Step by Step Guide to Writing an Essay

June 12, 2021 Popular

Students often struggle with writing their thoughts in the form of an essay and waste a lot of time on such assignments. Many get discouraged, don’t try to master this skill (and in vain), and write an essay online using paid services. Solving this problem is easier than you might think. Students only need to remember the essay writing algorithm and some secrets to get the desired result.

Structure of an Essay

Before we move on to the step-by-step instructions for writing an essay, let’s recall its essential components. As a rule, any essay consists of three main parts:

The introduction, where the student presents the central thesis to the reader and introduces the main point. The main problem is always placed at the beginning of the text and encourages thinking, smoothly passing into the main body;
The main body, where it is necessary to provide arguments, facts, hypotheses to support or argue the main thesis;
Conclusions, which should be logically tied to the main body and the thesis.

When students know the universal structure of essay writing, it is easier to work on the assignment and get homework done faster.

Writing an Essay in 8 Simple Steps

Preparing to write. The student determines the topic, if it has not been assigned, the style of the text, and makes an initial outline;
Gathering information for the reasoning. This is a crucial stage of work on the essay when the students must recall or find reliable facts, current news, movie plots, literature, and other materials to help them write the paper. They can also appeal to their own life experiences;
Formulating a thesis (problem);
Writing an outline. The student should write an extended plan using all the materials they have been able to gather;
Writing the paper. Using the plan, the student outlines evidence to support or refute the thesis. As a rule, the author is required to make at least three arguments. If an essay is related to some literature piece, it is obligatory to refer to its content, quotations, and examples from the text;
Drawing conclusions. Writing conclusions is the final chord of work on the essay. They must necessarily express the author’s point of view on the problem posed. The conclusions must be a logical continuation of the reasoning. They either make everything clear or encourage the reader to reflect;
Checking the content of the paper. At this stage, it is vital to make sure that the logic of argumentation is not violated anywhere, that the author’s reasoning does not contradict each other. It is also worth paying attention to the correctness of the references used. To do this, find out what kind of citation style does your professor or institution require;
Check spelling, punctuation, stylistics, and linguistic content of the text. It’s best to proofread your work later after writing to give your eyes and brain a rest. Students can also use a variety of online resources to review their essays.

How to Come up with a Thesis?

The thesis should be concise and clear. It is undesirable to use complex artistic means, such as metaphors, which are difficult to understand without an explanation. The main idea should be formulated so that the reader wants to dive further into the text and hear the arguments of the author. Connection with the key idea must be maintained throughout the text, and its arguments should reveal as many facets of the problem.

How to write a strong thesis?

A thesis should be specific. It should reflect only what the essay itself will touch upon and be accompanied by particular facts;
A thesis always relates to a particular position;
A thesis reflects one main idea;
A thesis serves as the basis for the discussion;
A thesis has a clear and concrete justification.

As you can see, writing an essay seems not so complicated if you know its structure and follow simple steps. We hope that our instruction will help you improve your skills and get a high score. Good luck!

Step by Step Guide to Writing an Essay

Structure of an Essay

Writing an Essay in 8 Simple Steps

How to Come up with a Thesis?

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