Essay Writing Tips A Guide to Writing Essays

Essay Writing Tips Essay Writing Tips Every writer’s arsenal should include the skill of essay writing. There are many different occasions where essay writing tips like the ones below might come in handy. A well-written essay can aid you during a job interview, when writing a speech, or even when giving a eulogy. So, with that in mind, here are some essay writing tips to help you add this tool to your belt. Write your Essay in Sections The best way to write an essay is to break it down into sections and make it more manageable to write. Breaking an essay into sections clarifies the process and makes it less overwhelming. In truth, once you understand the structure of a good essay and master a few essential essay writing tips, you’ll find writing essays easier than you thought. The basic sections of an essay are: the introduction which includes your thesis statement the body or main paragraphs the conclusion Choose Your Topic Carefully Even if you think you have an idea of what you want to write about, the very first thing you must do is to analyze and refine your topic. Unless you were assigned a topic, choose a subject that interests you or intrigues you so that your interest in the subject will help keep you motivated as you write the essay. When selecting your topic, make sure that your focus is neither too broad or too narrow. A topic that is too broad will produce an essay that is too long or seems incomplete. A topic with too narrow of a focus is ineffective because you will grasp at straws to make your point. Selecting a topic with just the right scope of focus will make it much simpler for you to write your essay. Outline Your Essay Few writers can sit down with a blank page in front of them and write without struggling. When trying to write the perfect essay on the first try, a blank page can be especially daunting. Even for someone who knows their topic inside and out, jumping right into the essay can be detrimental. Writing an essay without an outline is like traveling without a route or a plan. Without a plan, you run the risk of aimlessly rambling, or running out of fuel (ideas) mid-trip, which means you fail to reach your destination (i.e. make your point effectively to your reader). One of the key solutions for this when writing an essay is to make a brief outline of your topic, your main points, and your secondary or sub-points before you begin. Writing an outline first is helpful because it: helps you see right away if your topic is too narrow or too broad keeps you on track and organized as your write makes it easier to see where connections and transitions need to be speeds up the writing process helps you present your argument in an orderly way Strongest Point First When you write the body of your essay, start with your strongest point or argument first. The first paragraph is also the place to use your most relevant examples. Your second strongest argument and example will be in the second paragraph and so on. Your conclusion will summarize the main points and then give your final perspective or thought on the topic. Write the Introduction and Conclusion Last When you structure your essay, the introduction comes first, followed by the body, and then the conclusion. But to write a better essay and save yourself a lot of rewriting, write the body of your essay first, then the introduction, followed by the conclusion. Writing the sections slightly out of order allows you to organize and refine the body of your essay first and then write the introduction and conclusion to go along with the main points and examples in the body. Shine Your Essay Writing The final piece of essay writing is to shine or polish your essay upon completion. Regardless of experience, no writer is perfect. When you finish your essay, set it aside for a little while, do something else, and then come back and re-read it. Look for places where you can use words that give the reader a more specific image, for example, the word â€Å"kitten† or â€Å"tiger† instead of â€Å"cat.† Additional things to do during this final review to polish your essay writing are: Run spell check and grammar check. Read it through again yourself to catch any typos or spelling mistakes the automated checker missed. Ensure your ideas flow logically and orderly from beginning to end. For assigned essays, review the instructions to confirm you followed any directions given. Check for overuse of clichà ©s, your favorite phrases, and for unnecessary adverbs or adjectives. If possible, ask someone else to read your essay and give you feedback on any areas that are unclear. Only declare your essay complete and ready for submission when you are confident that it shines like a diamond. In addition to the above essay writing tips, practice writing essays even when not required. The more you practice essay writing, the more your ability to educate, persuade, and inform others through the written word will grow. Then when you need to call upon your newly honed skills to land that new job or get an â€Å"A† from your English literature professor, you’ll be prepared and confident. Essay Sample On of the best essay writing tips we can give you is to take a peek at a sample. So, to make it easier for you, we have included an Essay Sample, published at roughly the same time as this article. So, make sure you’ve read this article and have it on hand first, and then click onto our essay sample before you write your own essay.