dear imane.

˖◛⁺⑅♡ you got mail!˖◛⁺⑅♡ cutesy sanrio inspired blog for writing tips+ prompts ʚĭɞ

[dearimanexoxo]

dear imane,

welcome to the blog ◝(ᵔᵕᵔ)◜ this is a sanrio-inspired blog for writing tips, prompts, and everything having to do with the hemisphere of writing.  new posts: writing essays 101: basic overview  5 halloween prompts plot of a story: basic overview + tips please accompany me on this new upcoming blog and have fresh taste of something new in the tumblr writing community ପ(⑅ˊᵕˋ⑅)ଓ

[dearimanexoxo]

writing essays 101

when writing essays, it can be hard to understand how to write it and understand the topic you’re writing without going too far, so here are some tips on how to write a strong and persuading essay for a 101 on that english grade :). understanding the topic

research as much as you can 

ask your teacher for (if you can) their opinion on the topic 

get some classmate help on the topic 

(this goes with research) look at different videos on the topic and articles, and make sure to annotate these articles and videos you read to get a good understanding

make sure to always brainstorm and always make drafts and revisions before writing your final

understanding an essay topic is really just research and peer help, just as long as you take in depth notes and annotations. i would even suggest writing a really long summary, if the essay is important such as a college essay or a scholarship essay.

types of essays

analytical: most common type, to discuss, analyze, or review something in a thorough manner.

argumentative: these essays require you to take a position on your topic, and properly debate your position. 

interpretive: usually, essay writers are given a supply of data in any type of form such as case studies or graphs and must interpret the data, showcasing their knowledge (sort of like analyzing!)

compare and contrast: self-explanatory, you compare and contrast something, might require you to make a recommendation on one of the items or involved parties in the essay. 

problem and solution: most of the time, these essays require you to introduce and investigate a problem, and provide a range of solutions with proper evidence in order to justify your side.

cause and effect: these essays require you to provide a plethora of effects for a certain cause. these can be medical, historical, or natural disaster type topics. these essays tend to be structured with the cause being described first, then later an explanation and analyzing of effects afterward.

drafting and organizing

majority of essays have similar introductions, body paragraphs, and conclusions. i’ll be going over the majority.

 introduction (inverted triangle format) 

begin with a strong hook (will be making a post on hooks soon dw!!)

begin the bridge (background information on topic)

thesis (your viewpoint on the topic) (will be making a post on thesis statements as well)

overview on components (this can be in any sort of essay: argumentative, compare and contrast, analytical, problem n solution, etc you will just have a short sentence on the overall structure of the essay)

 body of essay (yes i know it’s 1 twice, tumblr is being rude to me ): )

topic sentence explaining first component 

give evidence and further explanation, (make sure to not add any unnecessary information, take advantage of ellipsis’ to avoid adding too much info, dont explain too much let the evidence speak for itself, avoid self-pronouns “i, me, my, you, we”, ALWAYS have evidence ready in order to make your argument stronger and be sure to always cite properly, and of course be sure not to constantly restate your topic, they have already read that and understand with your introduction)

conclude it properly with a small summary sentence without making it seem repetitive. (this sentence or 2 will be like your topic sentence, but an overall summary rather than introducing it without a summary — hopefully that made sense.)

you continue this body paragraphs for another  2 or 3 times, depending on the type of essay you want to write.

conclusion 

summary of all main points/body paragraphs

(optional) restate and refine thesis 

(conclusion varies between types of essays):

1. analytical essay

justify with small sentence (e.g, “Therefore, [main point of essay restated] is justified due to [crucial/ most important piece of evidence here] explaining how [explanation goes here]. Overall, [thesis refined here].” < feel free to use that (no credit needed).

2. argumentative essay

just simple restate your position use same format as analytical essay does with it’s example c:

3. interpretive essay

- state your overall interpretation of topic

- summarize main issue in data provided with thorough evidence from data with your explanation and cited evidence from outside sources

- finally, make your recommendations, suggestions, or solutions towards the issue involved, backed up with evidence.

4. comparative essay

- restate the purpose of the comparison 

- summarize main similiarities and differences

- overall conclusion

5. problem & solution essay

- summary of problem and why it was a problem, and a quick overview (i would suggest using the best solution if you had multiple) of solution(s)

- evaluate solutions and recommend best one (if you had mulitple solutions)

- (if you did not have multiple solutions) evaluate solution and give a short justification towards it. 

6. cause and effect essay

- summary of main points in the body

- conclude it with your prediction or recommendation

image for paragraph patterns i found on google, make use of it with what u will :) 

wrapping the essay up

remember, most essays use MLA formatting, so here are some reminders:

size: 12, font: times new roman

name first, professor second, course third, date last

last and page number at the corner of each page

double spacing

1 inch margining 

here is a website you can use for citations: https://www.easybib.com/guides/citation-guides/mla-format/mla-citation/#standard  (they use the MLA handbook when explaining how to cite, so dw abt if they are credible or not, pls let me know if there is anything wrong with the link)

be sure to always do your research, ask help from teachers or superintendents or peers, and reread your essay before submitting!! happy writing and good luck :). made this for myself honestly for my scholarship essay im writing right now haha, hope this helps anyone else in my situation, i’ll be doing college essays  and character writing + development tomorrow. 

[dearimanexoxo]

5 halloween prompts

1. 

You and a few friends find an abandoned house, the group all decide to go into the house and find themselves in a completely different universe, unable to escape and must find a way to come back home. 

2. 

Every time you look in the mirror, it seems something else looks back at you. You must figure out a way to stop this and find out what is in your mirror.

3. 

A serial killer has gone rampant on Halloween night, however finds them self unable to kill this one specific person.

4. 

Addicted internet user, you find yourself always on different online forums, until you stumble on a certain forum, privately messaging this extremely terrifying person who’s been stalking you for a long time.

5. 

 Every time you go to sleep, you find yourself in a maze with several others who must find the escape, however something else that isn’t human lurks within the maze.

apologies for using “you” as the pronoun, wanted the prompts to be more personal. hope these prompts will b fun to write <33

[dearimanexoxo]

coming up with the plot of a story

find out what type of story you’re writing.

look at different genres or story tropes

find out what type of niche you’re into (are you into romance or crime? how will you apply it to your story?)

do you want this story to influence people? or be a simple read?

 get inspiration

look at writing prompts

make a photo collage

take inspirations from movies, shows, or books you enjoy

take inspiration from real life stories

development of the story

when developing the story, we use the 5 Ws 

who (who are the characters?)

what (what’s going to happen in the story? what will happen to your characters?)

where (where is the story going to take place; setting.)

when (when will this story take place? when will this something happen?)

why (why will this story happen? why will this something happen? why will this happen to your characters?)

when thinking about the 5 Ws, you can use this when writing a plot diagram or summary of your story :). you can also develop a story by brainstorming, taking notes on research you do about what you want to write, and clarify your central idea or main idea of your story. 

keep in mind when developing the story:

make sure to develop characters personalities and humanize them

setting & timeline

conflict & plot twists

substories in the story (detour)

solution (if you leave it on a cliffhanger, it’s highly suggested to either have a prequel or sequel)

happy writing!!