How to write a commentary essay

When a golf announcer narrates a major golf tournament, describing each player’s shots and talking about his score, this is an example of commentary. When there is a DVD-director’s cut of a movie that is accompanied by the director explaining his choices, this explanation is an example of commentary.

1 Introduction

Put the passage into context, and summarise its arguments briefly (in a few sentences): do not spend too much time discussing matters outside of the passage. You should assume that your reader has read the work from which the passage has been taken.

Writing commentary means giving your opinion, interpretation, insight, analysis, explication, personal reaction, evaluation or reflection about a concrete detail in an essay.

State the element of your subject for which you’ll be providing commentary. This should be specific enough to avoid generalization. While the element you select will vary depending on the work on which you’re providing commentary, it should be relevant to the theme or argument of your essay.

Examples of commentary in a Sentence

The magazine includes humor and social commentary. The book is a commentary on her experiences abroad. I like listening to his social commentaries. He provided commentary during the game.

Lesson Summary

For each paragraph, the reader should be able to identify what your key points are, based on the concluding sentence. It should not include any information that was not discussed in the paragraph. Concluding sentences can start out with phrases such as ‘In conclusion,’ ‘Thus,’ and ‘For this reason.

One way to remember what your options are for commentary is to use the acronym SPIES: SIGNIFICANCE, PURPOSE, IMPORTANCE, EFFECT, or SUGGESTION. Using these trigger words should help you create meaningful commentary. Avoid simply paraphrasing the quote or restating the major support in your commentary.

In brief, the commentary part of the essay is the part where the writer explains how the evidence proves the thesis. It is the part of the essay in which the writer comments upon the evidence and points out what the evidence shows.

Addition: first of all, secondly, the third reason, finally, last of all, also, next, another, and, in addition, moreover, furthermore Time: first, then, next, after, as, before, while, now during, finally Change of Direction: but, however, yet, in contrast, otherwise, still, on the contrary, on the other hand

What are the components of good transition sentences? They make an explicit connection between ideas, sentences, and paragraphs. Good transitions use specific words. Try to avoid using pronouns like “this” to refer to an entire idea because it is not always clear who or what “this” refers to.

And, in addition to, furthermore, moreover, besides, than, too, also, both-and, another, equally important, first, second, etc., again, further, last, finally, not only-but also, as well as, in the second place, next, likewise, similarly, in fact, as a result, consequently, in the same way, for example, for instance,