When you’re a college student or a high schooler, knowing how to write a convincing essay will be something that’s expected from you.
However, essay writing is a skill that takes time, practice, and tons of research to be developed. It’s not something you’ll just know how to do by default.
So, in this article, we’ll provide you with some tips and rules that will help you start writing better essays and get higher grades as a result.
Without any further ado, let’s get right to the bottom of it!
1. Understand the essay topic properly
Before you start writing, make sure you’ve understood the assignment as deeply as you possibly can. This includes looking for relevant sources, and references, and reading the recommended literature. From then on, you can continue to draft a hypothesis and your abstract.
Try not to stray too far from the topic – it’s one of the most common mistakes people make when writing an academic essay. It’s easy to get caught up in the literature, especially when your topic is something extremely specific.
2. Set the tone for your essay
Is the essay supposed to include your own ideas and opinions, or should it be based on strict academic sources only? Your professors will probably be very specific in regards to that. Besides, the topic itself can be indicative of the tone that should be set in your writing.
For example, if you’re writing an essay for your English class, you’ll probably be allowed to „sprinkle in“ some of your own thoughts and feelings, while the expectations for your essay about, let’s say, thermodynamics would be completely different.
3. Draft an outline
Once you start exploring the recommended literature, you’ll quickly be able to divide your essay into paragraphs or subtitles. Do this as early in the process as you can – it will help you stay on the right track.
Now, of course, making an outline before you’ve started writing can feel a bit restrictive. Make sure you look at it from a different point of view – you can still be flexible and change the „flow“ of your essay easily – these sections should just be looked at as nothing more than rough guidelines.
4. Begin with the body
Writing the introduction can be a daunting task, especially if you’re not entirely sure which direction to take with your essay. There’s nothing wrong with leaving it for later, especially if you’re working on a tight schedule. Once you’re halfway with the body, you’ll be able to finish the introduction in no time whatsoever.
Again, your introduction is one of the most important parts of your entire essay. It’s how the reader will decide whether your work is worth reading or not, so make it as convincing as possible.
5. Get professional writing help
As we’ve mentioned before, there’s an expectation of high school and college students to simply know how to write an academic essay. This approach is completely wrong – the students should be taught proper techniques and rules before they’re expected to write one themselves.
If the essay-writing tasks seem too overbearing for you, don’t hesitate to talk to your professors and teachers and ask for some practical tips. If they’re not able to provide you with those, then you should seek assistance from professional writers such as homeworkhelpglobal.com.
Again, learning how to write quality essays is an important part of your academic career – it’s something that should be done sooner rather than later, so don’t hesitate to seek help when you need it.
6. Use credible scholarly sources only
Finding appropriate sources to back up your arguments is half the job done when you’re writing your essay. Your references should be from academic journals and textbooks written by accredited authors, not Wikipedia or someone’s blog.
As we’ve said already, finding the right sources can be a daunting task, especially if you’re new to the literature in question. We advise you to ask your professors for recommendations – it’s the easiest way to get your argument the support it needs to be credible.
7. Proofread it as many times as necessary
Proofreading is an essential part of essay writing. As tedious as it may be, especially when your essay is lengthy and you can’t wait to be done with it, frequent proofreading will allow you to perfect your arguments.
You can even ask your colleagues or classmates for feedback – you can all exchange ideas and proofread each other’s work. Noticing your own mistakes and holes in your logic can be incredibly difficult, which is why getting someone else to do it for you is a good idea.
8. Don’t fake it
Don’t try to bluff your way through your essay – your professor will certainly notice the holes in your argument. In most cases, it’s better to submit a quality essay that doesn’t meet the word count requirements than to submit something that hardly fits the topic in question.
9. Don’t leave it for the last minute
Writing a quality essay in a day is next to impossible. It’s simply not a last-minute task. It requires research, planning, reading, writing, and proofreading – you’ll need more than a couple of hours to do it. We advise you to start working on it as soon as your professor gives you the assignment in question. It’s the only way you can ensure your writing meets the quality requirements.
The bottom line
All in all, writing a perfect essay can be a difficult task, especially if it’s your first time attempting it. As long as you start working on it in time, surround yourself with the appropriate literature, and keep on practicing your writing skills, you’ll be able to get a hang of it. Just stay motivated and seek assistance where you deem it necessary.
We hope our simple tips and tricks helped you start your essay-writing journey with the right mindset and we wish you the best of luck in all of your future endeavors.