Writing an essay can sometimes be dull and uninteresting both for the writer and the reader. The DRAPES technique is meant to overcome these challenges and make essay writing easier and more engaging. The letters in the word DRAPES stand for main components that make a good essay
- D - dialogue
- R - rhetorical question
- A - analogy
- P - personal experience
- E - example
- S - statistics
When these components are properly used in addition to the basic rules of essay writing, support for ideas and topics will easily float in. The essay will be much fun, interesting and convincing.
The first step to using DRAPES would be to organise one's thoughts. Make a room for a pen and paper. Each paragraph should have its section in the essay. Every section should have a main idea that is borrowed from the paragraph in addition to having two or three DRAPES components. The introduction section should clearly state the topic of the essay, the reasons to back up the arguments and two or three DRAPES components. In all, six parts are required for fully functional and utilized DRAPES.
How to use DRAPES to your advantage when writing your essay?
It is often better to begin the presentation of the dialogue by making use of a professional's opinion. A professional can be anyone such as a doctor, lawyer, senator, or even parents. When presenting a dialogue it is required to either use a direct or indirect quote. Be sure to use quotation marks.
Rhetorical questions are questions that require no answers. The sole purpose is to make the reader or listener to think. For example one can say "How can I reject a free offer"? When the rhetorical question is used at the beginning of the essay, the reader will be forced to think. Rhetorical questions are best used in the introductory and concluding sections of the essay. Their power is mostly felt there.
The purpose of analogies is meant to emphasize a point. The best analogies to use are similes and metaphors. A simile compares two things with words "like" and "as" and a metaphor uses a stronger word to qualify a thing. For example "Joan was a lion in the fight". Use of short stories or anecdotes may also be used to convey the message.
use of personal experience is a powerful way of conveying the essay message. Assuming the essay is about child care, the writer can mention that he had personal experience in this field. It brings about respect, support and desire to share new techniques. Just this experience may be enough for your readers to pitch their tents with you.
The use of examples is often very crucial in persuasive essay
. Give one example that will put you in good standing with the readers. Give another example that tears down the opponent's point and make them look bad.
When using statistics, percentages and ratios should be the most outstanding features. Use these statistics to your advantage by supporting your position. Don't forget to say the source of your data or it may look as if you made it up. Use of quotes should suffice for this.