6. Editing your own work
7. Where this transfers
8. Where it usually goes wrong
9. What to remember
10. Watch one worked through