Essay writing comes naturally to a few students, but for many, knowing how to write a top-grade essay paper is something that must be learned and practiced regularly. Writing an essay is a challenging skill to master because it requires logical planning and creativity. The further you get in school, the more demanding and complex the essays will become. Still, you can take comfort in knowing that, once you learn the basic rules of writing a good college essay, you can apply the techniques to almost all pieces of academic writing.
If it is your first time writing an essay, or if you struggle with writing and want to sharpen your skills, the guide and tips in the following post outline the best way to write valuable and persuasive essays even when you’re under a time crunch. So, let’s dive in and learn how to write a winning essay.
5 Easy Steps on How to Write a Great Essay
- Choose Essay Type and Format
Before you begin to write an essay, you must define the kind of essay you want to write. The type of essay is dictated by the assignment details or the thesis. There are four common types of essays.
- Descriptive essay – It describes a specific situation or topic.
- Argumentative essay – They defend or assert a position. Keep in mind that this is a common type of student essay, so you will likely be required to write a good argumentative essay that persuades the reader to support or understand a specific point of view about the topic.
- Expository essay – This type of essay explains a certain occurrence or process, for example: how to prepare an omelet.
- Informative essay – It presents the reader with information they don’t know.
When you know the type of essay you will write, it will be easy to brainstorm the topic and structure of the paper. Also, the format that you use to write the essay is dictated by the paper topic or the instructor. The most common writing styles are MLA, APA, and the Chicago/Turabian Manual of style.
- Research the Topic and Develop a Thesis
Research is a critical part of writing a good essay. Go to the library, interview experts, or use online resources to get information that is relevant to your topic. Ensure your research is organized, so that it is easy to refer back when writing and citing your final essay.
Additionally, you need to develop a thesis statement that says what the essay is about. The thesis is what guides the premise of the entire essay, so it should be based on what you plan to discuss in the paper and supported by evidence. By reading the thesis statement, the reader should understand what the rest of the paper will be about.
- Outline the Essay
An essay outline provides a logical and well-organized picture of what you are going to write. A typical essay outline will have three main sections; an introduction paragraph, body paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph.
The introduction Paragraph is your first chance to capture the attention of the reader and motivate them to continue reading the rest of the paper. Every introduction for an essay must start with a hook statement, then a preview of the subtopics you will discuss in the body, and end with a thesis statement.
Body paragraphs explain and develop the main ideas of your topic. It is the longest part of the paper. Always start a body paragraph with a topic sentence, followed by supporting points of that idea, and end with a concluding sentence.
The conclusion of an essay summarizes the paper by reminding the reader of your thesis statement and providing some final thoughts about the topic. Don’t add new ideas to the conclusion.
- Write the Essay
When the paper outline is ready, it is time to start writing your essay. Start by writing the first rough draft that contains all the paragraphs in the outline. You will need to edit and review your draft numerous times to ensure the arguments that support the thesis are clear, cohesive, and supported by evidence. Use transitional words to make sure the content flows smoothly.
Ask yourself the following questions before completing the writing process:
- Did you conduct adequate research on the topic?
- Did you write a good essay hook?
- Do you have a strong thesis statement?
- Did you include examples when making arguments to support your thesis?
- Will the reader know what your paper is about by reading the introduction and conclusion?
- Check Spelling and Grammar
After writing the essay, you need to proofread your work to look for mistakes and typos. Check for technical errors as well as punctuation, grammar, and spelling errors in each paragraph. Although spell check software can help you catch common mistakes, it can’t recognize every error since incorrect spelling could also be a word. Therefore, read through to confirm the essay is well-polished.
As you proofread, confirm that you have cited your sources correctly and transitions are included to make the writing flow smoothly.
Tips for Writing a Good Essay
- Ask The Help of a Professional Writer
If the essay writing process seems like a daunting task for you, ask for professional essay writing help. Online writing companies hire professional writers with college degrees and many years of experience to assist students in reviewing rough drafts or writing essays from scratch. If you are stuck and need help, visit CustomWritings to process your “write my essay” request immediately. The website has experts who have mastered the structure and style of a custom essay and will craft your paper according to any requirements.
- Write Clearly
To receive a high grade, your essay must be written clearly. Ensure your essay is persuasive, follows the proper structure, and is carefully edited to increase clarity. Organize a coherent essay with an introduction, body, and conclusion. When editing, try to view your essay with fresh eyes and check the clarity of sentences, paragraphs, and structure.
- Analyze the Question
One of the most important tips on how to write a good essay is to analyze the question to determine what exactly is being asked of you. Focus on identifying the three components of an essay prompt: content terms, limiting terms, and directive terms. The content terms are the key concepts of the task, limiting terms explain the scope of the question, and the directive term tells you what to do, such as analyze, discuss, evaluate, or compare. Proper analysis of the essay question makes it easy to derive the title and the essay’s arguments.
- Combine Evidence, Reasoning, and Scholarship
To persuade the audience about your main argument, make sure your essay incorporates evidence and reasoning. Evidence includes facts, quotations, illustrations, and statistics that support your claim. The reasoning is your ability to evaluate and connect facts instead of citing them in a list. Scholarship shows how your argument relates to existing studies on the topic.
- Cite Sources and Evidence
The last tip is to ensure you have cited all your sources completely and accurately. Whether you are writing a narrative, argumentative, or expository essay, you are required to cite the evidence and sources used to support your argument. You will need to check essay instructions to determine the preferred citation style. Follow the stipulated guidelines of the style correctly and consistently.