Essay writing is always seen as a daunting endeavor for a lot of college students. It doesn’t get better no matter how many essays they write. That is why it is important that you’re learning how to write good essays as it is a skill that you will find useful throughout your stay on campus. No one is born with a natural talent for writing. It is a skill that can be acquired and be perfected. You just have to be willing to learn. In this guide, we’re going to highlight some of the tips that will come in handy if you want to get better at writing essays.
Picking a Topic
If it is an academic essay, you might have the topic already assigned. If there is already a topic in place, the next challenge will be thinking about the paper that you’d like to produce. This will necessitate planning from the onset so that you’re communicating your thoughts clearly.
Once you’ve known the purpose of the essay, you will need to do some research some that your arguments are being backed by facts. Make sure you’re gathering all the information available for the essay. If it is a normal essay, the main goal will be to persuade. This can be made easy if you go for a subject that you’re passionate about.
Prepare an Outline
The outline will be like a foundation for your paper. You can buy an essay or look at examples online to have a feel on what is expected for that particular assignment. You will only have a successful essay when your thoughts are organized. The structure of the outline will give you ideas on the areas that need to be covered in the paper. List down your main ideas so that you don’t forget when you start writing the essay.
Writing the Thesis Statement
Once you’ve picked the ideas and organized them into relevant categories, the next step will be to create a thesis statement. The thesis statement should be able to inform the reader what the statement what the essay is all about. It is divided into two parts. The first part should clearly state the topic. The other part will be highlighting the points in the essay.
Writing the Body
The body is where all the meaty details about the essay can be found. The main ideas that you had written about in the outline will have a separate section in the body. The basic structure for each paragraph should be the same for the sake of consistency. The supporting ideas should be written in sentence formats to promote cohesion in expression. Make sure you’re leaving three or four lines in between each section as you might want to make some additional statements even when you’re through with the essay.
Writing the Introduction
The introduction is what draws the readers to your essay. It should also be clearly able to articulate the focus of the essay so there is no confusion on what the paper is all about.
Ideally, you should start with an attention grabber so that the readers are hooked right from the beginning. You can start with statistics, shocking information, a quote, or anything that will make the reader want to go through the rest of the essay.
Writing the Conclusion
The conclusion should be a summary of the arguments that you’ve presented. It should also be able to provide the final perspective on the matter so that the reader knows where you stand on the topic. Ideally, the conclusion should have three to five closing sentences.
Adding Finishing Touches
The writing of the essay doesn’t end with the conclusion. It is important that you’re paying close attention to even the smallest details as they could impact the final quality of the essay. Make sure that the order of the paragraphs are arranged well and the flow of logic is consistent throughout the essay.
The instructions for the essay will also need to be reviewed to make sure that you’ve not missed anything. Depending on the type of essay, you might be required to follow a specific format which will be clearly stated in the instructions.
Reread the paper to make sure that there are no grammar and punctuation mistakes. The sentences should be flowing smoothly so that your main ideas are being highlighted. We hope this guide has been helpful if you’re looking to improve your essay writing skills.
