Transcript ESSAY BASICS

ESSAY BASICS
Sai Kumar Swamy
PGPM, IIM Bangalore
Written Ability Test
 WAT is more often than not a task on Essay Writing
 Duration
 Anywhere from 10 minutes to 30 minutes
 Word Limit
 300 – 750 words
 1 or 2 sides of an A4 size paper
 Topics
 Current Issues
 Economics
 Abstract
Key to Effective Essay Writing
 Basic Elements of Communication
 Clarity of Thought
 Empathy
 Effective Expression
 Elements on which Essays are graded
 Effective Content
 Structure
 Effective Expression
CODER Approach
C
 Collect Ideas
O
 Organize them
D
 Develop them
E
 Express them
R
 Review the Essay
C – Collect Ideas
 How does one generate content?
 Topic itself
 What are the key words?
 What is it about?
 Idea Generation techniques
 KWA – Key Word Approach
 VAP –Viewpoint of Affected Parties
 SPELT – Socio-Political, Economic, Legal, Technological
O – Organize them
 Put random thoughts into coherent ideas
 Think on these lines
 What should be the purpose or theme of the Essay?
 What would be an appropriate way to start the Essay?
 What are the further ideas to continue with?
 What would these ideas lead to?
 What ideas would be the right ones to end with?
 Make effective notes on the above Qs
 This would help organize your thoughts in a coherent manner
D – Develop them
 Explain and Elaborate the ideas developed in the previous
step
 What sort of readership is the Essay intended for?
 What sort of information would hold their attention?
 What sort of examples would be relevant?
 This should be carefully thought through
 Most students end up citing inappropriate/weak examples
 What piece of supporting explanation would support the
ideas developed?
 How long should the essay be?
E – Express them
 Essay are evaluated on
 Content
 Style
 Structure of an Essay
 Introduction
 Body
 Conclusion
 Effective Expression requires
 Logical Coherence
 Flow
 Effective language
R - Review
 Spend the last few minutes reviewing the Essay
 Check the flow and coherence
 Ensure language is error free
 Golden RULE
 30% of the time for steps C, O & D
 60% to E (Actual Writing)
 10% to R
Sample Topics
 Worsening female to male ratio in India
 You would not like to be prime minister of India because…….
 CAT should go online
 Financial viability of IPL
 Old film music: remixes vs creativity
 Variety is the spice of life
 Conquering Himalayas
 ‘Media circus on Breaking news is because audience wants it’
 Space Tourism
 Business: Ethics vs. Law
Q &A