A Short Guide to Writing Essays

An essay is a common type of academic assignment in different classes where students need to demonstrate their ability to provide a compelling argument and come to a well-supported conclusion. There are different types of essays with specific purposes, but their basic format is practically the same, and we are going to discuss it in this article to help you get started. If you follow these simple steps, you will easily write an impressive essay on any topic. And if you need help with essay writing, you may look at here now.

How to Write an Essay

The essay writing process typically consists of several simple steps that you should follow when working on your academic papers.

Choose a Topic

The success of your essay depends on the selected topic. If your instructor has not assigned a topic, you are free to pick any topic related to your course of studies that you are really interested in. First, you should define the purpose of your paper because your topic must fit that purpose. You may use the brainstorming technique to come up with essay topic ideas. Write down some topics of your interest that come to your mind and then evaluate them to determine the topic that suits you most of all. Make sure that the chosen topic is specific enough.

Make an Outline

You can organize your ideas in the form of a diagram or create a more detailed outline. You need to decide what information you essentially want to include in your essay. You can create a diagram that consists of circles with subtopics and ideas and lines connecting them to show how these ideas relate to each other. Another way to make an outline is to use Roman numbers to connect your ideas.

Now you need to create a thesis statement that will tell your readers what your essay is about and what point you are going to make. Make sure that your thesis is strong and highly specific.

Write the Introduction

An introduction is an important part of any paper, and its purpose is to attract the attention of the audience and convince them that your essay is worth reading. There are different ways to start an essay with an attention grabber. For example, you can use an anecdote, startling information, statistics, provocative or a rhetorical question, a dialog, etc. After that, you need to write a couple of sentences that will serve as a transition to the thesis, which typically ends the introduction chapter.

Write the Body

You will need to write as many body paragraphs as you have main ideas supporting the thesis. Begin every paragraph with a topic sentence that presents the key idea of the paragraph. In the next sentences, you have to elaborate on the supporting point and explain how it supports your thesis statement. You should also provide examples that illustrate your point of view. You may finish the body paragraph with a sentence that summarizes everything.

Write the Conclusion

The conclusion of any essay should wrap everything up and give a sense of closure to the audience. You need to summarize the key points or give a final perspective on your topic. The conclusion shouldn’t be lengthy – 3 or 4 sentences will be enough. There is no set formula for you to follow, so you may simply restate your thesis and review the main points.

Edit and Proofread Your Final Draft

You should revise your first draft and make changes in the content and style to ensure that your essay is logical, clear, and concise. When you finish your final draft, you should edit it once more on the sentence level and improve the word choice or fix grammar and spelling mistakes.