Student Writers' Room : Effective Essay Planning

Friday, March 3, 2023

Effective Essay Planning

An Effective Essay Planning Strategy - specifically for essays that do not require research.

Who is Miranda Banks?

Miranda Banks is a performance psychologist with an extensive background in sports psychology as well as clinical and neuropsychology. Performance psychologists enable sports people, leaders of industry, and anyone who wishes to go from good to great, and achieve their goals as efficiently as possible.

Having worked extensively with Olympic and professional sport in Australia, Miranda realized that applying the principles of sports psychology for performance worked exceptionally well, not just for athletes and business leaders, but for students too.

Miranda lectured in performance psychology at universities in Brisbane and Melbourne, Australia for several years, as well as guest lecturing at universities in Canada and the UK. It was during this time that she realized the challenges faced by students and started to develop her essay planning strategy.

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OPENERs

(S) Subject Opener

(1) Because

(2) Prepositional (prep)

(3) ly adverb (ly)

(4) ing

(5) www asia

(6) very short sentence (vss)

(7) ed

(8) Abstract Noun

Examples

(S) The door is locked.

(1) Because the forecast called for rain, I took my umbrella.

(2) Under the leafy branches of an old oak tree, we found the perfect place for our picnic.

(3) Silently, the cat stalks its prey.

(4) Embracing his mom, the boy told her he was happy she was home.

(5) When the clock struck twelve, the carriage turned back into a pumpkin.

(5) While the teacher taught the lesson, the students remained attentive.

(5) Where there is smoke, there is fire.

(5) As the campfire was lit, the children ran to find the marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers.

(5) Since the last rehearsal, the understudy has been perfecting his lines just in case he has to take the stage.

(5) If anyone knocks on the door, be sure to call a parent to answer it.

(5) Although the Bible was the more difficult King James version, the little boy read it every day.

(6) Never swim alone.

(7) Excited about attending Mass, the child bounded out of bed on Sunday morning.

(8) "Faith and Reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth..." (JPJII)

What are M3s?

(M3-adj) Repeating adjectives

(M3-ing) Repeating ing(s)

(M3-ly) Repeating ly(s) adverbs

(M3-vb) Repeating verbs

(M3-n) Repeating nouns

(M3 intj) Repeating interjections

(M3 vss) Short staccato sentence

Examples:

(M3-adj) The rolling, tumbling, cascading river took him, and he worked hard to stay afloat. (This could also be indicated as M3-ing)

(M3-adj) The sky was a beautiful, bright, blue dome dotted with fluffy white clouds.

(This could also be indicated as an ALLIT)

(M3-ing) Standing, balancing, and grinning, my ten month old brother gleefully reached for my outstretched hands.

(M3-ly) My dance teacher told me to move gracefully, confidently, and joyfully.

(M3-vb) He walked across the bridge, looked out over the edge, and smiled with happiness.

(M3-n) The boys visited shelters, orphanages, and retirement homes in their mission to bring Christmas joy to those who might be lonely.

(M3-n) She won the accolades of her peers, the admiration of her siblings, and the approval of her parents when her book hit the bestseller list. (noun phrases)

(M3 intj) And just like that . . . pow, zap, bang, she disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

(M3 vss) Rain pounded on the windows. Thunder violently boomed and crashed. Lightning streaked the sky.