Louise

Studyblr (sideblog) - Belgian - university student - Civil Engineering Architecture

[emmastudies]

one of my lecturers printed us a step-by-step guide to writing an essay for an assignment we had. i decided to type it up and share it with you guys. i think for the most part it is really useful and a super simple way to break down your essay. hope this helps :~)

[rewritign-blog]

Writing an essay on one piece of literature is difficult enough, so when it comes to comparing two or more in the same essay, it’s easy to get bogged down and struggle to write anything meaningful. Here are a few ideas which can help the whole process and make writing these essays a little easier!

While reading the texts

Construct a table where you can note down ideas about the themes, stylistic devices, characterisation, or other important elements commonly found in most literature. Delegate a column for each piece of literature you’re studying and a separate row for each literary technique. This serves as an easy source of comparison and a starting point for your essays.

Copy important quotes which can demonstrate these techniques which you can later use in your essays as evidence.

Understand the context of the literature. This can provide useful information which can explain the similarities and differences you encounter between the texts.

Writing the essay

Select the elements of the text your essay will compare. This is likely to be dictated by the essay question. Supposing you’ve created a table as outlined in the above section, you will already have a vague comparison of the texts your essay will cover. Rereading the literature with these elements of comparison in mind can allow you to gain a better understanding of the texts and the techniques you will compare, and also supply you with further evidence to support your argument.

Create an outline which you can follow to write your essay. Outlines are critically important to writing essays which are coherent and clearly expressed. They can be as crude or as detailed as you like, just so long as you include the main ideas. I also like to include quotes  I will use as evidence in my outline so as not to forget them while writing the essay. With an outline, all that’s left to writing the essay is finding the right words to express your ideas!

The introduction is as you would write any essay introduction. Start with an opening sentence which encapsulates the overall ideas of the essay in an interesting way, outline the ideas your essay will cover, and outline the thesis to your reader. Be sure to define key terms relevant to your essay, and provide a grounds for comparison between the texts. 

The body of the essay can be structured in numerous ways, some of which I have outlined below. These only include 2 texts and are certainly not the only ways to structure comparative essays, so do not feel limited to these alone!

Text-by-text - This method outlines each text separately in the body section (i.e. discuss all of text A, then discuss all of text B) and leaves the comparative element until the end.

Point-by-point - This method deconstructs the texts down to the individual elements your essay will compare and you alternate between texts A and B for each element, comparing them as you go. I’ve found this to be a more sophisticated way of writing comparative essays, and it has generally scored higher grades in my experience, however the demands of the essay question, the marker, the texts themselves, and you as the writer ultimately determine which structure is most effective. 

The conclusion, like the introduction, is similar to any conclusion you write for an essay. I have a separate post which can help with writing conclusions should you need it!

Proof read and edit as necessary! A single typo or grammatical error can undermine any essay, no matter how persuasively it is written.

Miscellaneous tips

Comparative essays are less concerned with the ideas a novel presents than they are with the comparison of the ideas and techniques of the texts. This should be reflected in your essay, such that the bulk of its content is comparison. A brief outline of the ideas is necessary, but it is not the focus!

Always be clear which text you are discussing by referring to the title or author. 

Using the authors’ names and putting them in the foreground as the creator of the texts is an easy way to do this, and also serves as an excellent writing style.

e.g.: Fitzgerald creates a curiosity within the reader to understand her motives and to better comprehend her actions. 

e.g.: Atwood’s construction of The Handmaid’s Tale and the nature of Offred’s character creates unreliability such that we cannot entirely trust her story. 

Signpost your comparisons with easily identifiable linking/transition words

Differences e.g.: contrastingly, conversely, alternatively, however, unlike, whereas

Similarities e.g.: similarly, likewise, the same can be seen, this is mirrored in

Hopefully this can be of some help when you next need to tackle a comparative essay! My inbox is open if you ever need further help.

other essay writing posts: how to write a critical review how to write conclusions how to structure essays  how to reduce your word count understanding the question how to write a killer unprepared text essay

[colophona]

[introvertedbookworm24]

Coldplay || Florence + The Machine || The Lumineers || Twenty One Pilots || Yeasayer || Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros || Bastille || Of Monsters and Men || Vampire Weekend || Wild Nothing || First Aid Kit || The Naked and Famous 

 ….these are some of my favourite artists that I love listening to while reading, amongst others. It always depends on my mood and the book I’m reading, but having music in the background adds a special atmosphere to the story and this also helps me when making a playlist for the book later on.

[studious-gnomes]

Feels like I’m back in APUSH… [notes 1.19.17]

[liberalartssociety]

09.06.2016 // spending today giving an architectural tour of Portsmouth. Just tidying up and re-reading my notes on the train there.

[hannah-cerise]

Organic chemistry revision (FYI my candle isn’t lit because it scents the room as it is… if anyone was wondering)

[dededddddd]

You bored, or feeling artsy but don’t have any inspiration...? *updated!*

Do you need to distract yourself? Or are you simply bored? Here are some great websites to make the time pass.

create pixel art

Awesome photo editor and art program, all free…!

Totally free transparent textures

make a cute chibi

draw some cool generative art

be a graffiti creator

create a picassohead (you don’t need to be a picasso to do so)

paint online

another awsome site to create pixel art on

and another one

create your own mandala

or color one

create an avatar

or you can try creating your own superhero

here you can interact with organisms in different environments to see how to music changes

here’s a website that translates the time into hexidecimal colours,

Here is a website where you can travel along a 3D line into the infinite unkown

here is a website where you can listen to rain with or without music

Need a model in a certain pose for drawing? here

Want to build your own planet

here is a website where you can create your own galaxies

make your own pattern (very useful if you need a new background)

create next hit comic

make a city which looks like something from 90′s games

draw a mandala like design

jig saw puzzles

more jig saw puzzles to solve

create a stunning HTML5 animation - no coding!

make a movie

create and dress up dolls

play a piano

you can also play a guitar

create sounds

another sound creator

create a logo

design your dream home

sketch rooms

explore fashion trends and create your own sets

build a website

try this app for building a website

Or maybe start learning how to code!

design your own t-shirt or a beanie or sweatpants and order them

design your own phone case

pretend to be a graphic designer with this cool online tool

Make your own Glitch art

Here’s another glitch art maker

And another!

Holy hell, here’s a third!

make an image look like it was created by a commodore 64

freaking cool text generator!

Easy to use word processor

Make up really cool patterns or run your photos through it :)

Write an essay on anything with no hassle

Wanna see how something you write would look like if it was on JacksFilms YGS((Your Grammar Sucks videos on YouTube))?

Make pictures out of text

ASCII word generator

Need an idea for some fanart-here :D

Still haven’t found something that would float your boat? Try these:

watch a documentary

learn to code

do something yourself

workout with the help of this great youtube channels

learn things

play pokemon or zelda or other awesome old school games

waste your time on miniclip

play games at additing games

or try games at agame

calm your thoughts

the quiet place

it will be okay

vent or listen to someone

pour out your soul

explore the sky

look at art from around the world

virtually visit museum of iraq

explore world with arounder

create a music playlist

list through rare books

scroll useful science website

create sand art

brain games

try out tastekid and discover new favorite band or movie or book

interactive 3D anatomy

random street view

post a secret

create a family tree

find our what’s the difference between x and y

help scientists and become volunteer researcher

create your own font

read a classic short story

In the mood to read, but not sure exactly what book to go for?

scribble on maps

listen to letters

play with acrobots

listen to podcasts

make a bucket list

Ever want to see the most truly useless websites in creation?

Prank a friend with this blue screen of death!

Zone out watching the colors drip down

Maybe none of these peeked your interest-maybe you’ve been wanting to create an o.c, but never really knew how to start-or you just enjoy making O.C’s….

This masterlist is to help you in making your own OCs….it can also apply to developing RP characters i suppose! (´ヮ`)!

How to Write Better OCs:

basic tips on how to make your oc even better

tragic backstory? learn how to write one/make yours great

writing specific characters

a wordier, great guide on how to develop your character

kick out those vague descriptions and make them AWESOME

Character Development:

how to actually make an OC

Q&A (to develop characters)

more Q&As

giving your character a backstory

how to write an attractive character

Need an Appearance idea?

Humanoid generator? check

Here’s another one

and maybe if you didn’t like those this’ll work

Need Monsterpeople?

Well, then here ya’ go

Maybe you need Cats?

Diversity

adding more racial diversity

avoiding tokenism, AKA, how to add diversity to your cast not just because you “need” it

writing sexuality and gender expression (doesnt include non binary, if you have a good ref to that, please add on!)

masterpost on writing more diversity into your story

cultures of the world

guides to drawing different ethnicities (not just a great art reference, but also really helpful in appearance descriptions!)

Mary Sue/Gary Stu

Test to see if your character is a Sue

Explains subdivisions of Sues/Stus

Powerful Characters Don’t Have to Be Sues

Villains

villain generator

need an evil sounding name for your evil character? bam

villain archetypes

what’s your villain’s motive for being a villain?

Relationships

character perceptions (What your character thinks of themselves and what others think of them)

how to write strong relationships between two characters

8 ways to write better characters and develop their relationships with others

OCxLove Interest Handbook

develop your couple with good ol’ Q&A!

how to write realistic relationships

how to write relatives for your characters (this is more OC related to a canon character, but will help in writing family members in general)

ARCHETYPES

12 common archetypes

8 archetypes for male/female characters

female archetypes (goes pretty indepth from two main categories)

a list of archetypes

NAMES

how to name your character

random name generator

most common surnames

surnames by ethnicity

APPEARANCE

tips for better design

basic appearance generator

pinterest board for character design (includes NSFW and images of skeletons/exposed muscle (?) so tread carefully!)

clothing ref masterpost

Clothing generator

Another clothing generator

More clothing generator

Aaaand even more

Steam punk clothing

Char Style preference

Dress Generator

DETAILS

give your character better powers

a list of professions

proactive vs reactive characters

positive and negative traits

interest generator

skills generator

motivation generator

123 ideas for character flaws

list of phobias

Oh shit someone died

Backgrounds and stuff? yep

Quirks

Personality. you need that shit

Need something fandom related?

City generator hell yeah

location? got ya

World-building?

make your own god damn laws

Landscape.

Need Item names?

Fantasy/sci-fi/etc. medicine names

Stuff to make things more interesting.Weapons, clothes, treasures… whatever your characters need.

Item & Artifact Generators

Other stuffs!

Genre, Plot, & Story Prompt Generators

How did your characters meet?

Fanfic plots. you bet your ass.

[septickles-deactivated20180124]

DUDES

[joshoneone]

YES THANK U KIND PERSON OMG

[drokimaru]

MORE YAY

[dairdevil]

@mariesjaenne JAY LOOK SAND ARTTTT

[studyvow-deactivated20161022]

I’ve probably been most productive these last three days than I have been these last three months 😅

[studyingroses]

9.3.16 | Half of this week’s spread featuring my ugly case study page I made! I made a spontaneous decision the other day to drop my Flameworking class and replace it with Intro to Philosophy. Apparently there are only six people signed up for the class, so I hope they’re all nice ;-; 

[oh-i-can]

Desk situation before the study session.

[letmecalmdown]

• I’ve just started bullet journaling so this is my first week. Do you guys like it? Btw, September is my favourite month of the year. Because it’s beginning of the autumn and my birthday just in the middle of it. Yayyy!

[idyllicstudying]

Found a new study spot + I’m officially back from my semi-hiatus! // 8.30.16

[studybuzz-blog]

30th may ‘16 | math revision today with my absolute favorite things!

[milkliners-blog]

24.8.16 78 hours +15 minutes/100 hours

I’m considering watching Korean cartoons and reading children’s storybooks to improve my listening and reading so does anyone have any recommendations and tips? I would appreciate it a lot thank you!! ⌒°(❛ᴗ❛)°⌒

[studybuzz-blog]

30th may ‘16 | math revision today with my absolute favorite things!

[nycbambi]

Today is a get things done sort of day 💡📰🍂