comment on essay writing

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Teaching Resources

Commenting on Student Writing

Resource overview.

Instructors who require their students to write papers dedicate many hours each semester to reading, commenting on, and grading student writing, and they often wonder if the time they have spent translates into improvements in their students’ writing skills. For their part, students want constructive feedback on their writing and often express frustration when they find their instructors’ comments on their papers to be mysterious, confusing, or simply too brief.

Tips to improve and help you respond to your students’ writing:

These tips focus on the process of writing comments on students’ papers (whether on rough drafts or final drafts), rather than on the process of grading papers. Grading and commenting on papers are certainly interconnected processes. However, while instructors often think of writing comments on papers as simply a means to justify grades, that purpose should be secondary to helping your students improve their writing skills.

These tips are organized into four categories:

Course Planning

Writing comments in the margins, writing final comments, what else can you do.

Before the course begins, think about what kind of writing you will assign, and how you will respond to that writing.

• Design each writing assignment so that it has a clear purpose connected to the learning objectives for the course. Craft each assignment as an opportunity for students to practice and master writing skills that are central to their success in the course and to academic achievement in your discipline. For example, if you want them to learn how to summarize and respond to primary literature or to present and support an argument, design assignments that explicitly require the skills that are necessary to accomplish these objectives.
• Sequence your writing assignments to help students acquire skills incrementally, beginning with shorter, simpler writing assignments to longer, more complex papers. You might also find it helpful to develop a sequence for writing comments. In other words, decide ahead of time which aspects of the writing you will focus on with each assignment. For example, you may decide to focus your comments on the first assignment on the writing of the thesis statement, then focus comments on later papers on the success with which the students deal with counter-arguments. Sequencing your comments can help make the commenting process more efficient. However, it is essential to communicate to students before they turn in their papers which aspects of the writing you are going to focus on in your feedback at which points in the semester (and why).
• Develop and communicate clear grading criteria for each writing assignment. These criteria will help you be as consistent and fair as possible when evaluating a group of student papers. Developing and using criteria is especially important when co-teaching a course or when asking TAs to grade papers for the course. Distribute the grading criteria to students (or post the criteria on the course Web site) so that they will know how you will evaluate their work. While there are shared criteria for “good writing” that apply across academic disciplines, each discipline also has certain standards and conventions that shape writing in the discipline. Do not expect that students will come into your class knowing how to write the kind of paper you will ask them to write. For example, a student who has learned how to write an excellent analytical paper in a literature course may not know how to write the kind of paper that is typically required for a history course. Give students a written list of discipline-specific standards and conventions, and explain these in class. Provide examples of the kind of writing they will need to produce in your course.
• Develop a process for writing comments that will give students a clear idea of whether they have or have not achieved the course’s learning objectives (and with what degree of success). Students should be able to see a clear correlation among 1) written comments on a paper, 2) the grading criteria for the assignment, and 3) the learning objectives for the course. Thus, before you start reading and commenting on a stack of papers, remind yourself of the grading criteria, the learning objectives, and which aspects of the writing you want to focus on in your response.
• The first time you read through a paper, try to hold off on writing comments. Instead, take the time to read the paper in its entirety. If you need to take some notes, do so on another piece of paper. This strategy will prevent you from making over-hasty judgments, such as faulting a student for omitting evidence that actually appears later in the paper. (In such cases, it may be appropriate to tell the student that you expected that evidence to be presented earlier–and the reason why). While you may expect this strategy to take more time, it can actually save you time by allowing you to focus your feedback on the most important strengths and weaknesses you want to bring to the writers’ attention (see “Writing Final Comments,” below).
• Respond as a reader, not as a writer. Do not tell students how YOU would write the paper. Instead, tell them how you are responding to each part of the paper as you read it, pointing out gaps in logic or support and noting confusing language where it occurs. For example, if a sentence jumps abruptly to a new topic, do not rewrite the sentence to provide a clear transition or tell the student how to rewrite it. Instead, simply write a note in the margin to indicate the problem, then prompt the student to come up with a solution. This strategy is especially important to follow when a student asks you to respond to a draft before the final paper is due; in this case, your aim should be to help the student identify weaknesses that he or she should improve and NOT to do the student’s thinking and writing for them. Of course, in some instances, it is necessary and appropriate to give the student explicit directions, such as when she or he seems to have missed something important about the assignment, misread a source, left out an essential piece of evidence, or failed to cite a source correctly.
• Ask questions to help students revise and improve. One way to ensure that your comments are not overly directive is to write questions in the margins, rather than instructions. For the most part, these questions should be “open” rather than “closed” (having only one correct answer.) Open questions can be a very effective way to prompt students to think more deeply about the topic, to provide needed evidence, or to clarify language. For ideas on how to phrase open questions, see Asking Questions to Improve Learning.
• Resist the temptation to edit. Instead, mark a few examples of repeated errors and direct students to attend to those errors. Simply put, if you correct your students’ writing at the sentence level, they will not learn how to do so themselves, and you will continue to see the same errors in paper after paper. Moreover, when you mark all mechanical errors, you may overwhelm your students with so many marks that they will have trouble determining what to focus on when writing the next draft or paper.
• Be specific. Comments in the margin such as “vague,” “confusing,” and “good” do not help students improve their writing. In fact, many students find these comments “vague” and “confusing”–and sometimes abrupt or harsh. Taking a little more time to write longer, and perhaps fewer, comments in the margin will help you identify for students exactly what they have done well or poorly. Information about both is crucial for helping them improve their writing.

Here are some examples of specific comments:

Rather than  “vague”

• “Which research finding are you referring to here?”
• “I don’t understand your use of the underlined phrase. Can you rewrite this sentence?”
• “Can you provide specific details to show what you mean here?”

Instead of “ confusing ,” “ what? ” or “ ??? ”

• “I lost the thread of your argument. Why is this information important? How is it related to your argument?”
• “You imply that this point supports your argument, but it actually contradicts your point in paragraph 3.”

Rather than “ good ”

• “This excellent example moves your argument forward.”
• “Wonderful transition that helped clarify the connection between the two studies you are summarizing.”
• “An apt metaphor that helped me understand your argument about this historical metaphor.”
• Begin by making positive comments; when pointing out weaknesses, use a descriptive tone, rather than one that conveys disappointment or frustration. Give an honest assessment, but do not overwhelm the writer with an overly harsh or negative reaction. For example, do not assume or suggest that if a paper is not well written, the writer did not devote a lot of time to the assignment. The writer may have in fact struggled through several drafts. Keep in mind that confusing language or a lack of organized paragraphs may be evidence not of a lack of effort, but rather of confused thinking. The writer may therefore benefit from a few, targeted questions or comments that help them clarify their thinking.
• Limit your comments; do not try to cover everything. Focus on the 3-4 most important aspects of the paper. Provide a brief summary of 1) what you understood from the paper and 2) any difficulties you encountered. Make sure that whatever you write addresses the grading criteria for the assignment, but also try to tailor your comments to the specific strengths and weaknesses shown by the individual student. While you may think that writing lots of comments will convey your interest in helping the student improve, students–like all writers–can be overwhelmed by copious written comments on their work. They may therefore have trouble absorbing all the comments you have written, let alone trying to use those comments to improve their writing on the next draft or paper.
• Distinguish “higher-order” from “lower-order” issues. Typically, “higher-order” concerns include such aspects as the thesis and major supporting points, while “lower-order” concerns are grammatical or mechanical aspects of the writing. Whatever you see as “higher” in importance than other aspects should be clear in your grading criteria. Whatever you decide, write your comments in a way that will help students know which aspects of their writing they should focus on FIRST as they revise a paper or write the next paper. For example, if a paper lacks an argument or a main point in an assignment in which either an argument or main point is essential (as is usually the case), address that issue first in your comments before you note any grammatical errors that the student should attend to.
• Refer students back to comments you wrote in the margins. For example, you might comment, “Your argument loses focus in the fourth paragraph (see my questions in margin).” You might also note a frequent pattern of mechanical error, then point them to a specific paragraph that contains that type of error.
• Model clear, concise writing. Before you write final comments, take a moment to gather and order your thoughts.
• Provide opportunities for revision. If you want students to improve their writing, give them an opportunity to apply what they have learned from your comments to a new, revised draft. Note: You should decide before the course begins whether you will allow students to revise their papers and, if so, when such revisions must be turned in (e.g., one week after papers handed back) and how you will grade the revision (e.g., average the grade of the revision with the grade earned on the original paper). If you decide not to allow students to revise papers, consider rewarding improvement from one paper to the next (e.g., the grade on the second paper is worth a greater percentage of the final course grade than the grade on the first paper).
• If students are struggling with their writing, suggest a meeting during office hours. Often, students who are struggling to write clearly are also struggling to clarify what they think about the course material. Ask questions that help them figure out what they think and how to put those thoughts into a well organized, effective paper.
• Recommend that students seek tutorial help at The Writing Center. At  The Writing Center , students can meet with writing tutors who will read their papers and provide feedback. Writing Center tutors are trained to provide students with feedback on the clarity of their writing in a general way and will not necessarily be familiar with the criteria you are using to grade papers, unless you or the student have shared those criteria. However, seeking such feedback can be very helpful to students as they learn to write for academic audiences.

Bean, J. C. (2011). Engaging Ideas: The Professor’s Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom. 2nd ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Gottschalk, K. and K. Hjortshoj (2004). “What Can You Do with Student Writing?” In The Elements of Teaching Writing: A Resource for Instructors in All Disciplines. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

Nicol, D. J., & Macfarlane‐Dick, D. (2006). Formative assessment and self‐regulated learning: A model and seven principles of good feedback practice. Studies  in higher education ,  31 (2), 199-218.

“Responding to Student Writing.” (2000). Harvard Writing Project Bulletin. The President and Fellows of Harvard College.

Straub, Richard. (2000). The Practice of Response: Strategies for Commenting on Student Writing. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.

Commenting on and Grading Student Writing

To learn more about how to maximize the feedback you give your students without putting an undue burden on your time, click on items in the list below.

• Focusing your commenting energies

Handling grammar

• Using a grading sheet
• Citation Information

Focus your Commenting Energy

No matter how much you want to improve student writing, remember that students can only take in so much information about a paper at one time. Particularly because writing is such an egocentric activity, writers tend to feel overloaded quickly by excessively detailed feedback about their writing.

Moreover, because most writing can be considered work in progress (because students will continue to think about the content and presentation of their papers even if they don't actively revise), commenting exhaustively on every feature of a draft is counter-productive. Too many comments can make student writers feel as if the teacher is taking control of the paper and cutting off productive avenues for revision.

Focusing your energy when commenting achieves two main goals:

• It leaves students in control of their writing so that they can consider revising--or at least learning from the experience of having written the paper.
• It gives teachers a sense of tackling the most important elements of a paper rather than getting bogged down in detail that might just get ignored by the student.

Typically, we recommend that teachers comment discursively on the one or two most important features of a paper, determined either by your criteria for the assignment or by the seriousness of the effect on a reader of a given paper.

If you assign write-to-learn tasks, you won't want to mark any grammatical flaws because the writing is designed to be impromptu and informal. If you assign more polished pieces, especially those that adhere to disciplinary conventions, then we suggest putting the burden of proofreading squarely where it belongs--on the writer.

You don't need to be an expert in grammar to assign and respond effectively to writing assignments. Click on the list below to read some points to consider as you design your assignments and grading criteria:

Don't Edit Writing to Learn

Editing write-to-learn (WTL) responses is counterproductive. This kind of writing must be informal for students to reap the benefits of thinking through ideas and questioning what they understand and what confuses them. Moreover, most WTL activities are impromptu. By asking students to summarize a key point in the three minutes at the end of class, you get students to focus on ideas. They don't need to edit for spelling and sentence punctuation, and if you mark those errors on their WTL writing, students shift their focus from ideas to form. In other words, marking errors on WTL pieces distracts students from the main goal--learning.

Make Students Responsible for Polishing Their Drafts

Formal drafts do need to be edited, but not necessarily by the teacher. The most efficient way to make sure students edit for as many grammatical and stylistic flaws as they can find is to base a large portion of the grade on how easy the paper is to read. If you get a badly edited piece, you can just hand it back and tell the student you'll grade it when the errors are gone. Or you can take 20-30% off the content grade. Students get the message very quickly and turn in remarkably clean writing.

If a student continues to have problems editing a paper, you can suggest visiting the Writing Center to get some one-on-one help with a writing consultant.

Think of Yourself First as a Reader

Some teachers think that basing 20-30% of the grade on grammatical and stylistic matters is unfair unless they mark all the flaws. We approach this issue from the perspective of readers. If you review a textbook and find editing mistakes, you don't label each one and send the text back to the publisher. No, you just stop reading and don't adopt the textbook. Readers who are not teachers just don't keep reading is a text that is too confusing or if errors are too distracting. Readers who are teachers are perfectly justified in simply noting with an X in the margin where a sentence gets too confusing or where mistaken punctuation leads the reader astray. Students are resourceful (they can get help from an on-campus writing center office or a writing center website) and will figure out the problem once a reader points out where the text stumbles. That's really all it takes.

Use Peer Editing

Perhaps the most helpful tool in getting clean, readable papers from students is the peer editing session. Most students are better editors of someone else's paper than proofreaders of their own, so having students exchange papers and look for flaws helps them find many more glitches than they'll find on their own.

View More about Student Peer Review

Try a Time-Saving Shortcut

If you feel compelled to mark grammatical and stylistic flaws, work out a shorthand for yourself and give students a handout explaining your marks. Most teachers can get by with one symbol for a sentence that gets derailed or confused, another for faulty punctuation of all sorts, and a third for inaccurate words (spelling or meaning). Save your time and energy for commenting on substance rather than form.

Sample Policies on Grading Grammar versus Content

Outdoor Resources 1XX (excerpts)

(Although we don't recommend assigning points for errors (because then you have to mark and count them all), this teacher was clear about expectations.)

Your paper should contain from 1,500 to 2,000 words, or about five to seven pages. The paper must be typewritten, double spaced, and bound. Neatness is essential.

A Check List of Points to Consider:

I. Mechanics

Neatness. Is your report clean, neatly organized, with a look of professional pride about it?

Spelling. Two points will be deducted for each misspelled word.

Grammar and punctuation. Five points will be deducted for each sentence which uses improper grammar or punctuation.

Outline. Did you follow the course outline?

Form. Is your paper in the proper form?

Bibliography. Are the references properly cited?

Binding. Use a cover binding with a secure clasp.

II. Content . . . .

Use a grading sheet

Grading comment sheets or checksheets give teachers and students two advantages over free-form grading:

• Grading sheets of some sort assure that teachers will give students feedback about all the major criteria they set out on the assignment sheet. Even if you decide to use a simple checksheet that ranks students' performance on each criterion on a 1-10 scale, students will be able to see quickly where their strengths and weaknesses are as writers for this assignment.
• Grading sheets, particularly checksheets, typically save teachers time. Even composition teachers don't comment exhaustively about each criterion for each assignment; so, too, disciplinary teachers should be aware that they can comment at some length on just one or two points (typically the major strength and the major weakness) and then rely on the checksheet to fill in for less crucial areas of the paper. If students are concerned about getting more feedback than the checksheet provides, you can encourage them to come to your office hours or send you an e-mail query.

Resource: Sample Grading Sheets

Four sample grading sheets are provided:

• Introductory Composition
• Science Project

Sample Grading Sheet

Composition 1xx Grading Sheet

Grade for essay: ___________

Revision Instructions:

Sample Report Evaluation

Name: _________________

Subject: _________________

__ total points

DETAILED REPORT EVALUATION

Title page:

Table of contents:

Bibliography:

Information page:

Oral presentation:

Sample Evaluation of Written Report

Evaluation of Written Report

Sample Science Project Checksheet

Science Project checksheet

GENERAL 50 POINTS

1. Correct form (15)

Reference list (3)

Citation of sources(2)

Mechanics (order, table of contents, list of tables, list of figures, cover) (5)

2. Composition skills (10)

Spelling (5)

Grammar (5)

3. Log book used to record experimental data, ideas, etc. (10)

4. Abstract (10)

5. Acknowledgments (5)

TOTAL GENERAL: _________

EXHIBIT 50 EXTRA CREDIT POINTS

1. Summarized project well (30)

Problem and hypothesis easy to understand (5)

Experimental method clearly stated (10)

Results summarized in graphs/tables (10)

Conclusion presented (5)

2. Eye appeal (10)

Neat lettering (3)

Pleasing placement of parts (2)

Good use of color (3)

Sturdiness (2)

3. Creativity (10)

TOTAL EXHIBIT POINTS: _______

TOTAL PROJECT: ______

Resource: Sample grading criteria

General Grading Criteria: Composition 1xx

Kate Kiefer, Donna LeCourt, Stephen Reid, & Jean Wyrick. (2018). Commenting on Student Writing. The WAC Clearinghouse. Retrieved from https://wac.colostate.edu/repository/teaching/guides/commenting/. Originally developed for Writing@CSU (https://writing.colostate.edu).

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• 10 Types of Essay Feedback and How to Respond to Them

The moment of truth has arrived: you’ve got your marked essay back and you’re eagerly scanning through it, taking in the amount of red pen, and looking at the grade and hastily scrawled feedback at the end.

After deciphering the handwriting, you’re able to see a brief assessment of how you’ve performed in this essay, and your heart either leaps or sinks. Ideally, you’d receive detailed feedback telling you exactly where you fell short and providing helpful guidance on how to improve next time. However, the person marking your essay probably doesn’t have time for that, so instead leaves you very brief remarks that you then have to decode in order to understand how you can do better. In this article, we look at some of the common sorts of remarks you might receive in essay feedback, what they mean, and how to respond to them or take them on board so that you can write a better essay next time – no matter how good this one was!

1. “Too heavily reliant on critics”

We all fall into the trap of regurgitating whatever scholarship we happen to have read in the run-up to writing the essay, and it’s a problem that reveals that many students have no idea what their own opinion is. We’re so busy paraphrasing what scholars have said that we forget to think about whether we actually agree with what they’ve said. This is an issue we discussed in a recent article on developing your own opinion , in which we talked about how to approach scholarship with an open and critical mind, make up your own mind and give your own opinion in your essays. If you’ve received this kind of feedback, the person marking your essay has probably noticed that you’ve followed exactly the same line of thinking as one or more of the books on your reading list, without offering any kind of original comment. Take a look at the article linked to just now and you’ll soon be developing your own responses.

2. “Too short”

If your essay falls significantly short of the prescribed word count, this could suggest that you haven’t put in enough work. Most essays will require extensive reading before you can do a topic justice, and if you’ve struggled to fill the word count, it’s almost certainly because you haven’t done enough reading, and you’ve therefore missed out a significant line of enquiry. This is perhaps a sign that you’ve left it too late to write your essay, resulting in a rushed and incomplete essay (even if you consider it finished, it’s not complete if it hasn’t touched on topics of major relevance). This problem can be alleviated by effective time management, allowing plenty of time for the research phase of your essay and then enough time to write a detailed essay that touches on all the important arguments. If you’re struggling to think of things to say in your essay, try reading something on the topic that you haven’t read before. This will offer you a fresh perspective to talk about, and possibly help you to understand the topic clearly enough to start making more of your own comments about it.

3. “Too long”

[pullquote] “The present letter is a very long one, simply because I had no leisure to make it shorter” – Blaise Pascal [/pullquote]It sounds counter-intuitive, but it’s actually much easier to write an essay that’s too long than one that’s too short. This is because we’re all prone to waffling when we’re not entirely sure what we want to say, and/or because we want to show the person marking our essay that we’ve read extensively, even when some of the material we’ve read isn’t strictly relevant to the essay question we’ve been set. But the word count is there for a reason: it forces you to be clear and concise, leaving out what isn’t relevant. A short (say, 500-word) essay is actually a challenging academic exercise, so if you see fit to write twice the number of words, the person marking the essay is unlikely to be impressed. Fifty to a hundred words over the limit probably won’t be too much of an issue if that’s less than 10% of the word count, and will probably go unnoticed, but if you’ve ended up with something significantly over this, it’s time to start trimming. Re-read what you’ve written and scrutinise every single line. Does it add anything to your argument? Are you saying in ten words what could be said in three? Is there a whole paragraph that doesn’t really contribute to developing your argument? If so, get rid of it. This kind of ruthless editing and rephrasing can quickly bring your word count down, and it results in a much tighter and more carefully worded essay.

4. “Contradicts itself”

Undermining your own argument is an embarrassing mistake to make, but you can do it without realising when you’ve spent so long tweaking your essay that you can no longer see the wood for the trees. Contradicting yourself in an essay is also a sign that you haven’t completely understood the issues and haven’t formed a clear opinion on what the evidence shows. To avoid this error, have a detailed read through your essay before you submit it and look in particular detail at the statements you make. Looking at them in essence and in isolation, do any of them contradict each other? If so, decide which you think is more convincing and make your argument accordingly.

5. “Too many quotations”

It’s all too easy to hide behind the words of others when one is unsure of something, or lacking a complete understanding of a topic. This insecurity leads us to quote extensively from either original sources or scholars, including long chunks of quoted text as a nifty way of upping the word count without having to reveal our own ignorance (too much). But you won’t fool the person marking your essay by doing this: they’ll see immediately that you’re relying too heavily on the words of others, without enough intelligent supporting commentary, and it’s particularly revealing when most of the quotations are from the same source (which shows that you haven’t read widely enough). It’s good to include some quotations from a range of different sources, as it adds colour to your essay, shows that you’ve read widely and demonstrates that you’re thinking about different kinds of evidence. However, if you’ve received this kind of feedback, you can improve your next essay by not quoting more than a sentence at a time, making the majority of the text of your essay your own words, and including plenty of your own interpretation and responses to what you’ve quoted. Another word of advice regarding quotations: one of my tutors once told me is that one should never end an essay on a quotation. You may think that this is a clever way of bringing your essay to a conclusion, but actually you’re giving the last word to someone else when it’s your essay, and you should make the final intelligent closing remark. Quoting someone else at the end is a cop-out that some students use to get out of the tricky task of writing a strong final sentence, so however difficult the alternative may seem, don’t do it!

6. “Not enough evidence”

In an essay, every point you make must be backed up with supporting evidence – it’s one of the fundamental tenets of academia. You can’t make a claim unless you can show what has lead you to it, whether that’s a passage in an original historical source, the result of some scientific research, or any other form of information that would lend credibility to your statement. A related problem is that some students will quote a scholar’s opinion as though it were concrete evidence of something; in fact, that is just one person’s opinion, and that opinion has been influenced by the scholar’s own biases. The evidence they based the opinion on might be tenuous, so it’s that evidence you should be looking at, not the actual opinion of the scholar themselves. As you write your essay, make a point of checking that everything you’ve said is adequately supported.

7. “All over the place” / “Confused”

An essay described as “all over the place” – or words to that effect – reveals that the student who wrote it hasn’t developed a clear line of argument, and that they are going off at tangents and using an incoherent structure in which one point doesn’t seem to bear any relation to the previous one. A tight structure is vital in essay-writing, as it holds the reader’s interest and helps build your argument to a logical conclusion. You can avoid your essay seeming confused by writing an essay plan before you start. This will help you get the structure right and be clear about what you want to say before you start writing.

8. “Misses the point”

This feedback can feel particularly damning if you’ve spent a long time writing what you thought was a carefully constructed essay. A simple reason might be that you didn’t read the question carefully enough. But it’s also a problem that arises when students spend too long looking at less relevant sources and not enough at the most important ones, because they ran out of time, or because they didn’t approach their reading lists in the right order, or because they failed to identify correctly which the most important sources actually were. This leads to students focusing on the wrong thing, or perhaps getting lost in the details. The tutor marking the essay, who has a well-rounded view of the topic, will be baffled if you’ve devoted much of your essay to discussing something you thought was important, but which they know to be a minor detail when compared with the underlying point. If you’re not sure which items on your reading list to tackle first, you could try asking your tutor next time if they could give you some pointers on which of the material they recommend you focus on first. It can also be helpful to prompt yourself from time to time with the question “What is the point?”, as this will remind you to take a step back and figure out what the core issues are.

9. “Poor presentation”

This kind of remark is likely to refer to issues with the formatting of your essay, spelling and punctuation, or general style. Impeccable spelling and grammar are a must, so proofread your essay before you submit it and check that there are no careless typos (computer spell checks don’t always pick these up). In terms of your writing style, you might get a comment like this if the essay marker found your writing either boring or in a style inappropriate to the context of a formal essay. Finally, looks matter: use a sensible, easy-to-read font, print with good-quality ink and paper if you’re printing, and write neatly and legibly if you’re handwriting. Your essay should be as easy to read as possible for the person marking it, as this lessens their workload and makes them feel more positively towards your work.

10. “Very good”

On the face of it, this is the sort of essay feedback every student wants to hear. But when you think about it, it’s not actually very helpful – particularly when it’s accompanied by a mark that wasn’t as high as you were aiming for. With these two words, you have no idea why you didn’t achieve top marks. In the face of such (frankly lazy) marking from your teacher or lecturer, the best response is to be pleased that you’ve received a positive comment, but to go to the person who marked it and ask for more comments on what you could have done to get a higher mark. They shouldn’t be annoyed at your asking, because you’re simply striving to do better every time.

General remarks on responding to essay feedback

We end with a few general pieces of advice on how to respond to essay feedback.

• Don’t take criticism personally.
• Remember that feedback is there to help you improve.
• Don’t be afraid to ask for more feedback if what they’ve said isn’t clear.
• Don’t rest on your laurels – if you’ve had glowing feedback, it’s still worth asking if there’s anything you could have done to make the essay even better.

It can be difficult to have one’s hard work (metaphorically) ripped apart or disparaged, but feedback is ultimately there to help you get higher grades, get into better universities, and put you on a successful career path; so keep that end goal in mind when you get your essay back.

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Home ➔ How to Write an Essay ➔ Commentary Essay Guide

Commentary Essay Guide

If you are a high school, college, or university student, you might have to write a commentary essay sooner or later. And whatever the subject may be, it’s better to be sure to provide substantial content and analyze the written discourse thoroughly. A commentary is quite good for completing that task.  

There are several ways of writing a commentary, and we will examine all of the major ones. Depending on the subject and the requirements, you might write your commentary in the form of a separate paper with its own characteristics (usually assigned and explained by your tutor), a literary analysis, and data commentary.

Plus, a commentary can be part of any complete essay. If you are assigned a specific type, you are free to jump to it directly. If not, make sure to read the whole article and learn more about every kind of commentary essay.

Essay definition – read our general article to learn more about essays.

What Is a Commentary Essay? (As a Separate Paper)

A commentary essay is a written piece that provides an opinion on a particular subject. This type of essay is usually written in response to another piece , such as a blog post, article, or book passage. In a commentary essay, the writer will typically offer their own take on the situation, using evidence and examples to support their claims.

A commentary essay as a separate assignment is widely used among academic institutions. Such a paper aims to make students enable and use their critical thinking, analyze a subject, and provide an individual commentary essay.

For instance, the Purdue University Fort Wayne course ENG W131 relies on a commentary essay as a distinct type because it simply helps the reader understand the topic more in-depth and provides a strong stance regarding the given subject. It would be reasonable to point out the most notable attributes of this commentary essay and what professors of the Purdue University course require to pass the program.

The commentary essay’s primary goal is to help the audience understand the topic better. Many subjects may be quite unclear to an ordinary reader—meaning many points can be misunderstood. Students write commentary essays to evaluate various concepts and analyze the subject in a broader scope. 

Audience and Genre

The writer’s primary audience should be interested in the issue and have some connections with it. In other words, if you are to discuss innovations in the business sector, your audience may comprise business owners.

A commentary essay speaks for itself. The genre is a commentary—however, an official one.

Language and Style

Almost every paper has to be written according to academic rules, i.e., by following formal language and avoiding slang and personal pronouns. A commentary essay, however, allows you to include the first-person pronoun “I” to present your point of view.

Make your work coherent by providing effective transitions between the essay’s paragraphs and minding the word choice .

Like any academic paper, a commentary essay must contain an introduction with a thesis statement , a body part, and a conclusion. A word count might vary, but it is usually four to six pages long, double-spaced, typed with Times New Roman, with a title page and scholarly sources formatted in APA style.

Note: To learn more about essay format and structure, read our dedicated guide – How to Format an Essay .

Make sure to add one academic article or any other authoritative source per page. If your commentary essay has three pages, you need to find three up-to-date scholarly or any other competent materials. Such shreds of evidence support your arguments and thus make your work more trustworthy. 

The following are some brief tips to help you succeed in writing a commentary essay:

• Create a strong and clear thesis that will outline your paper’s main points.
• Make sure to give your audience food for thought or something that will urge them to act or try making sense of the topic.
• Treat the readers as co-thinkers and demonstrate your position with reason, regardless of whether your perspective on the subject and theirs coincide.
• Don’t be too objective or neutral but try to show your viewpoint, whatever it is.

Literary Commentary Writing and Analysis

Many students might think that commentary and analysis are two different things. They ask what the difference is since teachers can talk about commentary and analysis and use these terms interchangeably. The truth is, these are basically the same words in the context of essay writing. In simple terms, a commentary requires a person to analyze a certain block of text and explain their understanding to the audience.

As we already know, a commentary essay can be written in various ways. A commentary essay can examine different subjects and areas, which is hard to say about literary analysis. Literary commentary writing focuses on literature and sometimes news. Moreover, it follows the two most used methods: “This shows that” and “LET.” 

“This Shows That” Approach

To be brief but precise, this method makes students read between the lines and provide a complete understanding of the given text. However, although this method is relatively simple (but very effective), students tend to make mistakes when using it. Instead of going into the content, they remain about water. As a result, students don’t analyze the chosen section but simply paraphrase it. Let’s take a look at two examples:

A weak approach: In Essay On Criticism by Alexander Pope , the author states that “Those RULES of old discover’d, not devis’d; Are Nature still, but Nature Methodiz’d. Nature, like Liberty, is but restrain’d By the same Laws which first herself ordain’d.” The author says that only Nature sets the rules of our universe and can alter them.

A stronger approach: In Essay On Criticism by Alexander Pope , the author states that “Those RULES of old discover’d, not devis’d; Are Nature still, but Nature Methodiz’d. Nature, like Liberty, is but restrain’d By the same Laws which first herself ordain’d.” This shows that Nature dictates its own rules that no one can alter but her. Moreover, such rules are tightly connected with criticism during Classicism. The author wanted to emphasize that often such criticism was hostile to poetry, which was then called “criticism for the sake of criticism.”

“LET” Approach

This approach stands for “Literary Elements and Techniques,” which helps determine components used within the section and explains how such techniques correlate with the thesis statement. As a matter of fact, these elements are point of view, conflict, plot, character, style, and setting . 

Analyzed quote : “It is much easier to make good men wise, than to make bad men good.”

Thesis statement : Henry Fielding used digressions and extensive descriptions to show how a single event can be depicted, extended, and mocked.

Commentary : In this example, the narrator uses digressions to change the topic and provide something completely different, which, however, as the author states, is very important to know beforehand. By men , the author demonstrates the entire humanity and its development, false values, and shallow life. The quote works to show that every piece of text can mock every life aspect, and it wholly relates to the thesis statement.

Note: To learn more about academic analytical writing, check our comprehensive article – How to Write an Analytical Essay .  

What Are Commentaries in an Essay?

Commentaries in an essay can be written in different ways. Depending on an essay’s type you have to analyze, you can use several kinds of commentaries to interpret the body paragraphs’ evidence . These comments ultimately allow you to build a full-fledged paper and are essential in most essays. 

Each body paragraph in essays usually has a set structure, which looks something like this:

• Topic sentence (with your claim or argument)
• Supporting evidence, examples, quotes, etc.
• Your commentaries analyzing the previous part
• Concluding sentence with a transition to the next part

There are five different ways of writing a commentary (analysis) in an essay. Each of them requires thorough analysis to identify which type is the most pertinent to use. Comments can be composed in the form of:

• Opinion: When you analyze a piece and provide your take about it.
• Interpretation: When you explain a concept that is hard to understand.
• Character and Subject’s Feelings: When you depict the person’s emotional state.
• Personal Reaction: When you present your personal stance on the topic.
• Evaluation: When you evaluate a section and provide your critical judgment.

Now, each type is unique and has to be used within the relevant context. Suffice to say, you can’t use a character’s and subject’s feelings when analyzing statistics or a biology essay. How to identify which type is the most pertinent to the essay? Let’s find out.

Opinion Type

This one simply means to walk through the piece, comprehend it, and give the audience a short thought on the subject. The “what and why” method is the best way to provide sound analysis. Topics may be different, but argumentative essays with pieces of evidence are the prevalent paper type.

An exemplary statement might be: Considering a slow increase in vaccinated people, it will take over 70 years to vaccinate all the globe’s population.

When sticking to the “what and why” method, you want to show what your opinion is and why it is important.

So, the answer might follow this way: The statement demonstrated very slow progress in vaccinating people. If we want to get back to the pre-covid times sooner than 70 years from now, we have to speed up the vaccination process to grant people safety and hope.

Interpretation Type 

This type would suit argumentative essays with evidence-based statistics and numbers. Likewise, the “what and why” strategy would be the best for this and succeeding types.

The example of the body paragraph’s main thought can be: Researchers empirically identified that of 100,000 participants, 80,000 started feeling better after strenuous workouts.

Your commentary: The research indicates that the vast majority of participants made use of intense exercises. However beneficial it may be, there are still a substantial number of people who didn’t feel any improvement, and some even started feeling worse. 

Character’s or Subject’s Feelings

This type is applicable when providing commentaries on different descriptive or narrative essays.

For instance, the subject matter may well be related to some biographies and reflections, such as Sylvia Evans, observing her poor mental state, had to give up higher education and merge with solitude for the rest of her life.

Then, your commentary can be: Sylvia faces disastrous feelings at a young age, resulting in her university expulsion. Consequently, she has to leave everything and become alone, which can be even more perilous for her and people who share similar feelings. 

Personal Reaction

Here, you can touch on topics that can somehow relate to you. Issues you cover might be various and relate to the expository , narrative , or descriptive essays . An excellent example can be the topic of ethnic discrimination.

For instance: People don’t accept individuals of various backgrounds, sticking to the ideas of a polygamous nation and excluding others from their group.

The following may be your response: It is unacceptable to observe such pseudo-notions and see how people from different countries are perceived. Such an attitude spawns hatred, isolation, and even violence from both groups. 

Assessment 

This type relies on authoritative papers, credible statements, law, and other widely known rules.

For example, Owners whose private property is trespassed can use firearms and fend off the intruders.

Your evaluation can be as follows: Although this might be unnecessary, people are prone to defending their territory in any possible way. In fact, they are protected by the law and constitution that allow them to use firearms to protect their possessions. 

Data Commentary

Last but not least, the data commentary. Data commentary analyzes and discusses various data. In many fields, especially in engineering, it is critical to be able to make a point or develop an argument based on data.

The data can be presented as a table, graph, chart, or diagram; it can be your own data (e.g., gathered via a survey) or data from other sources, such as research papers and third-party surveys.

In data commentaries, one of the essential points is showing your position. And one of the main mistakes is to simply describe the data without providing your own point of view or any interpretation. However, here’s where another danger often arises. When drawing a conclusion based on data, make sure that conclusion is well-supported and that your claim is reasonable.

You can regulate the strength of your claim by using different verbs based on the strength of your stance. For example, if your stance is strong, you can say “caused,” indicating that one thing is definitely the reason something else happened. But if you want to make it less asserting, you can word it like “might have contributed to.”

All in all, here are the elements your data commentary can consist of:

• Summary : You need to write a study’s synopsis and provide critical pieces of information the reader should know about.
• Graph or Chart : To help the reader understand the numbers better and be able to compare them easily, you can include diagrams, charts, or other visual representations of data.
• Conclusion : When writing a conclusion, not only do you help the reader remember key points, but you also provide your viewpoint.
• Bibliography : You might need to create a reference page listing the sources you used when composing the data commentary.

Data Commentary Example (image)

Here’s an example of a data commentary with a good explanation, transitions, and a strong conclusion.

Key Takeaways and Tips

With the abundance of types a commentary essay has, it comes as no surprise that students often get overwhelmed when professors assign them to write this paper. Still, the assignment is manageable, especially if you are aware that a commentary essay can be written in the form of:

• Separate essay
• Literary analysis
• Data commentary
• Evidence interpretation

Each of them is unique and has characteristics that students need to be familiar with before writing. 

Once you define which type of commentary essay you need, you might find the following tips useful:

• Commentary is analysis, but not every analysis is commentary.
• Try color-coding when writing an essay to highlight its parts with different colors to see if your paper is balanced and well-structured. Read more about essay elements in our guide on how to write a standard essay .
• Always remember that in a commentary, your opinion and interpretation matter the most.
• In a literary commentary, avoid using first-person pronouns (I, me, my, we, us, our).
• Don’t simply summarize the quote, data, or evidence but draw logical conclusions and present your perspective.

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Commentary Essay Example, Writing Guide, and Tips

Introduction

Welcome to The Knowledge Nest, your go-to resource for all things related to commentary essay writing. In this comprehensive guide, we will walk you through the process of crafting an impactful commentary essay, providing useful examples and valuable tips to help you enhance your writing skills.

What is a Commentary Essay?

A commentary essay is a type of academic writing that aims to analyze and provide an in-depth interpretation of a particular text or topic. It offers a critical examination and evaluation of the subject matter, exploring various perspectives and providing evidence-based arguments to support the author's viewpoint.

Why Write a Commentary Essay?

Writing a commentary essay allows you to develop critical thinking skills, enhance your analytical abilities, and strengthen your written communication. It provides a platform to express your ideas and opinions, engage with different viewpoints, and present a well-rounded analysis of the chosen subject matter.

Key Components of a Commentary Essay

1. Introduction: Begin your essay with a captivating introduction that presents the topic and provides context for the reader.

2. Thesis Statement: Craft a clear and concise thesis statement that outlines your main argument or perspective.

3. Body Paragraphs: Develop your analysis in well-structured body paragraphs, each focusing on a specific point or theme. Use relevant evidence, examples, and expert opinions to support your claims.

4. Counterarguments: Address potential counterarguments or alternative viewpoints and offer thoughtful rebuttals to strengthen your position.

5. Conclusion: Summarize the main points of your essay and reiterate your thesis statement, leaving the reader with a lasting impression.

Step-by-Step Guide to Writing a Commentary Essay

Step 1: choose a relevant topic.

Select a topic that aligns with your interests and falls within the scope of your assignment or academic requirements. Consider the relevance and significance of the subject matter to engage your readers.

Step 2: Conduct Extensive Research

Gather information from credible sources such as academic journals, books, reputable websites, and scholarly articles. Engage with different perspectives and take diligent notes to support your analysis.

Step 3: Outline Your Essay

Create a clear and well-structured outline that outlines the main points, arguments, and supporting evidence you will present in your essay. A well-organized outline ensures a cohesive and logical flow of ideas.

Step 4: Craft an Engaging Introduction

In your introduction, provide a brief overview of the topic and its significance. Hook the reader's attention with an intriguing opening sentence or a thought-provoking question.

Step 5: Develop Your Arguments in the Body Paragraphs

Divide your essay into distinct body paragraphs, each focusing on a specific point or theme. Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence that establishes the main idea, and support it with relevant evidence, examples, and analysis.

Step 6: Address Counterarguments

Acknowledge alternative viewpoints and counterarguments to demonstrate your awareness of different perspectives. Articulate thoughtful rebuttals that strengthen your arguments and distinguish your viewpoint.

Step 7: Conclude with Impact

In your conclusion, summarize the main points of your essay and restate your thesis statement. Leave the reader with a compelling closing thought or call-to-action that invites further reflection or discussion on the topic.

Commentary Essay Example

To provide you with a better understanding, let's consider an example of a commentary essay on the topic of climate change:

Introduction:

Climate change has emerged as one of the most pressing global issues of our time. This commentary essay aims to analyze the causes, impacts, and potential solutions to address this environmental crisis.

Body Paragraph 1: The Causes of Climate Change

The first body paragraph delves into the primary causes of climate change, such as greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, and industrialization. It explores how human activities have contributed to the accelerated pace of global warming.

Body Paragraph 2: The Impacts of Climate Change

In the second body paragraph, we examine the far-reaching impacts of climate change on ecosystems, weather patterns, and human livelihoods. We explore the devastating consequences of rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and the loss of biodiversity.

Body Paragraph 3: Potential Solutions to Climate Change

The third body paragraph focuses on potential solutions to mitigate and adapt to climate change. It explores renewable energy sources, sustainable agricultural practices, and international collaboration as key strategies to combat this global crisis.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, the commentary essay emphasizes the urgent need for collective action to address climate change. By understanding its causes, impacts, and potential solutions, we can work towards a sustainable future for generations to come.

Writing a commentary essay enables you to dive deep into a specific topic, critically analyze it, and articulate your thoughts effectively. By following our comprehensive guide and utilizing the provided tips, you will be well-equipped to create impactful commentary essays and improve your writing skills.

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When You Write

From Summary to Insight: A Guide to Writing Commentary Essays with Depth

Writing an essay can be daunting, let alone if you’re also providing commentary on it. But the reward of a job well done is worth the effort when you’re finished!

It has been noted that essays with thoughtful commentaries have a higher chance of being accepted for publication. So I’m here to help make it clear that essay writers need to understand the power of commentary and how to incorporate it into their work.

In this article, I’ll share my experience as a writer and provide insight on how to make your voice heard in an essay by using effective commentary. By following my advice, you’ll be able to craft a piece that stands out from the crowd and makes your thoughts shine through!

What Is Commentary In An Essay?

Over the course of your writing, you may have heard of the term ‘commentary’ in relation to essay writing. But what does it mean?

Simply put, commentary is analysis. It’s when you take a text and try to identify the deeper implications at play. In literary texts this could be symbolism, metaphors or dual meanings; with non-fiction texts it could include examining how an author makes use of evidence and arguments to support their position.

Writing a commentary essay requires close reading skills and the ability to interpret a wide range of information. It also requires you to think critically about how ideas are connected and draw conclusions about why certain elements are included in the text.

Commentary is an essential part of any essay because it allows your reader – who may not be as familiar with the text as you – to understand why you have drawn certain conclusions based on your interpretation.

It’s like giving them a guided tour through your thoughts and ideas so they can explore what makes your argument unique and interesting. Commentary also enables you to make connections between different aspects of the text that might not be obvious on first glance, helping bring out its significance even further.

By using commentary effectively, you can write an engaging essay that really gets your point across clearly.

The Significance Of Commentary In Essay Writing

Writing commentary in an essay can be a powerful tool for communicating ideas and arguments. It is essential to engage in critical thinking, interpretation, and analysis when writing commentary. Writing effective commentary requires the ability to construct a well-developed argument that supports the main point of the essay.

Here are 4 key elements of effective commentary:

• A clear thesis statement
• Relevant evidence that supports the argument
• Interpretation and analysis of the evidence
• A conclusion that summarizes the argument

Commentaries should be written with an engaging style that encourages readers to think critically about the topic at hand. Good literary commentary should be accessible, yet thought-provoking; it should both inform and entertain the audience. Additionally, it should challenge preconceived notions about a subject and provide an insightful perspective on why something matters or how it affects our lives.

In order to write effectively, one must first understand their audience and what they hope to communicate through their words. With this knowledge in mind, one can craft a compelling commentary that offers fresh insight into any given topic.

Transitioning seamlessly into the next section…

Key Elements Of Effective Commentary

Like the rising sun that signals a new day, effective commentary can offer a fresh perspective to an essay. With the right words and emphasis, it can engage readers in an entirely new way and bring them closer to understanding your argument.

Like a shimmering beacon of light, it has the power to grab their attention and draw them into your ideas.

Commentary does more than just summarize facts or provide background information – it also evaluates, interprets, and analyses information.

It’s an opportunity for you to delve into the heart of what you’re writing about, offering insight into its significance and exploring potential implications. By taking this approach, you can evaluate the importance of each point and develop your thesis with greater clarity.

Through thoughtful commentary, you can make connections between ideas that your readers may not have previously considered and help them reach their own conclusions about your argument.

Strategies For Writing Potent Commentary In Essays

Writing potent commentary in essays is essential to making a successful argument and gaining the reader’s interest. Here are four strategies that can help you write a good essay commentary:

Develop a strong thesis statement

A thesis statement serves as the core of your essay, and it should be explicit, engaging and supportable by evidence. It should also be concise so that readers can understand your main message immediately.

Understand the topic better

Spend some time researching the topic before you start writing to ensure you have a thorough understanding of it. This will give your commentary more depth and clarity.

Body And Paragraphs Organized

Make sure your body paragraphs are organized logically and clearly explain how your points relate to the overall theme or argument of your essay.

Each paragraph should have a single purpose, and make sure that all sentences within each paragraph work together to support that purpose.

Use literary analysis

When writing your commentary you can draw on elements like tone, imagery, diction, and syntax to make your argument more persuasive and compelling for readers. This will also help them better understand what you’re trying to communicate in your essay.

By incorporating these strategies into your essay writing process, you can create powerful commentary that effectively supports your argument and engages readers with meaningful insight into the text or topic at hand. With these tips in mind, let’s look at how to use quotations and examples in commentary to further enrich our arguments!

The Use Of Quotations And Examples In Commentary

Now that we’ve discussed strategies for writing powerful commentary in essays, let’s explore the use of quotations and examples when constructing these sentences.

Quotations and examples are essential for making strong commentary sentences that support an argument or analysis. When used correctly, they can be a great way to illustrate a point and add interest and texture to your argument.

When including a quotation in your commentary, it is important to make sure it is properly attributed. You should include both the author’s name and the source from which the quote was taken. This not only strengthens your argument by adding credibility, but it also shows you have done your research.

Examples are also effective for proving a point or introducing a new concept. They help to break up longer paragraphs, explain difficult concepts in more detail, and provide evidence or substantiation for an idea or opinion. When using examples in commentary sentences, it is important that they are relevant to the topic at hand and accurately represent what you are attempting to say in your essay.

With this information in mind, let’s move on to examining types of commentary in essays; comprehending the contrasts.

Types Of Commentary In Essays: Comprehending The Contrasts

As a student writing a commentary essay, it is important to understand the differences between analyzing, summarizing, and evaluating. To help comprehend these contrasts, let’s take a look at four main points:

1.      Analyzing – Looking closely at something and breaking it down into smaller parts to better understand it.

2.      Summarizing – Taking the information from a larger group of data and boiling it down into its key elements.

3.      Relating – Exploring how two or more ideas are connected and how they affect each other.

4.      Evaluating – Examining different aspects of an issue or argument and determining its worth or value by expressing an opinion about it.

Using these four points as a framework for writing your commentary essays can help you to be more effective in your analysis, summary and evaluation of any given topic.

Furthermore, this knowledge will also serve you well when crafting strategies for writing literary essays that contain thoughtful commentary elements.

With this in mind, let us now turn our attention to creating such strategies…

Strategies For Writing Commentary In Literary Essays

Having discussed the differences between types of commentary, let’s now turn to strategies for writing effective commentary in literary essays.

When it comes to providing commentary, it is important to understand that you are making a statement about something; whether it be an interpretation or opinion, you need to make a clear statement.

You should also comment on any phrases or passages that have stood out and explain why they are significant.

It is also important to identify the underlying message of the text. This means going beyond surface-level analysis and delving into the deeper meaning of the work.

To do this, think about what is not being said as much as what is being said.

Make sure your comments add depth to your analysis and provide new insights for your readers.

Finally, take care when constructing your sentences so that your points come across clearly and convincingly.

Writing Commentary For Convincing Essays

I’m sure you’re excited to finally get started on writing your commentary for a convincing essay! It can be intimidating to write about something without knowing what type of essay you’re working on. But if you take the time to read through the assignment and passage, you’ll have a much better idea of what you need to write.

When it comes to writing your commentary, try not to worry too much about “sounding smart” or “having all the right answers.” Instead, focus on writing like yourself—in your own voice, with your own ideas. The more authentic and engaging your writing is, the more persuasive it will be to readers.

So don’t be afraid to express yourself—you may just surprise yourself with how creative and interesting your thoughts can be! With that said, let’s move on to creating commentary that supports your thesis statement.

Creating Commentary That Supports Your Thesis Statement

As the saying goes, hindsight is 20/20. Looking back now, it’s clear that writing an effective commentary for a convincing essay requires some finesse and insight.

When starting to write, it’s important to have a good understanding of the topic you are discussing and to provide enough context for your audience to understand what you are discussing. Additionally, it helps to have an understanding of opposing viewpoints before you start writing so that you can avoid falling into common traps.

To create commentary that supports your thesis statement effectively, there are a few things you need to keep in mind:

1.      Make sure your argument is sound and won’t be easily refuted by an opposing point of view.

2.      Avoid introducing new evidence or topics in your commentary; instead focus on the evidence already presented in the essay body.

3.      Take the time to help explain why certain evidence matters and why readers should care about it.

The goal of commentary is not just to express an opinion but also provide meaningful analysis that will help prove or disprove a point of view. By being mindful of these considerations when writing, it is possible to create effective commentary that will help readers better understand your argument and its implications.

Common Mistakes To Avoid In Commentary Writing

I think one of the biggest mistakes I can make when writing a commentary essay is to overgeneralize my points. It’s important to provide specific examples and evidence to back up my opinion and avoid making sweeping conclusions.

Additionally, when writing a commentary essay, it’s also easy to forget to include evidence to support my argument. Making sure to include evidence will make my piece of writing much more convincing and credible.

Avoiding Overgeneralization

When writing a commentary essay, it’s important to avoid overgeneralizing your topic.

Sure, it may be tempting to make sweeping statements about the issue at hand, but this won’t do justice to your argument.

Instead, try to focus on concrete evidence and facts that back up your opinion.

For example, include statistics or subjective accounts from experts in the field.

This will ensure that you don’t come off as too biased or uninformed in your commentary.

By avoiding overgeneralization and being specific in your evidence, you can present a much more convincing argument and captivate readers with innovation.

Remember: always strive for accuracy when building an argument!

Lack Of Evidence

When it comes to commentary writing, one of the biggest mistakes people make is not having enough evidence to back up their argument. Without any supporting evidence, your argument can easily be dismissed as biased and uninformed.

This is especially true when discussing contentious topics like politics or religion. It’s important to remember that you’re usually assigned a commentary essay for a reason—so make sure you have enough facts and figures to give your readers an informed opinion. Otherwise, you may struggle to convince them of your point of view.

To make sure your argument stands out from the crowd, research extensively and use concrete evidence whenever possible. This will show that you’ve put in the effort and will help ensure a more innovative outcome for your audience.

Tips For Revising And Editing Commentary

Revising and editing your commentary is an important step in writing an essay. It helps to ensure that you are conveying the most accurate and persuasive message.

To do this, it’s important to read through your writing again and summarize any points that you noticed while reading. This will allow you to make sure that each point is clear and concise. As students need to be able to write effectively, it is also important to pay close attention to the language used throughout the essay.

Looking for words that could be replaced with more precise ones or focusing on certain aspects of literature can help bring life to a paper.

It is also essential to check for grammar, spelling, punctuation, and other errors before submitting the essay. Making sure all of these elements are correct can help enhance the paper’s overall quality.

Additionally, as you review your work, look for any areas where clarification may be necessary. Taking a second look at what you wrote will help ensure that the reader fully understands all of your points and implications.

By following these tips when revising and editing commentary in an essay, readers can gain a clearer understanding of the author’s intended message.

Examples Of Strong And Poor Commentary In Essays

A necessary part of writing an essay is the commentary. It’s the all-important part that allows for a deeper understanding of what is being written and allows the reader to get a fuller picture of the writer’s thoughts.

Unfortunately, not everyone understands the need to understand commentary. Many writers think they can simply paraphrase their sources without paying attention to how they are using irony or antithesis, missing out on valuable opportunities to add depth and complexity to their work.

Commentary should be used to engage readers in a way that speaks directly to their subconscious desire for innovation. It should be written in a personal tone of voice with contractions and an engaging style that will grab readers’ attention and make them want more.

If done correctly, it can bring new life and insight into an essay, allowing it to stand out from the rest.

Paragraph Construction With Commentary

In this section, I’m going to be talking about paragraph construction with commentary. As part of writing an essay, it is important to think about how you are going to use literary elements and techniques to convey your main idea or argument. I was always taught by my instructor that the way you structure your paragraphs can really make a difference in how effective your message is.

So, let’s take a look at some tips for constructing well-crafted paragraphs that provide an engaging commentary.

First of all, try not to write too long of a sentence as this can lead to confusion for the reader.

Secondly, make sure that each paragraph has one clear point that ties back into the main argument or idea you are trying to convey in your essay.

Finally, use transition words and phrases as needed throughout the essay so that readers can easily follow along with your discussion.

All these steps help ensure that readers understand and appreciate what you have written in your essay. With these tips in mind, let’s move on to discussing transition words and phrases for commentary.

Transition Words And Phrases For Commentary

In the world of higher education, commentary is a powerful tool that can bring literature to life in a way that no other piece can. It’s almost magical how one can take an otherwise mundane poem and turn it into something extraordinary with just a few words. Commentary has the ability to transform isolation into coherence in ways that are simply astounding!

Here is a 4-point list for successful commentary:

1.      Read the text multiple times before writing any comments.

2.      Take notes on what stands out most to you.

3.      Use concrete examples from the text to better illustrate your points.

4.      Be sure to engage with your audience in a way that encourages them to think more deeply about the subject matter at hand.

Commentary is an invaluable skill for anyone looking to make their mark on a piece of literature, so use it wisely and always strive for excellence! With this knowledge, we can now move on to exploring how to write a conclusion with commentary – do’s and don’ts included!

Writing A Conclusion With Commentary: Do’s And Don’ts

Now that you know the transition words and phrases for commentary, it’s time to learn how to write a conclusion with commentary. It can seem complicated, but it doesn’t have to be.

One of the most important things to remember is not to rely too heavily on your homework. Spending too much time memorizing facts and figures won’t help you in the long run when it comes to showcasing your opinion. Therefore, try to focus on critical thinking skills instead of wasting time studying for hours on end.

While two sentences are usually enough for a conclusion, make sure that each one packs a punch and is full of insight and analysis. Hone your skills by getting feedback from others so you can refine your writing and develop a style that resonates with any reader.

This can help ensure that your concluding remarks leave an impactful impression on those who read them.

Overall, effective commentary is essential for producing a successful essay.

Writing commentary allows you to demonstrate your understanding and personal thoughts on the topic and can really amplify your argument.

By incorporating examples, quotations, and other evidence into your commentary, you are able to bring life to your writing in a manner that will make it stand out from the crowd.

As an age-old proverb says, “A picture paints a thousand words”; similarly, strong commentary paints an even grander picture of your argument.

With these tips in mind, I look forward to seeing you all write some truly standout essays!

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10 STRATEGIES FOR RESPONDING TO STUDENT WRITING MORE EFFICIENTLY

• Skim through the pile to discern the range of responses to an assignment.
• Read each essay through quickly, before making any marks, to identify major strengths and weaknesses.
• Think about strengths and weaknesses in terms of clear assessment criteria—thesis, structure, analysis, and so on.
• Comment representatively in the margins by noting patterns.
• Use a reliable format for structuring final comments—for example, restatement of thesis, discussion of strengths, and discussion of weaknesses.
• Identify in final comments no more than three or four areas for improvement.
• Design effective writing assignments.
• Respond to proposals, outlines, and drafts.
• Organize students into writing groups.
• Ask for a cover letter.

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How to Write Effective Essay Comments

Of course, the real world problem that conscientious teachers face is time. Responding to multiple drafts with effective writing feedback is time-consuming and, at times, mind-numbing.

I would like to share with you a free resource that will help get your life back… I just released a new comment insert program for Google docs that will save grading time and improve writing feedback. Insert hundreds of customizable Common Core-aligned instructional comments, which identify, explain, and show how to revise writing issues, with just one click from the e-Comments menu. Add your own comments to the menu, including audio, video, and speech-to-text. Also, add your own custom comment sets for assignments and different classes. Check out the introductory video and add this free extension to your Chrome toolbar: e-Comments Chrome Extension . Includes separate comment banks for grades 3-6, 6-9, 9-12, and AP/College. Cheers!

Writing instructors classify the types of essay comments as following: corrective, directive, and facilitative responses.

Corrective responses are copy edits. Using proofreading diacritical marks, abbreviations, or short phrases, teachers identify mistakes in syntax, usage, mechanics, and spelling. Some teachers simply mark errors; others provide more prescriptive comments as to what is wrong and why it is wrong, and how to correct the writing issue.

Directive responses deal with both form and content. With directive responses, the teacher gives specific direction to the writer. The goal is to provide expert advice to the writer. For example, “Your thesis does not respond to the writing prompt. Re-read the writing assignment and re-write your thesis statement to specifically address the writing task.” Generally, directive response is used with matters of structure and writing style.

Facilitative comments also deal with both form and content. Using the Socratic model, comments are worded as thought-provoking questions. The goal is to make the writer responsible for writing decision-making. For example, “Is there a different type of evidence that would help to prove your point?” Generally, facilitative response is used to respond to the content and/or argument of the essay.

Writing instructors classify the key components of writing discourse as following: Essay Organization and Development (Introduction, Body, and Conclusion), Coherence, Word Choice, Sentence Variety, Writing Style, Format and Citations, Parts of Speech, Grammatical Forms, Usage, Sentence Structure, Types of Sentences, Mechanics, and Conventional Spelling Rules.

Many teachers use these components in holistic or analytical rubrics and provide separate evaluation for each.

Closing comments are usually used to personalize the overall writing comments. Closing comments may summarize the essay comments, emphasize a positive or negative in the writing, refer to the writer’s progress, provide brief praise or encouragement, or assign the overall grade

Here’s a resource that just might make life a bit easier for teachers committed to providing quality writing feedback for their students… You can both save time and improve the quality of your writing feedback with the e-Comments Chrome Extension . Insert hundreds of customizable Common Core-aligned instructional comments, which identify, explain, and show how to revise writing issues with just one click from the e-Comments menu. Add your own comments to the menu, including audio, video, and speech-to-text. Record the screen and develop your own comment sets. Works in Google Classroom, Canvas, Blackboard, etc. Check out the introductory video and add this extension to your Chrome toolbar: e-Comments Chrome Extension . Includes separate comment banks for grades 3-6, 6-9, 9-12, and AP/College. Cheers!

The e-Comments Chrome Extension

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What Is a Commentary in an Essay | Writing Guide & Examples

• Icon Calendar 18 May 2024

When people need to express their thoughts or ideas about something, they need guidelines on how to write a commentary essay. This article begins by defining what is a commentary essay, its meaning, and outlining its basic structure. Some insights students can learn are that introductions should have hooks, background information, and thesis statements. Body paragraphs of a commentary essay should have topic sentences; evidence, mainly quotes; comments after the evidence; and transitions. The conclusion part should restate the thesis and summarize the main ideas. This guideline also gives a sample outline template, possible topics, and a practical example of a commentary essay. Lastly, the article teaches students 10 dos and 10 don’ts and 20 tips for writing a high-standard commentary essay.

How to Write an Outstanding Commentary Essay & Examples

Reading is an academic exercise that develops a person’s mental faculties of intellect, memory, reason, intuition, perception, and imagination. These faculties develop when people utilize what they have acquired through reading to write different types of essays , including reports and research papers. Therefore, reading and writing are related because they both induce intellectual development. This guideline on how to write a commentary in an essay teaches students and anyone passionate about writing how to create a good argumentative position that meets the quality standards for intellectual discourse and publication. The guideline also offers vital insights, including the definition of what is a commentary essay, its basic essay structure, different types, possible essay topics, 10 dos and 10 don’ts, and 20 tips for producing a high-standard essay. Therefore, reading this guideline is beneficial to students and others who may, from time to time, write a commentary in an essay to communicate ideas to specific audiences.

Definition of What Is a Commentary in an Essay and Its Meaning

From a definition, a commentary is a descriptive account of an event, an expression of opinions about a political, economic, social, or cultural issue, or elucidating a point or topic of public interest. From this perspective, a commentary essay is a document that students write to express opinions about an issue or topic through a descriptive expression and explanation of ideas. In this respect, a commentary essay differs from other types of papers, including an argumentative essay, a personal narrative, a cause and effect essay, compare and contrast essay, or a problem and solution essay, as well as a report and a research paper, because it means expressing the writer’s perspective concerning an issue or topic. Commentaries are products of a critical analysis of societal problems across political, economic, social, and cultural dimensions. When writing a commentary essay, students should analyze and interpret the source under discussion, such as a text, film, article, video, advertisement, event, object, subject, book, poem, speech, presentation, literary work, novel, sculpture, or image, among others, using a basic sandwich rule: giving a commentary after each quote or citation.

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Basic Structure of a Commentary Essay

Like other texts, a commentary paper has a basic essay structure that dictates how writers should organize their content. This structure has three components: an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. The introduction is where writers introduce their assigned topics using a hook, context, and an argumentative thesis statement. Although this type of commentary essay is not an argumentative essay, an argumentative thesis indicates the writer’s perspective on the issue, which can be contentious in the eyes of readers. The body of a commentary essay is where authors construct a defense of their perspective through body paragraphs; each body paragraph should have a topic sentence that establishes a claim; supporting evidence, like quotes, data, or examples; a commentary that analyzes and explains information cited in an essay; and a concluding sentence with a transition to create a logical connection to the next paragraph. In turn, the conclusion restates the thesis and makes a final remark.

5 Main Types of Commentary

Because a commentary in an essay expresses the writer’s perspective about an issue, idea, or topic, it is evident in the body section of a commentary essay, where people describe their perspectives every time they provide evidence. In this respect, there are different types of commentary. The first one is an opinion essay where writers analyze evidence, such as a quote, text, or image, and state their stands with their critics. The second type of a commentary essay is an interpretation, where authors explain a complex concept to enhance the reader’s understanding. The third type is character or subject’s feelings, where students depict the emotional state of the person they have described in a commentary sentence. The fourth type of commentary essay is a personal reaction, where people communicate their stances on an issue, while the fifth type is an evaluation, where writers evaluate a section and gives a critical judgment.

Alternative Commentary Types and Examples

Besides the types of commentary above, students may write alternative commentary types when their essay is part of a bigger writing project, such as a systematic exposition of an idea, theme, or topic. Students must know the unique features of each type, including when to use it, what to focus on, and how to organize a commentary essay’s content.

1️⃣ Close, Direct Analysis of Passages

An example of an alternative commentary is a close, direct analysis of robust passages from the source, such as an article, film, poem, literary work, book, or novel. In this respect, they are standard in bigger writing projects, like expositions or being part of a critic’s work. Students adopt this type of commentary when they have to read a passage in a text or pick a speech in a movie and write a film analysis essay that expresses the writer’s perspective on the central issues, ideas, or concepts. The following example of a commentary essay demonstrates a close, direct examination of the first stanza of the poem “Night Wind” by Christopher Dewdney:

Tonight the wind blows through

all the worlds I have known and

through all the lives I have led.

The wind blows in the trees,

deeper into each.

The wind blows forever,

strains like something

endlessly departing.

Restless, impatient,

it races without burden.

Example of a Commentary on Celebration of Nature in the First Stanza of Christopher Dewdney’s Poem “Night Wind”

Christopher Dewdney’s 1984 poem “Night Wind” celebrates nature by depicting the night wind as a permanent, free expression of nature. The poet describes the wind on a particular night in the first stanza. By using a first-person perspective in the first three lines, Dewdney depicts himself as an observer. This writing style expresses a personal dialogue in which the poet directly relates his senses, experiences, and impressions. Dewdney opens the poem with the words: “Tonight the wind blows through / all the worlds I have known and / through all the lives I have led.” In this passage, the author expresses to the reader how the unity of the wind in whatever time or place leaves a lasting impression on him. Ideally, he views the wind as an omnipresent force but also regards it as very transient and fleeting. The words “endlessly departing” indicate to the reader the sense that the wind encompasses the entire continuum of the poet’s existence. Nonetheless, it is always in a rush to be at another location. The reader gets the impression that wind is a celebration of nature when Dewdney mentions its interactions with nature: “The wind blows in the trees, deeper into each.” This statement induces an imagination of trees fighting against a pervasive wind. The poet ends the stanza by personifying the wind, and he assigns it human qualities of restlessness, impatience, and playfulness. In this respect, the first stanza uses the wind as a reason to celebrate nature.

2️⃣ Commentary Annotations

Annotations are another type of alternative commentary where writers use a short claim on a source, like a text, film, or image. This kind of commentary essay also looks like an annotated bibliography. Typically, writers adopt annotations when they need to explain complex words, phrases, or concepts to readers; give a historical or cultural context of the topic; support or challenge the author’s arguments in an essay; expose literary devices, like contrast, irony, or sarcasm, or rhetorical devices, like ethos, pathos, and logos; provide a personal interpretation of the text under analysis. Therefore, annotations aim to enhance the reader’s understanding of a short passage from a source. Below are three examples of annotations of complex content in writing a commentary essay for Christopher Dewdney’s Poem “Night Wind.”

3 Examples of a Commentary With Annotations

➖ “The night wind is an empire / in exodus, a deliverance / beside the dark shape of trees.”

This statement is in lines 13-15 of Dewdney’s poem, where the poet alludes to a biblical concept, exodus, to express the wind’s freedom. By stating that the wind is “… in exodus, a deliverance…,” Dewdney makes the reader compare the wind to the incident in the book of Exodus in the Bible where Moses leads the children of Israel, God’s chosen people, to Canaan, the promised land, after freeing a life of bondage in Egypt. In this respect, lines 13-15 confirm that the wind is free and expresses nature’s freedom.

➖ “The wind takes / me in its giddy rush and / gathers me into a storm of longing, / rising on wings of darkness.”

In this statement in lines 18-21, the phrase “wings of darkness” emphasizes the wind’s freedom and mystery. The poet contextualizes the wind as an unpredictable force that can take a person anywhere .

➖ “Along oceans and rivers, / the gale’s mysterious, unspoken imperative / is a joyous delirium with / nothing at its end.”

This passage in lines 36-39 expresses Dewdney’s excitement in not knowing where the wind may take him. It suggests that it does not matter where the wind takes him because he is truly free. In essence, the statement makes the reader imagine the wind as a mystery because it can take one anywhere, emphasizing the theme of freedom.

3️⃣ Data Commentary

Data commentary is another type of alternative essay commentary where writers summarize a study by analyzing critical information that helps readers have a sneak peek of the project. The features students should incorporate in a commentary essay include visual illustrations, like charts, diagrams, graphs, and tables, to capture statistical data, allowing readers to compare them easily. In this respect, data commentary reflects the results section of a research paper because that is where scholars use visual illustrations to report statistical data. Another feature is a conclusion summarizing a commentary essay by reiterating the key points and expressing the writer’s final remark, meaning the main perspective on the topic. Lastly, people must provide a reference page listing credible sources they consulted to write data commentaries, such as reports and research articles. Below is an example of data commentary.

Example of Data Commentary

Table 3 shows respondents’ responses to statements about the barriers to exercise prescription for people with mental illness. Those who agreed that patients’ mental health denies them the opportunity to exercise was 58%, while those who agreed that obtaining an injury during exercise is a concern was 45%. There was an overwhelming response by 87% of the respondents who agreed that exercise is beneficial and were interested in prescribing it for patients with mental health problems. However, only 13% agreed that prescribing exercise falls outside their job description. Nonetheless, 16% stated that they did not know how to prescribe exercise for the population. Overall, 71% approved that exercise professionals are best suited to prescribe exercise for people in the population.

Possible Uses of Block Quotations for Writing a Good Commentary Essay

When writing a commentary essay, students can use block quotations to organize comments. However, this feature is suitable mainly for extensive passages. In a simple definition, a block quote is a text that captures direct quotations longer than 40 words, which the writer offsets from the main text and does not include quotation marks. The text appears on a new line with a 0.5 inches indentation or five to seven spaces. Using single space for a block quote is standard, even in an essay requiring double spacing. Hence, students must know how to format block quotes in APA, MLA, Harvard, and Chicago/Turabian referencing styles when writing a commentary essay.

📕 APA Format

There are two ways in which students can write block quotes in the APA style when organizing their commentary essays.

I. The first block captures the author’s name before the quote:

In their tabulation of results, Vancampfort et al. (2019) showed:

Almost 75% of the respondents indicated that they would “definitely” attend further training for exercise prescriptions for people with mental illness, in particular, related to how to assess patients and how to motivate them towards an active lifestyle. More than seventy percent of the participants also reported that exercise to people with mental illness is actually best delivered by an exercise professional, although only one respondent referred patients to such an exercise professional (p. 2178).

“[Your comments on a block quote starts here]”

II. Alternatively, a block quote can have the author’s surname at the end:

According to the findings:

Almost 75% of the respondents indicated that they would “definitely” attend further training for exercise prescriptions for people with mental illness, in particular, related to how to assess patients and how to motivate them towards an active lifestyle. More than seventy percent of the participants also reported that exercise to people with mental illness is actually best delivered by an exercise professional, although only one respondent referred patients to such an exercise professional (Vancampfort et al., 2019, p. 2178).

📕 MLA Format

Similarly, the MLA style has two ways of formatting a block quote when organizing commentary essays.

I. Having the surname of the author preceding a block quote in an essay:

The results by Vancampfort et al. indicate:

Almost 75% of the respondents indicated that they would “definitely” attend further training for exercise prescriptions for people with mental illness, in particular, related to how to assess patients and how to motivate them towards an active lifestyle. More than seventy percent of the participants also reported that exercise to people with mental illness is actually best delivered by an exercise professional, although only one respondent referred patients to such an exercise professional (2178).

II. Having the author’s surname at the end of the quote:

Almost 75% of the respondents indicated that they would “definitely” attend further training for exercise prescriptions for people with mental illness, in particular, related to how to assess patients and how to motivate them towards an active lifestyle. More than seventy percent of the participants also reported that exercise to people with mental illness is actually best delivered by an exercise professional, although only one respondent referred patients to such an exercise professional (Vancampfort et al. 2178).

📕 Harvard Format

The Harvard style also has two ways of formatting a block quote when organizing commentary essays.

I. Indicating the author’s surname before a block quote in an essay:

In their findings, Vancampfort et al. (2019) established that:

II. Citing the author’s surname at the end of a block quote:

Almost 75% of the respondents indicated that they would “definitely” attend further training for exercise prescriptions for people with mental illness, in particular, related to how to assess patients and how to motivate them towards an active lifestyle. More than seventy percent of the participants also reported that exercise to people with mental illness is actually best delivered by an exercise professional, although only one respondent referred patients to such an exercise professional (Vancampfort et al. 2019, p. 2178).

📕 Chicago/Turabian Format

The Chicago/Turabian style also has two ways of formatting a block quote when organizing commentary essays.

I. Mentioning the author’s surname before a block quote in an essay:

According to Vancampfort et al.:

Almost 75% of the respondents indicated that they would “definitely” attend further training for exercise prescriptions for people with mental illness, in particular, related to how to assess patients and how to motivate them towards an active lifestyle. More than seventy percent of the participants also reported that exercise to people with mental illness is actually best delivered by an exercise professional, although only one respondent referred patients to such an exercise professional (this passage must be formatted as a footnote). 1

II. Showing the author’s surname in a footnote:

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Key Features of Formatting Block Quotes When Writing a Commentary Essay

Looking at the examples of writing a commentary in an essay above, there are some similarities and differences in formatting block quotes. APA and Harvard are similar because they show the research article’s publication year and the page number of the information the writer cites in their commentary essay. The main difference is the arrangement of these details, including the place of putting comas. On the other hand, the MLA and Chicago/Turabian styles are similar in that they do not show the research article’s publication year. The main difference is that the Chicago/Turabian style uses footnotes to show the author(s) and all the bibliography details at the commentary essay’s end. The MLA style shows only the author’s surname and the page number in the text. In turn, people begin writing their commentaries in the following line after a block quote as a standard paragraph in all the formats.

Easy Sample Topics for Writing a Great Commentary Essay

Students should choose easy essay topics when writing a commentary essay to avoid complicating their tasks. Ideally, a specific topic should indicate a particular source document one is commenting on, such as a text, film, or image. The standard practice is that instructors define essay topics or commemorative speech topics students should write about. However, people can choose other themes they are comfortable with if such instructions do not exist for writing a commentary essay. The best approach to choosing an easy topic is to engage with course content and read widely to generate and incubate ideas. When the time for writing a commentary essay comes, one finds it easy to construct arguments fitting the task. The following are possible commentary essay topics because they suggest analyzing and examining a source from the writer’s perspective.

• In Memory of Amelia Earhart: Sky’s Fearless Lady
• The Central Themes in Harper Lee’s novel “To Kill a Mockingbird”
• “The Great Gatsby” Through Contemporary Lens
• The Rhetorical Stance in Jessica Grose’s “Cleaning: The Final Feminist Frontier”
• The Message in Robert Frost’s Poem “The Road Not Taken”
• Maya Angelou’s Magic in “And Still I Rise”
• Demystifying Mental Disorders Through the Film “Black Swan (2010)”
• The Essence of Margaret Atwood’s “Negotiating With the Dead: A Writer on Writing”

Sample Outline Template for Writing a Commentary Essay

• Title of a commentary essay must be precise to an assigned topic.
• Title must be short, clear, and easily understandable.
• Title must be interesting, catchy, and with relevant keywords.

I. Introduction Section of a Commentary Essay

• Essay introduction must have a hook that interests readers enough to grab their attention and stirs a curiosity to continue reading.
• Introduction must refer to a specific source (text, film, or image) and its author(s).
• Introduction must summarize an assigned source that includes the main characters (if any), themes, or concepts.
• Introduction must have a clear thesis statement that states the writer’s claim.

II. Body Section of a Commentary Essay

Body paragraphs (at least three):

• Each body paragraph of a commentary essay must have a topic sentence that emphasizes a single idea central to the main claim in the thesis statement that the writer will defend in the paragraph.
• Each body paragraph must include evidence from a source under analysis, such as a quote, indicating the character responsible and the context.
• Each body paragraph must give a commentary about the evidence through relevant analysis, linking the information to the idea at the beginning of the paragraph and the claim in the thesis.
• Each body paragraph must end with a closing statement and a bridge sentence to facilitate a logical flow to the next paragraph or section.

III. Conclusion Section of a Commentary Essay

Sum up a commentary essay by:

• Restating the thesis.
• Emphasizing the main ideas of a commentary essay.
• Giving a final remark that confirms the importance of the essay topic.

Example of a Commentary Essay

Commentary Essay’s Title: The Rhetorical Stance in Jessica Grose’s “Cleaning: The Final Feminist Frontier”

I. Example of an Introduction of a Commentary Essay

A woman never rests, not with society constantly demanding her value at every turn. This idea is the message in Jessica Grose’s famous article, “Cleaning: The Final Feminist Frontier.” The author argues that cleaning remains a feature of women’s value in society, despite men’s growing involvement in childcare and cooking. The article also opens with personal accounts and convincing facts, suggesting its credibility as a source of information about the dynamics confronting American women. In her article, Grose communicates her message effectively by adopting a rhetorical stance characterized by emotional appeals.

II. Example of Body Paragraphs of a Commentary Essay

A. commentary on the main idea of the article.

Grose opens the article with a personal story of her and her husband cleaning their house after Hurricane Sandy forced them indoors. She uses the uneven distribution of the cleaning task in her marriage to point out the larger feminist issue of who between a husband and wife should do the job. The article gives three reasons why men shy away from the cleaning task, including the fact that it is women who receive praise for a clean house, the media focuses on men’s growing involvement in childcare and cooking, and it is not fun. According to Grose, even distribution of the cleaning task can happen by creating a task chart that shows who does what on the basis of skill and ability and adopting cleaning gadgets to make cleaning more fun.

Throughout the article, Grose uses sources to appeal to the readers’ ethos and build her argument. Some of the sources she uses to achieve these goals include a study by sociologists Judith Treas and Tsui-o Tai and an article by Matthew Krehbiel, North America Fabric Care Brand Manager for P&G. Citing these sources helps the author to build her credibility in the eyes of readers.

Regarding appeals to logos, Grose mentions statistics and interesting facts that help to enhance the logical progression of ideas central to her argument. To emphasize the uneven distribution of the cleaning task, she says, “My husband and I both work…I do the dishes nine times out of ten, and he barely knows how the washer and dryer work.” Such facts confirm and support the idea that women do more household chores than men. She also cites statistics, showing “55 percent of mothers working full-time in America do some housework daily compared to 18 percent of fathers.” In this respect, the article is factual about the uneven distribution of household chores that disadvantages women. As a result, the personal details and statistics from credible sources help Grose to impress upon the reader how society uses the domestic environment to subjugate women.

The article appeals to the readers’ pathos in the beginning and middle sections, where Grose uses emotionally-charged words and phrases to induce the audience’s sympathy. For example, Grose laments that, while she “was eight months pregnant,” her husband experienced the complexity of fighting “a massively pregnant person.” These words evoke an image in the readers’ mind that portrays women as vulnerable in the domestic space because of natural factors, like high emotions and pregnancy. Indeed, readers may feel sympathetic to Grose and the women who generally live in this social context. Moreover, using words and phrases, like ‘argued,’ ‘sucks,’ ‘be shunned,’ ‘be judged,’ and ‘headachey,’ evokes readers’ negative feelings about cleaning. As such, they are more drawn to sympathize with men and view men as selfish.

III. Example of a Conclusion of a Commentary Essay

Grose takes a rhetorical stand throughout the article to persuade her audience of the unfair distribution of cleaning labor in the domestic space. By referencing credible sources, citing statistics and interesting facts, and portraying women as adversely disadvantaged, Grose effectively appeals to the readers’ ethos, logos, and pathos. This rhetorical stand is critical in communicating how society remains unfair to women in the domestic space despite men’s growing involvement in some household chores like childcare and cooking.

4 Easy Steps for Writing a Commentary Essay

Writing a commentary essay is a technical process that requires students to grasp essential details. For example, these details reflect 4 writing steps: preparation, stage setup, writing a first draft, and wrap-up. Typically, each step’s details of writing a commentary essay reflect the wisdom writers should exhibit when creating any scholarly text.

Step 1: Preparation

Preparation is the first step of writing a commentary essay. As the name suggests, it is when writers take time to create a favorable environment to write their papers. The first task is identifying a single source, where students should select good sources they can analyze easily, including poems, novels, or films. The second task is to create a topic, where students must write short topics that communicate a precise message of a commentary essay.

Step 2: Stage Setup

Setting the stage is the second step of writing a commentary essay. The first task is to read, watch, or examine an assigned source to identify key themes and ideas. The second activity is to research reliable sources that help to generate ideas that align with these themes and concepts. The next task is to create a clear essay outline emphasizing the introduction, body, and conclusion with all the essential details.

Step 3: Writing a First Draft of a Commentary Essay

Writing a first draft is the third step in creating a commentary essay, and the focus is generating a paper that can be used for further editing and improvement. As such, students should organize their ideas into text, emphasizing the claim in the thesis statement, ideas in the topic sentences, evidence (quotes), and transitions in the body paragraphs. Students should also ensure the conclusion restates the thesis, summarizes the main ideas of a commentary essay, and gives a final remark about their commentaries, focusing on an assigned source and topic.

Step 4: Wrap-Up

The wrap-up is the last step in writing a commentary essay. The main focus is transforming a first draft into a final text by eliminating all mistakes and flaws. Typically, students should revise all sections that do not make sense to a central claim or those that affect the paper’s logical progression. They should also edit a commentary essay by adding or deleting words and phrases and eliminating grammatical mistakes, missing punctuation, formatting errors, and incorrect citations.

20 Tips for Writing a Commentary Essay

Looking at the information in the preceding sections, writing a great commentary essay is a complex task that requires students to demonstrate knowledge of what it takes to create a quality paper. Some of the tips for writing a commentary essay include identifying a single source, which can be a text, film, or image; noting the source’s basic information, like the author, title, and publication date; identifying the central themes in the source; writing an introduction that emphasizes the source’s basic information; creating a thesis that communicates a claim about the source; adopting the unique structure as above; beginning paragraphs with a topic sentence; incorporating quotes from the source into body paragraphs; commenting on the quotes and their significance; and concluding a commentary essay with a summary that makes a final remark about a single source and topic.

10 things to do when writing a commentary essay include:

• identifying a source for writing a commentary essay;
• reading, watching, or analyzing an assigned source carefully and closely;
• outlining critical details, like themes, ideas, and literary devices;
• writing an introduction with a hook and an argumentative thesis statement;
• providing body paragraphs with topic sentences, concluding sentences, quotes, commentary, and transitions;
• maintaining a formal tone in a commentary essay;
• using the applicable format (APA, MLA, Harvard, or Chicago/Turabian) correctly;
• presenting an introduction that summarizes a commentary essay;
• avoiding grammatical mistakes;
• proofreading a final version of a commentary essay.

10 things not to do include:

• failing to document the source’s essential details, like the author’s name and surname;
• concentrating on the introduction more than the body;
• not incorporating quotes in body paragraphs;
• focusing on too many ideas in a commentary essay;
• not defending the claim in the thesis;
• ignoring a unique outline of a commentary essay;
• writing with too many grammatical mistakes;
• using different formatting styles (APA, MLA, Harvard, and Chicago/Turabian);
• not implementing transitions in body paragraphs;
• creating a commentary essay without a logical flow of ideas and thoughts.

Summing Up on How to Write a Perfect Commentary Essay

• Choose a single source that is simple to analyze.
• Create a clear thesis that emphasizes the focus of a commentary essay, such as a claim.
• Identify passages or themes in an assigned source that help to build an argumentative claim.
• Use an introduction paragraph for its purpose: to introduce a specific topic. As such, it should be short and precise.
• Use a body section for its purpose: to analyze a particular source and defend a central claim comprehensively. Therefore, it should be long and have quotes as evidence.
• Use a conclusion part to summarize a commentary essay, and it should be concise. More importantly, it should leave readers with a lasting impression of a defined source and topic.

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Mark A. McCutcheon

Grading comments for essays on literature.

• composition
• centre for language and literature

The Essay as a Whole

The thesis comes out clearly

The thesis needs to be more clearly stated

Superior argument: extraordinary synthesis of analytic ideas & command of course material

Very good argument, showing good comprehension and engagement with course material

The thesis needs to be strengthened

The thesis needs to be more closely related to its supporting points and/or textual evidence

The essay does not address its chosen topic, but deals partially or entirely with another concern

2. Organization and coherence

The organization of the essay is clear

The essay needs to be more clearly organized

The essay is organized more according to the plot of the text(s) it discusses than according to the analytic points that would best support the thesis

The essay makes some viable points, but the points are presented randomly at times; the essay needs more structure for its argument

3. Paragraphs

Each paragraph is unified around a clear main point

Some paragraphs include details or discussion unrelated to their main points

Paragraphing needs work (as a rule of thumb, think of PIE: each paragraph in a critical essay needs a Point, an Illustration, and an Explanation).

4. Transitions

The transitions work well between paragraphs

Edit for more effective transitions between paragraphs

5. Supporting arguments

Thesis is well supported by argument and analysis

Supporting arguments need further evidence from the text(s)

Supporting points are too general and need to become more concrete

Supporting arguments need more elaboration and/or evidence to better defend their claims

Supporting discussion give more plot summary than is necessary, crowding out the substance of the argument

Supporting discussion is almost completely plot summary

Supporting analysis needs to consider textual details and literary composition more fully. That is, the arguments that comprise an essay in literary criticism should talk about the writing in the text -- not so much what a text says, but how it says it. (For more on this point, see Prof. Jack Lynch's explanation of close reading .)

Supporting discussions contain many details that need connection to analytic points

[For comparative essays]

The grounds of comparison between texts are clear

The grounds of comparison between texts need to be clearer

The essay discusses too many texts for an assignment of its scope and word count (essays of comparison and contrast should stick to two or at most three texts)

6. Introduction

The introduction fits the body of the essay

The essay needs a clearer introduction

The essay’s introduction could open with finer focus on the text(s) under discussion

7. Conclusion

The conclusion is effective

The conclusion repeats the introduction without varying wording enough

The conclusion could better close the argument with an “open question” for your reader

Sentence by Sentence

  1. Wordiness :

Sentences are clear and well worded

Edit sentences for excess wordiness

2. Credibility :

The thesis demonstrates unusually excellent independent thinking

The thesis is credible and makes a reasonable claim

The thesis is implausible /

The thesis makes an implausible supporting argument; see

The essay misreads some textual evidence; see

The essay contains factual errors; see

The essay makes hasty, sweeping, or otherwise insupportable generalizations; see

The essay suggests a need for closer engagement with (and greater comprehension of) course material

3. Grammar :

Edit for run-on sentences (statements needing more than one sentence)

Edit for sentence fragments (statements less than a full sentence)?

Edit for subject-verb disagreements

Edit for subject-modifier disagreements

Edit to correct parallel constructions in sentences

Edit to place modifiers as close as possible to the words they modify

4. Punctuation :

Edit for recurring punctuation errors in comma use

Edit for recurring punctuation errors in semicolon use

Edit for recurring punctuation errors in colon use

Edit for recurring punctuation errors in quotation-mark use

5. Spelling :

The essay needs closer proofreading

Edit for recurring spelling errors, e.g.:

6. Handling and accuracy of quotations :

Quotations are punctuated correctly

Edit to punctuate quotations correctly; please refer to MLA citation format: http://www2.athabascau.ca/services/write-site/mla-documentation-guide.php

 Quotations are integrated effectively into the prose

Edit to integrate quotations more effectively and less awkwardly into the prose

Check accuracy of quotations

Edit quotations to conform to MLA citation format: http://www2.athabascau.ca/services/write-site/mla-documentation-guide.php

The essay quotes extensively but needs more supporting commentary. Try to quote more selectively and discuss specifically what you want your reader to see in a quotation

The arguments would be stronger with more quotation of textual evidence and/or examples

The essay is well substantiated with judicious examples and/or textual evidence

The essay makes strong connections between examples/evidence and analytic ideas

The essay makes good use of examples and/or textual evidence

7. Word choice :

Some awkward wording

Some unclear choice of words

Some wording is unnecessarily complicated

Good use of critical terms for literary study

Unclear use of critical terms for literary study

Essay could benefit from use of critical terms for literary study, e.g.

8. Sentence style :

Essay is persuasively written and eloquent

Sentence structures are varied in length and structure

Sentence structures are repetitive; edit to vary wording

Edit long / complicated sentences for concision and clarity

The essay has a distracting number of writing errors: e.g. spelling, grammar, punctuation. P lease contact the AU Write Site for coaching and feedback on academic writing: http://www2.athabascau.ca/services/write-site/index.php

Adapted from:

Rooke, Constance. The Clear Path: A Guide to Writing English Essays . 2nd ed. Toronto: Nelson, 2000.

Shepard, Alan. English 3120: Shakespearean Receptions . Undergraduate lecture syllabus, School of English and Theatre Studies, U of Guelph, 2003.

See also the English 255 Marking Scheme , which outlines grading criteria with which the above comments are consistent, but is more generally applicable to writing across the curriculum.

Short link for this page:  http://is.gd/VBrmY2

• Mark A. McCutcheon @mccutcheon

probably not, as it happens. just one of the first things i made in the landing. now public.

• Donna Clare @dclare

Thanks Mark.

this is a great resource for those instructors who are just starting out.

Can I share it?

Donna Clare

Academic Coordinator

FHD - NP program

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• Commenting on Student Writing

Commenting on student writing is among the most important tasks for any instructor who uses writing. Whether the writing is short or long, formal or informal, a work-in-process or finished product, students learn both course content and writing habits through the process of revising their own writing. 

Focused written feedback is the most effective way to promote students’ continued development as writers and learners. The function of commentary is to ask students to think about and consider their choices as writers and to promote a dialogue between student writers and their instructor/readers. When instructor comments are successful, students report that these opportunities for dialogue are influential on their learning and motivation.

Comments can include marginal notes on a paper document, an endnote paragraph, comments and changes using review tools in a word processing application, audio and video commentaries, or the conversation with a student in a one-to-one conference . Unlike grading, commenting on student writing can happen at any time in the writing process. In fact, earlier formative feedback is most likely to lead to revision and improved student performance (whether from peers, teaching assistants or primary instructors). ( Graham et al. 2011 ) By contrast, providing summative feedback early in the writing process—such as assigning a grade to a preliminary draft—can have demotivating effects on student writing. ( Mizak )

Ways to comment on student writing

What types of comments should I use?

Guidelines for effective commentary

Commenting on sentence-level errors

Audio and video feedback

When asked about what they prefer from faculty comments on writing, students most often mention detail and specificity. Given the time pressures on faculty and instructors, how might we meet this demand without spending hours on each student draft?

Not all comments are created equal, and different contexts might demand different strategies for commentary. This list identifies a variety of strategies of commentary and provides examples from four concrete assignment contexts.

Open-ended questions: In the early stages of a draft, open-ended questions provide students with indications of a reader’s reaction and can encourage writers to tailor their written work to audience needs and add detail and specificity. Open-ended questions should prompt ideas and additional consideration of a topic, and should not point to an easy or obvious answer.

Examples: How do examples of conflict in other relational contexts (like workplaces, parent relationships, or sibling relationships) differ from conflicts between intimate partners?

How did you manage the functional requirements of this garment’s sleeves with aesthetic considerations?

Why might opponents of excise taxes also be critical of state-run lotteries and gaming?

Given the reaction you observed in this context, what effects would you expect oxygenation to have on other organometallic compounds?

Coaching: Coaching comments typically isolate a particular feature of a text and offer recommendations or suggestions for revision. A coaching comment often combines a statement of observation with a recommendation for another iteration or attempt.

Examples: You make an important connection here between the intersections of power and authority in social relationships and the dynamics of relational conflict. You could develop this argument as part of the larger argument.

You’ve picked up on the common term “sin tax” to describe excise taxes on items considered to be luxury items. How might you distinguish these from excise taxes on necessary items (like food or medicine)?

Praise: Effective praise combines two facets: noticing something praiseworthy about the text and describing what makes it a successful attempt. The goal of praise is both to affirm effort and to encourage the repetition of the successful choice. Praise that lacks specificity (such as good job! Or This is key!) may not provide enough information to students to help promote effective writing strategies.

Examples: I really appreciate your choice to vary the textile on your sleeve as you describe the project. Not only does it offer greater freedom of movement, but it also adds visual interest.

This figure is great. The title describes the important findings that it represents rather than simply restating the variables under consideration.

Explanation or clarification: Explanation or clarification comments typically identify an error, misconception, or incomplete understanding in a student’s writing and provide correct or complete information. If you notice a student has a misconception or is making an analytical error, an explanation provides additional information or reiterates an important point from instruction. Explanations and clarifications typically identify an error or omission and furnish a better alternative.

Examples: Remember that “intimate partner” can describe both persons currently engaged in a romantic relationship and the relationships between people who have suspended or ended their relationship. Thus, conflicts with ex-spouses can still be considered intimate-partner conflicts even if they no longer cohabitate.

It’s worth noting that while vendors collect excise taxes, the collection of taxes is actually an added expense for retailers and wholesalers. They are acting as agents of the government when they collect taxes and have to expend time and resources to transfer payment, but they don’t receive direct compensation for that work.

Closed-ended questions: Closed-ended questions often demand a specific answer. Close ended questions often solicit specific information that has been omitted, and students will often consider a simple answer as sufficient.

Examples: Is the outer shell of the garment connected to the lining with adhesive?

What was the yield of the reaction?

Criticism: Criticism typically identifies a flaw or weakness related to a textual feature. Much like praise, effective criticism usually identifies and describes a noteworthy textual feature and explains the challenge, issue, or problem associated with it. Criticism that lacks specificity (such as “this section needs revision) does not supply enough information for students to revise strategically.

Examples: In your description of intimate-partner conflict, you often refer to “the man” and “the woman.” It’s important to remember that while gender is a salient feature of intimate partner conflict, we should not presume that the behaviors you describe are necessarily connected to gender expression.

In this paragraph, you use “sales tax” as a synonym for excise tax. While excise taxes are associated with the sale of particular goods, sales tax can apply to any purchase. Thus, a local option sales tax that applies to all transactions would not be an excise tax.

Commands: Commands are comments that demand a student make changes to a text. They might address sentence-level features, elements of document format, or larger issues or concerns. Students may revise in response to commands, but may not know why such revisions are prudent or necessary. Note: some close-ended questions are simply commands in disguise. When a student is instructed to make a change through a command, they will often comply, but rarely will this lead to a change in subsequent writing.

Examples: Indent your block quotation.

Cite this source using APA format.

Move this paragraph to the top.

Corrections: Corrections are changes a reader or assessor makes in a text. This often occurs with sentence-level errors, issues of style and word choice, but can also apply when a reader crosses out or removes sentences. Unlike a criticism, which identifies and explains a troublesome feature of a text, or a command that requires students to comply with an assessor’s directive, a correction eliminates it without any intervention from the student. While students may make changes based on corrections or accept corrections recorded in track changes, they are not revising their own writing.

For formative feedback, the most effective strategies to encourage student revision include open-ended questions, specific praise, and coaching. Open-ended questions provide meaningful opportunities for students to think more deeply. Specific praise promotes the features of good writing in your field and encourages good choices in the future. Coaching involves offering recommendations for a change of technique along with a justification for the change.

Where and how instructors comment has profound effects on students’ decisions to revise. In general, an endnote comment will address overarching issues in a document and will help a student writer set priorities for revision. These can often be organized as a letter to a student describing what is going well and how a student might make additions or changes to improve their writing. Comments in the margins of student writing (or comments added using a word processing ‘Comment’ feature) typically identify the precise location of an issue, problem, or opportunity for revision. When using commenting or track changes in a word processor, the presence of many marginal comments can make it hard to focus on crucial issues and to set priorities. 

The closer the document is to its end stage, the more likely an instructor will use commands and corrections in the manner of a copy editor. Comments of these types emphasize perfecting and polishing the final product, not offering students an opportunity to reconsider their own work. It may be that after providing multiple opportunities for earlier learning, commands and corrections can help a student meet conventions of written discourse.

Limit the number of comments you make. Emphasize the priorities that are the most important to the student’s learning. It may help to focus a commenting session by referring to the assignment’s objectives or grading criteria. Even in cases where you encounter numerous problems, students perform more effective revision when the feedback is not overwhelming.

Spread writing activity over numerous assignments. Working through a sequence of shorter assignments (and sets of comments) provides students with opportunities to improve their writing, and allows you to return papers faster. A little bit of formative feedback and a short endnote will often be more effective than a long endnote on a single assignment.

Ask students to reflect on their work. As a writer, you are often aware of what you could do to improve a draft, but you just haven’t done it yet. Asking students to attach answers to these questions can save time: What is your purpose in this paper? What do you know you need to revise? Where would you like me to focus my reading and response?

Provide structured opportunities for peers to respond to drafts before you see them. For more information, see the Benefits of Peer Response page.

Respond digitally. You may find that you can say more—and say it more clearly and efficiently—if you use digital tools to respond (e.g. sending text by email, creating a Word document, sharing a Google Doc, recording spoken comments or a video response).

It is important to distinguish commenting on errors from correcting errors: A comment on an error makes the writer aware of a potentially troublesome feature of a sentence. A correction assumes a troublesome feature is a mistake and provides an alternative. While spelling and grammar errors can be obvious, choices in style and usage can be much more challenging to diagnose. Experienced readers may know that a sentence doesn’t sound right, but may not have a vocabulary to explain why their correction would be preferred.

Focus on patterns of error, not individual mistakes: All writers make sentence-level errors. It is not necessary in all cases to identify the ‘cause’ of an error, nor is it wise to assume any particular error is evidence of some root cause or problem (like inattention, lack of knowledge, or second language intervention). As copy editors become rarer and the pace of publication cycles becomes faster, sentence-level errors emerge even in published writing.

Use a minimal marking strategy. When making a note of a sentence-level error, it is unwise to spend time correcting it. Multiple research studies (in 1990 , 2004 , and 2015 ) have shown that making a checkmark at the end of a line that includes an error should be enough to draw a student’s attention to the error and promotes self-correction (so long as you have announced what your checkmark means). Some students may have difficulty identifying some errors, but wholesale correction does not produce better writers. In the event that a student has error identification issues, a brief conference will often help.

If you know something is wrong, but aren’t sure what the error is called, respond as a reader and start a conversation. Drawing a wavy line beneath garbled sentences or making a margin comment of “I can’t understand you here,” will put the responsibility on the writer to find a way to clarify. Asking an open ended question can usually begin a conversation about the writer’s choices and lead to changes or revisions.

Turn common issues into teaching ideas. You will certainly see patterns and repeated issues in any set of submissions. Rather than repeating every comment for every student, consider consolidating your comments. This consolidated response could be delivered as a handout with an explanation, demonstration, or discussion in class.

Research on audio and video feedback

Audio and video feedback are well-studied practices for responding to writing. While no single type of feedback is more effective in all cases, students report that they appreciate the level of detail and personalization that comes from audio and video feedback (McCarthy, 2015). In addition, students also perceive greater social presence from instructors using video feedback (Borup, West, Thomas, & Graham, 2015). While audio and video feedback are especially valuable in online and distance contexts, they can be a useful addition to any course context, as long as all students’ access needs are taken into account.

Recording audio or video feedback

When instructors use the “Assignments” feature of Canvas to create student tasks and gradebook entries, the Speedgrader tool has built-in capability for recording brief audio and video feedback. Under the text box for the comment feature, three buttons provide options for attaching files and recording video and audio: (Image description: screenshot of the instructor view of a Canvas assignment web page. On the lower right, the instructor view includes a text box labeled “Assignment Comments,” with three buttons below, each with its own icon: a paperclip, a video icon, and an audio icon.)

Selecting the video or audio buttons will prompt Canvas to request access to camera and microphone options. After granting permission, an instructor can easily record feedback with the press of a button. The recording is available for preview, prompting the instructor to save the recorded comment or to start over to rerecord.

Canvas also affords the option to upload audio or video files using the same buttons.  The second tab offers upload options and supports a variety of file types: (Image description: Canvas’s Record/Upload Media Comment window with two tabs. The first tab, “Record Media,” is not selected; the second tab, “Upload Media,” is selected and shows options labeled “Select Audio File” and “Select Video File”.)

Remember students’ access needs: Addressing accessibility is crucial for using audio and video feedback, both for students who receive accommodations for disabilities and for students who may have limited access to technology. As with any online instructional activity, some activities may need to be modified or changed to serve students equitably. Advice and assistance are available through the Accessible U website.

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Comments (Stating your Opinion)

There are many real-life situations where you have to state your opinion, e.g. a friend asks you for advice, your boss wants to hear your opinion on a business matter. In English lessons, this is also a popular way of testing your English writing skills.

Preparation

Think about the topic first. What's your opinion? What arguments can you use to support your ideas?

Structure and Content

• Introduction: defining the problem Use the introduction to get the reader's attention and interest in the topic. Define the problem you are going to discuss and provide a short overview on what you think and why.
• Opinion and Reasons Give reasons for your opinion. Concentrate on one main point per paragraph. What to write exactly, depends on the task (see below)
• Conclusion Summarize the most important arguments that best support your opinion.

Important Tenses

Simple Present

Typical Tasks

• Comment (stating your own opinion) state your opinion and give examples and arguments that support your opinion statement – reason – example
• Compare find common and distinct features draw conclusions
• Criticize find advantages and disadvantages comment on somebody's opinion (usually in a negative way)
• Discuss analyse all aspects of a problem (What is …? / Is it okay to …?) weighing the pros and cons
• Evaluate analyse a problem show advantages and disadvantages
• Justify support an opinion show advantages

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Commentary Essay Example With Explication and Writing Tips

By: Tasha Kolesnikova

The essay commentary aims to analyze the text read. You can write a comment on how the plot of the novel reveals the social situation of the era or how the author's life is evidenced in the text. The commentary can be based on one element of a literary work or analyze general features. The choice will depend on the author of the essay.

Commentary Essay Example (On Poem "When You Are Old" By Yates)

Literary commentary and data commentary, commentary essay writing algorithm, remember when writing a commentary essay, conclusions.

Below you can get acquainted with the genre of commentary essay.

William Butler Yates' poem When You're Old (1895) is about love. This is evidenced by the language and literary images used. These two elements combine to create a work that represents the nostalgia and depression generated by lost love.

At the beginning of the poem, "old, gray and sleepy" woman allows herself to plunge into the past. Holding a Yates book, she recalls the days when she was young and beautiful.

This scene takes place by the fireplace and gives the poem a special tone. And this is a very strong image because the atmosphere of old age, lost love, and memories will prevail throughout the work.

To enhance the emotionality of the text, Yates uses a number of characters. One such symbol is the hearth.

It is a symbol of the ephemerality of being. Yes, the fire burns beautifully and brightly, but sooner or later, it will burn out, and only ashes will remain. Nothing lasts forever. The heroine of the poem, like fire, will one day simply disappear.

Fire can have another meaning. It can mean a passion that has passed. After all, a woman once had love, but she lost it. And sitting by the fireplace, she can dream and imagine how this former passion comes to life.

There are other symbols in the work. There are stars in the sky and high mountains. They symbolize inaccessibility - the things that a woman can no longer bring back into her life. And the only thing that reminds her of her past life and what she felt then is Yates' book.

The language used by the author plays an important role in the poem. He wrote the poem in the first person - it gives it intimacy, empathy, and sadness. It seems that the narrator knows about the consequences of this woman's actions and tries to avert them.

The poem clearly shows the connection between Yates and the old lady - as evidenced by the use of imperative verbs ("Take down this book and slowly read it, and dream of a soft look in your eyes").

Yates's poem is a good example of how to convey strong emotions to readers through language and integrated images. The use of symbols instead of direct messages adds a work of pleasant mystery.

What Is A Commentary?

Unlike the average reader, the commentator "translates" the text into his own language. The author of the commentary essay interprets the text in his own way, expressing his impressions. He logically argues his judgments.

In our opinion, the general definition of a commentary essay is:

it is a detailed analysis of a passage of the work or the work itself, which does not require the expression of thesis statements or a more general discussion of the whole book (as in literary analysis). In such an essay, the author does not simply summarize what he has read but expresses his own thoughts and analyzes the key points in the work.

It should be noted that there are two types of commentary essays: literary and data. Literary commentary is an in-depth analysis of a passage of a literary work or text. Whereas data commentary is a piece of writing that comments on a visual display. Its main purpose is the interpretation of a research paper.

Build-up. You have to be ready to write a comment. To do this, you need to be an expert in the text you are analyzing. So read it from cover to cover. When you have done this, read it aloud again. If you do not understand any words or expressions - be sure to find out their meaning.

The printed version will greatly facilitate the work on the text. So you can work with the work, using a marker to emphasize the main points or something that needs separate processing. You can also use ready-made sample essays and templates to understand in which direction to move. If you have no opinion at all about the commentary essay, look for the Write my essay button in the writing service.

Sketch the outline of your essay. Make sure it has an introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusions.

Writing Commentary

• Foundations. Your entry should include the following key elements: the title of the work you are commenting on; the name of the author of the work; genre of the work. In the introductory part, you can also express your main point of view, what affected you the most.

"I was recently impressed by Dewdney's "The Night Wind." He personalizes the wind, giving it his own life. With this image, the author leads the reader on an interesting journey through the universe. Its main theme is an escape from the problems of existence."

• Ponderisms. What, in your opinion, is the purpose of the work? What is its intention? Discuss everything that interests you. In the body of the essay, you need to interpret the analyzed piece of literature and show your vision of the work. Use commentary sentences to the main points in the text.

"It should be noted that in the work there are no rhymes, meters, schemes. Dewdney demonstrates carefreeness using free verse. In this way, he expresses the idea of freedom."

• Examples. Always back up your thoughts with vivid examples. Don't forget to use quotes.

"The author emphasizes the theme of freedom with bright sentences: "The wind blows forever." There are phrases that inspire the reader to think about the vastness of the universe: "Above me the Milky Way."

• Strong conclusion. Consolidate your position in the conclusions. Paraphrase your main idea to finish the comment nicely.

"The "Night wind" is a symbol of escape from the burdens of everyday life. The free, somewhat whimsical structure of the text gives the reader a feeling of lightness and serenity. Reading such a poem, the reader plunges into the incredible world of freedom."

Editing. One of the most important steps in working on a commentary essay is its polishing. Make sure there are no grammatical, stylistic errors or other inaccuracies in the text. If you are not a pro at this, it would be better to contact the writing service for essay editing .

• The "This shows that" device. Write a topic sentence with evidence. And start the next sentence with the words "this shows that". This method really works because it makes the student explain the quote from the text. For example, in the poem "Night Wind" Dewdney portrays a guy holding a wire. But a strong gust of windbreaks this wire. This shows that the author breaks free from the captivity of problems runs away from everything.
• Use the LET method. The name of this method stands for Literary Elements and Techniques. And it speaks for itself. You need to identify the literary techniques that the author used in the text. It's about style, character, plot, point of view, language, setting, and conflict. Pay attention to the following methods: metaphors, diction, personification, irony, and others. When you find these elements, explain the topic sentences with them. For example, in the text "Night Wind" the author often uses dark images. The main action takes place at night. Throughout the poem, there is a reference to the stars. The image of the "wings of darkness" emphasizes the mystery of the wind and its freedom.
• The concept of four cells. You can use one of the interesting methods of text analysis. This method involves dividing a sheet of paper into four equal parts. Place a topic sentence and a quote in the top two cells. And in the lower squares, write comments to them. This will help you analyze each piece of text and combine the comments into a single whole.

We hope that after our article, you will easily write your commentary essay. We also hope that our sample will help you navigate this topic. If your teacher has given you the assignment to write a commentary essay, you can turn to professional writers who will give you homework help .

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Elements of an Essay: Writing Commentary

For several weeks now, we have been identifying the essential elements of essays and learning how to incorporate these effectively and successfully. We have discussed that the thesis statement is the glue that holds the entire paper together, the body paragraphs are the meat where the majority of your argument will be found, and last week we looked at how the details are the key to unlocking your argument .  Today we are going to take a look at the other extremely important factor in writing a well-thought out essay.  It is needed for every single detail that you write.  It is the commentary.

Commentary Definition

When you write commentary, you are explaining to your reader how the details relate to the thesis statement. Commentary does not contain facts.  Instead, they help explain why the details are relevant to the topic.

Writing Commentary

You are going to need at least two sentences of commentary for every detail sentence.  A good rule of thumb is that your commentary should be twice as long as your details.  Otherwise, your paper is just full of facts.  We want to know how YOU think these facts prove your point and what YOU think they mean.

Here are a few different methods for writing commentary:

1) Opinion: this is where you write your belief, subjective judgment or way of thinking about a detail .

2) Interpretation: your explanation of something that is not clear.

3) Character and Subject’s Feelings: when you describe what the character or subject of the detail is feeling (ideal for literary analysis papers)

4) Personal Reaction: your personal emotions about the detail.

5) Evaluations: your objective judgment of a detail.

Commentary is the Treasure

Your commentary is the treasure that makes your paper shine.  It should always strengthen and extend the details. This is your chance to show us what you’ve got.  It is where you can impress us with your analysis and interpretation skills.

“What and Why” Method

You may be thinking, “Analysis and interpretation skills?  What if I don’t possess those skills?”  Well breathe easy, because interpretation is really just a fancy word for “what,” while analysis simply means “why”.

So if you are struggling to write your commentary try using the “what and why” method.  First, tell the reader WHAT your detail is talking about by defining or explaining.  Next, let your reader know WHY this detail is relevant to your thesis statement.

Starting Commentary Sentences

If you are struggling to start your commentary, consider beginning your commentary in one of the following ways:

“This shows that…”

 “This is important because…”

Obviously, you cannot start every sentence you write like that since this would be redundant.  However, even if you do not write these phrases at the beginning of all of your sentences, it is helpful even just to think these phrases in order to guide your commentary in the right direction.

Applying Commentary Techniques

Now that we have discussed the different options for writing commentary, and the method for doing  so, let’s put them together and see what is looks like.

Commentary Type: Opinion using the “what and why” method

Topic: education

Detail: According to the 2013 National Assessment of Education Progress Reading test, 80% of students score below grade level in reading.

Commentary: Your commentary for this detail will answer the following questions: (1) “WHAT is my opinion?” and (2) “WHY is my opinion relevant to my thesis statement?”

(1)  A statistic like this shows the poor state of the education.  (2) If we are to help students become successful adults, we need to change the way we are educating our children.

Commentary Type: Interpretation using the “what and why” method

Topic: benefits of college

Detail: First of all, of 2,350,000 college students enrolling per year, only 1,750,000 will graduate.

Commentary: Your commentary for this detail will answer the following questions: (1) “WHAT is my interpretation?” and (2) “WHY is my interpretation relevant to my thesis statement?”

(1) This shows that the high demand placed on students during their college years is too much stress for many.  (2) However rigorous it may be though, the pressure and expectations are reflective of a future career and help prepare young adults for these challenges.

Commentary Type: Character or Subject Feelings using the “what and why” method

Topic: cost of higher education

Detail:  For example, Benjamin Davis, a recent college graduate with a degree in Business, struggled for many years to find a job because of the recent unemployment struggles in America

Commentary: Your commentary for this detail will answer the following questions: (1) “WHAT is the subject’s feelings?” and (2) “WHY is subjects feelings relevant to my thesis statement?”

(1) He, like most, experiences extreme frustration at spending a great deal of time and money obtaining his degree, but feeling like he has very little advantage over others without a degree when finding a job. (2) As a result, many who find themselves in a similar situation are left wondering if higher education is worth the high cost.

Commentary Type: Personal Reaction using the “what and why” method

Topic: bullying

Detail: Also,  a bully might speak cruelly in order to intimidate, steal a student’s belongings, or intentionally exclude one from a group .

Commentary: Your commentary for this detail will answer the following questions: (1) “WHAT is my personal reaction?” and (2) “WHY is my personal reaction relevant to my thesis statement?”

(1) It is extremely upsetting to know that most children undergo this type of treatment at school. (2) It is hurtful, isolating, and can have long-lasting psychological damage on those students who experience bullying often.

Commentary Type: Evaluation using the “what and why” method

Topic: bears

Detail: Naturally, a bear, when threatened, will rise up from the ground, growl loudly, and begin charging at a speed of up to 35 mph.

Commentary: Your commentary for this detail will answer the following questions: (1) “WHAT is my evaluation?” and (2) “WHY is my evaluation relevant to my thesis statement?”

(1) Although this is a frightening experience, it is not entirely the bear’s fault. (2) In fact, most of the time when a bear attacks a person, it is the result of a person not understanding that when going out into the woods, he or she is entering a bear’s environment; forgetting to be respectful and cautious can cause the bear to react thusly.

When To Use Commentary Types

Depending on your assignment, choose the types of commentary that best fits your argument.  Use of a variety of different types of commentary to write a well-argued paper.

Go back and look at step two of writing details from last week’s blog.  Look at the commentary you wrote and update it to fit into the “what and why” method using some of the above types of commentary.  If you did not do that step last week, go ahead and use the worksheet found here.

We hope this helped you when writing commentary.  If you still need help, call Oxford Tutoring for support or to schedule a writing tutoring session.

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How to Write a Commentary

Last Updated: May 19, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Richard Perkins . Richard Perkins is a Writing Coach, Academic English Coordinator, and the Founder of PLC Learning Center. With over 24 years of education experience, he gives teachers tools to teach writing to students and works with elementary to university level students to become proficient, confident writers. Richard is a fellow at the National Writing Project. As a teacher leader and consultant at California State University Long Beach's Global Education Project, Mr. Perkins creates and presents teacher workshops that integrate the U.N.'s 17 Sustainable Development Goals in the K-12 curriculum. He holds a BA in Communications and TV from The University of Southern California and an MEd from California State University Dominguez Hills. There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 682,686 times.

At some point in your life, you'll probably have to write a commentary. Whether you're a teacher, editor, student, or amateur critic, knowing how to constructively analyze someone's work is a useful skill. There isn't a magical formula for writing a commentary. The commentary you write depends upon what you're reviewing, why you're giving feedback, and what you think about the work. No matter what you’re working on, having a clear goal and strong writing will help make your commentary successful.

Writing a Literary Commentary

• Your thesis is your argument or your point of view. This is where you take a stance, and spend the rest of the essay supporting your thesis.
• Maybe you are writing a commentary on Great Expectations . Your thesis could be, “Not only is Dickens’ tale engaging, it is also an insightful commentary on the differences between social classes in industrial Britain.”

• You might write at the top of your outline, “Important Themes in Great Expectations”. You could then make bullet points such as “Setting”, “Ambition”, “Class”, etc.

• You might start by saying, “ Great Expectations is full of imagery that makes the reader feel as if they are in 19th century England with Pip. Dickens’ novel about class, ambition, and love sheds important light on the social divides of the time.”
• You could then list the themes that you will discuss in the body of your commentary.

• An excellent specific example to illustrate this theme is pointing out that the character remains in her wedding dress, despite being jilted decades before.

• You might write something like, “Miss Havisham is an example of the theme that love can sometimes go terribly wrong. This is also an important theme when examining the relationship between Pip and Estella.”
• Make sure to use smooth transitions. When you move to a new example, use a good transition word or phrase. Some examples are “similarly”, “conversely”, and “again”.

• In your commentary on Great Expectations , you would want to make sure that you emphasize your summary again: this is a good example of class divisions and how ambition is not always the best quality.
• You might also choose to compare it to another book from the same period to illustrate why the work by Dickens is significant. However, you generally shouldn’t introduce new information in your conclusion.

Creating Data Commentary

• You might also be asked by your boss or teacher to write a data commentary. Make sure to ask about their expectations, such as length.

• For example, if the research is about the graduation rate in the Chicago Public Schools, you need to explain the numbers and illustrate why the results are important.

• You might say something like, “As shown in Figure 1.2, the costs of healthcare have risen at a steady rate since 2000.”

• As in the rest of your data commentary, your conclusion should refer to specific pieces of data.

• You should include a specific section for resources at the end of your data commentary.
• Any time you cite numbers or a quote, make sure to provide a reference.

Commentary Outlines

Expert Q&A

• If you are writing a commentary for a class, make sure to carefully follow the instructions. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• Make sure to carefully edit and polish your writing. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.bucks.edu/media/bcccmedialibrary/pdf/HOWTOWRITEALITERARYANALYSISESSAY_10.15.07_001.pdf
• ↑ Richard Perkins. Writing Coach & Academic English Coordinator. Expert Interview. 1 September 2021.
• ↑ http://www.udc.edu/docs/asc/Outline_Structure_for_Literary_Analysis_Essay_HATMAT.pdf
• ↑ https://www.germanna.edu/wp-content/uploads/tutoring/handouts/Literary-Analysis.pdf
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/writing-data-commentary/
• ↑ https://ebooks.hslu.ch/academicwriting/chapter/4-5-results/
• ↑ https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/modernlanguages/intranet/undergraduate/skills/commesswriting/commentarywriting/
• ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4789530/

About This Article

To write a commentary, write about your observations and analysis of the text you read. You should craft a clear and specific thesis statement about the novel, poem, or play you are evaluating. Your thesis statement should explain your stance or argument about the text. Use this thesis statement to build a brief outline of your commentary and then choose specific details from the text to support your argument. Then, add an introduction to give your reader some context for the themes you will discuss. For tips from our Education reviewer on how to write a data commentary, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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lifestyle blog of a single mom who works from home

Giving Positive Feedback in Writing

December 2, 2010 By Jimmie Quick 15 Comments

When you are helping your child in the revising stage of writing, be ever so careful with your criticism. If you are  like me, you breeze over all the strong things in the assignment and narrow in on the errors and the weaknesses .

I do see the positive aspects, but I tend to only verbalize the negative aspects. It’s part of my “hurry up and get cracking” attitude:   Let’s get these problems fixed so we can move on. But in doing so, I’m neglecting a really important part of the writing process.

Sprite needs to hear exactly what are the strong points of her writing as well as hear about the weaker parts.

2.  She may not even realize those are strong points. Those things may have happened accidentally. By pointing out the positive aspects, she is more likely to repeat them and understand why they are so important.

In order for the praise to work it must be two things:

Just saying, “ This is good ” isn’t very helpful. The praise needs to tell exactly what was good.

Here are some examples of specific praise you can use.

• This thesis statement is very clear. When I read it, I know exactly what your essay will be about.
• This paragraph is full of details. This one even made me laugh. This one gave me a clear image in my mind.
• Your introduction really grabbed my attention. I wanted to keep reading.
• This transition word is perfect for shifting to the next main idea.
• I love how you wrapped up all the main points at the end. Your clincher was very strong.
• Great use of comma and a conjunction to join to independent clauses!
• This is a superb word choice.
• Wow, there are no run-on sentences in this entire essay.
• You didn’t get tricked by the its/it’s thing. Good job!

Notice my praise included conceptual elements (details, introduction), structural elements (transitions, thesis statement), and mechanics (its/it’s, run-ons). All are part of the written product, and all deserve some feedback.

More You Will Like

December 2, 2010 at 10:08 pm

Oh Jimmie, this is timely! -Christine

December 2, 2010 at 10:35 pm

Timely indeed. And I guess I should give some genuine, specific feedback!

Good point about kids not realizing the strong points of their writing. Also remembering to comment on concepts, mechanics, and structure will help the writer keep all those things in mind.

December 3, 2010 at 12:35 am

This has been one of my weakest skills in homeschooling. I find it very hard to critique their writing. I am procrastinating looking at Mr. A’s Lord of the Flies essay right now….want to look at it for me? I am trying to use grading rubrics for this visual spatial learner and it helps both of us have a way to find the positives and negatives in his writing.

Great post, one that many of us need to remember.

December 3, 2010 at 8:26 am

Perfect advice! I love it how you focused on the importance of giving comprehensive feedback – not only (negative) criticism.

Read Aloud Dad

December 3, 2010 at 11:28 am

When I was teaching high school English I used to work on writing skills a lot and you are right, positive is so important. I would often say things like “Well your creativity, the most important element that certainly can’t be taught is there in spades! Now let’s just work on that pesky spelling and paragraphing which is the boring bit but needs to be right.” I’d always let them know what was valued and then move on to the specific targets that I wanted them to work on. I think being specific and quantifiable is so important, let them know exactly what you want them to do rather than a vague ‘improve structure’. Good article on an important topic.

December 3, 2010 at 12:19 pm

All great advice! The writing process is so complex, it’s easy to overwhelm our kids with corrections!

December 3, 2010 at 2:45 pm

Great tips! You have given wonderful examples of positive comments. Good writing is such a complex combination of skills that it helps to know what to focus on when giving the assigment and bear those skills in mind when grading. So if, for example, we focus on topic sentences in paragraphs, or attention grabbing introductions, that is the aspect that needs the most encouragement and the other technical details are secondary.

December 3, 2010 at 7:18 pm

Thanks for posting this, I SOOOO needed it, especially now. Need to take these points to heart.

December 3, 2010 at 9:27 pm

A great reminder! Love the suggestions for positive comments. Thank you!

December 4, 2010 at 12:08 pm

What a wonderful post. Giving positive feedback on children’s writing is something I learned when I taught in the public schools, and it is something I have tried to remember with my own children. I have noticed with my own kids, that the more positive feedback that I give them, the better they take the criticism and are able to use it to improve their writing.

December 6, 2010 at 5:14 am

Great post, Jimmie! One tip I have for critiquing the writing of a new or reluctant writer is to focus on one main thing at a time until it is mastered. I had one of my children write many shorter length pieces and work on, let’s say, paragraph transition, or subject-word agreement, or clear topic sentences, etc. Focusing on one aspect at a time helped my student not be overwhelmed while giving him time to see where he needed to improve.

Dana Dana Wilson Epi Kardia Home Education, LLC http://www.epikardia.com http://www.epikardia.com/blog/curriculum/is-santa-real/

December 10, 2010 at 6:58 am

And so true in all aspects of teaching and parenting. The criticisms are easy and always ready. The praise for a job done right . . . or the good parts of a job done not so well . . . is not quite as quick in coming. Though every bit as important, and often more so.

December 11, 2010 at 10:59 pm

This is really great advice, not only for writing, but for homeschooling and parenting in general.

When I review my son’s writing assignments, I also start by reminding him that receiving feedback and making corrections is part of the writing process. I tell him that when I write e-mails, letters, blog posts, etc., I always have to go back and make changes and revisions. Sometimes, I even show him something I’ve marked up. I think this helps him understand that it’s not personal.

December 16, 2010 at 10:53 am

Hey Jimmie, I tried to link over to the article that you included, but I think the link may have changed. Just fyi. I’d love to read the article. Thanks for the cont’d reminder about pointed out what’s working in a piece of writing.

December 17, 2010 at 12:55 pm

Aimee, You are right! The article is GONE. How terrible. It was a fantastic article, and no amount of searching can turn it up. (Even the Wayback Machine at Archive.org doesn’t work.) I’m so sorry!

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Getting College Essay Help: Important Do's and Don’ts

College Essays

If you grow up to be a professional writer, everything you write will first go through an editor before being published. This is because the process of writing is really a process of re-writing —of rethinking and reexamining your work, usually with the help of someone else. So what does this mean for your student writing? And in particular, what does it mean for very important, but nonprofessional writing like your college essay? Should you ask your parents to look at your essay? Pay for an essay service?

If you are wondering what kind of help you can, and should, get with your personal statement, you've come to the right place! In this article, I'll talk about what kind of writing help is useful, ethical, and even expected for your college admission essay . I'll also point out who would make a good editor, what the differences between editing and proofreading are, what to expect from a good editor, and how to spot and stay away from a bad one.

Table of Contents

What Kind of Help for Your Essay Can You Get?

What's Good Editing?

What should an editor do for you, what kind of editing should you avoid, proofreading, what's good proofreading, what kind of proofreading should you avoid.

What Do Colleges Think Of You Getting Help With Your Essay?

Who Can/Should Help You?

Advice for editors.

Should You Pay Money For Essay Editing?

The Bottom Line

What's next, what kind of help with your essay can you get.

Rather than talking in general terms about "help," let's first clarify the two different ways that someone else can improve your writing . There is editing, which is the more intensive kind of assistance that you can use throughout the whole process. And then there's proofreading, which is the last step of really polishing your final product.

Let me go into some more detail about editing and proofreading, and then explain how good editors and proofreaders can help you."

Editing is helping the author (in this case, you) go from a rough draft to a finished work . Editing is the process of asking questions about what you're saying, how you're saying it, and how you're organizing your ideas. But not all editing is good editing . In fact, it's very easy for an editor to cross the line from supportive to overbearing and over-involved.

Ability to clarify assignments. A good editor is usually a good writer, and certainly has to be a good reader. For example, in this case, a good editor should make sure you understand the actual essay prompt you're supposed to be answering.

Open-endedness. Good editing is all about asking questions about your ideas and work, but without providing answers. It's about letting you stick to your story and message, and doesn't alter your point of view.

Think of an editor as a great travel guide. It can show you the many different places your trip could take you. It should explain any parts of the trip that could derail your trip or confuse the traveler. But it never dictates your path, never forces you to go somewhere you don't want to go, and never ignores your interests so that the trip no longer seems like it's your own. So what should good editors do?

Help Brainstorm Topics

Sometimes it's easier to bounce thoughts off of someone else. This doesn't mean that your editor gets to come up with ideas, but they can certainly respond to the various topic options you've come up with. This way, you're less likely to write about the most boring of your ideas, or to write about something that isn't actually important to you.

If you're wondering how to come up with options for your editor to consider, check out our guide to brainstorming topics for your college essay .

Help Revise Your Drafts

Here, your editor can't upset the delicate balance of not intervening too much or too little. It's tricky, but a great way to think about it is to remember: editing is about asking questions, not giving answers .

Revision questions should point out:

• Places where more detail or more description would help the reader connect with your essay
• Places where structure and logic don't flow, losing the reader's attention
• Places where there aren't transitions between paragraphs, confusing the reader
• Moments where your narrative or the arguments you're making are unclear

But pointing to potential problems is not the same as actually rewriting—editors let authors fix the problems themselves.

Bad editing is usually very heavy-handed editing. Instead of helping you find your best voice and ideas, a bad editor changes your writing into their own vision.

You may be dealing with a bad editor if they:

• Add material (examples, descriptions) that doesn't come from you
• Use a thesaurus to make your college essay sound "more mature"
• Add meaning or insight to the essay that doesn't come from you
• Tell you what to say and how to say it
• Write sentences, phrases, and paragraphs for you
• Change your voice in the essay so it no longer sounds like it was written by a teenager

Colleges can tell the difference between a 17-year-old's writing and a 50-year-old's writing. Not only that, they have access to your SAT or ACT Writing section, so they can compare your essay to something else you wrote. Writing that's a little more polished is great and expected. But a totally different voice and style will raise questions.

Where's the Line Between Helpful Editing and Unethical Over-Editing?

Sometimes it's hard to tell whether your college essay editor is doing the right thing. Here are some guidelines for staying on the ethical side of the line.

• An editor should say that the opening paragraph is kind of boring, and explain what exactly is making it drag. But it's overstepping for an editor to tell you exactly how to change it.
• An editor should point out where your prose is unclear or vague. But it's completely inappropriate for the editor to rewrite that section of your essay.
• An editor should let you know that a section is light on detail or description. But giving you similes and metaphors to beef up that description is a no-go.

Proofreading (also called copy-editing) is checking for errors in the last draft of a written work. It happens at the end of the process and is meant as the final polishing touch. Proofreading is meticulous and detail-oriented, focusing on small corrections. It sands off all the surface rough spots that could alienate the reader.

Because proofreading is usually concerned with making fixes on the word or sentence level, this is the only process where someone else can actually add to or take away things from your essay . This is because what they are adding or taking away tends to be one or two misplaced letters.

Laser focus. Proofreading is all about the tiny details, so the ability to really concentrate on finding small slip-ups is a must.

Excellent grammar and spelling skills. Proofreaders need to dot every "i" and cross every "t." Good proofreaders should correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar. They should put foreign words in italics and surround quotations with quotation marks. They should check that you used the correct college's name, and that you adhered to any formatting requirements (name and date at the top of the page, uniform font and size, uniform spacing).

Limited interference. A proofreader needs to make sure that you followed any word limits. But if cuts need to be made to shorten the essay, that's your job and not the proofreader's.

A bad proofreader either tries to turn into an editor, or just lacks the skills and knowledge necessary to do the job.

Some signs that you're working with a bad proofreader are:

• If they suggest making major changes to the final draft of your essay. Proofreading happens when editing is already finished.
• If they aren't particularly good at spelling, or don't know grammar, or aren't detail-oriented enough to find someone else's small mistakes.
• If they start swapping out your words for fancier-sounding synonyms, or changing the voice and sound of your essay in other ways. A proofreader is there to check for errors, not to take the 17-year-old out of your writing.

What Do Colleges Think of Your Getting Help With Your Essay?

Admissions officers agree: light editing and proofreading are good—even required ! But they also want to make sure you're the one doing the work on your essay. They want essays with stories, voice, and themes that come from you. They want to see work that reflects your actual writing ability, and that focuses on what you find important.

On the Importance of Editing

Get feedback. Have a fresh pair of eyes give you some feedback. Don't allow someone else to rewrite your essay, but do take advantage of others' edits and opinions when they seem helpful. ( Bates College )

Read your essay aloud to someone. Reading the essay out loud offers a chance to hear how your essay sounds outside your head. This exercise reveals flaws in the essay's flow, highlights grammatical errors and helps you ensure that you are communicating the exact message you intended. ( Dickinson College )

On the Value of Proofreading

Share your essays with at least one or two people who know you well—such as a parent, teacher, counselor, or friend—and ask for feedback. Remember that you ultimately have control over your essays, and your essays should retain your own voice, but others may be able to catch mistakes that you missed and help suggest areas to cut if you are over the word limit. ( Yale University )

Proofread and then ask someone else to proofread for you. Although we want substance, we also want to be able to see that you can write a paper for our professors and avoid careless mistakes that would drive them crazy. ( Oberlin College )

On Watching Out for Too Much Outside Influence

Limit the number of people who review your essay. Too much input usually means your voice is lost in the writing style. ( Carleton College )

Ask for input (but not too much). Your parents, friends, guidance counselors, coaches, and teachers are great people to bounce ideas off of for your essay. They know how unique and spectacular you are, and they can help you decide how to articulate it. Keep in mind, however, that a 45-year-old lawyer writes quite differently from an 18-year-old student, so if your dad ends up writing the bulk of your essay, we're probably going to notice. ( Vanderbilt University )

Now let's talk about some potential people to approach for your college essay editing and proofreading needs. It's best to start close to home and slowly expand outward. Not only are your family and friends more invested in your success than strangers, but they also have a better handle on your interests and personality. This knowledge is key for judging whether your essay is expressing your true self.

Parents or Close Relatives

Your family may be full of potentially excellent editors! Parents are deeply committed to your well-being, and family members know you and your life well enough to offer details or incidents that can be included in your essay. On the other hand, the rewriting process necessarily involves criticism, which is sometimes hard to hear from someone very close to you.

A parent or close family member is a great choice for an editor if you can answer "yes" to the following questions. Is your parent or close relative a good writer or reader? Do you have a relationship where editing your essay won't create conflict? Are you able to constructively listen to criticism and suggestion from the parent?

One suggestion for defusing face-to-face discussions is to try working on the essay over email. Send your parent a draft, have them write you back some comments, and then you can pick which of their suggestions you want to use and which to discard.

Teachers or Tutors

A humanities teacher that you have a good relationship with is a great choice. I am purposefully saying humanities, and not just English, because teachers of Philosophy, History, Anthropology, and any other classes where you do a lot of writing, are all used to reviewing student work.

Moreover, any teacher or tutor that has been working with you for some time, knows you very well and can vet the essay to make sure it "sounds like you."

If your teacher or tutor has some experience with what college essays are supposed to be like, ask them to be your editor. If not, then ask whether they have time to proofread your final draft.

Guidance or College Counselor at Your School

The best thing about asking your counselor to edit your work is that this is their job. This means that they have a very good sense of what colleges are looking for in an application essay.

At the same time, school counselors tend to have relationships with admissions officers in many colleges, which again gives them insight into what works and which college is focused on what aspect of the application.

Unfortunately, in many schools the guidance counselor tends to be way overextended. If your ratio is 300 students to 1 college counselor, you're unlikely to get that person's undivided attention and focus. It is still useful to ask them for general advice about your potential topics, but don't expect them to be able to stay with your essay from first draft to final version.

Friends, Siblings, or Classmates

Although they most likely don't have much experience with what colleges are hoping to see, your peers are excellent sources for checking that your essay is you .

Friends and siblings are perfect for the read-aloud edit. Read your essay to them so they can listen for words and phrases that are stilted, pompous, or phrases that just don't sound like you.

You can even trade essays and give helpful advice on each other's work.

If your editor hasn't worked with college admissions essays very much, no worries! Any astute and attentive reader can still greatly help with your process. But, as in all things, beginners do better with some preparation.

First, your editor should read our advice about how to write a college essay introduction , how to spot and fix a bad college essay , and get a sense of what other students have written by going through some admissions essays that worked .

Then, as they read your essay, they can work through the following series of questions that will help them to guide you.

Introduction Questions

• Is the first sentence a killer opening line? Why or why not?
• Does the introduction hook the reader? Does it have a colorful, detailed, and interesting narrative? Or does it propose a compelling or surprising idea?
• Can you feel the author's voice in the introduction, or is the tone dry, dull, or overly formal? Show the places where the voice comes through.

Essay Body Questions

• Does the essay have a through-line? Is it built around a central argument, thought, idea, or focus? Can you put this idea into your own words?
• How is the essay organized? By logical progression? Chronologically? Do you feel order when you read it, or are there moments where you are confused or lose the thread of the essay?
• Does the essay have both narratives about the author's life and explanations and insight into what these stories reveal about the author's character, personality, goals, or dreams? If not, which is missing?
• Does the essay flow? Are there smooth transitions/clever links between paragraphs? Between the narrative and moments of insight?

Reader Response Questions

• Does the writer's personality come through? Do we know what the speaker cares about? Do we get a sense of "who he or she is"?
• Where did you feel most connected to the essay? Which parts of the essay gave you a "you are there" sensation by invoking your senses? What moments could you picture in your head well?
• Where are the details and examples vague and not specific enough?
• Did you get an "a-ha!" feeling anywhere in the essay? Is there a moment of insight that connected all the dots for you? Is there a good reveal or "twist" anywhere in the essay?
• What are the strengths of this essay? What needs the most improvement?

Should You Pay Money for Essay Editing?

One alternative to asking someone you know to help you with your college essay is the paid editor route. There are two different ways to pay for essay help: a private essay coach or a less personal editing service , like the many proliferating on the internet.

My advice is to think of these options as a last resort rather than your go-to first choice. I'll first go through the reasons why. Then, if you do decide to go with a paid editor, I'll help you decide between a coach and a service.

When to Consider a Paid Editor

In general, I think hiring someone to work on your essay makes a lot of sense if none of the people I discussed above are a possibility for you.

If you can't ask your parents. For example, if your parents aren't good writers, or if English isn't their first language. Or if you think getting your parents to help is going create unnecessary extra conflict in your relationship with them (applying to college is stressful as it is!)

If you can't ask your teacher or tutor. Maybe you don't have a trusted teacher or tutor that has time to look over your essay with focus. Or, for instance, your favorite humanities teacher has very limited experience with college essays and so won't know what admissions officers want to see.

If you can't ask your guidance counselor. This could be because your guidance counselor is way overwhelmed with other students.

If you can't share your essay with those who know you. It might be that your essay is on a very personal topic that you're unwilling to share with parents, teachers, or peers. Just make sure it doesn't fall into one of the bad-idea topics in our article on bad college essays .

If the cost isn't a consideration. Many of these services are quite expensive, and private coaches even more so. If you have finite resources, I'd say that hiring an SAT or ACT tutor (whether it's PrepScholar or someone else) is better way to spend your money . This is because there's no guarantee that a slightly better essay will sufficiently elevate the rest of your application, but a significantly higher SAT score will definitely raise your applicant profile much more.

Should You Hire an Essay Coach?

On the plus side, essay coaches have read dozens or even hundreds of college essays, so they have experience with the format. Also, because you'll be working closely with a specific person, it's more personal than sending your essay to a service, which will know even less about you.

But, on the minus side, you'll still be bouncing ideas off of someone who doesn't know that much about you . In general, if you can adequately get the help from someone you know, there is no advantage to paying someone to help you.

If you do decide to hire a coach, ask your school counselor, or older students that have used the service for recommendations. If you can't afford the coach's fees, ask whether they can work on a sliding scale —many do. And finally, beware those who guarantee admission to your school of choice—essay coaches don't have any special magic that can back up those promises.

Should You Send Your Essay to a Service?

On the plus side, essay editing services provide a similar product to essay coaches, and they cost significantly less . If you have some assurance that you'll be working with a good editor, the lack of face-to-face interaction won't prevent great results.

On the minus side, however, it can be difficult to gauge the quality of the service before working with them . If they are churning through many application essays without getting to know the students they are helping, you could end up with an over-edited essay that sounds just like everyone else's. In the worst case scenario, an unscrupulous service could send you back a plagiarized essay.

Getting recommendations from friends or a school counselor for reputable services is key to avoiding heavy-handed editing that writes essays for you or does too much to change your essay. Including a badly-edited essay like this in your application could cause problems if there are inconsistencies. For example, in interviews it might be clear you didn't write the essay, or the skill of the essay might not be reflected in your schoolwork and test scores.

Should You Buy an Essay Written by Someone Else?

Let me elaborate. There are super sketchy places on the internet where you can simply buy a pre-written essay. Don't do this!

For one thing, you'll be lying on an official, signed document. All college applications make you sign a statement saying something like this:

I certify that all information submitted in the admission process—including the application, the personal essay, any supplements, and any other supporting materials—is my own work, factually true, and honestly presented... I understand that I may be subject to a range of possible disciplinary actions, including admission revocation, expulsion, or revocation of course credit, grades, and degree, should the information I have certified be false. (From the Common Application )

For another thing, if your academic record doesn't match the essay's quality, the admissions officer will start thinking your whole application is riddled with lies.

Admission officers have full access to your writing portion of the SAT or ACT so that they can compare work that was done in proctored conditions with that done at home. They can tell if these were written by different people. Not only that, but there are now a number of search engines that faculty and admission officers can use to see if an essay contains strings of words that have appeared in other essays—you have no guarantee that the essay you bought wasn't also bought by 50 other students.

• You should get college essay help with both editing and proofreading
• A good editor will ask questions about your idea, logic, and structure, and will point out places where clarity is needed
• A good editor will absolutely not answer these questions, give you their own ideas, or write the essay or parts of the essay for you
• A good proofreader will find typos and check your formatting
• All of them agree that getting light editing and proofreading is necessary
• Parents, teachers, guidance or college counselor, and peers or siblings
• If you can't ask any of those, you can pay for college essay help, but watch out for services or coaches who over-edit you work
• Don't buy a pre-written essay! Colleges can tell, and it'll make your whole application sound false.

Ready to start working on your essay? Check out our explanation of the point of the personal essay and the role it plays on your applications and then explore our step-by-step guide to writing a great college essay .

Using the Common Application for your college applications? We have an excellent guide to the Common App essay prompts and useful advice on how to pick the Common App prompt that's right for you . Wondering how other people tackled these prompts? Then work through our roundup of over 130 real college essay examples published by colleges .

Stressed about whether to take the SAT again before submitting your application? Let us help you decide how many times to take this test . If you choose to go for it, we have the ultimate guide to studying for the SAT to give you the ins and outs of the best ways to study.

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Anna scored in the 99th percentile on her SATs in high school, and went on to major in English at Princeton and to get her doctorate in English Literature at Columbia. She is passionate about improving student access to higher education.

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How to Write a Persuasive Essay

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So you've been assigned a persuasive paper and you're staring at a blinking cursor. What do you do first? How do you pick a good topic? Today we're going to learn how to write a persuasive essay, so you can get that assignment done. 

As we continue our back-to-school series on writing essays, today we look at the persuasive essay. 

Today's article is written by guest writer Cora Weems who is a senior at the University of South Carolina. She typically writes narrative poetry, slightly depressing short stories, and effective academic essays. Her hobbies include trying to get through a tall stack of unread books and handcrafts like card-making. Welcome, Cora! 

What is a Persuasive Essay?

A persuasive essay is a piece of writing that aims to convince the reader to adopt a specific viewpoint or take action. To support it, you'll use logical arguments, compelling evidence, emotional appeals, and personalization.

In school, teachers often assign controversial issues, but you can develop your own topic too.

Learning to write a persuasive essay though is terrific practice for all kinds of writing. From public debate to sales letters and marketing, persuasive writing skills can carry you far beyond your school experience.

Let's go through the full process!

How to Write a Persuasive Essay: 6 Steps to Help You Start

Here are six steps to help you get your essay started.

Step 1: Pick a Suitable Topic

Maybe your teacher's already given you a prompt, or a specific topic to follow. Or maybe they've sent you on your way with just the rubric and an example paper to help you with formatting.

When it comes to persuasive writing, you need a position that you develop into a central idea. You'll have to support that position with all your evidence and reasoning.

Ideally, it should be a topic you're already familiar with and interested in. That will give you a better starting position and help keep you motivated to keep researching and writing!

When you are given a topic, you'll still want to develop a debatable position.

Here are three examples of broad persuasive essay topics:

• The Impact of Social Media on Society
• Climate Change and Environmental Responsibility
• The Role of Education in Reducing Income Inequality

It should not be a topic that has a specific single right answer or solution, but rather, a number of positions and solutions that you can take.

Your topic should be one of the very first things you address in your essay, in the topic sentence of your introductory paragraph, so your reader can immediately know what you're writing about. 

To choose a suitable topic, ask yourself if the topic has multiple positions to take, and if you can reasonably research and take one position. That leads us to step 2:

Step 2: Research Both Sides, But Only Pick One

Even though you're only trying to advocate for one side of your argument, you should know the perspectives of both sides. Not only will this give you a better understanding of your topic, but it will help you prepare a counter argument that will make your essay more convincing. 

If you've chosen a controversial topic, then there should be at least two opposing viewpoints that you can read about for supporting evidence. 

Perhaps when you picked your topic, you already had a preferred stance, but researching the other side will give you fresh insight into what you actually believe, rather than relying on what you already knew. 

Strong arguments typically address the opposing side's perspective and acknowledge them, for the purpose of refuting that argument and making your own appear stronger.

Or maybe you think both sides of your argument have valid points, so you think you'll about both and let the reader decide. Don't do that!

Not only is it more work for you, but the reader will be confused about your point.

You can acknowledge the strongest parts of the opposing view while you counter with your own perspective.

Step 3: Craft a Thesis Statement

Writing a thesis statement is a skill that goes beyond just persuasive writing. It's particularly important in this case because it gives both you and the reader a clear vision on how the rest of your paper is going to go. 

You should explicitly state what you position is and what the rest of your paper is going to be about. It's usually a sentence or two long, so don't worry about being thorough or too specific. You'll Expand on it in your body paragraphs.

Typically, your thesis statement is located at the end of your introductory paragraph which allows for a natural transition from introducing your topic to the more specific reasons for your position on that topic. 

You can use this statement to outline the rest of your paper, from what each paragraph is going to addressing the type of evidence you'll be using.

For example, if you choose the topic about the impact of social media on society, you want a thesis statement that covers the position and scope of your paper. Here's an example: 

Social media like Facebook negatively impacts society through the ease of sharing misinformation, and both individuals and social media platforms need to do more to curb the spread of misinformation.

Notice how the position this writer takes is that Facebook negatively impacts society because of how it's used to share misinformation.

Now how would they support that thesis?

Step 4: Use the Right Evidence

Once you take a position, it's the time to show the reader why your viewpoint in particular is the one they should follow.

For academic writing, the most effective evidence is peer-reviewed articles published in academic journals. Peer-reviewed articles are seen as the most credible because they've been viewed and cleared by a number of different people, which means multiple people agreed that this article is reliable. 

If you chose the wrong evidence, your entire argument is at risk of falling apart. You should not be choosing evidence that is false or unreliable, because your evidence is the foundation that your position stands upon. 

Even if you don't want to go searching through databases for jargon-filled journal articles, all the evidence you choose should be from credible sources. It could be an expert opinion or some form of anecdotal evidence that could help personalize the issue for your reader. 

You may have heard the terms “ethos,” “pathos,” and “logos” in class. When crafting something persuasive, you should appeal to authority, emotion, and logic. 

Using evidence from an expert is an appeal to ethos or authority, credibility.

If you cite statistics from a reputable source, that might be an appeal to logic.

A related anecdote that makes the reader angry or sympathetic may be an emotional appeal.

The best persuasive essays use all three.

A persuasive argument is typically supported by a number of different sources that appeal to all parts of the reader, from their logical side to their more heartfelt one. All of those different perspectives will come together to make your argument stronger and more effective. 

For example, in our example above on the impact of social media, the thesis statement reads: “Social media like Facebook negatively impacts society through the ease of sharing misinformation, and both individuals and social media platforms need to do more to curb the spread of misinformation.”

To support, this paper would need to show data about misinformation on Facebook, demonstrate the ways that misinformation negatively impacts society, and then offer the best solutions in the form of individual and company interventions.

Step 5: Use Natural Transitions

As you add evidence to your argument, use transitions that help the reader see the connections you're making.

If you've ever felt your eyes begin to glaze over when you see a wall of text or a bunch of graphs and statistics in one place, the writer lost you in making the needed connections and transitions. You don't want to do that to your reader. 

Introduce a point, then use evidence to support that point, and then expand on that evidence. Whether it's by paraphrasing it so the reader can more easily digest it, or by showing the reader exactly how it connects back to what you're trying to persuade them. 

This not only applies to evidence, but also moving between paragraphs. There should be a topic sentence near the beginning of every paragraph to tell the reader what that paragraph is about, and you should use the last sentence of the previous paragraph to lead into it. 

Doing this helps improve the flow of your essay and keeps the reader's attention. If they never have to stop and wonder how you got to a certain point, then you can keep all their attention purely on your argument. 

Step 6: Make It Applicable

As you bring your essay to a close, most persuasive papers end with some call to action. It might be that you are asking the reader to understand an issue differently. Maybe you want to them to change their minds or donate money or take other action.

Make sure your conclusion answers the question, “So what?” Give your reader something to occupy their mind even after they're done reading. You want to tell them why reading your argument was important, and give them a reason to keep thinking about your argument even after you're done. 

Doing so will leave a lasting impression of your paper on your reader, which will make your essay more persuasive and effective. 

Persuade us!

So there you have it. Some ways to help move that blinking cursor.

It's okay to start with a draft that's just you cramming all your ideas onto a document. Don't worry about formal language yet. Reorganizing and rewriting that rough draft is part of what makes a good paper. 

Plus, writing it all out will let you see what you actually thought the most important parts were, and revision allows you to highlight those strong points and focus on what you think the reader should know. 

Here's a question to help you keep going even after you've finished the messy first draft: What makes this essay important to you?

Beyond the grade it will get in class, beyond how it will affect your GPA or academic standing, what about this essay is important? What about this will affect more people than just you?

Throughout your life, you'll constantly find times where you have to use persuasion. Maybe it won't be in essay format or presented in a Power Point, but finding ways to be persuasive is something that will help you in the rest of your life. 

So let's think of this essay as practice, and learn how to be as persuasive as we can. 

What are your best tips for persuasive writing? Share in the comments . 

Set your timer for fifteen minutes . Choose a persuasive topic that you can take a clear position on. Make a list of the reasons for your current view point. Then, do some research and read possible evidence both in support and in opposition to your view. Choose the strongest two to three pieces. 

If you still have time, craft a thesis statement that distills your argument, and begin writing the essay. While it will take you longer than fifteen minutes to write the essay, sometimes just getting started in fifteen minutes is enough to make a difference!

When finished, post your thesis and current direction in the Pro Practice Workshop , and leave feedback for a few other writers. 

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Want to write a college essay that sets you apart? Three tips to give you a head start

1. Keep it real. It’s normal to want to make a good impression on the school of your choice, but it’s also important to show who you really are. So just be yourself! Compelling stories might not be perfectly linear or have a happy ending, and that’s OK. It’s best to be authentic instead of telling schools what you think they want to hear.

2. Be reflective . Think about how you’ve changed during high school. How have you grown and improved? What makes you feel ready for college, and how do you hope to contribute to the campus community and society at large?

3. Look to the future. Consider your reasons for attending college. What do you hope to gain from your education? What about college excites you the most, and what would you like to do after you graduate? Answering these questions will not only give colleges insight into the kind of student you’ll be, but it will also give you the personal insight you’ll need to choose the school that’s right for you.

Have questions about college prep? We're here to help.

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As a student or prospective student at CU Boulder, you have a right to certain information pertaining to financial aid programs, the Clery Act, crime and safety, graduation rates, athletics and other general information such as the costs associated with attending CU Boulder. To view this information visit  colorado.edu/your-right-know .

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Include an introduction and conclusion

A conclusion is essential for IELTS writing task 2. It is more important than most people realise. You will be penalised for missing a conclusion in your IELTS essay.

The easiest paragraph to write in an essay is the conclusion paragraph. This is because the paragraph mostly contains information that has already been presented in the essay – it is just the repetition of some information written in the introduction paragraph and supporting paragraphs.

The conclusion paragraph only has 3 sentences:

• Restatement of thesis
• Prediction or recommendation

To summarize, a robotic teacher does not have the necessary disciple to properly give instructions to students and actually works to retard the ability of a student to comprehend new lessons. Therefore, it is clear that the idea of running a classroom completely by a machine cannot be supported. After thorough analysis on this subject, it is predicted that the adverse effects of the debate over technology-driven teaching will always be greater than the positive effects, and because of this, classroom teachers will never be substituted for technology.

Start your conclusion with a linking phrase. Here are some examples:

• In conclusion
• To conclude
• To summarize
• In a nutshell

Discover more tips in The Ultimate Guide to Get a Target Band Score of 7+ » — a book that's free for 🚀 Premium users.

• Check your IELTS essay »
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Many children nowadays find it difficult to concentrate or pay attention at school. What are the causes of this phenomenon? What are the possible solutions to this problem?

Some people think the best way to solve global environmental problems is to increase the cost of fuel，to what extent do you agree or disagree., successful companies use advertising to make more sales. what can make advertisement effective do you think advertisement is a bad thing or a good thing for society., some people believe that watching tv is bad for children, while others claim it has positive effects for children as they grow up. discuss both views and give your own opinion., children are facing more pressures nowadays from academic, social and commercial perspective. what are the causes of these pressures and what measures should be taken to reduce these pressures.

The Fundamentals of Writing an Essay

by TPI | Aug 17, 2024 | Uncategorized | 0 comments

If you’re thinking of writing a corretor de texto portugues n essay, you will first need to know what makes a good essay. An essay follows a particular pattern, which is critical to its success. An outline helps you find the big picture so that you can put the individual segments into proper context. Here are four steps to writing an essay outline:

The initial step is to choose your topic. Because most essays are expected for a reply, the subject is a significant part. Decide on a topic that will provide you plenty of chances for variety, in addition to structure.

Then consider the various perspectives or points of view that might be expressed on your essay subject. By way of instance, if you’re writing about the history of American television, then you might discuss the technological changes that have influenced popular television shows. Or you may look at different perspectives on the subject of love, such as how one’s relationship with their significant other has changed over time. There are all types of issues you may explore as you learn more about your topic. Whenever you have your outline set up, you can then begin to write the body of your essay.

The next step would be to write your body. Each essay is exceptional, but the overall structure of the human body tends to follow a logical sequence. This usually means that it’s helpful to select a topic that you’ll have the ability to construct your argument around. You also need to be sure to select a correct duration for your essay, as much as the period of the essay . You do not wish to see it too fast or too slow.

The fourth step is to create a draft. This will allow you to determine where any grammatical mistakes exist, as well as ensure that you’ve written your introduction and decision properly. After you have finished writing your outline, you may then update your essay. The very best way to do this is to rewrite every paragraph and edit each sentence to improve your craft.

After these four steps will assist you when writing an essay. Even if you’ve never written one before, you can easily finish this process and become far more effective in whatever area of writing you choose. The outline step is especially important, as writing an essay requires a whole lot of planning and research before you can even begin.

One of the toughest things that people who are new to the topic of the debate often do is picking a topic. This can be incredibly intimidating, and lots of men and women fail because they jump in too quickly without considering all their options. You should have a good idea of the subject you’re interested in, but you shouldn’t pick it without a solid plan of attack. If you’re unable to determine what your main points will be, then it is very likely that you’ll fail. However, if you take the time to consider your topic carefully, you are going to come up with an interesting, relevant, and persuasive essay that ends up giving you a top grade.

Finally, you should remember that writing an essay is something which you have to practice frequently. It is always easier to write a composition when you are fresh at it, so make sure you set aside a couple of minutes each day to work on it. Furthermore, be sure to take frequent breaks between your writing sessions. This can allow you to write a more coherent, organized essay, in addition to allowing your mind to break from the corretor de texto constant barrage of thoughts.

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Writing the college essay

How do you write a letter to a friend that shows you’re a good candidate for the University of Pennsylvania? What reading list will help the Columbia University admissions committee understand your interdisciplinary interests? How can you convey your desire to attend Yale by inventing a course description for a topic you’re interested in studying?

These are the challenges students must overcome when writing their supplemental essays . Supplemental essays are a critical component of college applications—like the personal statement, they provide students with the opportunity to showcase their authentic voice and perspective beyond the quantitative elements of their applications. However, unlike the personal essay, supplemental essays allow colleges to read students’ responses to targeted prompts and evaluate their candidacy for their specific institution. For this reason, supplemental essay prompts are often abstract, requiring students to get creative, read between the lines, and ditch the traditional essay-writing format when crafting their responses.

While many schools simply want to know “why do you want to attend our school?” others break the mold, inviting students to think outside of the box and answer prompts that are original, head-scratching, or downright weird. This year, the following five colleges pushed students to get creative—if you’re struggling to rise to the challenge, here are some tips for tackling their unique prompts:

University of Chicago

Prompt: We’re all familiar with green-eyed envy or feeling blue, but what about being “caught purple-handed”? Or “tickled orange”? Give an old color-infused expression a new hue and tell us what it represents. – Inspired by Ramsey Bottorff, Class of 2026

What Makes it Unique: No discussion of unique supplemental essay prompts would be complete without mentioning the University of Chicago, a school notorious for its puzzling and original prompts (perhaps the most well-known of these has been the recurring prompt “Find x”). This prompt challenges you to invent a new color-based expression, encouraging both linguistic creativity and a deep dive into the emotional or cultural connotations of color. It’s a prompt that allows you to play with language, think abstractly, and show off your ability to forge connections between concepts that aren’t typically linked—all qualities that likewise demonstrate your preparedness for UChicago’s unique academic environment.

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How to Answer it: While it may be easy to get distracted by the open-ended nature of the prompt, remember that both the substance and structure of your response should give some insight into your personality, perspective, and characteristics. With this in mind, begin by considering the emotions, experiences, or ideas that most resonate with you. Then, use your imagination to consider how a specific color could represent that feeling or concept. Remember that the prompt is ultimately an opportunity to showcase your creativity and original way of looking at the world, so your explanation does not need to be unnecessarily deep or complex—if you have a playful personality, convey your playfulness in your response; if you are known for your sarcasm, consider how you can weave in your biting wit; if you are an amateur poet, consider how you might take inspiration from poetry as you write, or offer a response in the form of a poem.

The goal is to take a familiar concept and turn it into something new and meaningful through a creative lens. Use this essay to showcase your ability to think inventively and to draw surprising connections between language and life.

Harvard University

Prompt: Top 3 things your roommates might like to know about you.

What Makes it Unique: This prompt is unique in both form and substance—first, you only have 150 words to write about all 3 things. Consider using a form other than a traditional essay or short answer response, such as a bullet list or short letter. Additionally, note that the things your roommate might like to learn about you do not necessarily overlap with the things you would traditionally share with an admissions committee. The aim of the prompt is to get to know your quirks and foibles—who are you as a person and a friend? What distinguishes you outside of academics and accolades?

How to Answer it: First and foremost, feel free to get creative with your response to this prompt. While you are producing a supplemental essay and thus a professional piece of writing, the prompt invites you to share more personal qualities, and you should aim to demonstrate your unique characteristics in your own voice. Consider things such as: How would your friends describe you? What funny stories do your parents and siblings share that encapsulate your personality? Or, consider what someone might want to know about living with you: do you snore? Do you have a collection of vintage posters? Are you particularly fastidious? While these may seem like trivial things to mention, the true creativity is in how you connect these qualities to deeper truths about yourself—perhaps your sleepwalking is consistent with your reputation for being the first to raise your hand in class or speak up about a cause you’re passionate about. Perhaps your living conditions are a metaphor for how your brain works—though it looks like a mess to everyone else, you have a place for everything and know exactly where to find it. Whatever qualities you choose, embrace the opportunity to think outside of the box and showcase something that admissions officers won’t learn about anywhere else on your application.

University of Pennsylvania

Prompt: Write a short thank-you note to someone you have not yet thanked and would like to acknowledge.

What Makes it Unique: Breaking from the traditional essay format, this supplement invites you to write directly to a third party in the form of a 150-200 word long letter. The challenge in answering this distinct prompt is to remember that your letter should say as much about you, your unique qualities and what you value as it does about the recipient—all while not seeming overly boastful or contrived.

How to Answer it: As you select a recipient, consider the relationships that have been most formative in your high school experience—writing to someone who has played a large part in your story will allow the admissions committee some insight into your development and the meaningful relationships that guided you on your journey. Once you’ve identified the person, craft a thank-you note that is specific and heartfelt—unlike other essays, this prompt invites you to be sentimental and emotional, as long as doing so would authentically convey your feelings of gratitude. Describe the impact they’ve had on you, what you’ve learned from them, and how their influence has shaped your path. For example, if you’re thanking a teacher, don’t just say they helped you become a better student—explain how their encouragement gave you the confidence to pursue your passions. Keep the tone sincere and personal, avoid clichés and focus on the unique role this person has played in your life.

University of Notre Dame

Prompt: What compliment are you most proud of receiving, and why does it mean so much to you?

What Makes it Unique: This prompt is unique in that it invites students to share something about themselves by reflecting on someone else’s words in 50-100 words.

How to Answer it: The key to answering this prompt is to avoid focusing too much on the complement itself and instead focus on your response to receiving it and why it was so important to you. Note that this prompt is not an opportunity to brag about your achievements, but instead to showcase what truly matters to you. Select a compliment that truly speaks to who you are and what you value. It could be related to your character, work ethic, kindness, creativity, or any other quality that you hold in high regard. The compliment doesn’t have to be grand or come from someone with authority—it could be something small but significant that left a lasting impression on you, or it could have particular meaning for you because it came from someone you didn’t expect it to come from. Be brief in setting the stage and explaining the context of the compliment—what is most important is your reflection on its significance and how it shaped your understanding of yourself.

Stanford University

Prompt: List five things that are important to you.

What Makes it Unique: This prompt’s simplicity is what makes it so challenging. Stanford asks for a list, not an essay, which means you have very limited space (50 words) to convey something meaningful about yourself. Additionally, the prompt does not specify what these “things” must be—they could be a physical item, an idea, a concept, or even a pastime. Whatever you choose, these five items should add depth to your identity, values, and priorities.

How to Answer it: Start by brainstorming what matters most to you—these could be values, activities, people, places, or even abstract concepts. The key is to choose items or concepts that, when considered together, provide a comprehensive snapshot of who you are. For example, you might select something tangible and specific such as “an antique telescope gifted by my grandfather” alongside something conceptual such as “the willingness to admit when you’re wrong.” The beauty of this prompt is that it doesn’t require complex sentences or elaborate explanations—just a clear and honest reflection of what you hold dear. Be thoughtful in your selections, and use this prompt to showcase your creativity and core values.

While the supplemental essays should convey something meaningful about you, your values, and your unique qualifications for the university to which you are applying, the best essays are those that are playful, original, and unexpected. By starting early and taking the time to draft and revise their ideas, students can showcase their authentic personalities and distinguish themselves from other applicants through their supplemental essays.

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