How to Write Great Essays

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Organization
CHAPTER 1 
HOW TO WRITE GREAT ESSAYS
7
BOOKS
◆
The Art of the Personal Essay: An Anthology for the Classical Era to the Present
,
Philip Lopate, editor (Anchor, 1997): over 75 essays written in the past 400 years
by writers around the globe.
◆
The Best American Essays 2003
, Robert Atwan and Anne Fadiman, editors
(Mariner Books, 2003): annual publication since 1986—any year is fine; all vol-
umes include a wide range of subjects.
◆
The Best American Magazine Writing of 2003
, American Society of Magazine Edi-
tors, editors (Perennial, 2003): includes pieces on science, sports, current
events, personalities, and fiction.
◆
The Best American Science Writing
, Oliver Sacks, editor (Ecco, 2003): 25 essays
on subjects representing most of the sciences, originally published in wide- and
small-circulation periodicals.
O
R G A N I Z AT I O N
M
E T H O D S
With the exception of concept mapping and webbing, prewriting notes need organization
before the writing of a first draft. There are many effective ways to organize your material
before you start your first draft, so don’t get hung up trying to find the one right way. Some
people like outlines, both creating them and working from them. Others find them inef-
fective and should look at different techniques for imposing a scheme onto their prewrit-
ing notes.
OUTLINE
Creating an outline begins with a reading of your prewriting notes. First, group related ideas
together, looking for major topics (which can be headings) and minor ones (which can be
subheadings, examples, or details). Define your major points, and rearrange them until they
make sense and follow a logical progression. You will be able to see the relationships between
your ideas as you outline them, and determine their importance (major point, minor point,
example, detail). If you need more supporting details or facts—subcategories—you can add
them now. As you outline your information, use one-word topics, short phrases, or write
out full sentences for each point on your outline.
If your prewriting notes are somewhat organized, you can use the outlining feature included
in most word-processing programs to create an outline. Otherwise, arrange them yourself in
a standard outline form using Roman and Arabic numerals and upper and lower case letters:

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