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Student ESL Essays
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Welcome to my ESL and English composition website. We try to put together as many
esl sample essays
as possible
to help you with your ESL Essay writing skills. We need
your help to make this project a success.
Topic: For you, what is the
main value or purpose for getting a college education? Explain
Sandra's Speech
Contest 30th October 2013 Taiwan Nan-Kai University of Technology
1. Getting
a college education ISN'T just about making more
money. Getting a college education isn't just about
fulfilling your parent's expectations. Getting a
college education IS an investment in the
future. People with higher education have more self
confidence, better employment opportunities and a
greater sense of job satisfaction.
2. Good
afternoon teachers, judges and fellow students. My name is
Sandra and the subject of my presentation today is "What is
the main value or purpose for getting a
college education?"
3. There
are many reasons why we want to have a college education.
For some people, a college education is a stepping stone
in the right direction which opens the door to a world of
opportunities. For others, a college education brings a
personal sense of achievement and accomplishment.
For me... a college education is a life changing experience
which prepares me for the challenges that lie ahead.
4. It
is true that people with higher education earn a higher
salary, and we all agree that highly educated people are financially better off and have a better sense of
self-worth. But what is even more important than that is
that a college education provides us with the opportunities
to learn outside the classroom, to interact with people, and
to learn to solve more of life's problems. What we are today
is the result of the cumulative experience of our
past journey in life, and what we experience today will
prepare us for the future and help us later in our lives in
ways that we can never imagine.
5. There
will always be those among us who would argue that there are
college graduates who went on to work at convenient stores,
or that there are high school students who later became
successful businessmen. But the question here is, how do you
want to define success? For me, success is to be the
best that I can be, and the only way I can achieve this goal
is by getting a college education.
6. When
more and more people become better educated, less and less
people will turn to crime to make a living. It is
only through higher education that we can hope to eradicate the evils of society, and narrow the gap
between the rich and the poor. It is only through educating
both the mind, and the heart, that there is hope for the
future of mankind.
7. I
would like to end my presentation today with a quote
from Nelson Mandela, "Education is the most powerful
weapon which you can use to change the world".
ESL
Essay :
Leisure Time
Everyone has
different ways of spending his or her free time. Write about
one or more ways that you like to spend your leisure time.
Do you exercise, read, play sports, shop, sleep, or study?
How often do you do this? Is this an activity that you do
alone or with a group? How does the activity help you relax,
clear your mind, or feel better?
(This ESL Essay incidentally,
was written by a friend of mine, who is an elementary school
teacher from Penghu Island Taiwan) |
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Everyone has different ways of spending
his or her free time. As for me, I usually do reading when I have
free time. Most of
the time, I read alone. I think
because of
through reading, I can find out
how beautiful this discover the beauty
of the
world. is.
When I was young, my parents were always
busy working.;
Therefore, they bought
me a lot of books to
keep me company accompany me.
Through reading, I have made
friends with the Three Little Pigs,
Snow White, Red Riding Hood, and so
on. Since then, reading is has
become an important part of my life. Books, magazines,
or newspaper are very handy to carry
around with. The smallness of
sizes and the lightweights
of reading materials made it very
convenient for me to put them into my handbag. so various
that I can pick up any size of them with me at anytime.
Besides,
Moreover, I can read
whenever and wherever I choose to. at anytime,
Even just a shred
during an interval of time, like
waiting for a bus or at break time
at in school or at work.;
Some people even use time to
read while they are in the toilets. In short, I can enjoy reading no
matter when or where.
In addition to the convenience, reading
also
enriches my life, brings
gives
me a lot of fun, and releases me
from the
my pressures
of modern living. I live in Taiwan
and I'm an elementary school teacher. While reading books
on of travel, like “Lonely
Planet” for example, I would
got to
know what about
other countries are like and what their
cultures and customs too. ; also,
I can also get to would know
about other peoples' stories
through reading their
biographies.
Besides, while reading, When I am
immersed in a novel for example,
I share can experience
the same feelings, such as
excitement, sadness and happiness,
with the characters in
the books. I went to the Hogwarts
with Harry Potter, fell in love with Romeo and Juliet, and decoded
secret ancient codes with The Da Vinci Code; all of which brought me
enormous pleasure. such a good
time. With Through
reading, I can
forget all about this material set
aside all the cares of this material
world and just dive into the world books provide. Reading
relieves me from the burdens of the life,
and serves as an outlet for my frustrations.
I usually do reading alone when I have free time. Reading alone
doesn't make me antisocial. mean
that I don't like to read with others.,
It is just because most of time,
I'm I happen to be alone when I
have free time. In short, doing reading when I'm free can broaden my
horizons, mind make me happy, and help me relax.
After
Correction
Everyone has different ways of spending his or her
free time. As for me, I usually do reading when I have free time.
Most of the time, I read alone. I
think through reading, I can
discover the beauty of the world.
When I was young, my parents were always
busy working.
Therefore, they bought
me a lot of books to
keep me company. Through reading, I
have made friends with
the Three Little Pigs, Snow White,
Red Riding Hood, and so on. Since
then, reading has become an
important part of my life. Books, magazines or newspaper are very
handy to carry around with. The
smallness of size and the
lightweight of reading materials
made it very convenient for me to put them into my handbag.
Moreover, I can read whenever and
wherever I choose to. Even
during an interval of time, like
waiting for a bus or at break time
in school or at work.
Some people even read while they
are in the toilets. In short, I can enjoy reading no matter when or
where.
In addition to the convenience, reading
also
enriches my life, gives me a
lot of fun, and releases me from the
pressures
of modern living. I live in Taiwan
and I'm an elementary school teacher. While reading books
on travel, like “Lonely Planet” for
example, I got to know
about other countries and their
cultures and customs too. I
can also get to know
about other peoples' stories
through their biographies.
When I am immersed in a novel for example,
I can experience the same
feelings, such as excitement,
sadness and happiness, with
the characters in
the books. I went to the Hogwarts
with Harry Potter, fell in love with Romeo and Juliet, and decoded
secret ancient codes with The Da Vinci Code; all of which brought me
enormous pleasure.
Through reading, I can
set aside all the cares of this material
world and just dive into the world books provide. Reading
relieves me from the burdens of life,
and serves as an outlet for my frustrations.
I usually do reading alone when I have free time. Reading alone
doesn't make me anti-social. It is
just because most of time, I happen to be
alone when I have free time. In short, doing reading when I'm
free can broaden my horizons, make
me happy, and help me relax.
Corrected and explained
Everyone has different ways of spending his or her free time. As for
me, I usually do reading when I have free time. Most of
the time,(“the”
is necessary here) I read alone. I think because of
(You are not wrong, but I just thought
“through” is a better word) through
reading, I can find out how beautiful this
(“discover” is a much more emotional word
than “find out”. “Beauty of the world” sounds better)
discover the beauty of the world.
is.
When I was young, my parents were always
(emphasize “always” to give it a
stronger feel) busy working.;
Therefore, they bought
me a lot of
(“a lot of” gives tells the reader more
than just buying “books”) books to
keep me company (You are not wrong,
but try “keeping me company” as a variation) accompany me.
Through reading, I have
(“have made”, “have eaten”, “have taken”)
made friends with the Three
Little Pigs, Snow White, Red Riding
(Don't forget the “Riding”) Hood,
and so on. Since then, reading is
has become
(“Has become” stresses the fact that
it was never before) an important part of my life. Books,
magazines, (No “,” when you have the
“or”) or newspaper are very handy
to carry around with. (emphasize
that you want to “carry them around”) The
smallness of sizes and the
lightweights
(“sizes and weights” is not wrong, but
sounds like an expression used in your science books) of
reading materials made it very convenient
for me to put them into my handbag.
(Make your description more graphic, like “putting in your handbag”
so the reader will try to picture or imagine what you are doing)
so various that I can pick up any size of them with me at anytime.
Besides, Moreover,
(meaning besides) I can read
whenever and wherever (meaning
anytime and anywhere) I choose to.
at anytime, Even just a
shred during an interval
(Not “shred of time” but “interval of time”)
of time, like waiting for a bus or
at
break time at in
school or at work.;
Some people even use time to
read while they are in the toilets. In short, I can enjoy reading no
matter when or where.
In addition to the convenience, reading
also
(“also” because it is an additional
point you are making) enriches my life, brings
gives
(“bring” is not wrong.)
me a lot of fun, and releases
me from the my pressures
of modern living.(Pressure
from what? Why not tell the reader it is from modern living)
I live in Taiwan and I'm an elementary school teacher. While reading
books on of travel,
like “Lonely Planet” for example
(“Lonely Planet” is a popular book about travel),
I would got to know what
about other countries are like
and what their cultures and customs
too. ; also, I can also get
to (“get to know” as in trying or
attempting to find out about something)
would know about
other peoples' stories through
reading their biographies.
Besides, while reading, When I am
immersed
(“immersed” as in very indulged or
very focused in doing something) in
a novel (Novel, why not tell what
you are reading) for example,
I share can experience
(“share's is alright, but experience
is a feeling of been into something physically. A more powerful way
to describe your feelings) the same feelings,
such as excitement, sadness and
happiness, with the characters in
the books. I went to the Hogwarts
with Harry Potter, fell in love with Romeo and Juliet, and decoded
secret ancient codes with The Da Vinci Code; all of which brought me
enormous pleasure.(“enormous”
means “big or huge”) such a good time. With
Through reading, I can forget
all about this material set aside all
the cares of this material (or all
the woes of this world. Meaning the worries or concerns)
world and just dive into the world books provide. Reading relieves
me from the burdens of the life,
and serves as an outlet for my frustrations.(An
“outlet” is a “channel” and in this context, it means to vent your
anger, or frustrations)
I usually do reading alone when I have free time. Reading alone
doesn't make me antisocial.(“Antisocial”
means not wanting to be around people or doing things that others
disapprove of, socially) mean
that I don't like to read with others.,
It is just because most of time,
I'm I happen to be
(“Happen to be” means “by chance” like “I
happened to see him at the department store) alone when I
have free time. In short, doing reading when I'm free can broaden my
horizons, (Your “horizons” are the
things you know, or your knowledge base, so to speak) mind
make me happy, and help me relax.
What is an ESL Essay?
One of the most common
written assignments you will be asked to prepare at university is an
ESL Essay.
An academic ESL Essay is a document or text
written in order to:
1. Analyze a topic closely
2. Develop
a point of view in relation to that topic through research and
thought
3. Persuade your reader that the point of view you have
developed is well supported by the ideas and
information you present
ESL Essays have three main parts
or stages:
The initial statement of the point of view
that you have developed in response to the topic
(sometimes
called the thesis statement). This part of the ESL Essay is the
introduction.
The argument or arguments which are
presented to support this point of view. This part is the body of
the ESL Essay.
The summary of the arguments and the
restatement of the overall point of view that has been
developed.
This part of the ESL Essay is the conclusion.
Writing the ESL Essay
When preparing an ESL Essay you undertake a number of
different activities:
1. Choosing a question
2. Analyzing
the question
3. Making an initial plan
4. Locating resources
5. Reading and noting
6. Writing the first draft
7.
Revising and redrafting.
You may find that you move backwards
and forwards among these activities. For example, when you
are writing your first draft you may constantly refer back to
your analysis of the question to make sure you are answering the
question. Sometimes as you read you discover ideas that you hadn’t
thought of or come across previously, and so you may need to locate
further resources.
Choosing a question
If you have a choice of ESL Essay questions you might consider
the following factors when deciding which ESL Essay to do:
1. Which topics interest you most?
2.
Which topics have good resource materials available?
3. Which
topics are most relevant to you personally or professionally?
4.
Which topics might be easiest for you to write about?
Analyzing the question
Analyzing the question enables you to keep your ESL Essay
on the topic by identifying the important parts of the ESL Essay
question. There are three main parts to an ESL Essay question
which you need to identify:
Task or directive
words such as ‘analyze’, ‘discuss’, ‘compare’. A list of commonly
used task words and an interpretation of what they mean has been
included at the end of this topic.
Information words.
This part of the question describes what content you will focus on
in the ESL Essay
Limits words. There are
two kinds of limits in ESL Essay questions. There are limits to the
information part of the question confining it, for example,
to a particular place, time or group. There are also limits set on
the length and time for the ESL Essay and sometimes limits on the
resources you are to use.
Commonly Used Task Words
|
Task
word |
Meaning |
|
analyse |
examine closely; examine something in terms of its parts
and how they are related to each other |
|
argue |
present a case for and/or against … |
|
assess |
decide
the value of … |
|
compare |
discuss two or more things in terms of their
similarities and differences |
|
contrast |
discuss two or more things, emphasizing their
differences |
|
criticise |
give a judgment about the
value of … and support that
judgment
with evidence |
|
define |
make
clear what is meant by …; use a definition or
definitions to explore the concept of … |
|
describe |
present a detailed account of … |
|
discuss |
consider and offer some interpretation or evaluation of
…; present and give a judgment on the value of arguments
for and against … |
|
enumerate |
give
an item by item account |
|
evaluate |
attempt to form a judgment about … |
|
examine |
inspect … in detail and investigate the implications |
|
explain |
make
clear the details of …; show the reason for, or
underlying cause of, or the means by which … occurs |
|
illustrate |
offer
an example or examples to show how or
that, or make concrete the concept of … |
|
interpret |
make
clear the meaning of … and its implications |
|
justify |
give
reasons why certain decisions should be made, or certain
conclusions reached |
|
outline |
go
through and identify briefly the main features of … |
|
prove |
show
by logical argument |
|
review |
report
the chief facts about …;offer a criticism of … |
|
summarise |
describe … concisely |
|
trace |
identify and describe the development or history of …
from some point, or from its origin |
Adapted from:
Marshall, L. &
Rowland, F. 1993 2nd Ed. A guide to learning independently.
Longman Cheshire, Milton, Qld.
Peters, P. (1985).
Strategies for student writers. Wiley & Sons, Melbourne.
Overall an ESL Essay
?? explains your position about a particular topic
?? may
be explaining or defending your position
?? may be reflective and
draw upon personal experience
?? set up with a stated thesis at
the beginning and supporting paragraphs
Common Types of
ESL Essays
?? descriptive
- provides details of how
something looks, feels, tastes, smells, etc.
- or what something
is
- or how something happened
- lost of details
- Ex: what
happened over your summer vacation
?? definition
- tries to define a specific term
- usually a word or concept
that is not concrete
- Ex. what is friendship
??
compare/contrast
- looks at how two things are the same
(compare)
- or different (contrast)
- or both
- lots of
details and facts
- Ex. school when your were a child and school
now
?? cause/effect
- why something happened
(cause)
- or what happened because it did happen (effect)
-
Ex. why tsunamis occur
?? process
- steps in how
to do something
- needs to follow a very logical order
- Ex.
how to distill salt from salt water
?? argumentative
(persuasive)
- tries to persuade the reader to the
writer’s point of view
- Ex. mandatory recycling
??
critical
- strengths and weaknesses of someone else’s
work
- Ex. the use of color in Monet’s paintings
Ex 1
Identify the topics below as to what type of ESL Essay they could be
a. critical b. argumentative c.
process d. cause/effect e. compare/contrast
f. definition g. descriptive
1. _____ public
transportation is better for the environment than driving
2.
_____ what happened to a town after a volcano erupted
3. _____
what honesty means
4. _____ what a skier has to do to become a
champion skier
5. _____ two ways of celebrating birthdays
6.
_____ how to be successful at math
7. _____ every college should
offer free basic courses to the public
8. _____ similes in the
work of poet Langston Hughes
How to Write a Good ESL Essay
So much goes into
writing a good paper. You need to know a lot, and that means
read a lot; you must sort through plenty of evidence, decide what
you make of it, decide what material will help you make your case,
and how to organize it. You must decide on your purpose, which means
you must decide what you’re trying to say, why it is worth saying,
and whom you’re speaking to. And once you’ve got the basic shape,
you must make decisions about how to introduce your paper, conclude
it, polish the sentences, integrate quotes, and so on.
You
can’t do that in one draft. Forget it. – But how, then, do you break
down the task? It helps to write an intermediate draft: one in which
you lay out the goals of the paper, your thesis (or at least, the
question you are trying to answer), the audience you imagine
yourself addressing, and above all, the evidence you’ve come up
with. We will call this the “research draft.”
It’s all
tentative! Please note: the research draft doesn’t set your paper in
stone. Your thesis may well change, and you may have to do more
research, or leave out some of the material you planned to include.
However, the research draft helps you make these decisions.
Content and Format
Your
research draft should present the following:
Thesis and
outline. Write the point you plan to make as a single,
declarative sentence. Then, in a
series of single, declarative
sentences, lay out your main supporting points. You can do this in
classic outline format, or simply as a list of sentences.
Evidence. Lay out the evidence you plan to use in your
paper. This should be organized in a bulleted list, or in paragraphs.
Distinguish between facts (actual information) and opinions
(people’s views on it) and identify the
name of the source (writer or publication).
Audience and
purpose. In a few single, declarative sentences, clarify who you
are talking to. This
is not the same as asking who will read
your paper. I will read your paper, and your classmates;
but you
are not really writing to us. You are writing to a
figure of your imagination, and the more clearly you can envisage
this person, the more easily you can clarify your purpose. Are you
trying to persuade someone of your thesis? Are you explaining a
complex issue to an outsider?
Problems. Here, explore
some of the difficulties you might have. (As you work through the
composition modules on using introductions, integrating quotes
and so on, you can consider those decisions here.) Do you think you
might struggle with organization? Are you still not sure of your
thesis? Do you need more information? Clarify here.
Sources. List your sources, giving full names of writer and
publication, date of publication, editor, or any other evidence that
you will need to include.
|
What is in Each Part of an
ESL Essay?
|
|
What are the
main parts of an ESL Essay? |
Introduction,
body, conclusion. |
|
Why is an ESL Essay divided into these
parts? |
This Arrangement makes the reader’s job easier. The
information is presented in an order that is clear and
logical. |
|
What are the
parts of an introduction? |
(1)
General topic,
(2) narrowing the focus,
(3) thesis |
|
Why does an
introduction have these parts? |
Organized in this way, an introduction gives background to
the topic and then focuses more and more on the specific
topic. This enables the reader to understand the thesis more
easily and completely. The reader can then read the body of
the ESL Essay while making predictions about the kinds of
information that will be given in the body. |
|
What kinds of information can be put into
each part? |
The
general topic contains background information, locating the
topic of the ESL Essay in a broader context. The next
part narrows the focus by providing more specific
information that the reader may need in order to understand
the thesis. The thesis then appears, giving the main
argument of the ESL Essay that follows. |
|
What are the
main parts of a body paragraph? |
(1) Topic
sentence and (2) support. |
|
Why does a body paragraph have these
parts? |
Beginning
with a topic sentence gives the reader a clear idea of what
kind of information is to follow. The support gives detailed
information relating to the topic sentence. |
What kinds of
information can be put into
the parts of a body
paragraph? |
ESL Essays
are open to all kinds of academic information and topics. |
|
What are the
parts of a conclusion? |
(1)
Commitment to the thesis,
(2) followed by expansion. |
What kinds of
information can be put into
the parts of a conclusion? |
If the writer
feels that he/she has proved the thesis, the thesis can
simply be restated here, usually in a different way.
In the expansion, the writer links the thesis with more
general related ideas that are not contained in the thesis.
One common expansion is to make predictions about the
future. Another is to generalize to a larger domain. |
|
What are some
common patterns of information in ESL Essays? |
Many longer
ESL Essays (and letters to the editor, business
documents, case studies, etc.) use the pattern: situation,
problem, solution, evaluation. Other common patterns also
occur. |
What kinds of
restrictions on vocabulary might occur in an ESL Essay? How
might these restrictions vary from one part of an ESL
Essay
to another? |
Vocabulary is topic related and academic (fairly formal).
The main variation in language use in an ESL Essay is
between general and specific, depending on what part of the
ESL Essay contains it.
The general topic at the beginning of the introduction is
very general. So is expansion at the end of the conclusion.
The support in the body paragraphs uses different degrees of
specific information, however. |
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
H |
I |
J |
K |
L |
M |
N |
O |
P |
Q |
R
|
S |
T |
U |
V |
W |
X |
Y |
Z
Index A
|
Index B
|
Index C
|
Index D |
Index E |
Index F |
Index G |
Original Uncorrected
Essays
www.my-english-writing.com
璣ゅ糶48ぱΘ砕
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