Whether you are a high school student, or enrolled in college or university there is one thing that all students have in common – they need to be able to write great essays. It is important for students to be able to write an essay which proves that they understand the subject and which contains writing which is both clear and concise. The good news is that even if you have had no previous experience of essay writing, it is very much a learnable skill. However, you do need to know where to start which is why we have put together this list of 5 essay writing tips to get you started.
1. It Pays To Plan Ahead
One of the most important tips we can share is that every single essay needs to have a plan. This is almost like a road map to guide you through writing your essay. It does not need to be complicated and it should only take a couple of minutes. All you really need to do is write a few bullet points regarding what will be covered in each paragraph or section of the essay. It is a good way to make sure that you do not get off track while writing your essay by writing about things that are not particularly relevant.
2. All Essays Need Structure
One thing that every good essay has in common is the structure. Nobody wants to read solid blocks of text which is why we break essays up into shorter paragraphs to make the essay more readable. However, as well as breaking your text down into paragraphs you will also need to arrange those paragraphs in such a way that your essay flows in a logical manner.
All essays follow a similar format, so once you know the general structure you should have an idea of how to write virtually any type of essay. You start off with an introduction which outlines what your essay is going to be about and introduces your argument. Then comes the body of the essay where you make your points. You will usually have a new paragraph for each point that you make. Lastly, you will have a conclusion summarizing your essay and reinforcing your argument.
3. Pay Attention to Paragraph Structure
As well as knowing how to structure the essay, it also pays to know something about paragraph structure. Make each paragraph count by making sure that it includes 4 important elements. First, make a statement which indicates the main point of that particular paragraph. You will then need to explain your statement and offer an example which backs that explanation up. This could be a quote or a statistic. Lastly, you will need to state why this particular point is important to your overall argument.
4. Revise, Edit & Then Edit Again
When writing an essay, you will never usually turn in the first draft unless you are writing under exam conditions. Once you have written your essay you will need to read over your work and make some changes. You should be looking for spelling mistakes and poor grammar and making sure you have not missed important points. You will want to make changes to improve the overall flow of the essay. Once you have done this you may even want to go back and revise and edit all over again.
5. Practice, A Lot!
Like most things in life, if you really want to improve your essay writing abilities, you will need to practice. It is likely that you will be assigned practice essays in the run up to examinations and you should certainly make an attempt at such assignments. However, you can also practice essay writing at other times by setting yourself a question or choosing one from resources on the internet. Your professor may even be willing to mark them for you if they have the time and they will be impressed by your dedication.