Most students least favourite activity is writing. Even so, you can still score well on the tests writing section if you pay attention to the following tips.

Writing an Essay

Writing an Essay

What is the writing stage?

The writing stage is when you turn your ideas into sentences. 
Five Writing Steps:
1.   For the introduction, write the thesis statement and give some background information.
2.   Develop each supporting paragraph and make sure to follow the correct paragraph format.

3.   Write clear and simple sentences to express your meaning.
4.   Focus on the main idea of your essay.
5.   Use a dictionary to help you find additional words to express your meaning if you are allowed.

Parts of an Essay

Introduction Paragraph
What is an introduction paragraph?
The introduction paragraph is the first paragraph of your essay. 

What does it do?
It introduces the main idea of your essay. A good opening paragraph captures the interest of your reader and tells why your topic is important. 

How do I write one? 

1.    Write the thesis statement. The main idea of the essay is stated in a single sentence called the thesis statement. You must limit your entire essay to the topic you have introduced in your thesis statement. 

2.    Provide some background information about your topic. You can use interesting facts, quotations, or definitions of important terms you will use later in the essay. 

Example:

Hockey has been a part of life in Canada for over 120 years. It has evolved into an extremely popular sport watched and played by millions of Canadians. The game has gone through several changes since hockey was first played in Canada. 
Supporting Paragraphs

What are supporting paragraphs?
Supporting paragraphs make up the main body of your essay. 

What do they do?
They develop the main idea of your essay. 

How do I write them? 

1.    List the points that develop the main idea of your essay.
2.    Place each supporting point in its own paragraph.
3.    Develop each supporting point with facts, details, and examples.

To connect your supporting paragraphs, you should use special transition words. Transition words link your paragraphs together and make your essay easier to read. Use them at the beginning and end of your paragraphs. 

Examples of transition words that can help you to link your paragraphs together:

For listing different points

·         First

·         Second

·         Third

For counter examples

·         However

·         Even though

·         On the other hand

·         Nevertheless

For additional ideas

·         Another

·         In addition to

·         Related to

·         Furthermore

·         Also

To show cause and effect

·         Therefore

·         Thus

·         As a result of

·         Consequently

Like all good paragraphs, each supporting paragraph should have a topic sentence, supporting sentences, and a summary sentence. 

Summary Paragraph

What is a summary paragraph?
The summary paragraph comes at the end of your essay after you have finished developing your ideas. The summary paragraph is often called a "conclusion." 

What does it do?
It summarizes or restates the main idea of the essay. You want to leave the reader with a sense that your essay is complete. 

How do I write one?

1.    Restate the strongest points of your essay that support your main idea. 
2.    Conclude your essay by restating the main idea in different words. 
3.    Give your personal opinion or suggest a plan for action. 

Example:

Overall, the changes that occurred in hockey have helped to improve the game. Hockey is faster and more exciting as a result of changes in the past 120 years. For these reasons, modern hockey is a better game than hockey in the 1890s. 

THANKSGIVING AT PLYMOUTH

In September 1620, a small ship called the Mayflower left Plymouth, England, carrying 102 passengers—an assortment of religious separatists seeking a new home where they could freely practice their faith and other individuals lured by the promise of prosperity and land ownership in the New World. After a treacherous and uncomfortable crossing that lasted 66 days, they dropped anchor near the tip of Cape Cod, far north of their intended destination at the mouth of the Hudson River. One month later, the Mayflower crossed Massachusetts Bay, where the Pilgrims, as they are now commonly known, began the work of establishing a village at Plymouth.

Throughout that first brutal winter, most of the colonists remained on board the ship, where they suffered from exposure, scurvy and outbreaks of contagious disease. Only half of the Mayflower’s original passengers and crew lived to see their first New England spring. In March, the remaining settlers moved ashore, where they received an astonishing visit from an Abenaki Indian who greeted them in English. Several days later, he returned with another Native American, Squanto, a member of the Pawtuxet tribe who had been kidnapped by an English sea captain and sold into slavery before escaping to London and returning to his homeland on an exploratory expedition. Squanto taught the Pilgrims, weakened by malnutrition and illness, how to cultivate corn, extract sap from maple trees, catch fish in the rivers and avoid poisonous plants. He also helped the settlers forge an alliance with the Wampanoag, a local tribe, which would endure for more than 50 years and tragically remains one of the sole examples of harmony between European colonists and Native Americans.

In November 1621, after the Pilgrims’ first corn harvest proved successful, Governor William Bradford organized a celebratory feast and invited a group of the fledgling colony’s Native American allies, including the Wampanoag chief Massasoit. Now remembered as American’s “first Thanksgiving”—although the Pilgrims themselves may not have used the term at the time—the festival lasted for three days. While no record exists of the historic banquet’s exact menu, the Pilgrim chronicler Edward Winslow wrote in his journal that Governor Bradford sent four men on a “fowling” mission in preparation for the event, and that the Wampanoag guests arrived bearing five deer. Historians have suggested that many of the dishes were likely prepared using traditional Native American spices and cooking methods. Because the Pilgrims had no oven and the Mayflower’s sugar supply had dwindled by the fall of 1621, the meal did not feature pies, cakes or other desserts, which have become a hallmark of contemporary celebrations..

THANKSGIVING BECOMES AN OFFICIAL HOLIDAY

Pilgrims held their second Thanksgiving celebration in 1623 to mark the end of a long drought that had threatened the year’s harvest and prompted Governor Bradford to call for a religious fast. Days of fasting and thanksgiving on an annual or occasional basis became common practice in other New England settlements as well. During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress designated one or more days of thanksgiving a year, and in 1789 George Washington issued the first Thanksgiving proclamation by the national government of the United States; in it, he called upon Americans to express their gratitude for the happy conclusion to the country’s war of independence and the successful ratification of the U.S. Constitution. His successors John Adams and James Madison also designated days of thanks during their presidencies.

In 1817, New York became the first of several states to officially adopt an annual Thanksgiving holiday; each celebrated it on a different day, however, and the American South remained largely unfamiliar with the tradition. In 1827, the noted magazine editor and prolific writer Sarah Josepha Hale—author, among countless other things, of the nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb”—launched a campaign to establish Thanksgiving as a national holiday. For 36 years, she published numerous editorials and sent scores of letters to governors, senators, presidents and other politicians. Abraham Lincoln finally heeded her request in 1863, at the height of the Civil War, in a proclamation entreating all Americans to ask God to “commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife” and to “heal the wounds of the nation.” He scheduled Thanksgiving for the final Thursday in November, and it was celebrated on that day every year until 1939, when Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the holiday up a week in an attempt to spur retail sales during the Great Depression. Roosevelt’s plan, known derisively as Franksgiving, was met with passionate opposition, and in 1941 the president reluctantly signed a bill making Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday in November.

THANKSGIVING TRADITIONS

In many American households, the Thanksgiving celebration has lost much of its original religious significance; instead, it now centers on cooking and sharing a bountiful meal with family and friends. Turkey, a Thanksgiving staple so ubiquitous it has become all but synonymous with the holiday, may or may not have been on offer when the Pilgrims hosted the inaugural feast in 1621. Today, however, nearly 90 percent of Americans eat the bird—whether roasted, baked or deep-fried—on Thanksgiving, according to the National Turkey Federation. Other traditional foods include stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. Volunteering is a common Thanksgiving Day activity, and communities often hold food drives and host free dinners for the less fortunate.

Parades have also become an integral part of the holiday in cities and towns across the United States. Presented by Macy’s department store since 1924, New York City’s Thanksgiving Day parade is the largest and most famous, attracting some 2 to 3 million spectators along its 2.5-mile route and drawing an enormous television audience. It typically features marching bands, performers, elaborate floats conveying various celebrities and giant balloons shaped like cartoon characters.

Every year in England we celebrate bonfire night or Guy Fawkes night on the 5^th of November. If you would like to know more then read on.

History of the Gunpowder Plot & Guy Fawkes Night

Four hundred years ago, in 1605, a man called Guy Fawkes and a group of plotters attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London with barrels of gunpowder placed in the basement. They wanted to kill King James and the king’s leaders. Houses of Parliament, London Why did Guy Fawkes want to kill King James 1st and the king’s leaders? When Queen Elizabeth 1st took the throne of England she made some laws against the Roman Catholics. Guy Fawkes was one of a small group of Catholics who felt that the government was treating Roman Catholics unfairly. They hoped that King James 1st would change the laws, but he didn't. Catholics had to practice their religion in secret. There were even fines for people who didn't attend the Protestant church on Sunday or on holy days. James lst passed more laws against the Catholics when he became king. What happened - the Gungpowder Plot A group of men led by Robert Catesby, plotted to kill King James and blow up the Houses of Parliament, the place where the laws that governed England were made. Guy Fawkes was one of a group of men The plot was simple - the next time Parliament was opened by King James l, they would blow up everyone there with gunpowder. The men bought a house next door to the parliament building. The house had a cellar which went under the parliament building. They planned to put gunpowder under the house and blow up parliament and the king. Guy Fawkes Discovered Guy Fawkes was given the job to keep watch over the barrels of gunpowder and to light the fuse. On the morning of 5th November, soldiers discovered Guy hidden in the cellar and arrested him. The trail of gunpowder at his feet would never be lit. Guy Fawkes was taken to the Tower of London. He was tortured and questioned about the other plotters. To start with he didn't tell the soldiers anything about the plot. But, eventually he started to tell the truth. A Celebration In celebration of his survival, King James ordered that the people of England should have a great bonfire on the night on 5th November. The event is still commemorated annually in England on 5th November by fireworks and burning ‘guys’ (effigies) on bonfires. The searching of the cellars of Parliament before the opening of each new session, however, was not introduced until 1678.

Every year on 5th November, the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot, Guy Fawkes is remembered.

Throughout England, towns and villages.... light huge bonfires, let off magnificent fireworks, burn an effigy (a homemade model of a man, like a scarecrow) and celebrate the fact the Parliament and James I were not blown sky high by Guy Fawkes.

Why do we have Guys and Fireworks on Bonfire Night?

The Guy (effigy) is made out of old clothes stuffed with paper or straw. The Guy is a reminder of Guy Fawkes.

The fireworks are a reminder of the gunpowder Guy Fawkes hid in the cellar of Parliament.

Traditional Bonfire Night Food

As well as burning effigy of Guy Fawkes, the bonfires are used to cook potatoes wrapped in foil and to heat up soup for the crowds that come to watch the fireworks

The traditional cake eaten on bonfire night is Parkin Cake, a sticky cake containing a mix of oatmeal, ginger, treacle and syrup.

Other foods include sausages cooked over the flames and marshmallows toasted in the fire.

Firework Displays

In main town and cities, torch-lit processions are also popular on this night too. The procession leads to where the bonfire and firework displays are.