A discursive essay presupposes following some rules. It should be written in a formal style. Topic sentence for introducing the subject of each paragraph, passive voice and impersonal constructions, use of quotations and references to other sources, linking words and phrases are of great importance. The learners should avoid contracted forms and colloquial expressions (e. g. lots of), over-generalizations (e. g. I absolutely detest…) and too emotional expressions, a series of simple sentences. It is better to combine simple sentences with complex and compound ones.

2.2 Punctuation. Word choice

The learners must be successful in their compositions, knowing some basic requirements for essay writing and considering essay types carefully. The paragraphs must be structured in a cohesive way. A logical presentation of facts is essential for the reader to understand the topic well and approach the words in the right way. Language must be simple and smooth flowing and care must be taken to avoid all kinds of grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors.

Punctuation is vital to disambiguate the meaning of sentences. There are some general rules concerning this.

The first word in a sentence, names of organizations, people/places, days and months, nationalities and languages should be capitalized. A capital letter is used for the most important words (nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs) of titles of books, programs, films etc. (e. g. Indiana Jones and the Lost Temple);

Comma is used:

· to separate words in a list, phrases or clauses as well as to separate long sentences link by as, or, and, but etc. For example, Tim brought the sandwiches, and Diana brought a bunch of grapes for the picnic;

· to mark a clause giving extra information which is not essential for the meaning of the main clause (non-defining relative clause): The Tate Modern, which is the newest museum in London, has excellent facilities for children.

· after certain linking words (e. g. however, therefore, for example, to sum up etc.)

· when if-clause begins the sentence, no comma is used when the if-clause follow the main one.

Apostrophes (') are used with possessives, e. g. The professor's secretary, and to show contractions, e. g. It's generally believed …However, they are not common in academic English. Semi-colons (;) show the link between two connected phrases when a comma would be too weak and a full stop too strong. They are quite rare in most types of writing. Colons (:) introduce explanations, e. g. The meeting was postponed: the Dean was ill, and start a list, e. g. Two factors were discussed: cultural and social.

Question mark is used to end a direct question; however, we use a full stop to end an indirect question (e. g. He asked me what I was doing.) Exclamation mark is used in exclamatory sentence. Italics are used to show the titles of books, plays, films: Romeo and Juliet as well as for names of hotels, restaurants. Hyphens (-) are used with certain compound words: well-educated/co-operative/four-year-old. Dots (…) are used to show omissions. Brackets () are used to contain information of lesser importance: There were only 40 marriages (out of 14.900) in which `baker' was listed. Single quotation marks are used to emphasize a word, to give quotations from other writers and to show direct speech: The word `quiz' was first used in the nineteenth century. `Can anyone find the answer? ' asked the lecturer. Double quotation marks are used to show quotations inside quotations (nested quotations): As Murphy has observed: `Concepts of “typical” need careful examination'. They are also used for the names of articles and chapters, but for book and journal titles use italics. Full stops and commas are placed inside quotation marks. You should also focus on the grammar concepts for the essay to have sense.

Another issue to consider is the language you use. Inappropriate language leads to misunderstanding or communication breakdown. The common error is the use of translation from the mother tongue. By translating word for word the student uses the wrong sentence patterns and the wrong vocabulary. Another cause of writing errors is the choice of long and complicated sentences with far too many supplementary clauses. The longer the sentence the bigger is the chance of making mistakes and failing to communicate the meaning. Therefore, in the early stages of your writing choose short and simple sentences to build up a basic essay-writing style. You can play with more complex words and grammatical structures later, when you have acquired some basic techniques. Do not use words specifically to show off your vocabulary. In most cases when an essay is given to write, there is a word limit stated, i. e. an indication how many words you should not exceed in your composition. Having a limit is a way to ensure that you select the most relevant words to express your thoughts. Moreover, keeping to the word limits is a part of good practice and a sign that you possess certain skills. The best way to stay within the limits is to plan your essay. William Strunk states that "Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts." [p.29] Similarly in an essay, all sentences and paragraphs must have an essential function and purpose. Knowing that all synonyms have a subtle nuance of meaning making it distinct from the other words will help you avoid random substitutions of words that merely seem to look better. It is important to choose the right word to convey meaning. For instance, Devlin's essay predicates that a society consists of a group of people brought together by a common set of morals and assurances is not the best choice of words. Whereas the sentence Devlin's essay asserts that a society consists of a group of people brought together by a common set of morals and beliefs displays your proper knowledge of vocabulary.

On the other hand, according to Truman Capote, "The greatest pleasure of writing is not what it is about, but the music the words make." [p.14] Nevertheless, your lexis must be rich and relevant to the topic to express everything you mean from different perspectives. Editing the language can be tedious, but it is essential to polish it to the point that it is pleasing to read and has literary style. The style must display a variety of sentence types, well-chosen connectors and appropriate vocabulary. To establish emphasis learners can employ subordination and coordination. This allows you to emphasize different parts of the sentence, so that the more important phrase is clear. Coordination involves combining clauses where neither clause is more emphasized than the other. On the other hand, subordination involves designating one clause to be more important than the other. It is up to you to decide what type to choose. It is essential to mention the role of linking words in this case.

2.3 Linking words and phrases

Put down your thoughts in clear sentences that flow logically from one to another. To be coherent a paragraph must satisfy two criteria: relevance (every idea must relate to the topic) and effective order (ideas must be arranged in a way that clarifies their logic or their importance and help the reader to follow and understand the writer's thoughts). An appropriate use of paragraphs is an essential part of writing well-structured essays: In addition to problems of obesity, America's youth also suffer from increasing amounts of psychological stress. The transition is made from obesity to psychological stress providing a bridge between paragraphs. Transitions are useful when moving from paragraph to paragraph, from one point to another to form logical flow. Every essay you write should have this feeling of continuity. Connectors will occur throughout your essay. The most common ones are those that are used for listing, addition, consequences and emphasis.

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