The assignment you dread the most in English class is your essay, isn’t it? You’re probably convinced that you just don’t have the writing skills necessary to produce work that will impress your professor and earn you a good grade. But it doesn’t have to be that way! Here are seven steps to writing a killer essay that will make your professor think twice before giving out another 20-page paper assignment again.
1) Brainstorm
Brainstorming is an important step because it can help you find a topic. Another thing is to look at what your classes are talking about and make a connection between the class material and personal experience. Remember that when writing, brevity is key so use as few words as possible while still making yourself understood. Your essay should not be more than 3-4 pages long; same way I do my essay.
2) Read the Prompt
Another way to get the grade you want is to read the prompt before writing. Once you understand what the assignment asks for, it will be much easier for you to write a quality essay. If you don’t know how to start your essay, use the points from your outline as the foundation of your ideas. Even if you have no idea how to end it, that’s ok!
3) Do Your Research
Researching your essay topic is very important. Use the library or the internet to find as much information about your subject as you can. Doing this will help you write a better essay and show that you really know what you’re talking about. It’s also always good to use an idea from someone else’s essay because if you don’t, then it could seem like you don’t have any ideas of your own. But be careful when using other people’s work because you need to make sure that they wrote the original idea down in their own words. If not, then it might be plagiarism and you’ll get in trouble for stealing their work.
4) Start with the Body Paragraphs
Body paragraphs should be between 5-6 sentences. When you have written your first paragraph, use that as a base for the other body paragraphs and then write about each of the following: introduction, three reasons, conclusion. If you are having trouble with this step, think about what you would like to see in an essay if you were reading it. What would be most important to know? What points do I want to get across?
5) Write the Introduction
Your introduction is your chance to make a good first impression with the reader. If you’re writing a persuasive essay, it should be formatted as an argument, proving your thesis and outlining what you’ll address in the body of the essay. If you’re not arguing for or against anything, simply state the purpose of your paper and what you plan to do in the rest of it. Most professors want their students to tell them why they think something is true or why it might be false, so pick one side and make an argument for it.
6) Write the Conclusion
Your conclusion is your last chance to make a good impression on the reader. It’s often the first thing they see before reading any of your writing, so make it count! Spend some time thinking about how you want to conclude your essay. What are you trying to say? What points should you reinforce? Once you have an idea for what you want your conclusion to look like, spend some time polishing up that paragraph and making sure it’s ready for prime time.
7) Edit & Proofread
Editing and proofreading are just as important as writing your essay. This means reading through the essay, catching any grammar mistakes or typos, correcting them, and then re-reading it to check for anything else you may have missed. This includes paying attention to punctuation; semi-colons, colons, periods all serve different purposes so make sure you know which ones go where! Also be sure to use appropriate spacing in between each paragraph.
