HOW I LEARNT TO WRITE ESSAY IN 30 MINUTES A DAY
So, you want to write an essay but you cannot; even though you have read about it and have attended the classes? I understand that. I know because I also had to go through this during my preparation.
In the initial few months, I would think that my essays were not good enough, not up to the mark. I would literally write them and then throw them in the bin.
Despite a lot of effort and genuine guidance from my mentor, I wasn’t able to produce a single essay.
Then my teacher suggested me to write not essays but something else that would improve my writing skills. Subsequently, I not only passed Essay paper but also got 47 marks in it, which, for me, was nothing short of a miracle. And that thing which my mentor told me to take up is called “𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧”.
Many of the new aspirants might not even know what it is. But in our days, it was a big thing. It was a part of our preparation. It was the part of your “Precis and Composition” paper.
But after these shallow, useless, so-called reforms, they took out this beautiful thing.
𝗡͟𝗼͟𝘄͟,͟ ͟𝘄͟𝗵͟𝗮͟𝘁͟ ͟𝗶͟𝘀͟ ͟(͟𝘄͟𝗮͟𝘀͟)͟ ͟𝗜͟𝗱͟𝗲͟𝗮͟ ͟𝗘͟𝘅͟𝗽͟𝗮͟𝗻͟𝘀͟𝗶͟𝗼͟𝗻͟ ͟𝗮͟𝗳͟𝘁͟𝗲͟𝗿͟ ͟𝗮͟𝗹͟𝗹͟?͟
Idea Expansion was basically a mini-essay comprising of 250 to 300 words. So, virtually a three to four paragraph essay. It was a full 20 marks question in Precis and Composition paper. The students were given around 4 topics, and they had to write a 250 words idea expansion on the subject. The items would mostly be proverbial, but sometimes argumentative and factual topics would also appear in the exam.
𝐓͟𝐡͟𝐞͟ ͟𝐁͟𝐞͟𝐬͟𝐭͟ ͟𝐓͟𝐡͟𝐢͟𝐧͟𝐠͟ ͟𝐀͟𝐛͟𝐨͟𝐮͟𝐭͟ ͟𝐈͟𝐝͟𝐞͟𝐚͟ ͟𝐄͟𝐱͟𝐩͟𝐚͟𝐧͟𝐬͟𝐢͟𝐨͟𝐧͟?͟
There is only one reason I liked writing Idea Expansion more than essays. It was concise. Only 3 to 4 paragraphs.
And this made it easy for me to write a mini-essay every day. Initially, it took me around 40 minutes to an hour. But with consistent practice, I was able to write a complete idea expansion within 25 to 30 minutes.
Soon, this became a habit, and I would punch out at least one idea expansion every single day.
It is like practising essay writing for 30 minutes daily.
𝐖͟͟͟𝐡͟͟͟𝐲͟͟͟ ͟͟͟𝐝͟͟͟𝐨͟͟͟ ͟͟͟𝐈͟͟͟ ͟͟͟𝐜͟͟͟𝐨͟͟͟𝐧͟͟͟𝐬͟͟͟𝐢͟͟͟𝐝͟͟͟𝐞͟͟͟𝐫͟͟͟ ͟͟͟𝐈͟͟͟𝐝͟͟͟𝐞͟͟͟𝐚͟͟͟ ͟͟͟𝐄͟͟͟𝐱͟͟͟𝐩͟͟͟𝐚͟͟͟𝐧͟͟͟𝐬͟͟͟𝐢͟͟͟𝐨͟͟͟𝐧͟͟͟ ͟͟͟𝐚͟͟͟𝐬͟͟͟ ͟͟͟𝐭͟͟͟𝐡͟͟͟𝐞͟͟͟ ͟͟͟𝐬͟͟͟𝐭͟͟͟𝐞͟͟͟𝐩͟͟͟𝐩͟͟͟𝐢͟͟͟𝐧͟͟͟𝐠͟͟͟ ͟͟͟𝐬͟͟͟𝐭͟͟͟𝐨͟͟͟𝐧͟͟͟𝐞͟͟͟ ͟͟͟𝐭͟͟͟𝐨͟͟͟ ͟͟͟𝐰͟͟͟𝐫͟͟͟𝐢͟͟͟𝐭͟͟͟𝐢͟͟͟𝐧͟͟͟𝐠͟͟͟ ͟͟͟𝐞͟͟͟𝐬͟͟͟𝐬͟͟͟𝐚͟͟͟𝐲͟͟͟𝐬͟͟͟?͟͟͟
Well, it is no maths. I liked writing idea expansion because it contained everything that an essay should have in it.
𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟭𝟬 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻.
1. Since an idea expansion is on one central theme, you learn how to keep the unity of idea intact in the development without losing the argument.
2. Order is another thing that you learn while writing the idea expansion. Since you are supposed to write only a handful of paragraphs, you become very sharp in deciding the order of the sections.
3. Writing idea expansion also improves the usage of transitions between the sentences as well as the paragraphs. Since the limit of the words is short, one can only write quick and simple sentences which bring out the beauty in the write-ups.
4. Similarly, your writing becomes more precise and to the point. The words you use remain simple but appropriate. Simply put, it becomes more concise.
5. Idea expansion allows you to argue on a point and teaches you how to give complete information in 3 to 4 paragraphs and thereby teaches you the importance of completeness.
6. You could experiment with new styles of writing and use new expressions every day without any hassle.
7. Before writing idea expansion, one has to do some brainstorming; a habit that helps you in the examination hall as well.
8. Idea expansion will also strengthen your written expression. It starts and ends with an introduction and conclusion, respectively, just like an essay.
9. It will teach you how to develop an argument, a thesis and anti-thesis.
10. Overall, it is a great asset that you need to build before committing to writing a full-fledged essay.
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