essay method

What is the Essay Method for Performance Appraisals?

While some would label it as the “grandfather” of performance appraisal methods, the essay method is still a commonly used appraisal method in a variety of business models. The essay method, sometimes known as the “free-form method,” is a performance review system where a superior creates a written review of the employee’s performance.

These essays are meant to describe and record an employee’s strengths and weaknesses in job performance, identifying problem areas and creating a plan of action to remedy them. Whether the essay is written by the appraiser alone, or in collaboration with the appraisee, essays provide supervisors the opportunity to assess behaviors and performance with greater complexity and attention to detail.

There are many reasons that the essay method--which was one of the first methods used to evaluate performance--is still effective today.

One of the most noteworthy aspects of essay appraisals is their free-form approach to performance reviews. Whereas some employers can feel limited by rigid performance appraisal criteria, the essay method takes a far less structured stance than typical rating scale methods. In so doing, the appraiser is able to examine any relevant issue or attribute of performance that is pertinent to an employee’s job description or overall company growth.

The essay method assumes that not all employee traits and behaviors can be neatly analyzed, dissected, and rated--instead, it allows appraisers to place varied degrees of emphasis on certain qualities, issues, or attributes that are appropriate. Rather than being locked into a fixed system, this open-ended method gives supervisors the freedom of expression and critical thought. For appraisers, there exist special services such as StudyCrumb , which help in writing accurate essays.

When preparing an essay, a supervisor may consider any of the following factors of an employee as they relate to the company and employee relationship: potential and job knowledge, understanding of the company’s policies, relationships with peers and supervisors, planning and organization, and general attitudes and perceptions. This thorough, non-quantitative assessment provides a good deal more information about an employee than most other performance appraisal techniques.

However, as with all performance appraisal methods, there are a few limitations that the essay method suffers from that are worth examining.

One of the major drawbacks of the essay method is its highly subjective nature--they are often subject to bias, and it can be difficult to separate the assessment of the employee from the bias of the evaluator. While the essay can provide a good deal of information about the employee, it tends to tell more about the evaluator than the one being evaluated.

Another element that essays leave out (that other appraisal methods rely heavily on) is comparative results. Instead of utilizing standardized, numeric questions, these appraisals rely only on open-ended questions. While the essay method gives managers the ability to provide detailed and circumstantial information on a specific employee’s performance, it removes the component of comparing performance with other employees. This often makes it difficult for HR to distinguish top performers.

Overall, the appraisal method’s greatest advantage--the freedom of expression for the evaluator--can also serve as its greatest handicap. Even the actual writing of the reviews can upset or distort the process of employee appraisals, as the introduction of inconsistent, unorganized, or poor writing styles can distort and upset the review process. An employee may be unfairly helped or harmed by an evaluator’s writing ability. An evaluator can also find themselves lacking sufficient time to prepare the essay, and can write an essay hurriedly without accurately assessing an employee’s performance.

What is the essay method best used for?

Appraisal by essay is generally most effective in performance reviews for employees with atypical job descriptions or non-numerical goals. While other appraisals work well in analyzing performance for jobs that are subject to goals based on numbers, essays offer a more subjective analysis of performance for employees with managerial or customer service positions.

When analyzing production, the essay method is most effective in combination with another appraisal method. Using a graphic rating scale along with essay appraisals allows one method to focus solely on numbers, while the essay portion can be used to analyze other performance goals.

Doing essay appraisals right

Here are 3 things to strive for in order to set your company up for success in essay performance appraisals:

• Consistency.

Keeping a standard for style and length of essay appraisals can make the biggest difference in ensuring that your reviews are effective. Essays that are unstructured and unnecessarily complex can be detrimental to an employee’s rating, as well as using unspecific, flowery language that is not relevant to the employee’s performance. In order to remain efficient and effective, today’s evaluators should focus on making appraisal essays short and specific, ensuring that the entire review reflects the performance of the employee.

The appraiser should also ensure that they are making sufficient time in their schedule to prepare the essay. A busy evaluator may compromise an employee’s performance rating by writing a hurried essay, or running out of time to thoroughly assess employee performance. It’s important for all participants of essay appraisals to take enough time to write a consistent, accurate, and succinct review in order to set employees up for success.

2. Proficiency.

If you’ve chosen to use essay appraisals in your organization, it’s important to ensure that your appraisers possess the ability to write well. Even if an essay contains detailed, circumstantial information, it becomes difficult to extract valuable data from a poorly written essay. To ensure that nothing stands between an HR professional’s ability to assess an employee’s performance, evaluators should be trained as well-equipped writers.

Giving writing assistant tools or tips to supervisors can make all the difference in the accuracy and efficiency of an employee’s performance review.

2. Objectivity.

Subjectivity is both a strength and a weakness in essay appraisals. Not only are essays themselves often biased, but the misinterpretation of essays can even further distance the main evaluator from an accurate portrayal of an employee’s performance. Including objective standards in a performance review results in a more balanced and productive review process, and helps to eliminate the forming of incorrect conclusions about an employee’s behavior and performance.

Organizations often implement this goal by pairing essay appraisals with another appraisal method, such as graphic scale ratings, to draw more accurate conclusions and performance data. In so doing, evaluators can utilize all of the free expression and open-ended characteristics of an essay appraisal, while still maintaining accurate, easily translated results that are effective for the overall organization.

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How To Write An Essay: Beginner Tips And Tricks

Updated: July 11, 2022

Published: June 22, 2021

Many students dread writing essays, but essay writing is an important skill to develop in high school, university, and even into your future career. By learning how to write an essay properly, the process can become more enjoyable and you’ll find you’re better able to organize and articulate your thoughts.

When writing an essay, it’s common to follow a specific pattern, no matter what the topic is. Once you’ve used the pattern a few times and you know how to structure an essay, it will become a lot more simple to apply your knowledge to every essay. 

No matter which major you choose, you should know how to craft a good essay. Here, we’ll cover the basics of essay writing, along with some helpful tips to make the writing process go smoothly.

Photo by Laura Chouette on Unsplash

Types of Essays

Think of an essay as a discussion. There are many types of discussions you can have with someone else. You can be describing a story that happened to you, you might explain to them how to do something, or you might even argue about a certain topic. 

When it comes to different types of essays, it follows a similar pattern. Like a friendly discussion, each type of essay will come with its own set of expectations or goals. 

For example, when arguing with a friend, your goal is to convince them that you’re right. The same goes for an argumentative essay. 

Here are a few of the main essay types you can expect to come across during your time in school:

Narrative Essay

This type of essay is almost like telling a story, not in the traditional sense with dialogue and characters, but as if you’re writing out an event or series of events to relay information to the reader.

Persuasive Essay

Here, your goal is to persuade the reader about your views on a specific topic.

Descriptive Essay

This is the kind of essay where you go into a lot more specific details describing a topic such as a place or an event. 

Argumentative Essay

In this essay, you’re choosing a stance on a topic, usually controversial, and your goal is to present evidence that proves your point is correct.

Expository Essay

Your purpose with this type of essay is to tell the reader how to complete a specific process, often including a step-by-step guide or something similar.

Compare and Contrast Essay

You might have done this in school with two different books or characters, but the ultimate goal is to draw similarities and differences between any two given subjects.

The Main Stages of Essay Writing

When it comes to writing an essay, many students think the only stage is getting all your ideas down on paper and submitting your work. However, that’s not quite the case. 

There are three main stages of writing an essay, each one with its own purpose. Of course, writing the essay itself is the most substantial part, but the other two stages are equally as important.

So, what are these three stages of essay writing? They are:

Preparation

Before you even write one word, it’s important to prepare the content and structure of your essay. If a topic wasn’t assigned to you, then the first thing you should do is settle on a topic. Next, you want to conduct your research on that topic and create a detailed outline based on your research. The preparation stage will make writing your essay that much easier since, with your outline and research, you should already have the skeleton of your essay.

Writing is the most time-consuming stage. In this stage, you will write out all your thoughts and ideas and craft your essay based on your outline. You’ll work on developing your ideas and fleshing them out throughout the introduction, body, and conclusion (more on these soon).

In the final stage, you’ll go over your essay and check for a few things. First, you’ll check if your essay is cohesive, if all the points make sense and are related to your topic, and that your facts are cited and backed up. You can also check for typos, grammar and punctuation mistakes, and formatting errors.  

The Five-Paragraph Essay

We mentioned earlier that essay writing follows a specific structure, and for the most part in academic or college essays , the five-paragraph essay is the generally accepted structure you’ll be expected to use. 

The five-paragraph essay is broken down into one introduction paragraph, three body paragraphs, and a closing paragraph. However, that doesn’t always mean that an essay is written strictly in five paragraphs, but rather that this structure can be used loosely and the three body paragraphs might become three sections instead.

Let’s take a closer look at each section and what it entails.

Introduction

As the name implies, the purpose of your introduction paragraph is to introduce your idea. A good introduction begins with a “hook,” something that grabs your reader’s attention and makes them excited to read more. 

Another key tenant of an introduction is a thesis statement, which usually comes towards the end of the introduction itself. Your thesis statement should be a phrase that explains your argument, position, or central idea that you plan on developing throughout the essay. 

You can also include a short outline of what to expect in your introduction, including bringing up brief points that you plan on explaining more later on in the body paragraphs.

Here is where most of your essay happens. The body paragraphs are where you develop your ideas and bring up all the points related to your main topic. 

In general, you’re meant to have three body paragraphs, or sections, and each one should bring up a different point. Think of it as bringing up evidence. Each paragraph is a different piece of evidence, and when the three pieces are taken together, it backs up your main point — your thesis statement — really well.

That being said, you still want each body paragraph to be tied together in some way so that the essay flows. The points should be distinct enough, but they should relate to each other, and definitely to your thesis statement. Each body paragraph works to advance your point, so when crafting your essay, it’s important to keep this in mind so that you avoid going off-track or writing things that are off-topic.

Many students aren’t sure how to write a conclusion for an essay and tend to see their conclusion as an afterthought, but this section is just as important as the rest of your work. 

You shouldn’t be presenting any new ideas in your conclusion, but you should summarize your main points and show how they back up your thesis statement. 

Essentially, the conclusion is similar in structure and content to the introduction, but instead of introducing your essay, it should be wrapping up the main thoughts and presenting them to the reader as a singular closed argument. 

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Steps to Writing an Essay

Now that you have a better idea of an essay’s structure and all the elements that go into it, you might be wondering what the different steps are to actually write your essay. 

Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Instead of going in blind, follow these steps on how to write your essay from start to finish.

Understand Your Assignment

When writing an essay for an assignment, the first critical step is to make sure you’ve read through your assignment carefully and understand it thoroughly. You want to check what type of essay is required, that you understand the topic, and that you pay attention to any formatting or structural requirements. You don’t want to lose marks just because you didn’t read the assignment carefully.

Research Your Topic

Once you understand your assignment, it’s time to do some research. In this step, you should start looking at different sources to get ideas for what points you want to bring up throughout your essay. 

Search online or head to the library and get as many resources as possible. You don’t need to use them all, but it’s good to start with a lot and then narrow down your sources as you become more certain of your essay’s direction.

Start Brainstorming

After research comes the brainstorming. There are a lot of different ways to start the brainstorming process . Here are a few you might find helpful:

• Think about what you found during your research that interested you the most
• Jot down all your ideas, even if they’re not yet fully formed
• Create word clouds or maps for similar terms or ideas that come up so you can group them together based on their similarities
• Try freewriting to get all your ideas out before arranging them

Create a Thesis

This is often the most tricky part of the whole process since you want to create a thesis that’s strong and that you’re about to develop throughout the entire essay. Therefore, you want to choose a thesis statement that’s broad enough that you’ll have enough to say about it, but not so broad that you can’t be precise. 

Write Your Outline

Armed with your research, brainstorming sessions, and your thesis statement, the next step is to write an outline. 

In the outline, you’ll want to put your thesis statement at the beginning and start creating the basic skeleton of how you want your essay to look. 

A good way to tackle an essay is to use topic sentences . A topic sentence is like a mini-thesis statement that is usually the first sentence of a new paragraph. This sentence introduces the main idea that will be detailed throughout the paragraph. 

If you create an outline with the topic sentences for your body paragraphs and then a few points of what you want to discuss, you’ll already have a strong starting point when it comes time to sit down and write. This brings us to our next step… 

Write a First Draft

The first time you write your entire essay doesn’t need to be perfect, but you do need to get everything on the page so that you’re able to then write a second draft or review it afterward. 

Everyone’s writing process is different. Some students like to write their essay in the standard order of intro, body, and conclusion, while others prefer to start with the “meat” of the essay and tackle the body, and then fill in the other sections afterward. 

Make sure your essay follows your outline and that everything relates to your thesis statement and your points are backed up by the research you did. 

Revise, Edit, and Proofread

The revision process is one of the three main stages of writing an essay, yet many people skip this step thinking their work is done after the first draft is complete. 

However, proofreading, reviewing, and making edits on your essay can spell the difference between a B paper and an A.

After writing the first draft, try and set your essay aside for a few hours or even a day or two, and then come back to it with fresh eyes to review it. You might find mistakes or inconsistencies you missed or better ways to formulate your arguments.

Add the Finishing Touches

Finally, you’ll want to make sure everything that’s required is in your essay. Review your assignment again and see if all the requirements are there, such as formatting rules, citations, quotes, etc. 

Go over the order of your paragraphs and make sure everything makes sense, flows well, and uses the same writing style . 

Once everything is checked and all the last touches are added, give your essay a final read through just to ensure it’s as you want it before handing it in. 

A good way to do this is to read your essay out loud since you’ll be able to hear if there are any mistakes or inaccuracies.

Essay Writing Tips

With the steps outlined above, you should be able to craft a great essay. Still, there are some other handy tips we’d recommend just to ensure that the essay writing process goes as smoothly as possible.

• Start your essay early. This is the first tip for a reason. It’s one of the most important things you can do to write a good essay. If you start it the night before, then you won’t have enough time to research, brainstorm, and outline — and you surely won’t have enough time to review.
• Don’t try and write it in one sitting. It’s ok if you need to take breaks or write it over a few days. It’s better to write it in multiple sittings so that you have a fresh mind each time and you’re able to focus.
• Always keep the essay question in mind. If you’re given an assigned question, then you should always keep it handy when writing your essay to make sure you’re always working to answer the question.
• Use transitions between paragraphs. In order to improve the readability of your essay, try and make clear transitions between paragraphs. This means trying to relate the end of one paragraph to the beginning of the next one so the shift doesn’t seem random.
• Integrate your research thoughtfully. Add in citations or quotes from your research materials to back up your thesis and main points. This will show that you did the research and that your thesis is backed up by it.

Wrapping Up

Writing an essay doesn’t need to be daunting if you know how to approach it. Using our essay writing steps and tips, you’ll have better knowledge on how to write an essay and you’ll be able to apply it to your next assignment. Once you do this a few times, it will become more natural to you and the essay writing process will become quicker and easier.

If you still need assistance with your essay, check with a student advisor to see if they offer help with writing. At University of the People(UoPeople), we always want our students to succeed, so our student advisors are ready to help with writing skills when necessary. 

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Using the "Hamburger Method" to Write an Essay: Overview

• Planning the Essay
• Writing Paragraphs

The diagram to the left can help you easily remember the simple essay structure.

Emma Dunn, Writing and Multimodal Communication Speciliast at the University of Waterloo, explains:

In short, each ingredient of the hamburger represents a different paragraph of the essay. It starts with an introduction paragraph and ends with a conclusion paragraph, represented by the top and bottom buns, respectively. Just like a real burger bun, these paragraphs frame the juicy contents inside – the body paragraphs – which are each represented by a different topping: lettuce, tomato, or patty.

Pay attention to the order of toppings in the hamburger essay. The lettuce comes first; it’s light and flimsy, representing one of the lighter arguments of the paper. The tomato is somewhat more robust (in terms of argument), while the patty at the end is the true “meat” of the essay. Just like the toppings of a hamburger in real-life, the body paragraphs build on one another to fill out the paper, giving it substance and flavour.

Dunn, Emma, "How to Turn the High School "Hamburger" Essay into a University-level Paper." Writing and Communication Centre: September 14, 2020. University of Waterloo. Accessed November 24, 2023. https://uwaterloo.ca/writing-and-communication-centre/blog/how-turn-high-school-hamburger-essay-university-level-paper. 

• Next: Planning the Essay >>
• Last Updated: Nov 25, 2023 12:41 AM
• URL: https://library.cdu.edu/hamburger-method

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Essay Writing: A complete guide for students and teachers

P LANNING, PARAGRAPHING AND POLISHING: FINE-TUNING THE PERFECT ESSAY

Essay writing is an essential skill for every student. Whether writing a particular academic essay (such as persuasive, narrative, descriptive, or expository) or a timed exam essay, the key to getting good at writing is to write. Creating opportunities for our students to engage in extended writing activities will go a long way to helping them improve their skills as scribes.

But, putting the hours in alone will not be enough to attain the highest levels in essay writing. Practice must be meaningful. Once students have a broad overview of how to structure the various types of essays, they are ready to narrow in on the minor details that will enable them to fine-tune their work as a lean vehicle of their thoughts and ideas.

In this article, we will drill down to some aspects that will assist students in taking their essay writing skills up a notch. Many ideas and activities can be integrated into broader lesson plans based on essay writing. Often, though, they will work effectively in isolation – just as athletes isolate physical movements to drill that are relevant to their sport. When these movements become second nature, they can be repeated naturally in the context of the game or in our case, the writing of the essay.

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Planning an essay

The Boys Scouts’ motto is famously ‘Be Prepared’. It’s a solid motto that can be applied to most aspects of life; essay writing is no different. Given the purpose of an essay is generally to present a logical and reasoned argument, investing time in organising arguments, ideas, and structure would seem to be time well spent.

Given that essays can take a wide range of forms and that we all have our own individual approaches to writing, it stands to reason that there will be no single best approach to the planning stage of essay writing. That said, there are several helpful hints and techniques we can share with our students to help them wrestle their ideas into a writable form. Let’s take a look at a few of the best of these:

BREAK THE QUESTION DOWN: UNDERSTAND YOUR ESSAY TOPIC.

Whether students are tackling an assignment that you have set for them in class or responding to an essay prompt in an exam situation, they should get into the habit of analyzing the nature of the task. To do this, they should unravel the question’s meaning or prompt. Students can practice this in class by responding to various essay titles, questions, and prompts, thereby gaining valuable experience breaking these down.

Have students work in groups to underline and dissect the keywords and phrases and discuss what exactly is being asked of them in the task. Are they being asked to discuss, describe, persuade, or explain? Understanding the exact nature of the task is crucial before going any further in the planning process, never mind the writing process .

BRAINSTORM AND MIND MAP WHAT YOU KNOW:

Once students have understood what the essay task asks them, they should consider what they know about the topic and, often, how they feel about it. When teaching essay writing, we so often emphasize that it is about expressing our opinions on things, but for our younger students what they think about something isn’t always obvious, even to themselves.

Brainstorming and mind-mapping what they know about a topic offers them an opportunity to uncover not just what they already know about a topic, but also gives them a chance to reveal to themselves what they think about the topic. This will help guide them in structuring their research and, later, the essay they will write . When writing an essay in an exam context, this may be the only ‘research’ the student can undertake before the writing, so practicing this will be even more important.

RESEARCH YOUR ESSAY

The previous step above should reveal to students the general direction their research will take. With the ubiquitousness of the internet, gone are the days of students relying on a single well-thumbed encyclopaedia from the school library as their sole authoritative source in their essay. If anything, the real problem for our students today is narrowing down their sources to a manageable number. Students should use the information from the previous step to help here. At this stage, it is important that they:

●      Ensure the research material is directly relevant to the essay task

●      Record in detail the sources of the information that they will use in their essay

●      Engage with the material personally by asking questions and challenging their own biases

●      Identify the key points that will be made in their essay

●      Group ideas, counterarguments, and opinions together

●      Identify the overarching argument they will make in their own essay.

Once these stages have been completed the student is ready to organise their points into a logical order.

WRITING YOUR ESSAY

There are a number of ways for students to organize their points in preparation for writing. They can use graphic organizers , post-it notes, or any number of available writing apps. The important thing for them to consider here is that their points should follow a logical progression. This progression of their argument will be expressed in the form of body paragraphs that will inform the structure of their finished essay.

The number of paragraphs contained in an essay will depend on a number of factors such as word limits, time limits, the complexity of the question etc. Regardless of the essay’s length, students should ensure their essay follows the Rule of Three in that every essay they write contains an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

Generally speaking, essay paragraphs will focus on one main idea that is usually expressed in a topic sentence that is followed by a series of supporting sentences that bolster that main idea. The first and final sentences are of the most significance here with the first sentence of a paragraph making the point to the reader and the final sentence of the paragraph making the overall relevance to the essay’s argument crystal clear. 

Though students will most likely be familiar with the broad generic structure of essays, it is worth investing time to ensure they have a clear conception of how each part of the essay works, that is, of the exact nature of the task it performs. Let’s review:

Common Essay Structure

Introduction: Provides the reader with context for the essay. It states the broad argument that the essay will make and informs the reader of the writer’s general perspective and approach to the question.

Body Paragraphs: These are the ‘meat’ of the essay and lay out the argument stated in the introduction point by point with supporting evidence.

Conclusion: Usually, the conclusion will restate the central argument while summarising the essay’s main supporting reasons before linking everything back to the original question.

ESSAY WRITING PARAGRAPH WRITING TIPS

●      Each paragraph should focus on a single main idea

●      Paragraphs should follow a logical sequence; students should group similar ideas together to avoid incoherence

●      Paragraphs should be denoted consistently; students should choose either to indent or skip a line

●      Transition words and phrases such as alternatively , consequently , in contrast should be used to give flow and provide a bridge between paragraphs.

HOW TO EDIT AN ESSAY

Students shouldn’t expect their essays to emerge from the writing process perfectly formed. Except in exam situations and the like, thorough editing is an essential aspect in the writing process. 

Often, students struggle with this aspect of the process the most. After spending hours of effort on planning, research, and writing the first draft, students can be reluctant to go back over the same terrain they have so recently travelled. It is important at this point to give them some helpful guidelines to help them to know what to look out for. The following tips will provide just such help: 

One Piece at a Time: There is a lot to look out for in the editing process and often students overlook aspects as they try to juggle too many balls during the process. One effective strategy to combat this is for students to perform a number of rounds of editing with each focusing on a different aspect. For example, the first round could focus on content, the second round on looking out for word repetition (use a thesaurus to help here), with the third attending to spelling and grammar.

Sum It Up: When reviewing the paragraphs they have written, a good starting point is for students to read each paragraph and attempt to sum up its main point in a single line. If this is not possible, their readers will most likely have difficulty following their train of thought too and the paragraph needs to be overhauled.

Let It Breathe: When possible, encourage students to allow some time for their essay to ‘breathe’ before returning to it for editing purposes. This may require some skilful time management on the part of the student, for example, a student rush-writing the night before the deadline does not lend itself to effective editing. Fresh eyes are one of the sharpest tools in the writer’s toolbox.

Read It Aloud: This time-tested editing method is a great way for students to identify mistakes and typos in their work. We tend to read things more slowly when reading aloud giving us the time to spot errors. Also, when we read silently our minds can often fill in the gaps or gloss over the mistakes that will become apparent when we read out loud.

Phone a Friend: Peer editing is another great way to identify errors that our brains may miss when reading our own work. Encourage students to partner up for a little ‘you scratch my back, I scratch yours’.

Use Tech Tools: We need to ensure our students have the mental tools to edit their own work and for this they will need a good grasp of English grammar and punctuation. However, there are also a wealth of tech tools such as spellcheck and grammar checks that can offer a great once-over option to catch anything students may have missed in earlier editing rounds.

Putting the Jewels on Display: While some struggle to edit, others struggle to let go. There comes a point when it is time for students to release their work to the reader. They must learn to relinquish control after the creation is complete. This will be much easier to achieve if the student feels that they have done everything in their control to ensure their essay is representative of the best of their abilities and if they have followed the advice here, they should be confident they have done so.

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The Essay Method of Performance Appraisal

by Danielle Smyth

Published on 9 Aug 2019

The question of how to effectively gauge an employee’s performance on the job has been answered many times in many different ways, but there’s certainly no one agreed-upon method recommended by the human resources industry. Most experts agree that performance management is a critical part of having a successful business in today’s world and that effectively managing, developing and evaluating employees leads to a more efficient workforce and better company culture.

However, it’s deciding how to implement it within a certain company structure that can be challenging, and implementation is key to keeping the process effective rather than disruptive. The essay method of performance appraisal can be a great choice due to its thorough, thoughtful and unobtrusive nature.

Secrets to Effective Performance Appraisals

The truth is that effective performance appraisals take time. They take up the manager’s time, the employee’s time and the time of human resources, and they can potentially take up the time of teammates and co-workers who are asked about projects and collaboration.

For them to mean something, the process needs to be taken seriously, but that always must be balanced against the forward motion of the company and the day-to-day workloads of the employees in question.

Methods of Performance Appraisal

There are a number of methods used in today’s industries to evaluate employees. All of them require some sort of performance standard to be set at first and then an evaluation over a set period of time against that standard.

Some methods of review can be more effective than others, but some also require more dedicated time and thought from the manager or other evaluator. Some of the more common methods include the checklist method, the comparison or forced distribution method and the essay method.

Checklist Method of Performance Appraisal

With the checklist method, an employee is judged against a list of criteria. The criteria have been developed for the level or job of the employee, and usually all employees at similar levels are evaluated against it.

• Yes/no checklists simply ask the evaluator to determine whether the employee exhibits the behavior defined in each criterion: for example, “comes to work on time,” “frequently contributes to group discussions” or “meets daily safety requirements.” It’s important to make sure that all criteria are phrased so that a "yes" is the desired answer because it can be very easy to confuse an evaluation when this isn’t the case. This provides a very simple and straightforward way of judging performance but won’t get into much nuance of individual strengths and weaknesses and may not do much to differentiate one employee from another.
• Leveled checklists ask the evaluator to rate the employee on some sort of scale for each criterion. This could be a scale from one to five where five is optimal, or it could be a verbal scale with levels like “needs improvement,” “meets expectations” and “exceeds expectations.” Criteria might be “completes work within the timeline,” “collaborates with other departments” or “shows technical expertise.” These scaled ratings provide more nuance into each individual employee and should help highlight strengths as well as areas for improvement, but they require the manager to take more time to understand the performance within the department.

Comparison or Forced Distribution Methods

Comparison or forced distribution methods rate employees comparatively and against each other. This can be done in cases where an organization is rather flat, and it makes sense to compare a collection of employees together. The downside is that it can create a false sense of competition within employee groups or can result in bad attitudes.

• Paired evaluations give the evaluator a set of employee comparisons and asks him to choose who is the better employee. This is normally done within a department. For example, a department of four employees would end up with six pairs for comparison, and the evaluator (or team) would then select the best employee within each pair. For larger departments, this can be time consuming for the evaluators.
• Rankings simply ask the evaluator to rank employees from best to worst. This method is fully based on the perception of the evaluator and is not entirely popular because it is not systematic and can be easily affected by undiscovered bias on the part of the evaluator. It is, however, relatively easy to do for any manager who knows the team well.
• Forced distribution methods focus on the fact that most evaluators tend to rate their employees well. It requires the evaluators to meet a set distribution within their evaluations such that each evaluation finds poor performers as well as excellent ones. While this can be a way to identify areas for improvement, it can also be read as having to meet a quota with ratings, which can lead to dissent.

Essay Evaluation Method

The essay method is a fairly straightforward approach in which the manager or evaluator writes a descriptive essay about each employee. The essay would cover the employees' achievements throughout the evaluation period as well as their strengths and weaknesses. The essay format gives the evaluators the flexibility to focus on whatever they personally find important about the individual’s performance.

However, the essay method can be time consuming for the manager, and it requires a certain level of writing skill for the evaluation to be meaningful. It also is unlikely to be systematic, which can make it difficult to compare evaluations from person to person.

Performance Appraisal Essays

The performance evaluation essay is maybe the most interesting of the methods, as it allows a manager to genuinely express thoughts about the employee in question rather than having to work with a template or list of criteria or comparisons.

There are advantages to this, mainly in allowing the appraisers to focus on what they feel is important for each individual whom they are evaluating. The downside of this apparent freedom is because the entire essay is subjective based on the evaluator’s approach, it becomes difficult to obtain any big-picture conclusions about the department, and it can be difficult to compare employees within a certain group.

The key to a successful performance appraisal essay is the writing skills of the person assembling it . Her attention to basic essay structure and her descriptions of the behaviors on which she focuses will determine whether the right message will get across during the evaluation, both to the employee and to the team of other managers and human resources employees who may be involved with ratings, promotions and improvement plans. Some attention to basic essay-writing principles should help the evaluator construct an essay that will be meaningful to all parties involved.

" id="basic-essay-writing " class="title"> Basic Essay Writing

The following are essential to the writing of an effective performance appraisal essay:

• Preparation: For any essay, the first step is to gather information about the topic at hand. In this case, the manager should take the time to review past performance, current expectations and future needs for each employee whom he intends to evaluate. Review the employee’s achievements this year and examine reports and project records to get a full picture of performance.
• Evaluation: Once the information is at hand, it’s important to spend time connecting the dots to figure out what story the essay needs to tell about the employee’s performance. Identify any changes in the employee’s performance over the evaluation period and establish a list containing the behaviors that have been commendable and in which areas the employee could use improvement.
• Creation: Construct the essay in a manner that suits the manager’s writing style. Be sure to use professional, fair language and describe in words the successes and challenges of the employee’s work over this time period. 

Writing the Essay

The essay should open with an introduction summarizing the work completed by the employee during the evaluation period. Be sure to note key projects and pay attention to ongoing work as well as completed jobs. This is the time to discuss what the employee has done and recognize his overall contribution to the business. For example:

Jon successfully supported the infrastructure team, the McAce project and the office renovations project with technical drawings and materials lists as requested. He personally was able to complete the ventilation upgrade project, which ran over schedule but came in under budget. He submitted all monthly reports on time and took a training course this year to improve his skills at AutoCAD.

Highlight Employee Successes

The next portion of the essay should highlight some real successes for the employee. Mention his strengths and any areas where he has shown visible improvement over past performance. In this portion, focus less on what was done and more on how it was done. To continue the example:

Jon’s skill at estimation has improved greatly over the past year, with only one of his personal projects running over budget (as compared to at least 50 percent the previous year). This makes it much easier for the department to manage our overall budget appropriately and is greatly appreciated. Jon has been described as “friendly” and “personable” by his teammates, who have no problem approaching him when they need a drawing or have a question. He also had huge success with his contributions to the McAce project, which would have fallen behind schedule without his work.

Outline Areas for Improvement

After calling out successes, take some time to consider areas in which the employee needs improvement. For employees currently meeting all expectations, consider their future career path: Are there areas they need to develop in order to move into a new position? For employees whose performance may not be up to par, try to address it fairly and be straightforward and logical.

A number of Jon’s projects ran over schedule this year. It appears that Jon’s technical understanding of the work at hand could perhaps use some development. One such corrective action might be making sure to check with operators and maintenance personnel before launching a new project concept to make sure the problem at hand is actually being solved. Also, while Jon’s open personality makes him approachable, it can also lead to Jon taking extra-long breaks for conversation throughout the day, which can disturb some employees from their work.

Note that the criticisms are couched calmly in specific language that isn’t accusatory or angry and that the behaviors described correlate to an undesirable outcome. In some cases, a corrective action should be suggested. In other cases, it’s best to wait until the final step and develop a path forward with the employee in question.

" id="create-a-forward-plan " class="title"> Create a Forward Plan

The essay should end with a forward plan for the employee, involving any additional training or development she may need to meet current expectations as well as some sort of idea of the next step in her career.

The final step in the performance assessment essay is, of course, reviewing the essay with each employee. It’s best to give the employee a chance to read the evaluation and then open the floor to any questions the employee might have about what’s been written.

If an employee wants to challenge an assertion, she can be encouraged to write a short essay in return discussing why she might disagree with the essay. It’s important to discuss the successes and give recognition where it’s due as well as the challenges in order to ensure the employee understands.

Essay and dissertation writing skills

Planning your essay

Writing your introduction

Structuring your essay

• Writing essays in science subjects
• Brief video guides to support essay planning and writing
• Writing extended essays and dissertations
• Planning your dissertation writing time

Structuring your dissertation

• Top tips for writing longer pieces of work

Advice on planning and writing essays and dissertations

University essays differ from school essays in that they are less concerned with what you know and more concerned with how you construct an argument to answer the question. This means that the starting point for writing a strong essay is to first unpick the question and to then use this to plan your essay before you start putting pen to paper (or finger to keyboard).

A really good starting point for you are these short, downloadable Tips for Successful Essay Writing and Answering the Question resources. Both resources will help you to plan your essay, as well as giving you guidance on how to distinguish between different sorts of essay questions. 

You may find it helpful to watch this seven-minute video on six tips for essay writing which outlines how to interpret essay questions, as well as giving advice on planning and structuring your writing:

Different disciplines will have different expectations for essay structure and you should always refer to your Faculty or Department student handbook or course Canvas site for more specific guidance.

However, broadly speaking, all essays share the following features:

Essays need an introduction to establish and focus the parameters of the discussion that will follow. You may find it helpful to divide the introduction into areas to demonstrate your breadth and engagement with the essay question. You might define specific terms in the introduction to show your engagement with the essay question; for example, ‘This is a large topic which has been variously discussed by many scientists and commentators. The principle tension is between the views of X and Y who define the main issues as…’ Breadth might be demonstrated by showing the range of viewpoints from which the essay question could be considered; for example, ‘A variety of factors including economic, social and political, influence A and B. This essay will focus on the social and economic aspects, with particular emphasis on…..’

Watch this two-minute video to learn more about how to plan and structure an introduction:

The main body of the essay should elaborate on the issues raised in the introduction and develop an argument(s) that answers the question. It should consist of a number of self-contained paragraphs each of which makes a specific point and provides some form of evidence to support the argument being made. Remember that a clear argument requires that each paragraph explicitly relates back to the essay question or the developing argument.

• Conclusion: An essay should end with a conclusion that reiterates the argument in light of the evidence you have provided; you shouldn’t use the conclusion to introduce new information.
• References: You need to include references to the materials you’ve used to write your essay. These might be in the form of footnotes, in-text citations, or a bibliography at the end. Different systems exist for citing references and different disciplines will use various approaches to citation. Ask your tutor which method(s) you should be using for your essay and also consult your Department or Faculty webpages for specific guidance in your discipline. 

Essay writing in science subjects

If you are writing an essay for a science subject you may need to consider additional areas, such as how to present data or diagrams. This five-minute video gives you some advice on how to approach your reading list, planning which information to include in your answer and how to write for your scientific audience – the video is available here:

A PDF providing further guidance on writing science essays for tutorials is available to download.

Short videos to support your essay writing skills

There are many other resources at Oxford that can help support your essay writing skills and if you are short on time, the Oxford Study Skills Centre has produced a number of short (2-minute) videos covering different aspects of essay writing, including:

• Approaching different types of essay questions  
• Structuring your essay  
• Writing an introduction  
• Making use of evidence in your essay writing  
• Writing your conclusion

Extended essays and dissertations

Longer pieces of writing like extended essays and dissertations may seem like quite a challenge from your regular essay writing. The important point is to start with a plan and to focus on what the question is asking. A PDF providing further guidance on planning Humanities and Social Science dissertations is available to download.

Planning your time effectively

Try not to leave the writing until close to your deadline, instead start as soon as you have some ideas to put down onto paper. Your early drafts may never end up in the final work, but the work of committing your ideas to paper helps to formulate not only your ideas, but the method of structuring your writing to read well and conclude firmly.

Although many students and tutors will say that the introduction is often written last, it is a good idea to begin to think about what will go into it early on. For example, the first draft of your introduction should set out your argument, the information you have, and your methods, and it should give a structure to the chapters and sections you will write. Your introduction will probably change as time goes on but it will stand as a guide to your entire extended essay or dissertation and it will help you to keep focused.

The structure of  extended essays or dissertations will vary depending on the question and discipline, but may include some or all of the following:

• The background information to - and context for - your research. This often takes the form of a literature review.
• Explanation of the focus of your work.
• Explanation of the value of this work to scholarship on the topic.
• List of the aims and objectives of the work and also the issues which will not be covered because they are outside its scope.

The main body of your extended essay or dissertation will probably include your methodology, the results of research, and your argument(s) based on your findings.

The conclusion is to summarise the value your research has added to the topic, and any further lines of research you would undertake given more time or resources. 

Tips on writing longer pieces of work

Approaching each chapter of a dissertation as a shorter essay can make the task of writing a dissertation seem less overwhelming. Each chapter will have an introduction, a main body where the argument is developed and substantiated with evidence, and a conclusion to tie things together. Unlike in a regular essay, chapter conclusions may also introduce the chapter that will follow, indicating how the chapters are connected to one another and how the argument will develop through your dissertation.

For further guidance, watch this two-minute video on writing longer pieces of work . 

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Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Organizing Your Argument

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

This page summarizes three historical methods for argumentation, providing structural templates for each.

How can I effectively present my argument?

In order for your argument to be persuasive, it must use an organizational structure that the audience perceives as both logical and easy to parse. Three argumentative methods —the  Toulmin Method , Classical Method , and Rogerian Method — give guidance for how to organize the points in an argument.

Note that these are only three of the most popular models for organizing an argument. Alternatives exist. Be sure to consult your instructor and/or defer to your assignment’s directions if you’re unsure which to use (if any).

Toulmin Method

The  Toulmin Method  is a formula that allows writers to build a sturdy logical foundation for their arguments. First proposed by author Stephen Toulmin in  The Uses of Argument (1958), the Toulmin Method emphasizes building a thorough support structure for each of an argument's key claims.

The basic format for the Toulmin Method  is as follows:

Claim:  In this section, you explain your overall thesis on the subject. In other words, you make your main argument.

Data (Grounds):  You should use evidence to support the claim. In other words, provide the reader with facts that prove your argument is strong.

Warrant (Bridge):  In this section, you explain why or how your data supports the claim. As a result, the underlying assumption that you build your argument on is grounded in reason.

Backing (Foundation):  Here, you provide any additional logic or reasoning that may be necessary to support the warrant.

Counterclaim:  You should anticipate a counterclaim that negates the main points in your argument. Don't avoid arguments that oppose your own. Instead, become familiar with the opposing perspective.   If you respond to counterclaims, you appear unbiased (and, therefore, you earn the respect of your readers). You may even want to include several counterclaims to show that you have thoroughly researched the topic.

Rebuttal:  In this section, you incorporate your own evidence that disagrees with the counterclaim. It is essential to include a thorough warrant or bridge to strengthen your essay’s argument. If you present data to your audience without explaining how it supports your thesis, your readers may not make a connection between the two, or they may draw different conclusions.

Example of the Toulmin Method:

Claim:  Hybrid cars are an effective strategy to fight pollution.

Data1:  Driving a private car is a typical citizen's most air-polluting activity.

Warrant 1:  Due to the fact that cars are the largest source of private (as opposed to industrial) air pollution, switching to hybrid cars should have an impact on fighting pollution.

Data 2:  Each vehicle produced is going to stay on the road for roughly 12 to 15 years.

Warrant 2:  Cars generally have a long lifespan, meaning that the decision to switch to a hybrid car will make a long-term impact on pollution levels.

Data 3:  Hybrid cars combine a gasoline engine with a battery-powered electric motor.

Warrant 3:  The combination of these technologies produces less pollution.

Counterclaim:  Instead of focusing on cars, which still encourages an inefficient culture of driving even as it cuts down on pollution, the nation should focus on building and encouraging the use of mass transit systems.

Rebuttal:  While mass transit is an idea that should be encouraged, it is not feasible in many rural and suburban areas, or for people who must commute to work. Thus, hybrid cars are a better solution for much of the nation's population.

Rogerian Method

The Rogerian Method  (named for, but not developed by, influential American psychotherapist Carl R. Rogers) is a popular method for controversial issues. This strategy seeks to find a common ground between parties by making the audience understand perspectives that stretch beyond (or even run counter to) the writer’s position. Moreso than other methods, it places an emphasis on reiterating an opponent's argument to his or her satisfaction. The persuasive power of the Rogerian Method lies in its ability to define the terms of the argument in such a way that:

• your position seems like a reasonable compromise.
• you seem compassionate and empathetic.

The basic format of the Rogerian Method  is as follows:

Introduction:  Introduce the issue to the audience, striving to remain as objective as possible.

Opposing View : Explain the other side’s position in an unbiased way. When you discuss the counterargument without judgement, the opposing side can see how you do not directly dismiss perspectives which conflict with your stance.

Statement of Validity (Understanding):  This section discusses how you acknowledge how the other side’s points can be valid under certain circumstances. You identify how and why their perspective makes sense in a specific context, but still present your own argument.

Statement of Your Position:  By this point, you have demonstrated that you understand the other side’s viewpoint. In this section, you explain your own stance.

Statement of Contexts : Explore scenarios in which your position has merit. When you explain how your argument is most appropriate for certain contexts, the reader can recognize that you acknowledge the multiple ways to view the complex issue.

Statement of Benefits:  You should conclude by explaining to the opposing side why they would benefit from accepting your position. By explaining the advantages of your argument, you close on a positive note without completely dismissing the other side’s perspective.

Example of the Rogerian Method:

Introduction:  The issue of whether children should wear school uniforms is subject to some debate.

Opposing View:  Some parents think that requiring children to wear uniforms is best.

Statement of Validity (Understanding):  Those parents who support uniforms argue that, when all students wear the same uniform, the students can develop a unified sense of school pride and inclusiveness.

Statement of Your Position : Students should not be required to wear school uniforms. Mandatory uniforms would forbid choices that allow students to be creative and express themselves through clothing.

Statement of Contexts:  However, even if uniforms might hypothetically promote inclusivity, in most real-life contexts, administrators can use uniform policies to enforce conformity. Students should have the option to explore their identity through clothing without the fear of being ostracized.

Statement of Benefits:  Though both sides seek to promote students' best interests, students should not be required to wear school uniforms. By giving students freedom over their choice, students can explore their self-identity by choosing how to present themselves to their peers.

Classical Method

The Classical Method of structuring an argument is another common way to organize your points. Originally devised by the Greek philosopher Aristotle (and then later developed by Roman thinkers like Cicero and Quintilian), classical arguments tend to focus on issues of definition and the careful application of evidence. Thus, the underlying assumption of classical argumentation is that, when all parties understand the issue perfectly, the correct course of action will be clear.

The basic format of the Classical Method  is as follows:

Introduction (Exordium): Introduce the issue and explain its significance. You should also establish your credibility and the topic’s legitimacy.

Statement of Background (Narratio): Present vital contextual or historical information to the audience to further their understanding of the issue. By doing so, you provide the reader with a working knowledge about the topic independent of your own stance.

Proposition (Propositio): After you provide the reader with contextual knowledge, you are ready to state your claims which relate to the information you have provided previously. This section outlines your major points for the reader.

Proof (Confirmatio): You should explain your reasons and evidence to the reader. Be sure to thoroughly justify your reasons. In this section, if necessary, you can provide supplementary evidence and subpoints.

Refutation (Refuatio): In this section, you address anticipated counterarguments that disagree with your thesis. Though you acknowledge the other side’s perspective, it is important to prove why your stance is more logical.  

Conclusion (Peroratio): You should summarize your main points. The conclusion also caters to the reader’s emotions and values. The use of pathos here makes the reader more inclined to consider your argument.  

Example of the Classical Method:  

Introduction (Exordium): Millions of workers are paid a set hourly wage nationwide. The federal minimum wage is standardized to protect workers from being paid too little. Research points to many viewpoints on how much to pay these workers. Some families cannot afford to support their households on the current wages provided for performing a minimum wage job .

Statement of Background (Narratio): Currently, millions of American workers struggle to make ends meet on a minimum wage. This puts a strain on workers’ personal and professional lives. Some work multiple jobs to provide for their families.

Proposition (Propositio): The current federal minimum wage should be increased to better accommodate millions of overworked Americans. By raising the minimum wage, workers can spend more time cultivating their livelihoods.

Proof (Confirmatio): According to the United States Department of Labor, 80.4 million Americans work for an hourly wage, but nearly 1.3 million receive wages less than the federal minimum. The pay raise will alleviate the stress of these workers. Their lives would benefit from this raise because it affects multiple areas of their lives.

Refutation (Refuatio): There is some evidence that raising the federal wage might increase the cost of living. However, other evidence contradicts this or suggests that the increase would not be great. Additionally,   worries about a cost of living increase must be balanced with the benefits of providing necessary funds to millions of hardworking Americans.

Conclusion (Peroratio): If the federal minimum wage was raised, many workers could alleviate some of their financial burdens. As a result, their emotional wellbeing would improve overall. Though some argue that the cost of living could increase, the benefits outweigh the potential drawbacks.

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17.6: What are the benefits of essay tests?

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• Page ID 87692

• Jennfer Kidd, Jamie Kaufman, Peter Baker, Patrick O'Shea, Dwight Allen, & Old Dominion U students
• Old Dominion University

Learning Objectives

• Understand the benefits of essay questions for both Students and Teachers
• Identify when essays are useful

Introduction

Essays, along with multiple choice, are a very common method of assessment. Essays offer a means completely different than that of multiple choice. When thinking of a means of assessment, the essay along with multiple choice are the two that most come to mind (Schouller).The essay lends itself to specific subjects; for example, a math test would not have an essay question. The essay is more common in the arts, humanities and the social sciences(Scouller). On occasion an essay can be used used in both physical and natural sciences as well(Scouller). As a future history teacher, I will find that essays will be an essential part of my teaching structure.

The Benefits for Students

By utilizing essays as a mean of assessments, teachers are able to better survey what the student has learned. Multiple choice questions, by their very design, can be worked around. The student can guess, and has decent chance of getting the question right, even if they did not know the answer. This blind guessing does not benefit the student at all. In addition, some multiple choices can deceive the student(Moore). Short answers, and their big brother the essay, work in an entirely different way. Essays remove this factor. in a addition, rather than simply recognize the subject matter, the student must recall the material covered. This challenges the student more, and by forcing the student to remember the information needed, causes the student to retain it better. This in turn reinforces understanding(Moore). Scouller adds to this observation, determining that essay assessment "encourages students' development of higher order intellectual skills and the employment of deeper learning approaches; and secondly, allows students to demonstrate their development."

"Essay questions provide more opportunity to communicate ideas. Whereas multiple choice limits the options, an essay allows the student express ideas that would otherwise not be communicated." (Moore)

The Benefits for Teachers

The matter of preparation must also be considered when comparing multiple choice and essays. For multiple choice questions, the instructor must choose several questions that cover the material covered. After doing so, then the teacher has to come up with multiple possible answers. This is much more difficult than one might assume. With the essay question, the teacher will still need to be creative. However, the teacher only has to come up with a topic, and what the student is expected to cover. This saves the teacher time. When grading, the teacher knows what he or she is looking for in the paper, so the time spent reading is not necessarily more. The teacher also benefits from a better understanding of what they are teaching. The process of selecting a good essay question requires some critical thought of its own, which reflects onto the teacher(Moore).

Multiple Choice. True or False. Short Answer. Essay. All are forms of assessment. All have their pros and cons. For some, they are better suited for particular subjects. Others, not so much. Some students may even find essays to be easier. It is vital to understand when it is best to utilize the essay. Obviously for teachers of younger students, essays are not as useful. However, as the age of the student increase, the importance of the essay follows suit. That essays are utilized in essential exams such as the SAT, SOLs and in our case the PRAXIS demonstrates how important essays are. However, what it ultimately comes down to is what the teacher feels what will best assess what has been covered.

Exercise \(\PageIndex{1}\)

1)What Subject would most benefit from essays?

B: Mathematics for the Liberal Arts

C: Survey of American Literature

2)What is an advantage of essay assessment for the student?

A) They allow for better expression

B) There is little probability for randomness

C) The time taken is less overall

D) A & B

3)What is NOT a benefit of essay assessment for the teacher

A)They help the instructor better understand the subject

B)They remove some the work required for multiple choice

C)The time spent on preparation is less

D) There is no noticeable benefit.

4)Issac is a teacher making up a test. The test will have multiple sections: Short answer, multiple choice, and an essay. What subject does Issac MOST LIKELY teach?

References Cited

1)Moore, S.(2008) Interview with Scott Moore, Professor at Old Dominion University

2)Scouller, K. (1998). The influence of assessment method on students' learning approaches: multiple Choice question examination versus assignment essay. Higher Education 35(4), pp. 453–472

How to Write a Compare and Contrast Essay Block Method: Expert Tips

My name is Debbie, and I am passionate about developing a love for the written word and planting a seed that will grow into a powerful voice that can inspire many.

Understanding the ‍Compare and⁣ Contrast​ Essay‍ Block Method

Compare and contrast⁤ essay block ‌method, benefits of using the ‍block method in compare⁢ and contrast essays, choosing an appropriate topic for a block method ‍compare ⁢and ⁤contrast essay, structuring your compare and contrast essay using⁢ the block ⁢method, crafting⁣ effective⁣ introduction and thesis statements in a block method ⁤essay, developing clear and coherent body paragraphs in​ a⁤ block method essay, refining your‍ compare and contrast⁢ essay through effective conclusion, frequently asked questions, closing remarks.

In academic writing, ​one common type ‌of essay is the⁢ compare⁣ and contrast essay. ⁤This⁢ type ⁤of​ essay aims⁣ to explore the similarities and differences between ‍two or more⁣ subjects.⁢ One popular approach to writing a ​compare and contrast essay is using the block method. The block method⁢ allows for a more thorough⁤ examination of the subjects being compared, providing a ‍clear and organized structure.

With the block⁤ method, the‌ writer‌ divides ⁤the essay into two main sections: the introduction⁢ and the body. The introduction sets the ⁢stage‍ by⁢ introducing the‌ subjects and establishing the purpose of the essay. It‍ should also ‌provide a ‍thesis statement that presents‌ the main points of comparison. In ​the body section, each subject is discussed in separate paragraphs. Within each paragraph, the‌ writer‌ presents the similarities and⁤ differences between the subjects, using specific ⁢examples ‌and evidence to support​ their​ claims. ‍It is important to‌ use transitional ⁢phrases ⁤to ⁢smoothly transition between paragraphs and ensure​ a⁢ coherent⁢ flow of ideas throughout the essay.

• Advantages‍ of the block method:
• Clear organization and structure
• Allows‍ for a detailed analysis of each subject
• Easy to ⁤follow for⁤ the⁣ reader

When⁣ using the block method, ‌it is essential to maintain ‌a balanced discussion of the ‌subjects ‍being⁢ compared. This⁢ means devoting ⁣equal‍ attention and space to ‍both subjects, ⁤highlighting both their similarities⁤ and differences. ‌By‍ doing so, the writer ​can provide a comprehensive comparison that helps the reader gain a deeper understanding of the⁤ subjects.

The block method is a⁢ highly ⁣effective approach for ‌writing compare and contrast ​essays. It offers numerous benefits that⁤ can​ enhance the clarity ⁢and organization ⁣of your essay. ‌By structuring⁣ your ‌essay using this method, you can present‍ a​ comprehensive analysis of the‍ similarities and‍ differences ⁢between two subjects.

One major benefit ⁤of the block⁣ method is its simplicity. This⁢ method⁢ allows ‍you to focus on one⁣ subject ⁣at a time, making it easier ‍for ‍the reader to follow along. By dedicating entire paragraphs to each subject, ⁢you can thoroughly explore their ‌characteristics, ‍examples, and supporting evidence. This ‍clear​ and straightforward‍ structure ensures that⁣ your ‌points ⁢are well-developed⁣ and easy​ to understand. Moreover, the⁣ block method provides ⁤a logical‌ flow to your essay, allowing for a smooth transition from one subject to the ​next.

Another advantage of using the block method is that⁢ it allows for ⁤a more detailed and in-depth comparison. By allocating separate paragraphs to each subject, you can⁤ explore their‍ similarities and⁣ differences more‍ thoroughly. This method enables⁣ you to delve into specific ⁤aspects of each ‌subject,‍ providing⁣ a⁣ comprehensive analysis. By ​organizing your thoughts in this manner, you can‌ avoid⁤ confusion and ensure ‌that ​your essay⁢ is well-structured and​ coherent. Additionally, ⁣the block method allows⁣ you to present contrasting ideas side by ‌side, enabling ‌the reader to easily grasp the distinctions ​between the subjects being discussed.

In summary, the block ‍method is a ⁣highly effective approach⁢ for writing compare and contrast essays. Its simplicity ⁣and logical flow make it easier for readers to follow along and understand your ⁢points. ‌Furthermore, the block method allows‍ for a more detailed and comprehensive analysis of the ‍subjects being compared. ​Incorporating this method‌ into ⁢your writing can greatly ⁢enhance ‍the quality and ⁣effectiveness ‌of your compare⁢ and ⁣contrast essays.

Once you’ve​ decided to write a‍ block method compare and contrast essay, the next‌ step ⁤is to carefully choose an​ appropriate topic. Selecting a topic ⁢that‌ is suitable for this type of ⁤essay is‌ essential to ensure a well-structured and ⁢meaningful comparison. Here are some helpful tips to guide⁣ you in choosing the right ⁤topic:

1. Brainstorm: Begin by⁣ brainstorming ideas and jotting down ⁢potential topics that interest you or are relevant to your ‌field of study. Consider‌ subjects that ​have distinct similarities and differences, as this will provide you with ample material for comparison.

2. Research:‍ Once you have a list⁢ of potential topics,‌ conduct some preliminary​ research‍ to explore the available information. Make sure there‌ is enough ‌material to support‌ your comparisons and that you can find credible sources ‌ to ⁢back up your arguments.

3. Balance: Aim to select ⁣a topic where the similarities ‍and differences are reasonably balanced, ​allowing for‌ a fair⁢ comparison. Avoid topics that are ⁢overwhelmingly one-sided, as this can make‍ your essay appear biased.

4. Significance:⁢ Choose a topic that has significance and relevance within your academic ​field or the broader societal context. This will not ​only ⁣make your ⁢essay ⁣more interesting to read but also add value to the discussion.

5. Personal Interest: It is crucial to choose a ‍topic ⁢that genuinely interests you. Writing about something ‌you are passionate about will make the ⁣entire process more enjoyable and engaging,⁢ resulting in a more​ compelling and well-written essay.

When⁢ it‍ comes to crafting ​a well-structured compare and contrast essay, using⁢ the block method can be an effective approach.‍ This method organizes your essay by ⁣discussing​ all ⁣of ​the points related​ to one side of the topic, and‍ then‍ exploring all the points ​related to the other ‌side.​ By using this method, you can provide a clear and organized analysis that⁣ allows your readers ⁢to ⁢easily⁤ comprehend the similarities and ‌differences between the two subjects being compared.

To structure your compare and contrast⁢ essay using the block method, ‌follow these steps:

1. Start with ⁤a compelling introduction that grabs ‌the reader’s attention and clearly states the purpose of your​ essay. You can use ‍an intriguing⁢ anecdote or a thought-provoking question ⁢to engage ‍your audience from the beginning.

2. Create⁣ a thesis statement that clearly indicates the purpose of your​ essay⁣ and ‍presents the main points ‍you will⁤ discuss in your‍ body paragraphs. ⁣Your thesis should⁤ provide ⁤a clear roadmap⁣ for‌ your ⁣readers, outlining the ‌focus of your essay⁤ and⁣ what they can expect ‌to discover ⁣from your ‍analysis.

3.⁣ Begin with ⁣the first subject and present all the relevant points or arguments related ​to it. ⁢Each point should be ‍supported by‌ evidence or examples to⁤ strengthen your ‌argument. Use clear ‍and concise language⁤ to ensure your readers can easily follow your train of thought.

4. Transition smoothly into discussing the ‌second subject, and present all the relevant‍ points or arguments‌ related to it. Again, back up⁣ each ⁣point with ‌evidence or examples ⁢to ⁢solidify your ⁤analysis. Make ⁣sure your arguments are as ​logical ⁤and well-supported ​as possible.

Crafting ⁣an effective introduction‌ and⁤ thesis ​statement ‌in a block⁢ method‌ essay lays the ⁣foundation for⁤ a⁢ cohesive and well-structured‍ piece of writing. By capturing the reader’s attention‌ and clearly stating the⁣ argument, ​you can set the stage‌ for a compelling essay that presents both sides of ⁣the topic. Here are some key​ tips to master this ⁣critical part of your‌ essay:

1. Grab the reader’s ‌attention: Start ‍your introduction with a‌ captivating hook that ⁣intrigues the reader ⁢and makes ⁣them want​ to continue reading. This could be a surprising fact, ⁤a thought-provoking question, or a vivid anecdote related to your topic. It’s crucial to make a ‍strong ⁢first‍ impression ‍to⁣ engage the reader’s interest‍ right from the⁢ beginning.

2. Provide background ‍information: ‌After hooking the reader, provide some context about your topic.⁢ Briefly explain the main issue or controversy ⁣you⁤ will discuss in ​your essay. ⁢This helps ⁤your⁤ readers understand the significance of the subject ‌matter and⁤ its relevance in a broader context.

3. Clearly state your thesis: Your thesis‌ statement is⁣ the backbone of your ‍essay and should⁤ be concise, clear, and argumentative. ⁢It should present a debatable claim that you will support throughout your essay. Make sure your thesis⁤ is ‍specific and reflects the main points you will address in your ‍essay.⁢ Bold it in your introduction to make‌ it stand out and guide ​your readers.

Crafting an effective introduction and ⁤thesis statement in a block method ⁤essay requires careful consideration of your target audience ⁣and‍ the overarching‌ goal of your essay. By employing these strategies, you will create a strong foundation for your essay‍ and captivate ⁢your readers⁤ from the very beginning.

When writing a block ⁢method essay, it ‍is crucial to maintain ⁣a logical and organized ⁤structure⁤ in⁣ your body paragraphs. By following a few simple guidelines, you can ensure ‍that your ideas​ flow smoothly and coherently, ⁤allowing your reader to easily understand your⁣ arguments.

Here⁤ are some tips to help you ​develop clear ‌and coherent ‍body ⁢paragraphs:

• Topic sentence: Start each body ‌paragraph with‍ a clear ⁢and⁢ concise topic sentence that introduces the main idea you⁣ will be discussing. This sentence should act as a mini-thesis statement for that specific ‌paragraph.
• Supporting evidence: ⁤ Provide relevant supporting evidence, such as ⁢facts, statistics, or⁤ examples, to validate⁣ your claims and ‌strengthen your ⁢arguments. Remember to cite your sources properly.
• Transitional ⁣phrases: Use ⁢transitional phrases ⁣to smoothly connect​ your ideas ‍and create a logical flow ‌between⁢ paragraphs. Phrases like ‍”similarly,” “in contrast,” or ‌”on‌ the​ other hand” ⁤can help‌ guide your reader through your essay.

By ⁣employing these techniques, you will be able to​ craft body paragraphs that effectively present your ideas and ‌arguments in a clear⁤ and coherent⁢ manner. ⁤Remember, ‍the⁢ goal is to⁤ provide⁢ your‍ reader⁤ with a well-structured and engaging essay that leaves no room for confusion.

When‌ it comes to writing a ‌compare and ⁢contrast essay, the conclusion is a crucial element that allows​ you to leave⁢ a lasting impression on your⁢ readers. A ⁤well-crafted conclusion not only summarizes the main points you have discussed ‌but⁢ also adds depth ⁢to your analysis ‍and helps tie everything ⁤together. Here are some tips to ‍refine your ⁢compare and⁣ contrast essay through an ⁤effective conclusion:

• Revisit your ⁤thesis statement: Start​ your conclusion by⁣ reminding your readers of the ‍main argument you presented in ‌your introduction.‍ This will help⁢ reinforce your⁤ central idea and keep⁣ your essay focused.
• Summarize⁣ your main points: Provide a brief summary of⁢ the key⁤ similarities and differences you ‌discussed throughout your essay. Be concise, but ensure that all important points are⁣ included​ to leave a lasting impression on your readers.
• Pose a⁣ thought-provoking​ question: Engage your ‍readers’ critical thinking by ending your​ essay with a powerful‌ question⁢ related to ⁣the topic. This encourages further reflection and⁣ demonstrates your‌ expertise on the ⁢subject matter.

Remember, the conclusion is your last opportunity⁣ to ‌make⁤ a lasting impact ⁣on your ‌readers. Therefore, make sure ‌to follow⁣ these tips to refine your compare ⁣and contrast essay, leaving your audience with ​a sense⁢ of satisfaction and an‍ appreciation for your thoughtful analysis.

Q: What is a compare and contrast essay? A: A compare and contrast essay is a type of academic writing that requires you to analyze ⁢the similarities and‌ differences between two ‍or more⁣ subjects. It ‌helps ⁢develop critical‌ thinking‌ skills‌ and⁤ enhances your ability to analyze ‌information ⁤effectively.

Q: ‍What is the ⁣block method? A: The ⁢block method is one of the‍ most common ‍approaches used to write a⁤ compare⁤ and contrast essay.⁣ In this method, you⁤ address one subject entirely in one‍ paragraph, ‍followed by another‍ paragraph‌ focusing on ‌the ⁢second subject. The‌ block method‌ allows for ‍a clear and organized presentation of ⁢ideas.

Q: How do I start ⁤my essay using⁢ the block method? A: Begin ‍by introducing ‍your ‍two subjects and establish the⁢ purpose of‌ your essay. ​Provide some⁣ background information to give your readers⁢ a context.‌ This ‍can be done through‍ a brief description or an ⁣engaging anecdote. State​ your thesis statement, which should highlight the main‌ points ⁢of comparison and contrast​ between‍ the subjects.

Q:⁢ How do I organize the body‍ paragraphs in the block method? A: Each body ⁣paragraph ‍should focus ⁤on one ⁣subject entirely. Start by presenting the​ key ‍points and supporting‍ details relevant ⁤to that subject. Follow a logical order when presenting your ‌arguments and be ⁣sure to‍ use transitional phrases to improve the ⁣flow of ‌your essay. ​Avoid mixing the information about the two​ subjects within the same paragraph‌ to maintain‌ clarity.

Q: ⁣How do I ensure ‌coherence in my essay? A: To ensure⁢ coherence,‍ it is important to‌ establish a clear relationship between your⁤ points​ of comparison or contrast. Use topic sentences at‍ the beginning of ‌each paragraph to introduce the main idea, and provide‍ evidence or examples to support your claims. Always refer back to your thesis statement to maintain ‍the focus of your essay.

Q:​ How ⁤do⁣ I conclude my ⁢essay using the block ​method? A: In your conclusion, summarize the main points you discussed in‌ the body paragraphs. Restate ⁣your‌ thesis statement and ⁣provide⁣ a concise assessment of the similarities and differences between ⁤the ​two subjects.‍ You can also offer​ some ‍insights or‌ suggest further areas of research. Make sure your conclusion leaves a lasting‌ impression on the reader.

Q: What are some ⁣tips for writing a successful compare and contrast essay using the block method? A: – Choose subjects that​ have ⁣clear similarities and differences. – Create a well-structured outline to organize⁤ your ​thoughts before ⁤you start ‍writing. – Use appropriate transitional⁢ phrases to smoothly transition between ‍ideas. -‌ Make sure to provide evidence⁣ and examples ⁢to ⁢support​ your claims. – Proofread your essay ⁤to ⁤eliminate ⁢any grammar or spelling errors. – Seek feedback from peers‍ or professionals to improve the content and clarity‍ of your ‌essay.

Q: ⁣Are there any other methods to write a compare and contrast essay? A: Yes, ⁢apart ‌from ⁤the block ‍method, you can ⁢also use the​ point-by-point‌ method. In this​ approach, you alternate ⁤between ​discussing points related to both subjects⁢ throughout the ⁤essay. The choice between⁢ the block‍ method and the point-by-point method⁤ depends on personal preference and the⁣ nature of the subjects being compared.

In conclusion, mastering the block method for writing a compare‌ and contrast essay​ can enhance your skills and ensure⁤ an effective and organized‌ argument.​

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• Published: 25 March 2024

Methods, techniques, assays and protocols

Nature Biomedical Engineering volume  8 ,  pages 201–202 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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Applied biomedical research needs more of them to be more broadly useful, reproducible and robust.

The scientific process is a structured method, yet not one that is defined in detail. Scientific knowledge and scientific applications advance through rational guesses, observation, the formulation of hypotheses or theories, experimentation and computation, as well as recurrent testing, data analyses, validation and replication (not necessarily in this order).

Acquiring and refining scientific knowledge, and devising science-based solutions to problems, thus requires rationality, objectivity, empiricism, scepticism, peer review and many other scientific practices and values (with accountability and transparency becoming increasingly crucial). Robust methods are also required as well as painstakingly detailed protocols — that is, step-by-step instructions for carrying out a specific method or technique. Regardless of whether a method is referred to as an ‘approach’, ‘a set of techniques’, a ‘workflow’ or an ‘assay’ (or analogous wording, depending on the customs of the research area and the method’s purpose; for instance, an assay usually refers to a test for the detection or quantification of molecules or substances or their activities), a method tends to be broader in scope than a protocol, and sufficiently flexible or modifiable to fit the actual research hypothesis, problem or set-up.

In applied biomedical research, methods and protocols are indispensable for unravelling the workings of biomedically relevant biological systems (molecular, cellular, and at the organ and whole-organism levels) and of mechanisms of disease, and for diagnosing conditions and devising treatments. Biomedical methods and protocols (including laboratory and clinical-trial protocols as well as standard operating procedures) can also serve as common communication and collaboration tools across disciplines, and the most widely used methods have contributed considerably to the most-cited research of all time ( R. Van Noorden et al. Nature 514 , 550–553; 2014 ).

The degree of utility is an essential editorial consideration in how manuscripts that report methods are assessed at Nature Biomedical Engineering . We pursue the publication of methods (but not protocols, which editors at Nature Protocols often commission for recent papers reporting methods) that enable the acquisition of biomedical data or knowledge that were otherwise difficult to capture, that facilitate the efficient analysis of big biomedically relevant datasets, that address a clear biomedical, translational or clinical need, that would seem to have a broader appeal (because they would be applicable to multiple research areas, for instance), that advantageously surpass existing procedures (for example, they are easier, cheaper or more efficient to run or implement), or that enhance the utility of already broadly used methods. (Some of these considerations are also relevant to papers published in Nature Methods , yet the journal focuses on serving researchers actively involved in laboratory practice.)

In this issue of Nature Biomedical Engineering , we highlight eight methods that exemplify these utility considerations.

In one Article, Philipp Holliger and colleagues describe a method for the rapid discovery of antibodies with binding affinities in the low-nanomolar to mid-picomolar range, as they show for the antigens human interleukin-7 and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2. The method leverages array-based assays, next-generation sequencing and high-throughput screening of antibody libraries to probe of the order of 10 8 antibody–antigen interactions, in 3 days. The generated datasets can also be used to train machine-learning models that accelerate the antibody-discovery process. The method has clear broad utility in helping accelerate antibody discovery and the exploration of genotype–phenotype relationships.

Another high-throughput method for the discovery of biomolecules included in this issue serves a clear clinical need. The method allows for the large-scale mass spectrometric quantification of glycopeptides in blood plasma samples as potential disease biomarkers, as Markus Ralser, Christoph Messner and colleagues show by using it to quantify about 1,000 glycopeptide features in the plasma glycoproteomes from patients with COVID-19.

The discovery and development of molecular drugs benefit from knowledge of interactions between the drugs and drug transporters. In another Article in this issue, Giovanni Traverso and co-authors report a method for acquiring interaction profiles between orally administered drugs and intestinal drug transporters. The method requires the modulation of the expression of drug transporters in intact porcine tissue explants via the ultrasound-enhanced delivery of small interfering RNAs. Moreover, the authors used the drug–transporter relationships that they obtained to train a random forest model for the classification of the interaction profiles. Because drug transporters determine the rates of absorption and elimination of therapeutics, by taking into account their interactions with the intestinal transportome, this type of method combining ex vivo tissue and machine learning may help to accelerate the development and formulation of oral drugs.

Technologies for single-cell sequencing allow for the classification of cells into subgroups according to their characteristics and functionality. Yet, the functional profiling of single cells has been a methodological bottleneck, particularly for highly heterogenous immune cells. Lih Feng Cheow and co-authors report an assay for the profiling of the cytotoxicity of killer cells in relation to their cellular phenotype and cytokine secretion at single-cell resolution. It relies on the detection of an initially intracellular fluorescent protein that has been ‘painted’ by a nearby lysed cell on the surface of the lysing killer cell. The assay can be integrated with flow cytometry and single-cell RNA sequencing, and could also be used to analyse molecular pathways associated with cell cytotoxicity and to seek correlates of immune responses.

The secretions of immune cells can affect them and their neighbouring cells, yet identifying genetic regulators of the secretions involves the sorting of a large number of cells according to their secretion patterns. Shana Kelley, Edward Sargent and co-authors describe in an Article also included in this issue a high-throughput method leveraging microfluidics for the analysis of the secretion levels of large populations of immune cells. The method allowed the authors to discover highly co-expressed kinase-coding genes that regulate the secretion of interferon γ by helper T lymphocytes, and may facilitate the discovery of therapeutic targets for autoimmune diseases.

Another microfluidic-based high-throughput screening method, described by Alan Wong and colleagues, enables new possibilities: the discovery of genetic and cellular drivers of the formation of syncytia (multinucleated cells resulting from cell–cell fusions) induced by the spike protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The method takes advantage of droplet microfluidics and strategies for size-exclusion selection to screen (via large-scale mutagenesis and the genome-wide generation of gene knockouts via CRISPR) libraries of spike-variant-expressing ‘sender’ cells fusing with ‘receiver’ cells expressing the receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). This method enables the exploration of any common and unique determinants of the virus-induced formation of syncytia.

This issue also includes an Article describing an extension to the utility of a widely used method. Seok-Hyun Yun, Sheldon Kwok and collaborators show that flow cytometry can be used to track and repeatedly measure the same cells using more markers and fewer colours, as the researchers show for three back-to-back cycles with more than ten markers per cycle. Such multi-pass high-dimensional flow cytometry takes advantage of cellular barcoding via microparticles emitting near-infrared laser light.

In another example of advantageous functionality, Ulrich Keyser and co-authors used DNA barcoding and solid-state nanopores to probe, with higher specificity and speed than had been possible, binding events between catalytically inactive Cas9 (the most used ribonucleoprotein in genome editing) and any pre-defined short sequence of double-stranded DNA. The method requires barcoded linear DNA with Cas9-binding double-stranded DNA overhangs that are sensed via changes in ionic current as the DNA translocates through solid-state nanopores (Fig. 1 ). Assessing the DNA-mismatch tolerance of catalytically inactive nucleases could inform diagnostic applications relying on the detection of single base-pair changes.

The schematic shows a solid-state nanopore (grey), two different DNA nanostructures (11111 and 11001) with two DNA overhangs (green and purple) and either with bound Cas9 (left) or without bound Cas9 (right) mixed together in solution, and the ionic-current traces (bottom) resulting from the translocation of the nanostructures through the nanopore. Figure adapted from the Article by Keyser and colleagues, under a Creative Commons license CC BY 4.0 .

More important than the specific editorial rationale for why we published the methods included in this issue is the reasonable evidence of reproducibility and robustness that they provide. Indeed, validation of the findings with additional datasets or samples, the benchmarking of a new technique against established methods, the verification of the results against alternative methods, and replicability efforts by different experimenters (when possible, under blinded conditions) are a core part of the scientific method.

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Methods, techniques, assays and protocols. Nat. Biomed. Eng 8 , 201–202 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41551-024-01199-2

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3 Apr 2024  ·  Jie Zhu , Jirong Zha , Ding Li , Leye Wang · Edit social preview

Self-supervised learning shows promise in harnessing extensive unlabeled data, but it also confronts significant privacy concerns, especially in vision. In this paper, we aim to perform membership inference on visual self-supervised models in a more realistic setting: self-supervised training method and details are unknown for an adversary when attacking as he usually faces a black-box system in practice. In this setting, considering that self-supervised model could be trained by completely different self-supervised paradigms, e.g., masked image modeling and contrastive learning, with complex training details, we propose a unified membership inference method called PartCrop. It is motivated by the shared part-aware capability among models and stronger part response on the training data. Specifically, PartCrop crops parts of objects in an image to query responses with the image in representation space. We conduct extensive attacks on self-supervised models with different training protocols and structures using three widely used image datasets. The results verify the effectiveness and generalization of PartCrop. Moreover, to defend against PartCrop, we evaluate two common approaches, i.e., early stop and differential privacy, and propose a tailored method called shrinking crop scale range. The defense experiments indicate that all of them are effective. Our code is available at https://github.com/JiePKU/PartCrop

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• How to write an essay introduction | 4 steps & examples

How to Write an Essay Introduction | 4 Steps & Examples

Published on February 4, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on July 23, 2023.

A good introduction paragraph is an essential part of any academic essay . It sets up your argument and tells the reader what to expect.

The main goals of an introduction are to:

• Catch your reader’s attention.
• Give background on your topic.
• Present your thesis statement —the central point of your essay.

This introduction example is taken from our interactive essay example on the history of Braille.

The invention of Braille was a major turning point in the history of disability. The writing system of raised dots used by visually impaired people was developed by Louis Braille in nineteenth-century France. In a society that did not value disabled people in general, blindness was particularly stigmatized, and lack of access to reading and writing was a significant barrier to social participation. The idea of tactile reading was not entirely new, but existing methods based on sighted systems were difficult to learn and use. As the first writing system designed for blind people’s needs, Braille was a groundbreaking new accessibility tool. It not only provided practical benefits, but also helped change the cultural status of blindness. This essay begins by discussing the situation of blind people in nineteenth-century Europe. It then describes the invention of Braille and the gradual process of its acceptance within blind education. Subsequently, it explores the wide-ranging effects of this invention on blind people’s social and cultural lives.

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Table of contents

Step 1: hook your reader, step 2: give background information, step 3: present your thesis statement, step 4: map your essay’s structure, step 5: check and revise, more examples of essay introductions, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about the essay introduction.

Your first sentence sets the tone for the whole essay, so spend some time on writing an effective hook.

Avoid long, dense sentences—start with something clear, concise and catchy that will spark your reader’s curiosity.

The hook should lead the reader into your essay, giving a sense of the topic you’re writing about and why it’s interesting. Avoid overly broad claims or plain statements of fact.

Examples: Writing a good hook

Take a look at these examples of weak hooks and learn how to improve them.

• Braille was an extremely important invention.
• The invention of Braille was a major turning point in the history of disability.

The first sentence is a dry fact; the second sentence is more interesting, making a bold claim about exactly  why the topic is important.

• The internet is defined as “a global computer network providing a variety of information and communication facilities.”
• The spread of the internet has had a world-changing effect, not least on the world of education.

Avoid using a dictionary definition as your hook, especially if it’s an obvious term that everyone knows. The improved example here is still broad, but it gives us a much clearer sense of what the essay will be about.

• Mary Shelley’s  Frankenstein is a famous book from the nineteenth century.
• Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is often read as a crude cautionary tale about the dangers of scientific advancement.

Instead of just stating a fact that the reader already knows, the improved hook here tells us about the mainstream interpretation of the book, implying that this essay will offer a different interpretation.

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Next, give your reader the context they need to understand your topic and argument. Depending on the subject of your essay, this might include:

• Historical, geographical, or social context
• An outline of the debate you’re addressing
• A summary of relevant theories or research about the topic
• Definitions of key terms

The information here should be broad but clearly focused and relevant to your argument. Don’t give too much detail—you can mention points that you will return to later, but save your evidence and interpretation for the main body of the essay.

How much space you need for background depends on your topic and the scope of your essay. In our Braille example, we take a few sentences to introduce the topic and sketch the social context that the essay will address:

Now it’s time to narrow your focus and show exactly what you want to say about the topic. This is your thesis statement —a sentence or two that sums up your overall argument.

This is the most important part of your introduction. A  good thesis isn’t just a statement of fact, but a claim that requires evidence and explanation.

The goal is to clearly convey your own position in a debate or your central point about a topic.

Particularly in longer essays, it’s helpful to end the introduction by signposting what will be covered in each part. Keep it concise and give your reader a clear sense of the direction your argument will take.

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As you research and write, your argument might change focus or direction as you learn more.

For this reason, it’s often a good idea to wait until later in the writing process before you write the introduction paragraph—it can even be the very last thing you write.

When you’ve finished writing the essay body and conclusion , you should return to the introduction and check that it matches the content of the essay.

It’s especially important to make sure your thesis statement accurately represents what you do in the essay. If your argument has gone in a different direction than planned, tweak your thesis statement to match what you actually say.

To polish your writing, you can use something like a paraphrasing tool .

You can use the checklist below to make sure your introduction does everything it’s supposed to.

Checklist: Essay introduction

My first sentence is engaging and relevant.

I have introduced the topic with necessary background information.

I have defined any important terms.

My thesis statement clearly presents my main point or argument.

Everything in the introduction is relevant to the main body of the essay.

You have a strong introduction - now make sure the rest of your essay is just as good.

• Argumentative
• Literary analysis

This introduction to an argumentative essay sets up the debate about the internet and education, and then clearly states the position the essay will argue for.

The spread of the internet has had a world-changing effect, not least on the world of education. The use of the internet in academic contexts is on the rise, and its role in learning is hotly debated. For many teachers who did not grow up with this technology, its effects seem alarming and potentially harmful. This concern, while understandable, is misguided. The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its critical benefits for students and educators—as a uniquely comprehensive and accessible information source; a means of exposure to and engagement with different perspectives; and a highly flexible learning environment.

This introduction to a short expository essay leads into the topic (the invention of the printing press) and states the main point the essay will explain (the effect of this invention on European society).

In many ways, the invention of the printing press marked the end of the Middle Ages. The medieval period in Europe is often remembered as a time of intellectual and political stagnation. Prior to the Renaissance, the average person had very limited access to books and was unlikely to be literate. The invention of the printing press in the 15th century allowed for much less restricted circulation of information in Europe, paving the way for the Reformation.

This introduction to a literary analysis essay , about Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein , starts by describing a simplistic popular view of the story, and then states how the author will give a more complex analysis of the text’s literary devices.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is often read as a crude cautionary tale. Arguably the first science fiction novel, its plot can be read as a warning about the dangers of scientific advancement unrestrained by ethical considerations. In this reading, and in popular culture representations of the character as a “mad scientist”, Victor Frankenstein represents the callous, arrogant ambition of modern science. However, far from providing a stable image of the character, Shelley uses shifting narrative perspectives to gradually transform our impression of Frankenstein, portraying him in an increasingly negative light as the novel goes on. While he initially appears to be a naive but sympathetic idealist, after the creature’s narrative Frankenstein begins to resemble—even in his own telling—the thoughtlessly cruel figure the creature represents him as.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

• Ad hominem fallacy
• Post hoc fallacy
• Appeal to authority fallacy
• False cause fallacy
• Sunk cost fallacy

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Your essay introduction should include three main things, in this order:

• An opening hook to catch the reader’s attention.
• Relevant background information that the reader needs to know.
• A thesis statement that presents your main point or argument.

The length of each part depends on the length and complexity of your essay .

The “hook” is the first sentence of your essay introduction . It should lead the reader into your essay, giving a sense of why it’s interesting.

To write a good hook, avoid overly broad statements or long, dense sentences. Try to start with something clear, concise and catchy that will spark your reader’s curiosity.

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.

The thesis statement is essential in any academic essay or research paper for two main reasons:

• It gives your writing direction and focus.
• It gives the reader a concise summary of your main point.

Without a clear thesis statement, an essay can end up rambling and unfocused, leaving your reader unsure of exactly what you want to say.

The structure of an essay is divided into an introduction that presents your topic and thesis statement , a body containing your in-depth analysis and arguments, and a conclusion wrapping up your ideas.

The structure of the body is flexible, but you should always spend some time thinking about how you can organize your essay to best serve your ideas.

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McCombes, S. (2023, July 23). How to Write an Essay Introduction | 4 Steps & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved April 2, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/academic-essay/introduction/

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