Found in everything from books to blogs, and even in our own writing, confusing and unclear sentences can take their toll on readers.

But I’m here to help you improve the clarity of your writing, so your readers know exactly what you’re saying.

What Does Clarity in Writing Even Mean?

Simply put, clarity refers to how clear something is.

In writing, being clear can get difficult. After all, you may be dealing with symbolism and metaphors for your English and literature essays—and these literary devices are, by definition, indirect ways of saying something. And when writing essays on virtually any topic, you may be trying to convey complex ideas to your readers.

Clarity in writing doesn’t aim to “dumb things down” or remove your creative and unique voice. Instead, the goal is to sharpen your sentences and flow, so your readers can follow along and truly grasp your message.

Writing clearly is an ongoing practice, and there are many ways to improve clarity. My goal here is not to cover every strategy for clarifying your writing (that would get overwhelming), but instead to give you a few basic tips on how to get started.

How to Write Clearer Sentences

Many people write the way they speak—myself included. However, this informal style of writing can lead to run-on sentences, undefined pronouns, or just plain confusing sentence structures that don’t look right on the page.

Fortunately, there are ways to tighten up those sentences so that they make more sense.

Break up run-on sentences

Run-on sentences are those that, well, run on too long. They can typically be broken down into two or more sentences.

For example, you may write something like this: “Dalmations are the best dogs because they smile, have unique spotted patterns, and are very loyal that’s why I love them so much.”

Instead, you can break it up to say “Dalmations are the best dogs because they smile, have unique spotted patterns, and are very loyal. That’s why I love them so much.”

Define your pronouns

Pronouns—such as he, she, they, and it—refer to people or things without always having to use the names of those people or things. However, you still have to establish who she is or what it is before you use those pronouns.

Many times, undefined pronouns happen because there is more than one object in the sentence. For example, “Although Mary fought Sue, she was not injured.”

Wait…who was not hurt? A better way to phrase this would be “Mary fought Sue, but Sue was not injured.” Or if Mary was the one she referred to, you could say “Mary fought Sue without getting injured.”

Reduce wordiness

We often use a lot of words to convey simple messages. Cutting out the fluff streamlines your sentences and makes your points a lot clearer. My advice is to write as you normally would and cut out unnecessary words (what some people call weasel words) during editing.

I know that, help, and like are my biggest weasel words. Most writers have words they use too often that don’t add any meaning to the sentence. Once you’re aware of what your weasel words are, you’ll use them less often. Soon, you won’t have to edit as heavily to avoid them.

For more ways to tackle wordy sentences, read Why Wordy Sentences Are Killing Your Writing.

Use active voice

Passive voice (the opposite of active voice) relies on to be conjugations. Examples include “The ball was thrown by Tom” or “Sally was dancing.” Stronger sentences make the action more direct: “Tom threw the ball” or “Sally danced.” Active voice puts the action in the hands of those performing that action.

Not every instance of passive voice is wrong or unclear. But when you come across it during editing, ask yourself if active voice would be a better fit.

How to Write Clearer Essays

Your sentences can be clear as crystal, but your essay as a whole might still be a bit confusing to your readers. That’s because clarity in writing isn’t just about the words that make up your sentences—it’s also about how those sentences flow together. Here are a few ways to improve the clarity of your entire essay.

Use an outline

Using an outline is the number-one way that I improve the clarity in my own writing. Outlines keep me on track and ensure one point flows logically to the next. If I didn’t use outlines, I’d forget what I was writing about and would likely try to explain multiple points at once. It would be a mess.

Your outline can be very detailed and include your thesis statement, as well as every point you want to make and every piece of evidence for those points. Or you could do more of an overview of your main points. You just have to find what works best for you.

I advise starting with detailed outlines first until you know what you do and don’t need from the process.

Avoid tangents

Even if you use an outline, you still run the risk of going on tangents. When writing, make sure your evidence relates to the argument you’re trying to make in that section. Also make sure your argument relates to the thesis of your essay.

Trust your readers

When people put too much pressure on themselves to get their points across, they often over-explain things to their readers. This leads to redundancy.

When reading over your essay, mark any sentences that say essentially the same thing. If you got rid of one of those sentences, would your argument still be as strong? If so, get rid of one of the sentences.

Want to practice these approaches? Try applying them to example essays from our database and marking areas where clarity could be improved.

Need Help Improving Clarity in Your Writing?

It might be easy to understand the suggestions listed above—but implementing them in your own writing is another challenge altogether. With practice, you’ll learn what to look out for. But no matter how experienced a writer someone is, everyone can use a little help from time to time.

So don’t get too down on yourself if you don’t nail it the first time. Here’s what you can do to get help catching wordiness or confusing sentence structures:

Read out loud

It’s amazing what reading out loud can do for your writing. The trick is to go a little slowly. When silently reading (especially when reading your own writing), your brain fills in missing words or changes them around to make more sense. But when you read out loud and hear the words, it’s a lot easier to identify mistakes.

Have a classmate or friend read over your essay

Make sure you don’t choose a friend who’s a “yes person.” You want someone who will give you constructive criticism. Once the person’s done, ask what point she or he thinks you were trying to make. Also find out if the person tripped over some of the wording or found any of your arguments confusing.

Turn to the Kibin editors

The editors here at Kibin are trained not only to find grammatical errors, but also to improve the overall flow and clarity in your writing. They make sure you understand where the weak spots are and how to fix them, so you can do better on your own in future essays.

There are many more ways to improve clarity in your writing. All it takes is a little research and continuous practice. So what are you waiting for? Go write your clearest, most cohesive essay yet.

This skill is used in countless areas—from history to science—and can come in handy in both professional and personal settings.

While we may still talk about essays a little bit here, I’m going to show you how to synthesize information in a way that you can apply in a range of areas.

What Synthesizing Is: Finding the Common Thread

All too often, I hear that to synthesize information means to compile information. However, that’s not a very good definition because it makes synthesizing too similar to summarizing. While the ideas may seem similar, synthesizing actually takes summarizing a step further.

Synthesis involves taking information from various sources and drawing links between them. Summarizing and paraphrasing the information is the first step, but you need to be able to see—and explain—what unifies it.

It takes a lot of skill to synthesize. It draws on the following skills:

• Reading comprehension
• Organization
• Analysis
• The ability to communicate your ideas

Because of all that’s involved, it can take some time and practice for it to feel natural. But once you start getting into synthesis for your essays, it gets much easier to do it in other areas.

I know this all sounds kind of ambiguous right now, so let’s give the ideas above some more context.

How to Synthesize for School

Synthesizing information in English/literature essays

In high school, many of the essays you write will be for English classes. And even if you’re not specifically writing a synthesis essay, that doesn’t mean you can’t, or shouldn’t, use your synthesis skills.

Let’s get into some examples.

Say you’re writing an essay analyzing the symbolism of Yorrick’s skull in Hamlet. You can draw on your personal knowledge of the material and of symbolism in general to conclude that the skull is a symbol of death.

However, if you read other critiques of Hamlet (and there are countless critiques out there), you may find other meanings, such as Hamlet’s destiny, or that no matter how useful, kind, funny, or charismatic a person may be in life, death and decay make the dead person useless.

Once you see common threads in multiple sources, your mind starts piecing the information together, and you can form your own opinion. All you need to do then is share that opinion in a clear, cohesive way supported by evidence.

It’s important to note that, if you’re using other people’s ideas as evidence for your own, you should always cite your sources using whatever style guide your prof requires, such as APA or MLA format.

Synthesizing information in humanities/social sciences papers

The social sciences—such as history, anthropology, sociology, and philosophy—rely heavily on synthesis. There are a lot of arguments in these fields, so you have a lot of evidence to draw upon no matter what your opinion.

For example, I once wrote an essay about Louis Armstrong and whether he used his music as a subversive force to shake up the status quo and get black musicians (and black people in general) the respect they deserve. There were many historians who believed he was “playing the minstrel” and acting on stereotypes.

However, others believed that, while he played up some stereotypes to get white audiences to let their guard down, his lyrics and personal philosophies were subversive.

I had personal biases going into the essay because Louis is one of my favorite musicians. But I kept an open mind and read many secondary sources on the subject. I then found primary sources of his music, as well as interviews and voice recordings from his personal life. I sorted through the information to pick out themes and commonalities. My opinion was formed because of the evidence, not because of my bias.

Once I had the information organized, I could use the evidence I found from some of the sources to make my case.

When you do this on your own, you may feel the urge to just write down all the information you found. But that is not synthesis. Instead, explain your argument, and use the most compelling evidence you found to support it.

You should also consider referencing sources you don’t agree with. Perhaps you could say something like, “While Smith argued x, this other evidence suggests y.” This method shows that you truly understand the point you’re arguing and that you’ve considered all angles.

Writing a literature review (in any subject)? Synthesis will be ultra important in that process as well.

Other Areas Synthesis Skills Will Help

Synthesizing information in your professional life

There are so many professions that it’s hard to tell you exactly how to synthesize information in your future job. But let’s look at a couple different professions anyway.

I’ve worked as a digital marketing analyst, which was almost always synthesizing information. I looked at raw data to analyze trends. But simply finding the trends wasn’t enough. I also had to draw on information from other accounts and on industry knowledge of how digital marketing worked.

After synthesizing the data, other account information, and industry expertise, I was able to make changes and recommendations to help my clients perform their best.

Let’s say you take a completely different route and choose not to work in an office setting. If you were a restaurant owner, you’d still have to know how to synthesize information.

For instance, if you wanted to add a dish to your menu, you’d first have to know what people in your area like to eat. But you’d also need to know about trends in the restaurant industry, the cost/availability of ingredients, the amount of time it would take to make the dish, and your employees’ specific talents.

You wouldn’t come up with the new menu item before you had all of this information. Instead, you might have a general idea of a dish, but you would synthesize this information, balancing the price of ingredients with the demand from your customers, and knowing whether your staff had the time, knowledge, and resources to make it.

Synthesizing information in your personal life

Knowing how to synthesize information is actually something most people do without thinking about it. We do it all the time in our personal lives.

If you’re planning a vacation but don’t know where to go, you’d ask family and friends for ideas, look at information about different destinations, check out airfare and lodging options, etc. Then you’d use those synthesis muscles to pick out the perfect spot for your interests and budget.

Weaving It All Together

As you can see, the synthesis skills you learn in school can help you in virtually any aspect of life. While there’s no fool-proof way to synthesize every situation, here are the basic steps:

• Pull your resources. Think back to the primary and secondary sources mentioned earlier. Make sure sources are credible and relevant to the topic.

• Read, watch, and/or listen to the information you find. It helps to highlight or take notes, so you can find the important parts later.

• Organize information into groups of similar ideas. I find using color-coding systems works best. But you may find lists, graphic organizers, or other organizational methods to be the thing for you.

• Analyze information based on the evidence. Not all information is going to say the same thing. Which articles make the most sense based on what you know? Which speakers make the most compelling arguments?

• Form an opinion based on your analysis. Where does the evidence point? Are there any biases that may be altering your opinion? If so, try to filter those out.

• State your opinion, and back it up with the evidence. An opinion without evidence is fine in some situations, but if you’re trying to persuade someone or argue a point, you better be able to back up what you’re saying.

Learning how to synthesize information can help you write better essays. But it goes beyond that—it helps you stay skeptical, evaluate multiple points of view, build stronger arguments, and be more well-informed.

While the editors at Kibin can’t help you synthesize information in your day-to-day life, they can help you take the first step and do it in your essays. Whether you think you don’t have enough evidence or you’re just looking for proofreading to help your opinions shine, Kibin editors are there to help.

So when you walk into class and your professor says you’re going to do something new today, your heart starts beating faster, and it feels like there are butterflies in your stomach.

Then, your instructor pops the question—”Will you write a proposal essay?

You might not think you’re ready to take the plunge into proposal essays just yet, but don’t get cold feet! This type of essay can be super easy (and also pretty fun) to write.

All you need is the right topic.

The right topic involves planning, research, and passion. Below, I’ll show you how to choose the right topic and give you some example proposal essay topics that you can either use as is or use as inspiration to come up with your own topic.

But First, What Is a Proposal Essay?

Before you try to find that perfect topic from the sea of potential proposal essay topics (and certainly before you try to write one), it’s important to understand exactly what a proposal essay is.

Simply put, a proposal essay identifies a problem and suggests a solution to that problem. It’s a type of argumentative essay, but with a slightly different format and more research.

Proposal essays are common in business, but also if you’re in business or in science.

Typically, these types of essays are not a timed, in-class writing assignment where you’re trying to beat the clock. Instead, they require more time and research in order to formulate arguments and find supporting evidence.

Ultimately, your goal is to persuade the reader that your proposal is not only viable but one worth pursuing. For a more in-depth overview, check out this awesome SlideShare.

What to Consider When Selecting Proposal Essay Topics

The number of different proposal essay topics out there is pretty vast, so naturally, the essays themselves will differ. However, here are a few common components (and some dos and don’ts!) to consider when you’re narrowing down proposal essay topics to find the perfect match.

Choose something that interests you

For many types of essays, you can fake it till you make it. But for proposal essays, it will be a huge advantage for you to select a topic you actually care about. You’re most likely going to be spending a significant portion of time researching and writing this essay.

It’ll be much more enjoyable if you have some passion for the subject matter. Your reader will be able to tell too. Passion comes through in writing—picking a proposal essay topic that’s interesting to you makes your essay more interesting to the reader.

DON’T: Write about how to get your hair untangled or an effective way to clean a litter box. These topics are boring—and much too simple.

DO: Write about something that could influence you or someone you know. If you have siblings in grade school, write about education. For example, how can children get a good physical education in elementary school?

Spend a lot of time on social media? Use your time productively while you’re there, and mine social media for a topic that interests you.

Choose a proposal essay topic that has support

As I said before, you’re going to be doing a lot of research in order to write your essay properly, so it helps if the topic already has existing literature.

Choosing a proposal essay topic that has both supporting and dissenting research is usually best. Then you can choose which side of the argument you want to tackle.

DON’T: Write about something that’s purely opinion with no facts to back it up. For example, how to make the most out of your Saturday afternoon is not a good topic (although we all know the answer is “sleeping in and watching cartoons”).

DO: Choose a topic with some big, juicy facts you can sink your teeth into. For example, how to fund more educational television like Sesame Street, Bill Nye the Science Guy, and the Magic School Bus lets you still talk about television, but in a structured, fact-based way.

Bonus Tip: When you’re researching, make sure to take good notes. Include the bibliographic information and the page number you found the information on. This will make citations much easier, especially if you’re referencing books and articles from the library.

Pick something that’s actually an argument

Because proposal essays are a type of argumentative essay, you want to be sure the essay is worthy of an argument. Choosing a topic that is too one-sided is, frankly, really boring and doesn’t serve your purpose well.

When writing your essay, you’ll want to address opposing viewpoints. That way you can present a well-rounded proposal. This lets your reader know you have considered all sides of a given topic and have constructed the best proposal given all the variables at work.

You’ll be able to tell if an argument has one side because you won’t actually be able to write a proposal essay about it. It would turn into either a process essay or an argumentative essay (and not a very good one, at that).

DON’T: Choose something like how to make a delicious grilled cheese sandwich. Sure, everyone has a slightly different way of doing it, but it turns into a process essay, not a proposal. Plus, choosing between different grilled cheese methods doesn’t really count as a problem that needs a proposed solution.

DO: Pick something like the ways that farmers and corporations improve the lives of dairy cows. That’s a problem that needs a solution—and it’s a much better topic for your proposal essay.

Consider your audience

Remember, proposal essays serve a purpose outside of academia. So even if you’re writing this for a class and only your teacher will see it, pretend like there’s a more realistic reader who will be deciding whether your proposal is worth investing time and resources into.

Understanding your audience not only makes the writing process easier but also helps you choose the right topic from the many possible proposal essay topics.

DON’T: Choose a topic with an audience you’re not comfortable with. For example, if your audience is a group of academics but you’re terrible at academic writing, it might be best to choose a different topic.

DO: Pick a topic that has an audience you can relate to. For instance, if you’re passionate about and good at writing about social issues, and your audience is a group of volunteer workers, choosing a proposal essay topic about society might be in your best interest.

30 Proposal Essay Topics That Are Easy and Fun to Write

Now that you have an idea about what a proposal essay is and how to choose the right topic to write your own essay, here are some examples of proposal essay topics.

You can write about these topics as is, modify them, or simply use them to get you in the right mindset to come up with your own topic.

Education proposal topics

1. What can be done to create a more well-rounded curriculum for middle and high school students?

2. How can teachers improve sex education courses?

3. In what ways can foreign language courses be improved?

4. How should students be graded?

5. How can schools better understand and accommodate different learning styles?

Government proposal topics

1. How can the government better handle illegal immigration?

2. What should be done to lower the national debt?

3. What could be done to make the electoral system more effective?

4. How can the government make programs such as welfare, Medicaid, and Social Security more effective?

5. How can state and federal governments lower the incarceration rate?

Parenting proposal topics

1. How can parents raise their children to have a sense of humility as opposed to entitlement?

2. What is the most effective way to discipline a child?

3. How can parents encourage their children to be more active in extracurricular activities?

4. What is the most effective way for parents to teach their children about money?

5. How can parents teach children to be independent?

Science proposal topics

1. What can the average person do to combat global climate change? What can the government do?

2. What should be done to increase the funding for cancer research?

3. How can parents, teachers, and society at large encourage more children to pursue an education in science?

4. How can educational television shows about science receive more funding and airtime?

5. How can educators encourage more women to enter STEM fields?

Society proposal topics

1. In what ways can we reduce childhood obesity?

2. How can the government or society as a whole reduce homelessness in the United States?

3. What would be an effective program to curb illegal drug use?

4. How can we promote more compassionate behavior within US society?

5. What can the United States do to better care for the elderly?

Technology proposal topics

1. How can people reduce their reliance on technology?

2. How can parents and teachers effectively help eliminate cyberbullying?

3. How should children be taught about responsible internet use?

4. In what ways can companies and consumers keep sensitive information more secure online?

5. In what ways can we use technology to create a better learning environment?

Hopefully, one of these proposal essay topics catches your eye. If not, feel free to make up your own topic based off something you care about solving.

Did you notice that most of the topics listed above start with “How can…” and “In what way…”? Let these words guide your own topic selection if you don’t choose one of the above examples. The phrases will lead you to a great proposal essay.

If you choose a topic, write about it, and are left wondering if it’s any good, send it to one of the Kibin editors. We will review your essay and give you suggestions on how to strengthen your argument.

Good luck with your proposal!

Editor’s note: This post was originally published on June 6, 2016, but has been updated with fresh information and additional topic ideas. 

Language is how we communicate our ideas. And the words we use aren’t just important when we’re writing essays for class—they’re important when we’re writing posts on Facebook or Instagram, writing emails to classmates and coworkers, and even interacting with strangers at a coffee shop.

From close friends to strangers on the internet, the people you communicate with likely come from a diverse array of backgrounds. Exclusive language (the opposite of inclusive language) can make certain groups feel othered, which can make them feel less important and less valued.

That’s why the topic of inclusive language is important. By using inclusive language, you aren’t necessarily saying everyone is the same—you’re simply making sure you’re putting them on the same level when it comes to your speech and writing.

But First, What Is Inclusive Language?

Inclusive language is pretty much exactly what it sounds like—language that seeks to include as many people as possible.

Or as more formally and better defined on Dictionary.com, it’s “language that avoids the use of certain expressions or words that might be considered to exclude particular groups of people, esp gender-specific words, such as ‘man,’ ‘mankind,’ and masculine pronouns, the use of which might be considered to exclude women.”

While the definition is simple, certain phrases are so ingrained in our speech and writing that we don’t even realize they could be seen as exclusive. That’s where examples can help. Below are some phrases that are exclusive, categorized by theme.

Gendered exclusive language

• Guys, as in “Hey guys!” when speaking to a mixed-gender group.

• Girls instead of women. This can make women feel looked down on because it makes them seem more naive or childlike.

• Females instead of women. I only hear “females” used when people complain about women or in a medical/scientific setting. It’s not a term most women actually like being called.

• Mankind. Just say humankind. We’re all human, after all.

• Gendered job titles. Think about airline hostess/stewardess. Many men were seen as effeminate for taking jobs as flight attendants because of rampant gendered job titles, even after many more men entered the field.

Racially/ethnically exclusive language

• Indians instead of Native Americans or indigenous peoples. The whole reason they were called Indians in the first place is that Columbus thought he landed in India when he first landed in America.

• Gypped instead of ripped off. This is one I didn’t even think about until a couple years ago. It comes from the thought that the Romani people, sometimes referred to as gypsies (which is a term best avoided as well), were cheaters and thieves.

• Lynch mob to describe people who are mad at you or trying to hold you accountable for something. Lynch mobs killed people in brutal ways just because of the color of their skin.

Health-related exclusive language

• Psycho/insane. These are words that can describe fantastic situations or someone’s erratic behavior. But they’re also phrases that have hurt people with mental health issues.

• OCD. I hear this one a lot when people are just trying to say that they’re particular about how they like their home to be organized or cleaned. It makes people who actually do have OCD get stereotyped as just being really tidy. In reality, individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder often struggle with certain simple tasks, sometimes to the point where it severely interferes with their quality of life.

• Lame. Cards on the table here—this is a word I still struggle with. When I was a kid, it was just a term that meant “bad” or “disappointing.” But before that, it referred to people with mobility issues. And of course, we shouldn’t imply that people with mobility issues are bad.

To see how such terms can create a negative, less inclusive tone, check out how one student used “lame” in a less-than-ideal way. Then compare it with another student’s inclusive, positive framing of the same characters from “The Life You Save May be Your Own” by Flannery O’Connor.

Why Is Inclusive Language Important?

The examples I gave are just that—examples. They’re not the only instances of exclusive language.

And at this point, you may be thinking that they’re just words—you don’t mean anything bad when you say “hey guys” to a room full of people. Maybe you’re thinking, “Some people are just so sensitive. If we keep adding words to the list, we’re never going to be able to say anything without offence.”

But inclusive language is important for the simple fact that language not only expresses our thoughts but can also shape our thoughts.

Go back to the flight attendant example. If a man wants to be a flight attendant, his gender shouldn’t get in the way of that. However, if flight attendants are always referred to as stewardesses or hostesses, he may not even realize that men are accepted into that profession.

Exclusive language can also hurt people. Nowadays, most people refrain from using the “n word.” But as recently as a few decades ago, it was being tossed around casually, both by people intending to insult others and those who thought it was just a description. Inclusive language seeks to eliminate the uses of words that have hurtful historical or sociological contexts.

Ultimately, we don’t have to use exclusive language to get our points across. In fact, inclusive language can often be more creative and get your point across in a clearer way.

Consider these examples:

• Instead of saying you got gypped, you can recreate the scene for your readers or whomever you’re talking to. You can say how the devious, cunning person swindled you out of your last few dollars. And swindled is a much funner word, isn’t it?

• Instead of telling your new boyfriend or girlfriend you’re OCD about certain things, just say you like the utensils separated in the dishwasher or you want your towels folded in half then in thirds. This not only avoids the exclusive language but also more clearly explains your ideas. And after all, good communication is important in any relationship.

Is It Ever Okay To Use Exclusive Language?

Inclusive language is incredibly nuanced. The short answer is yes—there are times when it’s okay to use exclusive language, depending on the words and the situation. If your girlfriend likes being referred to as “your girl” or “babygirl,” that’s between the two of you.

There are also some contexts, such as when writing fiction, where exclusive language is okay. Typically, this would be in cases of historical fiction or specific character dialogue. But still, be careful here. This isn’t a free pass.

You should still think about what it says about characters who keep referring to things they don’t like as “gay,” for instance. Even if it does fit the personality of a character, does it reflect negatively on you as the author of the piece?

While it may just be one word, it can impact how others view your writing and view you as a person. Just ask John Green how he feels about using exclusive language in his novel Paper Towns.

Really, though, it’s still best to default to inclusive language.

The more you think about it and practice it, the more it’ll become a natural extension of the way you speak and write. This will help you more naturally integrate inclusive language when doing public speaking events, talking to classmates, writing emails, and really just living in this big, diverse world of ours.

People Aren’t Perfect

It’s okay to mess up sometimes or to not be sure of the right phrasing to use. But when in doubt, ask. And if someone politely corrects you, accept it as a learning experience. Try to see it from the other person’s perspective without getting defensive.

Like I mentioned before, there are certain words I struggle to not use because they’ve been a part of my vocabulary for so long. But I now actively try to think of a synonym. After all, it doesn’t cost me anything to be more inclusive by using a different word.

That said, remember that others aren’t perfect either. There’s no need to yell at others because they used “mankind” instead of “humankind.” You can politely discuss the issue with them or serve as an example by using the inclusive version of the phrase when talking to them.

The point of inclusive language is to create more balance through our language and to avoid leaving out groups of people through our speech or writing. Again, language shapes our thoughts. And if we start using more inclusive language, maybe we’ll start becoming a more inclusive society.

Worried about your word choices in your essay or report? Let a Kibin editor take a look.

When it comes to The Hunger Games, the characters feel in-depth and relatable—even in a place and time readers can’t necessarily relate to. But because the characters in The Hunger Games do have depth, your essay about them can’t just talk about the basics.

Fortunately, I’m here to help you explore three different characters—a major character, a minor character, and one that’s in between—and show you different ways you can write about them in your essay.

Analyzing Katniss Everdeen

Katniss is the protagonist of The Hunger Games and the narrator. Because the novel is written in first-person, you get an in-depth look into Katniss’s mind (which gives you plenty of content for your essay).

Her love for family & friends

Katniss has a few main traits, including her talent with a bow and her reluctant attitude toward fame, but it’s her intense love for her family that drives many of her actions.

Her father died when she was younger, and her mother basically went comatose during that time. So it was up to Katniss to provide for her younger sister, Prim. Katniss’s love for her family, specifically for her sister, drove Katniss to volunteer as a tribute for the Hunger Games in the first place.

Katniss’s intense love also extends to her friends—Gale, Peeta, Cinna, and Rue. She sees these individuals for who they are—not their statuses or their districts.

Her hatred of the Capitol

Katniss’s other main defining trait throughout The Hunger Games is her distaste for fame and the Capitol in general.

She comes from District 12, where people die in the mines and get beaten by Peace Keepers—all while people in the Capitol live in the lap of luxury. The people in District 12 also don’t have to send their children to die in the Hunger Games, so they view it almost the same way we view the Super Bowl.

Katniss is reluctant to wear frilly dresses and play nice for the sponsors. Because of this, she has a hard time making friends and allies in the arena. But the ones she does make are true friends—they’re not just playing the game.

Tips for a Hunger Games essay about Katniss

Katniss may seem like one of the easiest Hunger Games characters to write about because you do get to see what’s going through her head. However, that also presents some challenges.

My advice (unless otherwise instructed by your teacher) is to focus on just one of these characteristics and really go in-depth about it. That will give your essay a clearer focus.

Interested in how other students have written about Katniss? Check out these example essays:

• Katniss Everdeen as a Role Model in The Hunger Games
• A Comparison of Beowulf and Katniss Everdeen
• Why Katniss Hides Her Emotions in The Hunger Games

Analyzing Haymitch Abernathy

Several other districts have a few mentors to choose from when new tributes need to prepare for the Hunger Games. But Haymitch is the only surviving victor in District 12. He’s also one of my favorite Hunger Games characters. He’s almost always drunk and rude, but there’s sadness and compassion behind his gruff facade.

Haymitch won one of the Hunger Games years ago, and his life since then has been a living hell. As Haymitch is the only living victor in the district, no one else can relate to the pain he had to endure. He’s lost loved ones because of the Games. Because of this, he tries not to get too close to Katniss and Peeta.

But Haymitch knows how to play the game. He knows what it takes to win—not just the lethal skills but also what to avoid, what traps to look out for, and what the audience likes to see in terms of emotions.

How you can approach your essay about Haymitch

Haymitch’s full background isn’t laid out until later in the series, but there’s still plenty to write about if your essay is only covering the events in the first book. Here are a few ideas on what you could write about:

1. The ways in which Haymitch helps Katniss survive.
2. How Haymitch’s past has affected his personality.
3. Haymitch’s character development over the course of the series (if you’re focusing on more than just the first book).

You could also consider writing an essay from the perspective of Haymitch—or another character.

Analyzing Cato

I know, I know. Cato isn’t exactly a main character. However, he’s both interesting and important. Plus, I figured if everyone else in your class is writing about Katniss and Peeta, you might find it fun to focus on one of the Hunger Games characters no one else will.

Cato is a career tribute from District 2. The districts closest to the Capitol have more wealth and view being a tribute as a great honor. Career tributes train for years, so their strength, speed, and skill are leagues above most of the other tributes.

Cato is no exception. He’s a beast of a man, strong enough (and vicious enough) to break someone’s neck with one swift motion. It’s no surprise that he’s one of the last ones standing.

It’s not until the fight before his death that we see the interesting side of Cato. Because he grew up training for the Hunger Games, he’s expected to be the best. That pressure from his family and his district made him a killer.

He was used to being the favorite, being the best. He felt right at home being favored among the sponsors. So when Katniss stole the show in the ceremony before the Games, she moved to the top of his kill list.

Cato was truly a pawn in the Games. His whole life was centered around being a tribute. But the people sponsoring and betting on the Games didn’t care. He was there for their entertainment. Even his death was drawn out simply to make for a more entertaining show.

How to write about Cato

As with writing about any character, it’s easiest to write about Cato if you pay special attention to him while you read.

Focus on his dialogue during the fight before his death—and with that in mind, read through the other scenes he’s in. This will give you much more insight into why he does what he does and why he’s so focused on winning.

It’s not about survival to him—it’s about making his district proud.

(Need to write about themes in The Hunger Games? Jump over to 4 Hunger Games Themes for a Killer Analysis.)

Before You Write: Don’t Forget to Outline

These are just a few of the many Hunger Games characters you can write about. No matter which one you choose, an outline will definitely help you stay focused when writing your essay.

It’s easy to get so caught up in the psychology of a character that you ramble on and forget your thesis. An outline makes sure you stay on point and that each item you address relates to your thesis.

Need some help with analyzing the character you selected? Try these posts:

• How to Write a Character Analysis That Works
• 2 Character Analysis Essay Examples With Character

And if you’re having trouble diving deep enough into the character or just need to make sure your writing is error-free, you can always turn to Kibin’s editors. They’ll not only make sure you don’t have any typos but also ensure your writing is focused and flows well.

Stuck on Your Analytical Essay?

Check Out These Example Analytical Essays

Yes! Show me examples.

But why? What makes The Hunger Games or any of the other trend-setting series so popular?

There are many factors, but one of the main ones is that readers really relate to the themes. And right now, we’re going to dive into a few Hunger Games themes and see what makes them so interesting and relatable—and hopefully give you some ideas for an essay.

Love & Sacrifice in The Hunger Games

Love is a theme that’s been written about since people started writing in the first place. The Hunger Games explores many facets of love, but the one thing it hits on most is that love often drives people to sacrifice their comfort, safety, and even their own lives.

It all starts with the love Katniss has for Prim. Instead of letting her little sister face almost certain death, Katniss volunteers to take Prim’s place in the Hunger Games. Katniss doesn’t think she has a chance of winning, but she wants to give her sister a chance of living.

The thing I liked most about this series was the way it didn’t rely too heavily on romance. However, that doesn’t mean it’s devoid of romantic love. Peeta is head-over-heels for Katniss, and he shows that by sacrificing his safety to try to ensure hers.

It starts when they’re children. He purposely burned bread so that he could give it to Katniss when she was starving—even though he knew his mom would get mad and hit him. That sense of love and sacrifice shows up multiple times in the arena, from Peeta joining the Careers to trying (and failing) to power through his wounds so that Katniss wouldn’t put herself in danger to get him medicine.

While there’s a lot of bloodshed in this series, love and sacrifice are among the most ubiquitous Hunger Games themes. But remember—The Hunger Games books are dystopian novels, not strictly love stories.

Control Through Division in The Hunger Games

Since this is, after all, a dystopian series, one of the Hunger Games themes most people think of is that of totalitarian rule or control through division.

Suzanne Collins did a great job of world-building when she was thinking about the government and governance of Panem. Each district is divided, and most people aren’t allowed to cross into another district. The districts all have one specific good they focus on producing. For District 12 (Katniss’s district), it’s coal. District 11 focuses on agricultural products, etc.

Here’s why controlling the districts is so effective—each district only has one type of main export and can’t move freely between districts. In other words, the districts are completely reliant on the government to distribute the other items they need to survive.

The Capitol is completely divided from all the districts. The culture is much different. In fact, people in the Capitol don’t even send their children to the Hunger Games, while every district must have two tributes. This is also a way for the Capitol to maintain control.

The people of the Capitol view the Hunger Games as some type of sporting event because they’re not personally invested in the Games. They don’t know anyone who’s died in the Games, and that’s what allows them to continue. And because the Hunger Games continue year after year, President Snow is able to instill fear into the districts on an annual basis.

Power Shifts in The Hunger Games

Of course, you can’t just have a whole country with districts that are completely cut off from one another. And what happens when they’re no longer divided? Power struggles and power shifts.

There are a lot of moments that build up to the full-on rebellion of the third book. One of the first is when Katniss sings to Rue and lays flowers around her. This was broadcast in every district and showed that two children from different districts cared about each other. This moment also motivates the people in District 11 to start standing up to their oppressors later on in the series.

And then you have District 13. Even though it’s secluded (the other districts believe 13 was wiped out completely), the district is quite strong. However, it would be impossible to overthrow President Snow if the people of District 13 hadn’t connected with Plutarch Heavensbee, who knew his way around the Capitol and had the means to steal a hover jet when escaping to 13.

District 13 also needed Katniss, who was a symbol of the rebellion—the Mockingjay. Katniss was a face everyone from every district recognized. More importantly, her kindness to Rue and people from other districts made people more willing to band together.

Image in The Hunger Games

Out of all of The Hunger Games themes, the theme of image or appearance is the one I like thinking about the most. No matter which character you examine, you’ll find that each is more than her or his appearance.

Katniss, for instance, is socially awkward and doesn’t know how to schmooze while she’s in the Capitol, and that makes a lot of people in the Capitol think that she’s not going to do very well. But she comes alive when she has a bow in her hand.

No person purposely puts on more of an image than President Snow. He hides his threats in hushed tones and flowery language—and he hides his awful mouth sores with actual flowers.

The appearance of the Capitol as a whole is colorful and shiny. However, we learn from Finnick that virtually everyone in the Capitol has some pretty dark secrets.

The arena is where image plays one of the most important roles. The competitors have to keep up their images (Katniss has to pretend to be more in love with Peeta than she actually is, for instance) just to get extra items like medicine.

The arena is also just one big illusion. The sky isn’t real, and the monsters aren’t real. It’s all manufactured. But it feels real to the competitors—and the danger is most certainly real.

(Writing about specific characters in the books? Read 3 Hunger Games Characters and How to Write About Them for insight on how to tackle a character analysis.)

Which Hunger Games Theme Will You Write About?

The above themes are just four examples to get you started as you brainstorm your essay topic. There’s much more evidence to support both these themes and additional themes you can explore on your own.

Here’s how some other students wrote about different Hunger Games themes:

• An Essay on the Theme of Identity in The Hunger Games
• An Analysis of Desensitization in The Hunger Games, a Novel by Suzanne Collins
• Survival and Dependence in The Hunger Games, a Book by Suzanne Collins
• A Literary Analysis of the Societies and Gender in The Hunger Games
• The Theme of Humanity in the Novel The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

It’s important to remember that your writing will be its best when you choose a topic that 1) has enough evidence to support your thesis and that 2) you can connect with.

Need some extra help with literary analysis? Check out these resources:

• How to Write a Literary Analysis That Works
• Literary Present Tense: Everything You Need to Know
• How to Analyze Imagery in Literature the Smart Way

And to make sure your writing really is the best it can be, the editors at Kibin are here for you. They’ll make sure you don’t have any grammar, spelling, or flow issues—ensuring your readers can focus fully on your awesome ideas.

Stuck on Your Analytical Essay?

Check Out These Example Analytical Essays

Yes! Show me examples.

While the most important thing in your mind is meeting that word count, being too wordy can make your argument less impactful. Trust me—I know. The first 4,000-word paper I wrote was wordy and redundant, earning me the only D I’ve ever gotten on an essay.

But I’ve learned a lot in the 10 years since then, and now you get to benefit from that knowledge.

Long Sentences vs. Wordy Sentences

Before we get into why and how to avoid wordiness, we should first look at what it actually is. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I write some pretty long sentences. Does that make them wordy?

Not necessarily. In fact, long sentences are important—as long as you vary the length of your sentences. If you wrote a whole essay using nothing but short sentences, it would sound choppy. See this paragraph revamped as short sentences, for example:

Not necessarily. Long sentences are important. But vary the length. Don’t use only short sentences. It sounds choppy.

The original version was much better because it flowed better from one sentence to the next.

On the other side of the spectrum, you can have short and wordy sentences. Wordiness isn’t about length—it’s about content.

Take a look at these sentences:

Her mouth was watering a lot.

Her mouth watered.

While both sentences are short, the first has too many unnecessary words. The second gets the same message across without losing any meaning or context. Many teachers, writers, and readers would say it even sounds stronger than the first.

So what is wordiness? Simply put, it’s filling your sentences with unnecessary words.

Why Should You Avoid Wordy Sentences?

So you have a few unnecessary words in your sentences. What’s the big deal?

It’s true that you probably won’t fail your paper just because you have some wordiness. But it can detract from the impact of your essay. And if there’s too much wordiness, it makes it hard for your readers to find the important information you’ve worked so hard to include.

Concise language also makes you sound more confident as a writer. Take these two thesis statements, for example:

I believe the red A that Hester has to wear on her dress in The Scarlet Letter symbolizes shame at first, but later symbolizes Hester’s own independence.

The red A in The Scarlet Letter symbolizes both Hester’s shame and her independence.

Do you see how much clearer and more assured the second sentence is? It cut out the weasel words and the mention of the writer, leaving only what’s important. The intent is clear.

That’s what you want in your own writing.

How to Avoid Wordy Sentences

It’s one thing to understand why you should avoid wordiness, but you also need to know how. Don’t worry—I have you covered there too.

Take yourself out of the equation

What I’m referring to here are those “I believe,” “I think,” or “I’m going to show” statements. Unless you’re writing a personal essay that specifically requests experiences from your own life, you shouldn’t refer to yourself at all.

In this essay, I’m going to show how Louis Armstrong and other jazz musicians fought racism with their music in the 1930s and 1940s.

In the 1930s and 1940s, Louis Armstrong and other jazz musicians used their music to fight racism.

Writing in the third person not only cuts down on wordy sentences but also makes you sound more credible. It gives your voice more authority too.

Use stronger words

Adjectives and adverbs can be helpful. They often fill in specific details for your readers and give them a clear picture of what you’re describing. However, students and writers sometimes overuse adjectives and adverbs when they could have instead chosen a stronger noun or verb.

Take a look at the following examples. You probably won’t have these specific phrases in your essay, but it gives you a good idea of how you can use stronger words to reduce wordiness.

1. Walked leisurely → sauntered
2. Very tall man → giant
3. Shook violently → convulsed

Stronger nouns and verbs aren’t always going to be at the tip of your tongue, so don’t be afraid to use a thesaurus. Just be careful not to overuse it. After all, you don’t want your readers to have to use a thesaurus just to get through your essay.

Cut out weasel words

Weasel words are words writers use that aren’t necessary at all. They just seem to weasel their way into sentences without writers noticing. They’re not always easy to spot because we tend to use them when we speak. But unless you’re writing a very conversational piece, it’s best to be on the lookout for them.

A quick search online will show you lots of weasel word lists, but here are some of the most common ones:

• That
• Just
• Like
• Very
• Really
• Suddenly
• Began to

Take a look at these examples:

She said that you could use it.

She said you could use it.

Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door.

There was a loud knock on the door.

In the first example, “that” is a word that has no meaning and can be deleted without altering the meaning of the sentence.

In the second example, you see a case of a time-related weasel word. Other examples include “then,” “all at once,” etc.

Importantly, weasel words shouldn’t be confused with transitions. Sometimes you need words like “however,” “therefore,” “additionally,” and others to make your thoughts flow logically from one sentence to the next. These transitional words or phrases are helpful and often necessary, unlike the weasel words we discussed.

Edit your work—multiple times, if possible

When you write your first draft, you’re probably not thinking about the perfect words to use or which words are weasel words—and that’s okay. The important thing is to get your ideas organized on the page. It’s the editing stage where you’ll want to look out for wordy sentences.

Different people have different editing methods, but I’ll share mine with you to give you an idea of how to cut out the wordiness.

After the first draft, I put my writing aside for a day. That way, I can edit with fresh eyes.

The first edit is focused on big organizational changes. Are the paragraphs in the right order? Are there whole sentences or paragraphs you can eliminate altogether? You might try a reverse outline at this stage to help get things in order.

Once the organization is good, then comes the smaller, word-level edits. Hit Ctrl+F on your keyboard, and search for the following:

• That
• Really
• Very
• Adverbs ending in -ly
• Any weasel words you know you use too much

If the words are necessary, leave them in. But if you can delete them or change them to cut down on wordiness, do it.

Then, do one last round of edits to catch any other errors and to make sure everything still flows after the changes you’ve made.

I understand if you don’t have time to wait a day and do three rounds of edits after that. So feel free to modify the plan to fit your needs. But never forget the importance of proofreading and editing your work.

Still Think Your Essay Is Too Wordy?

For more ways to avoid wordiness in your essays, read Concise Writing: How to Write a Strong Essay With Fewer Words.

And if you still can’t find the wordy sentences in your essay or you’re not sure how to change them, you can get the help you need by turning to Kibin’s editors.

They’re here to show you potential missteps and help you correct issues with flow, wordiness, grammar, and more. That way, you know what to look out for when you write your next essay.

Don’t worry. I’m not going to give you extra reading and essay assignments to do. I’m just here to show you how to sneak a little bit of writing practice into your day—without writing a single essay.

Unless you want to, of course.

Online Writing Practice

The internet is an amazing tool when leveraged correctly. For writers (novice, professional, and every level between the two), it’s especially useful. And a great way to use the internet’s power to improve your writing is to… well… actually write on the internet.

Start with Facebook or Reddit

Long-form social media platforms like Reddit and Facebook are great places to express yourself and improve your writing.

For example, sharing stories about your summer job in r/TalesFromRetail or similar subreddits allows you to vent about bad experiences or revel in the good moments.

Best of all, you’ll learn a little more about how to craft a compelling story. (Just be sure to change names of people, businesses, and cities in the story, so you don’t give out too much personal information.)

On Facebook, you can join writing groups to connect with other writers in your area or worldwide. You can also comment on people’s posts (no trolling, please) or make longer posts of your own.

Turn to Twitter for writing challenges

While you can’t write long posts on Twitter like you can with Facebook or Reddit, Twitter does have a couple of advantages. The first is that there are many accounts dedicated solely to writing prompts. Simply find a prompt you like, and get creative with it.

You can also challenge yourself to write impactful short pieces. Being so limited in your character count may force you to use words in a more intentional and impactful way by cutting back on the fillers and fluff.

Why not start a blog?

Blogging is one of my favorite ways to incorporate writing practice into my week while exploring my other creative interests. You can start a general blog where you write about anything you want, regardless of theme. Or if you have a hobby or passion, your blog can focus on that.

If you write a focused blog (and consistently publish posts), you can even monetize it. This probably won’t make you rich, especially when you’re just starting out. But it’s still nice to make a little extra money writing about something you love.

Or Take a More Old-Fashioned Approach

For some people, there’s something so soothing about writing by hand. It does have certain advantages, including the ability to doodle or organize your thoughts in a more customized way. It also helps you improve your hand strength and handwriting, so you can write more legibly when school starts again.

Writing by hand doesn’t have to be a chore, though. There are a couple of ways to keep it interesting.

Send letters

It’s so rare to get a handwritten letter, and it may really make someone’s day to see that you put time, effort, and a little bit of postage money into communicating.

Whether it’s family or friends who live out of state—or even introducing yourself to a pen pal—sending letters can benefit both you and the recipient.

Writing by hand doesn’t have to be a chore. Keep it interesting by sending letters or journaling.
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Take up journaling

Journaling comes in many forms. Some journals have prompts to guide your writing. Others are bullet journals that give you the freedom to write, plan, and doodle all in one space.

So if one style isn’t for you, don’t give up on journaling just yet because you’ll miss out on some of the awesome benefits it can offer:

1. Improving IQ and EQ
2. Helping you achieve your goals
3. Boosting your memory
4. Improving your communication skills
5. Raising your self-confidence
6. Encouraging your creativity

Not sure how to start? You can write about anything—how your day went, what you dreamed about, what made you laugh, etc. Or start with a journal prompt. 

There’s no word limit or formatting to worry about, so it’s a great way to let yourself be fully immersed in your writing. Don’t just take my word for it. Check out what these student have to say about journaling:

• The Use and Importance of Journaling in Everyday Life
• Journal Writing as a Means to Release My Emotions

Looking for a Bigger Challenge?

Be a rockstar

Okay, I know that becoming a world-famous musician probably won’t happen over the course of the summer. However, you can start laying the groundwork—and make your writing practice fun in the process.

You don’t even have to know how to play an instrument to start writing songs. All it takes is the lyrics. Writing song lyrics allows you to express yourself in all new ways.

Plus, it’s pretty great practice for writing poetry when you reach that point in your classes.

Write the next great novel

Have you ever wanted to write a book? It seems pretty intimidating, but there are countless author/writing channels on YouTube, as well as blogs and books about the subject.

And while it may sound unbelievable, it actually is possible to write the first draft of a novel in just a month. Camp NaNoWriMo happens every July and gives you the tools and support you need to start on that novel you’ve always wanted to write. All you need is a computer and the motivation.

Like becoming a rockstar in a couple of months, writing a fully fleshed-out, completely edited, and good novel in a couple of months probably isn’t realistic. But a first draft is a lot further than most people get.

Final Thoughts

Writing practice can take many forms. All you have to do is find the one that is the most fulfilling to you. It takes the work out of it and makes writing more fun.

And once school starts again, you’ll be even better at writing those analysis and persuasive essays. Of course, if you’re still not completely confident in your skills by then, Kibin editors are always here to help.

Most of the time, the lost feeling comes from making the topic way too academic. It doesn’t have to be serious. In fact, satire is one of the most fun types of essays you can write because it explains or criticizes serious topics in a non-serious way.

There’s a difference between satire and outright criticism, however, and it’s important to find the right balance. I’m here to help you do just that. So if you’re stuck on your satirical essay or just want a few pointers to improve, read on.

What Is Satire, Anyway?

Put simply, satire is when someone uses sarcasm or wit to criticize or poke fun at something. But that definition is a bit broad, isn’t it? I like to think of it as long-form sarcasm, but there’s way more to satire than sarcasm.

Let’s get into the details a little more.

Elements of satire

There are several literary devices that can go into satire. You don’t have to use all of them in your essay. Just pick a few that work for your subject and writing style.

• Irony: Many times, using irony simply means saying the opposite of what is meant (verbal irony). In literature, authors may also make a character do or say something that’s understood by the audience but not the character (dramatic irony). And then there’s what Alanis Morissette was trying to get at—when actions have results that are the opposite of what is expected (situational irony).

• Sarcasm: Sarcasm often uses verbal irony in a biting or mocking comment. It’s a bit harsher than irony.

• Parody: Parody is when something is rewritten or refashioned in a more nonsensical way. Think Weird Al.

• Exaggeration: Exaggeration means making something seem bigger or more important than it actually is.

• Understatement: The opposite of exaggeration—understatement means making something seem smaller or less important than it actually is.

I know—all these definitions can get a little confusing, especially when there’s no real context for them. So let’s get more specific and talk about your satirical essay.

Selecting a Subject That Sticks

Your satirical essay isn’t going to be as straightforward as the rest of the essays you write in class. There are a lot of different paths you can take, and there’s no one way to write it.

Because satire is subverting a topic by using the elements I talked about above, you don’t even need a thesis statement or the other traditional structural elements of analytical and argumentative essays.

But you do need to make it interesting and entertaining. So the first thing you need for an interesting essay is an interesting topic.

The first thing you need for an interesting essay is an interesting topic.
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Sometimes teachers give students a topic, and sometimes they don’t. Even if you’re provided with a topic, however, it’s usually pretty general—something like “education” or “capitalism.”

Whether you’re given a general topic or no topic at all, you’ll need to get a bit more specific.

For instance, if you’re writing your satirical essay about education, you may write about social cliques that you see in your school.

Whatever you choose, make sure it’s something that’s important to you. Satire is a great way to vent your frustrations without it coming across as angry rantings.

Finding the Balance: Too Far or Not Far Enough?

Writing a satirical essay, especially the first time around, isn’t easy. You feel passionate about the subject you’re writing about, but you can’t write about it in a straightforward way with statistics, anecdotes, or support from literature.

For some students, this makes taking it too far very easy. Other students can’t seem to take it far enough. Finding the balance is the key to making your satire resonate with your readers.

If you don’t take it far enough, your satirical essay may read just like a short story. But if you take it too far, you will turn off your readers.

How to avoid taking it too far

One thing that beginning satire writers often get wrong is that they go past witty satire into outright criticism, which can just come off as being mean or ranting. But if you look at some examples of great satire, you can figure out how to dial it back a bit.

When you’re writing a satirical essay, it might be tempting to call out authoritative figures, the government, or “the man” in general. And that’s completely fine to do.

However, you have to be delicate in your approach. One way to do this is to use symbolism.

George Orwell, for example, uses a ton of symbolism in his satirical work Animal Farm. The pigs symbolize Russia’s elite class, while hardworking Boxer and Clover represent the working class. Napoleon symbolizes Stalin, while Old Major symbolizes Marx.

Orwell uses the ideologies and characteristics of Stalin, Marx, and the different social classes in Russia as a basis for the personalities of his characters.

It’s a smart move because it gives readers the opportunity to figure out the symbolism for themselves and makes the satire a little subtler.

When you read any of Orwell’s stuff, you’ll probably notice how drab it is. While this makes sense for the topics he writes about and the time in which he was writing, you might want your satirical essay to be a little more humorous.

And there are plenty of sources you can draw on for inspiration here.

The Daily Show, for example, is a fantastic form of satire. It uses a couple of techniques to throw some hard (but not too hard) punches. Take this clip for example:

It’s a serious topic that Jon Stewart still manages to bring humor to by using satire. He does this using several methods you can incorporate into your satirical essay:

• Jon uses some claims that the Fox News anchors make—”Who wants to go shopping at Macy’s while this is going on?”—and shows us how ridiculous they are when put in context.

• He draws comparisons to show how some criticisms are biased, such as pointing out all the parades that block traffic.

• He uses sarcasm to imitate the news anchors and point out the strangeness of their argument that football players shouldn’t have opinions.

How to take it past “not far enough”

You might be on the other end of the spectrum where you don’t take your satire far enough. Typically, this happens for one of two reasons: not being assertive enough or trying to please everyone.

When you write a satirical essay, you have to take a stand on some sort of issue. This is no time to flip flop on your decisions about whether there should be tighter gun control laws or less standardized testing.

While you might want to add symbolism or exaggeration to help make your point more palatable to your readers, you need to have a point (and stick to it) in the first place.

Since you’re taking a possibly controversial position about a topic, there will be other people who have a different opinion than you. Some of those people won’t like what you have to say no matter how much symbolism or humor you use

And that’s okay.

Trying to please everyone will make your writing look weak and may confuse your readers about what you’re trying to say.

Tackling Your Own Satirical Essay

If you need inspiration while writing your satirical essay, there are many examples out there you can use to help you shape your own ideas. Here are a few:

• A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift
• The Daily Show and SNL’s “Weekend Update”
• The Onion
• The music of Tom Lehrer

And if you still feel lost or don’t know whether your essay goes too far (or not far enough), you can always reach out to the Kibin editors. They’ll make sure your satirical essay lands with your readers, as well as clean up errors in grammar and flow.

Good luck with your satire!

While critics often get a bad rap, they have the important task of taking information from movies and literature, analyzing the information, and breaking it down for their readers, viewers, or listeners.

When you write your critical lens essay, you have to put on your critic hat—except you won’t be analyzing a specific piece of literature in the same way you would for an analytical essay.

Instead, you’re using literature as a way to deepen your analysis of a particular quote.

Don’t worry—by the time you finish reading through this post, you’ll be able to better focus that critical lens so that you can write a stellar essay.

What Is a Critical Lens Essay?

Before we get into how to write your critical lens essay, we should first talk a little more about what it is.

It’s not an essay type that’s extremely common in most English or literature classes. That just means that if you do run into one, it can be more intimidating.

I’m here to explain the process of writing a critical lens essay that takes away the uncertainty so that you can tackle your topic with confidence.

A critical lens essay is one in which you analyze a quote using one, and often two or more, pieces of literature. It’s considered an analytical essay because you’re still analyzing literature in the process, but just under a more specific critical lens.

There are a few elements that are critical (pun intended) to your essay’s success:

• Stating the quote verbatim
• Rephrasing the quote in your own words to show that you understand it
• Stating whether the quote is true/valid
• Supporting your position with one or more pieces of literature

Of course, you’ll need the basic elements of any great essay—an introduction, body, and conclusion—which is where your outline comes in.

Starting Strong: Writing a Great Thesis

Your thesis statement is what tells the reader exactly what your critical lens essay is about. Not only that—you can also use it as a way to stay focused on the topic at hand.

Everything that you write in your body paragraphs should relate back to your thesis statement.

Everything that you write in your body paragraphs should relate back to your thesis statement.
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Thesis statements for critical lens essays are a little different from those of other types of analyses, which makes sense because the whole essay takes a slightly different approach.

In your introduction, you should include the quote and your interpretation (rewording/explanation) of the quote.

Your thesis statement comes directly after the interpretation and should include whether you agree or disagree with the quote and a brief explanation of why, drawing evidence from literature.

You can’t disagree with a quote because of your own personal experiences—at least not in your critical lens essay. In fact, you may even end up taking a different position than the one you actually believe to be true. That’s okay.

The important thing is that you can support your claim with evidence.

Setting Up Your Critical Lens Essay

As with any essay, writing a critical lens essay requires some planning—and an outline is the best way to do that. Before you start writing your outline, however, you’ll need to figure out a few details.

Choosing a quotation and literary support

First, what quote will you use?

This will be decided in large part by the assignment itself. Many times, teachers will give you the quote. But if you have to choose one yourself, choose a quote that you know you can write about.

It doesn’t have to be one you agree with. In fact, the critical lens essay allows you to disagree with the quote if you have the right literary support for that assertion.

Once you know which quote you want to use, you’ll have to decide which pieces of literature you want to support your quote.

Again, your teacher might have already picked these out for you, but if not, you should choose pieces of literature that aren’t ambiguous in their themes, symbolism, motifs, and so on.

Remember, you’re analyzing the quote using evidence from literature. Spending too much time explaining different elements of the literature will distract from the point of the essay.

To see the quotations and support some other students have chosen, check out these critical lens essay examples:

• The Miracle Worker and The Pearl Seen Through a Critical Lens
• A Critical Lens Paper About the Novel Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom
• A Critical Lens Paper About J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye and John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men

Outlining the critical lens essay

Now, on to the outline.

To give it a little more context, we’ll be using the anonymous quote, “All conflict in literature is, in its simplest form, a struggle between good and evil.”

There are so many pieces of literature you can draw from here, but I’m going to use The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

My outline would look like this:

1. Introduction
   1. Quote: “All conflict in literature is, in its simplest form, a struggle between good and evil.”
   2. Explanation of quote.
   3. Thesis: This quote is untrue because it does not take into account that the conflict in some literature, such as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz or Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, is about a journey rather than a clash between good and evil.
2. Wizard of Oz
   1. There is an evil character (the Wicked Witch), but the conflict doesn’t center around her.
   2. Dorothy just wants to go back home, and overcoming obstacles in her way is how she does it.
      1. Some of the obstacles are put in Dorothy’s way by the witch, but others aren’t.
3. Alice in Wonderland
   1. Who’s the villain?
      1. The Red Queen may be evil, but again, the main conflicts Alice faces are related to her journey rather than the Queen.
4. Conclusion
   1. Restate the quote.
   2. Good vs. evil works in many stories, but some literature uses the character’s journey as the main source of conflict. Evil characters in these cases are often used to amplify the climax, but the story could still stand if the evil character did not exist.

Wrapping It Up Nicely: Writing the Conclusion

The body of your critical lens essay is going to be different depending on the genre of literature you use, how many sources you use, and so on. However, if you have filled out your outline in detail, it should be pretty straightforward.

It’s often the conclusion that gives writers the most trouble in their analyses. So let’s jump to the end of your essay and explain the details you should include.

First, you should restate the quote, being sure to give it proper attribution.

Even though you’ve already done this once (maybe more), restating the quote is a perfect way to signal to the reader that you’re concluding your essay, as well as remind the reader of the exact wording of the quote.

Then, you’ll want to reinterpret the quote. This is the rewording you did in the introduction. However, it will sound too repetitive if you use the exact wording as before, so try to approach it with a fresh angle.

Next, remind the reader of the main points of your body paragraphs, being sure to include the piece(s) of literature you used as the support for your position.

Finally, you’ll want a nice sentence to give closure to your essay. This should tie up any loose ends and make the essay sound complete.

Still Feel Unsure About Your Critical Lens Essay?

Critical lens essays aren’t too difficult once you get the hang of them—it’s just a different way of approaching an analysis. But no one gets it right the first (or even 51st) time.

So if you’re feeling less-than-great about your essay, let the Kibin editors take a look. They’ll give you helpful suggestions that’ll make your critical lens essay really stand out.

Happy writing!