In the minds of ESL exam candidates, e ssay writing is one of the most daunting tasks they are required to complete, regardless of the level of the exam, the administering body or the ease with which they themselves use the language. The same applies to students who are asked to write an essay by their teachers at school. In the previous sample essays posted on the blog, the main point I stress is the need to become acquainted with this form of writing (as opposed to writing a letter, review or report, for instance), to get a feel of what authorial voice is and how to organize and progressively express the arguments you wish to make in a coherent manner. Unfortunately, the best way to prepare for exam writing or learn how to write good essays for school is to read as many essays from as many sources as possible, then write as
You either are a Woody Allen fan or you aren't. Or rather, you either are a Woody Allen fan or you have little sense of humor, don't see the value of sarcasm and satire or are too full of yourself to grasp how cathartic self-deprecation can be. Woody Allen the Director has proffered a consistent outpouring of titles revolving around similar if not quasi-similar themes which time and again satisfy his fan base. Woody Allen the Author of Short Stories has been upstaged by Woody Allen the Director, unfortunately eclipsed to a great extent by the public's preference for moving pictures over written texts, which is why I was much delighted to see his short story "The Kugelmass Episode" in a recent textbook assigned to 11th graders. Naturally, my next reaction was to lament those students who would read and not understand the references to Emma Bovary in the slightest, because let's face it, how many school curricula list Flaubert as compulsory reading? ...