NCERT Textbook: Essay-writing | English Class 11 PDF Download

 Page 1


4.  Essay-writing
Most of us find it difficult to begin writing. We can make this easier 
by thinking about the topic either through brainstorming, that is 
with several people in a group giving their ideas as they strike them, 
or by putting them down on a sheet of paper as they occur to us.
For example, if the topic is ‘Hobbies’, we can draw a circle and write 
‘hobbies’ in it:
Hollies
Then we can put down our thoughts as they come to us in a random 
manner as shown below.
Having done that we select the points and expand each into a sentence.
 1. Hobbies are free-time activities. Examples are stamp-collecting, 
painting etc.
Chap 10.indd   84 12/5/2024   10:18:11 AM
Reprint 2025-26
Page 2


4.  Essay-writing
Most of us find it difficult to begin writing. We can make this easier 
by thinking about the topic either through brainstorming, that is 
with several people in a group giving their ideas as they strike them, 
or by putting them down on a sheet of paper as they occur to us.
For example, if the topic is ‘Hobbies’, we can draw a circle and write 
‘hobbies’ in it:
Hollies
Then we can put down our thoughts as they come to us in a random 
manner as shown below.
Having done that we select the points and expand each into a sentence.
 1. Hobbies are free-time activities. Examples are stamp-collecting, 
painting etc.
Chap 10.indd   84 12/5/2024   10:18:11 AM
Reprint 2025-26
Essay -writing 85
 2. They are matters of personal choice, not forced.
 3. They are interesting and give pleasure.
 4. They refresh the mind by providing an opportunity to do different 
kinds of activities.
 5. They provide relief from monotony. 
 6. They help us channelise our energy. 
 7. They can also be useful activities and can provide pleasure to  
others. For example, reading out to visually impaired people, 
visiting art exhibitions, music concerts etc. 
 8. Hobbies are educative and they widen our general knowledge.
 9. They help us develop our overall personality.
 10. They serve as a medium for the expression of our creativity.
 11. We meet interesting people through our common interests and 
develop friendships. 
We usually begin a topic with a definition or short description. We could 
begin thus:
Hobbies are activities that we engage in, in our free time. We 
may be interested in needlework, drawing and painting or music. 
Other common hobbies are stamp-collecting, clay-modelling, 
solving crossword puzzles.
Although hobbies also entail work they are taken upon 
through one’s own personal choice. They are not forced upon 
us. They are activities that we are really interested in and hence 
give us a great deal of pleasure.
Hobbies make life interesting. They refresh our minds 
after a hard day’s work. We need to do something different 
in order to do our routine work effectively. Hobbies provide 
this variety. 
Hobbies relieve us from the monotony of daily life. They fill 
us with enthusiasm for work and keep our energy levels high. 
We will go to any extent to get the things that we require, to get 
the utmost joy from our hobbies.
 Hobbies are also useful activities. Quite a few hobbies, like 
stamp-collecting, widen our general knowledge about various 
countries of the world. When we share common interests we 
even get into correspondence with people of other countries.
Chap 10.indd   85 12/5/2024   10:18:11 AM
Reprint 2025-26
Page 3


4.  Essay-writing
Most of us find it difficult to begin writing. We can make this easier 
by thinking about the topic either through brainstorming, that is 
with several people in a group giving their ideas as they strike them, 
or by putting them down on a sheet of paper as they occur to us.
For example, if the topic is ‘Hobbies’, we can draw a circle and write 
‘hobbies’ in it:
Hollies
Then we can put down our thoughts as they come to us in a random 
manner as shown below.
Having done that we select the points and expand each into a sentence.
 1. Hobbies are free-time activities. Examples are stamp-collecting, 
painting etc.
Chap 10.indd   84 12/5/2024   10:18:11 AM
Reprint 2025-26
Essay -writing 85
 2. They are matters of personal choice, not forced.
 3. They are interesting and give pleasure.
 4. They refresh the mind by providing an opportunity to do different 
kinds of activities.
 5. They provide relief from monotony. 
 6. They help us channelise our energy. 
 7. They can also be useful activities and can provide pleasure to  
others. For example, reading out to visually impaired people, 
visiting art exhibitions, music concerts etc. 
 8. Hobbies are educative and they widen our general knowledge.
 9. They help us develop our overall personality.
 10. They serve as a medium for the expression of our creativity.
 11. We meet interesting people through our common interests and 
develop friendships. 
We usually begin a topic with a definition or short description. We could 
begin thus:
Hobbies are activities that we engage in, in our free time. We 
may be interested in needlework, drawing and painting or music. 
Other common hobbies are stamp-collecting, clay-modelling, 
solving crossword puzzles.
Although hobbies also entail work they are taken upon 
through one’s own personal choice. They are not forced upon 
us. They are activities that we are really interested in and hence 
give us a great deal of pleasure.
Hobbies make life interesting. They refresh our minds 
after a hard day’s work. We need to do something different 
in order to do our routine work effectively. Hobbies provide 
this variety. 
Hobbies relieve us from the monotony of daily life. They fill 
us with enthusiasm for work and keep our energy levels high. 
We will go to any extent to get the things that we require, to get 
the utmost joy from our hobbies.
 Hobbies are also useful activities. Quite a few hobbies, like 
stamp-collecting, widen our general knowledge about various 
countries of the world. When we share common interests we 
even get into correspondence with people of other countries.
Chap 10.indd   85 12/5/2024   10:18:11 AM
Reprint 2025-26
86 Hornbill This is how we write an essay. 
A composition on a particular subject consisting of more than one 
paragraph is an essay. The characteristics of a good essay are:
Unity :  The essay should deal with the main subject, and all 
parts of it should be clearly linked with that subject.
Coherence : There should be a logical sequence of thought. This 
requires a logical relationship between ideas, sentences 
and paragraphs.
Relevance :  Unimportant information should not be included.
Proportion :  Giving more space to the important ideas.
Read the following essay and the passage analysis that follows it 
carefully.
The Importance of Games
1. “The Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton.” These 
words have been attributed to the Duke of Wellington. Certainly 
one does not play games in order to win battles; neither does the 
curriculum include them for that reason. But the importance of 
games in life should not be underestimated, for without them it is 
harder for a person to be sound in body and mind.
2. For one thing, if a person is to fulfil all the duties that society 
expects of him, it is important for him to keep healthy. He may be 
very intelligent, but that has little meaning if he cannot make use 
of his intelligence, because he is always suffering from bad health. 
In some ways, the human body is like a machine.  If it is not made 
use of, it starts to work badly.  People who are not fit grow weak and 
become more susceptible to disease.  Any form of game is useful, 
provided it gives the body an opportunity to take regular physical 
exercise.
3. Secondly, playing — and therefore experiencing winning 
and losing — encourages the spirit of sportsmanship, thus 
enabling one to deal with life’s problems in a wise and natural 
manner.  Games teach the truth embodied in the Olympic 
motto: ‘The important thing in playing is not the winning or the 
losing, but the participation’ — and, I may add, doing the best  
one can.
4. We have to remember some other things about playing games, 
however. First, it is the physical exercise that is important for 
Chap 10.indd   86 12/5/2024   10:18:11 AM
Reprint 2025-26
Page 4


4.  Essay-writing
Most of us find it difficult to begin writing. We can make this easier 
by thinking about the topic either through brainstorming, that is 
with several people in a group giving their ideas as they strike them, 
or by putting them down on a sheet of paper as they occur to us.
For example, if the topic is ‘Hobbies’, we can draw a circle and write 
‘hobbies’ in it:
Hollies
Then we can put down our thoughts as they come to us in a random 
manner as shown below.
Having done that we select the points and expand each into a sentence.
 1. Hobbies are free-time activities. Examples are stamp-collecting, 
painting etc.
Chap 10.indd   84 12/5/2024   10:18:11 AM
Reprint 2025-26
Essay -writing 85
 2. They are matters of personal choice, not forced.
 3. They are interesting and give pleasure.
 4. They refresh the mind by providing an opportunity to do different 
kinds of activities.
 5. They provide relief from monotony. 
 6. They help us channelise our energy. 
 7. They can also be useful activities and can provide pleasure to  
others. For example, reading out to visually impaired people, 
visiting art exhibitions, music concerts etc. 
 8. Hobbies are educative and they widen our general knowledge.
 9. They help us develop our overall personality.
 10. They serve as a medium for the expression of our creativity.
 11. We meet interesting people through our common interests and 
develop friendships. 
We usually begin a topic with a definition or short description. We could 
begin thus:
Hobbies are activities that we engage in, in our free time. We 
may be interested in needlework, drawing and painting or music. 
Other common hobbies are stamp-collecting, clay-modelling, 
solving crossword puzzles.
Although hobbies also entail work they are taken upon 
through one’s own personal choice. They are not forced upon 
us. They are activities that we are really interested in and hence 
give us a great deal of pleasure.
Hobbies make life interesting. They refresh our minds 
after a hard day’s work. We need to do something different 
in order to do our routine work effectively. Hobbies provide 
this variety. 
Hobbies relieve us from the monotony of daily life. They fill 
us with enthusiasm for work and keep our energy levels high. 
We will go to any extent to get the things that we require, to get 
the utmost joy from our hobbies.
 Hobbies are also useful activities. Quite a few hobbies, like 
stamp-collecting, widen our general knowledge about various 
countries of the world. When we share common interests we 
even get into correspondence with people of other countries.
Chap 10.indd   85 12/5/2024   10:18:11 AM
Reprint 2025-26
86 Hornbill This is how we write an essay. 
A composition on a particular subject consisting of more than one 
paragraph is an essay. The characteristics of a good essay are:
Unity :  The essay should deal with the main subject, and all 
parts of it should be clearly linked with that subject.
Coherence : There should be a logical sequence of thought. This 
requires a logical relationship between ideas, sentences 
and paragraphs.
Relevance :  Unimportant information should not be included.
Proportion :  Giving more space to the important ideas.
Read the following essay and the passage analysis that follows it 
carefully.
The Importance of Games
1. “The Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton.” These 
words have been attributed to the Duke of Wellington. Certainly 
one does not play games in order to win battles; neither does the 
curriculum include them for that reason. But the importance of 
games in life should not be underestimated, for without them it is 
harder for a person to be sound in body and mind.
2. For one thing, if a person is to fulfil all the duties that society 
expects of him, it is important for him to keep healthy. He may be 
very intelligent, but that has little meaning if he cannot make use 
of his intelligence, because he is always suffering from bad health. 
In some ways, the human body is like a machine.  If it is not made 
use of, it starts to work badly.  People who are not fit grow weak and 
become more susceptible to disease.  Any form of game is useful, 
provided it gives the body an opportunity to take regular physical 
exercise.
3. Secondly, playing — and therefore experiencing winning 
and losing — encourages the spirit of sportsmanship, thus 
enabling one to deal with life’s problems in a wise and natural 
manner.  Games teach the truth embodied in the Olympic 
motto: ‘The important thing in playing is not the winning or the 
losing, but the participation’ — and, I may add, doing the best  
one can.
4. We have to remember some other things about playing games, 
however. First, it is the physical exercise that is important for 
Chap 10.indd   86 12/5/2024   10:18:11 AM
Reprint 2025-26
Essay -writing 87
health, not the games themselves, and there are other ways of 
getting this.  Is not India the home of yoga?  It is also possible to be 
too interested in games. When we think of the Greek ideal expressed 
in the Latin phrase, ‘mens sana in corpore sano’ (a healthy mind 
in a healthy body), we should not forget that it is the mind which 
is mentioned first.  And if we let games become the most important 
thing in our lives, we may be in danger of changing the Olympic 
motto to ‘the important thing is winning’.
5. Nevertheless, in spite of these dangers, playing games can be a 
valuable activity, and if we take part in them wisely, we can gain 
great benefits. 
Passage Analysis
?? The writer uses five paragraphs
?? Each paragraph deals sequentially with a topic.
	 –	 Paragraph 	 1 	 introduces 	 the 	 subject, 	 and 	 makes 	 a 	 general	
statement about the importance of games.
	– 	Paragraph 2 explains the benefits of playing games.
	– 	Paragraph 3 deals with the moral benefits.
	– 	Paragraph 4 deals with the disadvantages and dangers.
	– 	Paragraph 5 sums up the writer’s opinion, taking into account all 
he has said in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4, i.e. it forms the conclusion. 
The structure (or plan) of the essay is summed up in the following 
flow diagram.
Chap 10.indd   87 12/5/2024   10:18:11 AM
Reprint 2025-26
Page 5


4.  Essay-writing
Most of us find it difficult to begin writing. We can make this easier 
by thinking about the topic either through brainstorming, that is 
with several people in a group giving their ideas as they strike them, 
or by putting them down on a sheet of paper as they occur to us.
For example, if the topic is ‘Hobbies’, we can draw a circle and write 
‘hobbies’ in it:
Hollies
Then we can put down our thoughts as they come to us in a random 
manner as shown below.
Having done that we select the points and expand each into a sentence.
 1. Hobbies are free-time activities. Examples are stamp-collecting, 
painting etc.
Chap 10.indd   84 12/5/2024   10:18:11 AM
Reprint 2025-26
Essay -writing 85
 2. They are matters of personal choice, not forced.
 3. They are interesting and give pleasure.
 4. They refresh the mind by providing an opportunity to do different 
kinds of activities.
 5. They provide relief from monotony. 
 6. They help us channelise our energy. 
 7. They can also be useful activities and can provide pleasure to  
others. For example, reading out to visually impaired people, 
visiting art exhibitions, music concerts etc. 
 8. Hobbies are educative and they widen our general knowledge.
 9. They help us develop our overall personality.
 10. They serve as a medium for the expression of our creativity.
 11. We meet interesting people through our common interests and 
develop friendships. 
We usually begin a topic with a definition or short description. We could 
begin thus:
Hobbies are activities that we engage in, in our free time. We 
may be interested in needlework, drawing and painting or music. 
Other common hobbies are stamp-collecting, clay-modelling, 
solving crossword puzzles.
Although hobbies also entail work they are taken upon 
through one’s own personal choice. They are not forced upon 
us. They are activities that we are really interested in and hence 
give us a great deal of pleasure.
Hobbies make life interesting. They refresh our minds 
after a hard day’s work. We need to do something different 
in order to do our routine work effectively. Hobbies provide 
this variety. 
Hobbies relieve us from the monotony of daily life. They fill 
us with enthusiasm for work and keep our energy levels high. 
We will go to any extent to get the things that we require, to get 
the utmost joy from our hobbies.
 Hobbies are also useful activities. Quite a few hobbies, like 
stamp-collecting, widen our general knowledge about various 
countries of the world. When we share common interests we 
even get into correspondence with people of other countries.
Chap 10.indd   85 12/5/2024   10:18:11 AM
Reprint 2025-26
86 Hornbill This is how we write an essay. 
A composition on a particular subject consisting of more than one 
paragraph is an essay. The characteristics of a good essay are:
Unity :  The essay should deal with the main subject, and all 
parts of it should be clearly linked with that subject.
Coherence : There should be a logical sequence of thought. This 
requires a logical relationship between ideas, sentences 
and paragraphs.
Relevance :  Unimportant information should not be included.
Proportion :  Giving more space to the important ideas.
Read the following essay and the passage analysis that follows it 
carefully.
The Importance of Games
1. “The Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton.” These 
words have been attributed to the Duke of Wellington. Certainly 
one does not play games in order to win battles; neither does the 
curriculum include them for that reason. But the importance of 
games in life should not be underestimated, for without them it is 
harder for a person to be sound in body and mind.
2. For one thing, if a person is to fulfil all the duties that society 
expects of him, it is important for him to keep healthy. He may be 
very intelligent, but that has little meaning if he cannot make use 
of his intelligence, because he is always suffering from bad health. 
In some ways, the human body is like a machine.  If it is not made 
use of, it starts to work badly.  People who are not fit grow weak and 
become more susceptible to disease.  Any form of game is useful, 
provided it gives the body an opportunity to take regular physical 
exercise.
3. Secondly, playing — and therefore experiencing winning 
and losing — encourages the spirit of sportsmanship, thus 
enabling one to deal with life’s problems in a wise and natural 
manner.  Games teach the truth embodied in the Olympic 
motto: ‘The important thing in playing is not the winning or the 
losing, but the participation’ — and, I may add, doing the best  
one can.
4. We have to remember some other things about playing games, 
however. First, it is the physical exercise that is important for 
Chap 10.indd   86 12/5/2024   10:18:11 AM
Reprint 2025-26
Essay -writing 87
health, not the games themselves, and there are other ways of 
getting this.  Is not India the home of yoga?  It is also possible to be 
too interested in games. When we think of the Greek ideal expressed 
in the Latin phrase, ‘mens sana in corpore sano’ (a healthy mind 
in a healthy body), we should not forget that it is the mind which 
is mentioned first.  And if we let games become the most important 
thing in our lives, we may be in danger of changing the Olympic 
motto to ‘the important thing is winning’.
5. Nevertheless, in spite of these dangers, playing games can be a 
valuable activity, and if we take part in them wisely, we can gain 
great benefits. 
Passage Analysis
?? The writer uses five paragraphs
?? Each paragraph deals sequentially with a topic.
	 –	 Paragraph 	 1 	 introduces 	 the 	 subject, 	 and 	 makes 	 a 	 general	
statement about the importance of games.
	– 	Paragraph 2 explains the benefits of playing games.
	– 	Paragraph 3 deals with the moral benefits.
	– 	Paragraph 4 deals with the disadvantages and dangers.
	– 	Paragraph 5 sums up the writer’s opinion, taking into account all 
he has said in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4, i.e. it forms the conclusion. 
The structure (or plan) of the essay is summed up in the following 
flow diagram.
Chap 10.indd   87 12/5/2024   10:18:11 AM
Reprint 2025-26
88 Hornbill Activity
Here are a few topics for essay writing. Follow the steps listed above 
to write on these topics.
1. Himalayan quake 2005.
2. Those who can bear all can dare all.
3. Fascinating facts about water.
4. Public health in transition.
5. Human population grows up.
6. Success begins in the mind.
7. Think before you shop.
The trend of decline in the Child Sex Ratio (CSR) defined as 
the 	 number 	 of 	 girls 	 per 	 1000 	 boys 	 between 	 0–6 	 years 	 of 	 age, 	 has	
remained unabated till today. To ensure survival, protection and 
empowerment of the girl child, the government has announced Beti 
Bachao, Beti Padhao scheme. This is being implemented through a 
national campaign. The objectives of this scheme are:
•	 Prevention 	 of 	 gender-biased 	 sex 	 selection 	 elimination.
•	 Ensuring 	 survival 	 and 	 protection 	 of 	 the 	 girl 	 child.
•	 Ensuring 	 education 	 and 	 participation 	 of 	 the 	 girl 	 child.
Organise as essay writing activity in your class, the themes 
should be based on the objectives stated above. Mention how you 
can contribute to this programme, in the essay.
Chap 10.indd   88 12/5/2024   10:18:11 AM
Reprint 2025-26