Essay writing is part and parcel of school and college life. Once in a while, your lecturer will require you to submit a paper on various topics. Some colleges also require one to write an essay so that they can gauge his/her skills before joining them. Furthermore, you need to turn in excellent papers to ensure that you perform well. For that reason, it is good to whet your writing skills so that you will be able to write exceptional work that will help you get top grades.
Sharpening your writing skills will also increase the speed of your writing, and therefore you will have the capacity to deal with tight deadlines. You will also be able to cope with several writing assignments. This work puts forward some points on how to prepare an essay. It provides a good starting point for improving your writing abilities. Apart from this piece, there are other ways that you can use to develop your writing skills. For instance, you can use essay writing service such as custom-writing.co.uk where professionals will guide you step by step in preparing your paper.
1. Select a topic for the work
At times, your instructor will provide you with the subject. You may also have the green light to choose the topic on your own. In case the lecturer gives you the issue to write about, you can immediately start thinking about the way you will write your paper. For instance, you may be required to draft a general overview of the topic or an in-depth analysis.
If you do not have the topic already, you need to choose one carefully. Ensure that you select a subject that you will be able to work on or one that is interesting. A key to picking the best topic is to understand the aim of the essay. Conduct some research on the different issues to understand them better. This move will ensure that you do not make a mistake in choosing the subject. You will be able to pick an issue that will not give you a headache, one that you will enjoy writing.
2. Formulate a rough draft of your ideas
You need to organize your thoughts to be able to write a good paper. Therefore, you should prepare an outline to make it possible for you to realize an excellent flow of ideas in your writing. The draft is the foundation of the essay, and it can be in the form of an outline or a diagram.
For the diagram, you need to write your subject at the center of a page, and then draw about four lines emanating from the topic at the middle. You then have to write your primary thoughts at the end of the lines. Add more lines starting from the main ideas and incorporate the supporting opinions of your main thoughts.
In case you want to use an outline, place the subject at the beginning of the page. You will then write your critical ideas on the topic while ensuring that you leave a space under each. The blank areas will allow you to write more information to underpin the main views. Likewise, the outline will make it easy for you to connect your thoughts, which means that you will end up with a well-organized paper.
3. Jot down your thesis statement
After choosing the topic and sorting out the main ideas of your work, you need to write down a thesis statement. The thesis captures the main point of your paper. Go back to your outline and master your main ideas.
Typically, a thesis statement has two sections. The first section puts forward the subject, and the second one expresses the point of the paper. For example, if you are writing about Martin Luther King Jnr and his impact on the lives of the black Americans, a suitable thesis statement could be, "Martin Luther King Jnr has impacted the lives of black Americans through his fight against the violation of their rights." Another sample of a thesis statement is, "China's anti-pollution endeavors ought to concentrate on privately owned vehicles." The statement needs to be narrow and debatable.
4. Prepare the body
This part discusses the subject of your essay. Each primary thought in your outline will make the various parts of the body. Ensure that the paragraphs assume the same basic structure.
Start with one of the critical thoughts as the first sentence. Next, use the supporting ideas to expound on the view. Make sure that you sufficiently discuss the point of view before going to the next one. Again, ensure that there is a smooth transition from one paragraph or idea to the next one.
5. Give the essay a good beginning
At this juncture, you have a thesis statement and the body of your paper, which gives you an opportunity to write an excellent introduction. It should be captivating and highlight the focus of your writing.
Start with something that will catch the attention of the reader. For instance, you can use dialogue or an enchanting story. However, you must ensure that the story connects well with the thesis of your paper. Lastly, remember to place the thesis statement at the end of your introduction.
6. Jot down the conclusion
This section marks the end of the subject and sums up the main ideas while giving a final point of view on the topic. A reasonable conclusion has at least three sound sentences. The sentences should provide an analysis of the salient thoughts, in addition to underpinning the thesis.
7. Proofread/edit your work
Proofreading your essay will help you ensure that everything is in order. You will be able to correct misspelled words and eliminate others that are unnecessary. Again, you will be able to improve the structure of your sentences and paragraphs. For instance, you can make the essay compact by removing repetitive ideas. Moreover, you can reduce the length of each section to enhance readability. A good paragraph consists of three to four sentences. Also, remove redundancies and any other writing mistake.
