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Essay Structure
Writing an academic essay means fashioning a coherent set of ideas into an argument. Because essays are essentially linear—they offer one idea at a time—they must present their ideas in the order that makes most sense to a reader. Successfully structuring an essay means attending to a reader's logic.
The focus of such an essay predicts its structure. It dictates the information readers need to know and the order in which they need to receive it. Thus your essay's structure is necessarily unique to the main claim you're making. Although there are guidelines for constructing certain classic essay types (e.g., comparative analysis), there are no set formula.
Answering Questions: The Parts of an Essay
A typical essay contains many different kinds of information, often located in specialized parts or sections. Even short essays perform several different operations: introducing the argument, analyzing data, raising counterarguments, concluding. Introductions and conclusions have fixed places, but other parts don't. Counterargument, for example, may appear within a paragraph, as a free-standing section, as part of the beginning, or before the ending. Background material (historical context or biographical information, a summary of relevant theory or criticism, the definition of a key term) often appears at the beginning of the essay, between the introduction and the first analytical section, but might also appear near the beginning of the specific section to which it's relevant.
It's helpful to think of the different essay sections as answering a series of questions your reader might ask when encountering your thesis. (Readers should have questions. If they don't, your thesis is most likely simply an observation of fact, not an arguable claim.)
"What?" The first question to anticipate from a reader is "what": What evidence shows that the phenomenon described by your thesis is true? To answer the question you must examine your evidence, thus demonstrating the truth of your claim. This "what" or "demonstration" section comes early in the essay, often directly after the introduction. Since you're essentially reporting what you've observed, this is the part you might have most to say about when you first start writing. But be forewarned: it shouldn't take up much more than a third (often much less) of your finished essay. If it does, the essay will lack balance and may read as mere summary or description.
"How?" A reader will also want to know whether the claims of the thesis are true in all cases. The corresponding question is "how": How does the thesis stand up to the challenge of a counterargument? How does the introduction of new material—a new way of looking at the evidence, another set of sources—affect the claims you're making? Typically, an essay will include at least one "how" section. (Call it "complication" since you're responding to a reader's complicating questions.) This section usually comes after the "what," but keep in mind that an essay may complicate its argument several times depending on its length, and that counterargument alone may appear just about anywhere in an essay.
"Why?" Your reader will also want to know what's at stake in your claim: Why does your interpretation of a phenomenon matter to anyone beside you? This question addresses the larger implications of your thesis. It allows your readers to understand your essay within a larger context. In answering "why", your essay explains its own significance. Although you might gesture at this question in your introduction, the fullest answer to it properly belongs at your essay's end. If you leave it out, your readers will experience your essay as unfinished—or, worse, as pointless or insular.
Mapping an Essay
Structuring your essay according to a reader's logic means examining your thesis and anticipating what a reader needs to know, and in what sequence, in order to grasp and be convinced by your argument as it unfolds. The easiest way to do this is to map the essay's ideas via a written narrative. Such an account will give you a preliminary record of your ideas, and will allow you to remind yourself at every turn of the reader's needs in understanding your idea.
Essay maps ask you to predict where your reader will expect background information, counterargument, close analysis of a primary source, or a turn to secondary source material. Essay maps are not concerned with paragraphs so much as with sections of an essay. They anticipate the major argumentative moves you expect your essay to make. Try making your map like this:
- State your thesis in a sentence or two, then write another sentence saying why it's important to make that claim. Indicate, in other words, what a reader might learn by exploring the claim with you. Here you're anticipating your answer to the "why" question that you'll eventually flesh out in your conclusion.
- Begin your next sentence like this: "To be convinced by my claim, the first thing a reader needs to know is . . ." Then say why that's the first thing a reader needs to know, and name one or two items of evidence you think will make the case. This will start you off on answering the "what" question. (Alternately, you may find that the first thing your reader needs to know is some background information.)
- Begin each of the following sentences like this: "The next thing my reader needs to know is . . ." Once again, say why, and name some evidence. Continue until you've mapped out your essay.
Your map should naturally take you through some preliminary answers to the basic questions of what, how, and why. It is not a contract, though—the order in which the ideas appear is not a rigid one. Essay maps are flexible; they evolve with your ideas.
Signs of Trouble
A common structural flaw in college essays is the "walk-through" (also labeled "summary" or "description"). Walk-through essays follow the structure of their sources rather than establishing their own. Such essays generally have a descriptive thesis rather than an argumentative one. Be wary of paragraph openers that lead off with "time" words ("first," "next," "after," "then") or "listing" words ("also," "another," "in addition"). Although they don't always signal trouble, these paragraph openers often indicate that an essay's thesis and structure need work: they suggest that the essay simply reproduces the chronology of the source text (in the case of time words: first this happens, then that, and afterwards another thing . . . ) or simply lists example after example ("In addition, the use of color indicates another way that the painting differentiates between good and evil").
Copyright 2000, Elizabeth Abrams, for the Writing Center at Harvard University
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- How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples
How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples
Published on January 11, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on September 14, 2022 by Eoghan Ryan.
A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . It usually comes near the end of your introduction .
Your thesis will look a bit different depending on the type of essay you’re writing. But the thesis statement should always clearly state the main idea you want to get across. Everything else in your essay should relate back to this idea.
You can write your thesis statement by following four simple steps:
- Start with a question
- Write your initial answer
- Develop your answer
- Refine your thesis statement
Table of contents
What is a thesis statement, placement of the thesis statement, step 1: start with a question, step 2: write your initial answer, step 3: develop your answer, step 4: refine your thesis statement, types of thesis statements, frequently asked questions about thesis statements.
A thesis statement summarizes the central points of your essay. It is a signpost telling the reader what the essay will argue and why.
The best thesis statements are:
- Concise: A good thesis statement is short and sweet—don’t use more words than necessary. State your point clearly and directly in one or two sentences.
- Contentious: Your thesis shouldn’t be a simple statement of fact that everyone already knows. A good thesis statement is a claim that requires further evidence or analysis to back it up.
- Coherent: Everything mentioned in your thesis statement must be supported and explained in the rest of your paper.
The thesis statement generally appears at the end of your essay introduction or research paper introduction .
The spread of the internet has had a world-changing effect, not least on the world of education. The use of the internet in academic contexts and among young people more generally is hotly debated. For many who did not grow up with this technology, its effects seem alarming and potentially harmful. This concern, while understandable, is misguided. The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its many benefits for education: the internet facilitates easier access to information, exposure to different perspectives, and a flexible learning environment for both students and teachers.
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You should come up with an initial thesis, sometimes called a working thesis , early in the writing process . As soon as you’ve decided on your essay topic , you need to work out what you want to say about it—a clear thesis will give your essay direction and structure.
You might already have a question in your assignment, but if not, try to come up with your own. What would you like to find out or decide about your topic?
For example, you might ask:
After some initial research, you can formulate a tentative answer to this question. At this stage it can be simple, and it should guide the research process and writing process .
Now you need to consider why this is your answer and how you will convince your reader to agree with you. As you read more about your topic and begin writing, your answer should get more detailed.
In your essay about the internet and education, the thesis states your position and sketches out the key arguments you’ll use to support it.
The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its many benefits for education because it facilitates easier access to information.
In your essay about braille, the thesis statement summarizes the key historical development that you’ll explain.
The invention of braille in the 19th century transformed the lives of blind people, allowing them to participate more actively in public life.
A strong thesis statement should tell the reader:
- Why you hold this position
- What they’ll learn from your essay
- The key points of your argument or narrative
The final thesis statement doesn’t just state your position, but summarizes your overall argument or the entire topic you’re going to explain. To strengthen a weak thesis statement, it can help to consider the broader context of your topic.
These examples are more specific and show that you’ll explore your topic in depth.
Your thesis statement should match the goals of your essay, which vary depending on the type of essay you’re writing:
- In an argumentative essay , your thesis statement should take a strong position. Your aim in the essay is to convince your reader of this thesis based on evidence and logical reasoning.
- In an expository essay , you’ll aim to explain the facts of a topic or process. Your thesis statement doesn’t have to include a strong opinion in this case, but it should clearly state the central point you want to make, and mention the key elements you’ll explain.
A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.
The thesis statement is essential in any academic essay or research paper for two main reasons:
- It gives your writing direction and focus.
- It gives the reader a concise summary of your main point.
Without a clear thesis statement, an essay can end up rambling and unfocused, leaving your reader unsure of exactly what you want to say.
Follow these four steps to come up with a thesis statement :
- Ask a question about your topic .
- Write your initial answer.
- Develop your answer by including reasons.
- Refine your answer, adding more detail and nuance.
The thesis statement should be placed at the end of your essay introduction .
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The Five Steps of Writing an Essay
Mastering these steps will make your words more compelling.
- Tips For Adult Students
- Getting Your Ged
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- B.A., English, St. Olaf College
Knowing how to write an essay is a skill that you can use throughout your life. The ability to organize ideas that you use in constructing an essay will help you write business letters, company memos, and marketing materials for your clubs and organizations.
Anything you write will benefit from learning these simple parts of an essay:
- Purpose and Thesis
Introduction
Body of information.
Here are five steps to make it happen:
Purpose/Main Idea
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Before you can start writing, you must have an idea to write about. If you haven't been assigned a topic, it's easier than you might think to come up with one of your own.
Your best essays will be about things that light your fire. What do you feel passionate about? What topics do you find yourself arguing for or against? Choose the side of the topic you are "for" rather than "against" and your essay will be stronger.
Do you love gardening? Sports? Photography? Volunteering? Are you an advocate for children? Domestic peace? The hungry or homeless? These are clues to your best essays.
Put your idea into a single sentence. This is your thesis statement , your main idea.
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Choose a title for your essay that expresses your primary idea. The strongest titles will include a verb. Take a look at any newspaper and you'll see that every title has a verb.
Your title should make someone want to read what you have to say. Make it provocative.
Here are a few ideas:
- America Needs Better Health Care Now
- The Use of the Mentor Archetype in _____
- Who Is the She-Conomy?
- Why DJ Is the Queen of Pedicures
- Melanoma: Is It or Isn't It?
- How to Achieve Natural Balance in Your Garden
- Expect to Be Changed by Reading _____
Some people will tell you to wait until you have finished writing to choose a title. Other people find that writing a title helps them stay focused. You can always review your title when you've finished the essay to ensure that it's as effective as it can be.
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Hero-Images / Getty Images
Your introduction is one short paragraph, just a sentence or two, that states your thesis (your main idea) and introduces your reader to your topic. After your title, this is your next best chance to hook your reader. Here are some examples:
- Women are the chief buyers in 80 percent of America's households. If you're not marketing to them, you should be.
- Take another look at that spot on your arm. Is the shape irregular? Is it multicolored? You could have melanoma. Know the signs.
- Those tiny wasps flying around the blossoms in your garden can't sting you. Their stingers have evolved into egg-laying devices. The wasps, busying finding a place to lay their eggs, are participating in the balance of nature.
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Vincent Hazat / PhotoAlto Agency RF Collections / Getty Images
The body of your essay is where you develop your story or argument. Once you have finished your research and produced several pages of notes, go through them with a highlighter and mark the most important ideas, the key points.
Choose the top three ideas and write each one at the top of a clean page. Now go through your notes again and pull out supporting ideas for each key point. You don't need a lot, just two or three for each one.
Write a paragraph about each of these key points, using the information you've pulled from your notes. If you don't have enough for one, you might need a stronger key point. Do more research to support your point of view. It's always better to have too many sources than too few.
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Anna Bryukhanova/E Plus / Getty Images
You've almost finished. The last paragraph of your essay is your conclusion. It, too, can be short, and it must tie back to your introduction.
In your introduction, you stated the reason for your paper. In your conclusion, you should summarize how your key points support your thesis. Here's an example:
- By observing the balance of nature in her gardens, listening to lectures, and reading everything she can get her hands on about insects and native plants, Lucinda has grown passionate about natural balance. "It's easy to get passionate if you just take time to look," she says.
If you're still worried about your essay after trying on your own, consider hiring an essay editing service. Reputable services will edit your work, not rewrite it. Choose carefully. One service to consider is Essay Edge .
Good luck! The next essay will be easier.
Watch Now: How to Write a Strong Essay Conclusion
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by Yen Cabag | 11 comments
High school students are frequently tasked with writing essays, which also play a big role in the college admissions process. But they’re not alone: professionals taking exams like the IELTS or LSATs also need to know how to write clear, concise, and persuasive essays.
Even if you don’t consider yourself a wordsmith, you don’t have to be intimidated by essays and writing assignments. When you learn the basic steps and the most common structures, you will find that it becomes easier to write down your thoughts on any given subject.
What Are the Different Types of Essays?
Essays can come in many different forms. The most common types include the following:
- Narrative Essay: The narrative essay shares information in the form of a story and from a clearly defined point of view .
- Expository Essay: This type of essay explains, illustrates, or clarifies a topic. This also includes instructional pieces with step-by-step directions.
- Descriptive Essay: Descriptive essays do exactly what their name implies: they describe an event, phenomenon, or any other subject in detail.
- Persuasive Essay: This type of essay aims to convince the audience to adapt a certain perspective or idea.
- Compare and Contrast Essay: This type of writing pinpoints how similar or different two or more things are from one another.
- Problem-Solution Essay: This essay highlights an issue, influences the reader to care about it, suggests a solution, and tackles possible objections.
How Do You Begin an Essay?
Nothing is more daunting for a writer than staring at a blank page. This is why you need to have an action plan for starting your essay.
1. Decide on your essay type and topic.
Sometimes, you will already have an assigned essay type or topic, so that will save you one step. If these were not assigned to you, you have to think of possible topics that you can write on. This will also help determine the type of essay you will be writing.
Some questions you can ask yourself to find a good topic include:
- What is something I’m passionate about?
- What is one thought or idea I want to share?
- Is there any misconception I want to correct?
- What is the best way to present this topic of information (with regard to the types of essays)?
2. Brainstorm and research the topic you’ve chosen.
Once you’ve chosen your topic, brainstorm all the different supporting ideas that you can talk about for the topic. Start with the basic facts about your idea, asking questions such as what , where , who , when , why , and how .
You can use the Mind Map method to brainstorm connecting ideas, or you can also just jot down bullet points as you encounter them in your research.
If your topic calls for it and if time allows, you may want to consider conducting quick interviews with experts on the subject. These will serve as a primary source for your essay.
3. Develop your thesis statement.
After you have brainstormed and researched, write down your thesis statement . A thesis statement consists of one or two sentences that sum up the primary subject or argument of your essay.
Generally, the thesis statement will present your main topic while also expressing what position you hold regarding the subject.
4. Write your outline.
Once you have your thesis statement, you can start to prepare your outline . Many people skip the outline process, thinking it’s a waste of time.
But really, an outline can help you organize your thoughts before you start writing and actually save you time, since you’ll avoid beating around the bush or jumping from one idea to another without a clear direction.
One common structure for an essay is the Five-Paragraph Essay, with the following parts:
- Introduction with thesis statement
- Main Point #1
- Main Point #2
- Main Point #3
- Conclusion
Although this structure is made up of five paragraphs, we can easily use the same model and make it into a Five-Part Essay Structure. This means that we will stay within the pattern, but each main point may have more than one paragraph.
When you write your outline, make sure that each paragraph has only one main point. Jumbling too many points in one paragraph tends to confuse your reader. Also, make sure that your main points are all relevant to your thesis statement.
5. Start writing.
Using your outline, you can now begin writing your essay. Some writers choose to write their paragraphs in order, beginning with the hook. The hook is the first few lines in your essay that will grab the readers’ attention.
If you can write the hook right away, well and good. If not, don’t worry, you can always come back to it after you write the body of your essay. Here are some more helpful tips for writing the body of your essay:
- Elaborate on each of your main ideas with at least one paragraph each. If your main ideas will require more than one paragraph each, feel free to write more.
- For anything point that takes up two paragraphs or more, it helps to have a brief introductory paragraph.
- Stay as concise as possible.
- Include anecdotal examples if it will help you make your point more clear.
- If you are writing a formal academic essay, avoid using first-person pronouns.
6. Pay attention to how you cite references.
In ancient Greece, using other people’s ideas was seen as the mark of a smart person. But in this day and age, plagiarism is a serious offense, so you need to be careful when citing other people’s work.
To avoid plagiarism , be sure to paraphrase any ideas you collect from your research instead of copying them word for word. If you do use them as is, put them in quotes.
Next, use the proper citations. Plagiarism does not only constitute copying the idea verbatim, but you also have to reference the source of the idea itself, if possible. Depending on your teacher’s preferences, you can use the APA in-text citation style or the MLA style .
7. Edit your work.
After you write your first draft, refine and proofread your work to make sure you fix all grammatical and spelling errors. You can use a tool like Grammarly when you do this to have fresh “eyes” looking at your work, but don’t rely solely on software—always review your work at least once yourself or have another (human) do it!
When editing, pay attention to the words you use: remove all unnecessary words and work on using strong verbs in place of weak ones.
Also, fact check all the information you have in your essay, especially when citing other sources.
Tips for Writing Essays
If you keep these tips in mind, writing an essay will soon become much easier for you and you’ll see your writing (of all kinds) start to improve.
Keep practicing and you will find that it’s much easier to get your thoughts on paper and present a coherent piece for your readers.
Did you find this post helpful? Let us know in the comments below!
If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:
- How to Write a Thesis Statement
- How to Avoid Plagiarism: 6 Tips for Staying Out of Trouble
- How to Write a Research Paper: The Complete Guide for Students
- Grammarly Review: Is It Worth the Hype?
Yen Cabag is the Blog Writer of TCK Publishing. She is also a homeschooling mom, family coach, and speaker for the Charlotte Mason method, an educational philosophy that places great emphasis on classic literature and the masterpieces in art and music. She has also written several books, both fiction and nonfiction. Her passion is to see the next generation of children become lovers of reading and learning in the midst of short attention spans.
11 Comments
I have learnt a lot on things i never knew about it was so awesome.
this post s really helpful for my essays thanks so much
I found this post to be informative and very helpful
Thanks Clarise, we’re so glad you found the post helpful! :)
Thanks for the info
you’re very welcome, we hope you found it helpful! :)
It ws usefull information. Thanks a lot.
After you write your first draft, refine and proofread your work to make sure you fix all grammatical and spelling errors.
Hi Sara, yes, it’s very important to proofread and self-edit essays before submitting them :)
I really find this guidelines helpful and I appreciate it
We’re glad you found the post helpful, Fatima! :)
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How to Write an Essay Introduction: Practical Tips to Improve your Writing
Published 17 Feb 2023
To create high-quality academic papers, learners should know their structure and have exceptional writing skills to produce a compelling essay introduction, body paragraph, and conclusion. The beginning of an essay is crucial, as it presents the author’s argument and tells the audience what to expect. Discover the basics of creating great essay introductions and writing tips to help you succeed in your assignments.
What is the introduction of an essay?
The first essay paragraph and the first thing readers will see in your paper is an essay introduction. What is the purpose of this section? It performs two functions:
- Informing the audience about what an author is going to tell in the article by presenting the essay topic and giving some idea about the essential points;
- Arousing interest and motivating to read the rest of the text.
There are five introduction requirements in the essay structure we will consider in detail below:
- an opening sentence (a hook) to draw the audience’s attention;
- background information related to the topic;
- a range of essential points that will be discussed in the essay;
- general information about time frames, settings, characters, etc.;
- a precise thesis statement reflecting the essential essay thought.
How long should an introduction be?
There are no strict rules applied to an introductory paragraph. Skilled writers recommend paying attention to the overall length of the essay before defining the introduction length. Thus, while creating a typical five-paragraph essay, it’s better to complete a brief opening clause that doesn’t exceed one paragraph. Still, for longer papers over 30 pages, the introduction can include numerous paragraphs and take up to several pages. On average, the essay introduction length is usually from 8 to 9% of the paper’s total word count.
The typical three parts of an introduction paragraph
There are three parts of an essay introduction: an essay hook, connections, and a thesis statement. Let’s analyze their meaning and features.
1. Essay hook.
It is the best starter for your introduction, focused on grabbing the audience’s attention. A good hook always consists of a single sentence and may include an impressive fact relevant to the topic, quote, question, anecdote, or summary. While working on this element, you should avoid clichés, generalizations, dictionary definitions, and abstract phrases that contain words like “always”, “everywhere”, etc.
Discover five hook types that are the best for catching the reader’s attention.
- Personal story;
Write several brief sentences about your life related to the topic, which will work as a great hook, especially in a narrative essay.
“When I gave birth to my first child, I suddenly realized the importance of having the possibility to work part-time from home. There are many benefits of part-time jobs for young mothers, not only for them.”
- Statistical data;
Delving into numbers is a great method to attract attention, especially when it comes to a persuasive essay.
“According to a recent study, part-time employees are 70% more satisfied with their work-life balance and 40% more likely to stay in the same position, even if they can get a higher salary working full time.”
- Common misconception;
A perfect method to interest readers is to tell them something they believe, but that is not true.
“Though many think part-time employees are less motivated and productive, this is not true. Due to work-life benefits, such workers are less tired than their colleagues and can work with increased productivity.”
This method is used in narrative and descriptive essays and makes readers imagine situations you’re telling them about.
“Imagine you could work from home 4 hours a day. You would have more free time to spend with your friends and family or enjoy your hobby.”
- Thesis statement;
It’s also possible to begin your essay directly with the main idea you want to convey to your readers.
“I agree that a person satisfied with life and job will work better.”
After choosing the best hook, you should explain your topic and lead your audience to specific points you will consider in the body of an essay.
2. Connections.
When the first sentences are ready and include a hook, it’s time to give your audience a better understanding of what you will analyze in your essay. In this part, you must list your essential points in the same order you’ll disclose in the body paragraph and move on to your thesis statement. In this part of your introduction, try to answer the following questions:
You'll deliver general information about your subject by answering these questions in several brief sentences. Then, move on to the thesis statement. Use an “upside-down triangle” method when a hook is at the top of your introduction; then, provide a larger explanation of the theme and end with a specific claim. Every following sentence from your introduction has to be narrower than the previous one. It allows you to lead your reader gradually to the central part of your essay.
3. Thesis statement.
This part of your essay introduction is the most important, as it provides your readers with a summary of your essay’s main idea that will be discussed in the body paragraph. A good thesis statement should be clear, accurate, and disclosed in one sentence at the end of your introductory section.
Steps to write an essay introduction
Step 1. Engage your reader.
Your essay beginning sets the tone for the whole paper. That’s why it’s necessary to put some effort into creating a good hook. Forget about using long, complicated sentences, common statements, and dry facts. You should also avoid dictionary definitions, especially for obvious terms. Instead, start with a concise, catchy hook that will arouse your reader’s curiosity.
Here is an example of a great hook for an essay about the Internet's impact on people:
“Now, the Internet has a world-changing effect: there is no need to rely on a local community to stay in touch with one another.”
Step 2. Give the background information.
Your audience should know the context to understand your topic and your thoughts better. Let’s see what type of context you may use:
- Geographical, historical, or social context;
- Definitions of essential terms;
- Some words about the debate you’re going to discuss;
- A summary of research and theories related to your topic.
Deliver your background information without too many details. Just mention some points without their interpretation and return to them later in the body of your essay. The volume of this section depends on the topic and the number of pages of the whole essay.
“The Internet facilitates a global dialogue by connecting people from all over the world. It has brought considerable societal changes, from economic development to cultural exchange. It has opened many new ways of communicating and thinking by giving access to endless sources of information.”
Step 3. Expose your thesis statement.
Now, you should narrow your focus and explain what you will say in the next section. The thesis statement is the most important part of your introduction. It has to include one or two sentences summarizing your argument and conveying your viewpoint.
“There are positive and negative effects of the Internet on society.”
Step 4. Draft your essay structure.
Take your time to think about the structure of an essay introduction. If you write an expanded research paper, it’s better to finish the opening paragraph by indicating what will be explained in each section of your work. After reading the introduction, the audience should clearly understand your argument's direction.
“This essay is focused on discussing the influence of the Internet on global society. First, it describes the role of the wide world web for people and the changes it has brought. Then, it explores the positive and negative impacts of the Internet on our lives.”
Step 5. Revise your text carefully.
When you learn new information, your research focus may change. That’s why a great solution is to take your time with your introductory paragraph until the whole work is done. Make some notes about your introduction and return to it when the body and conclusion are ready. In such a way, your first paragraph will best match the content of your essay.
On our website, you may also find practical recommendations on how to write a conclusion for an essay and the steps to take to produce an outstanding research paper.
Essay introduction samples for different essay types
Opening paragraphs usually have an identical structure, but their content may differ depending on the essay type and purpose. Discover some essay introduction examples for different essay types.
- Narrative introduction;
The essential purpose of an author is to tell a story. It comes with an intriguing hook. Every claim from the introduction should be related to the critical moments in the story and have an impact on the story’s outcome. Narrative writing also differs from other essay types by the thesis statement.
“In April 2010, John Bell found himself, at 40, divorced, with no home, no children, and alone in a tiny boat in the Atlantic Ocean. His mobile phone had stopped working, and he’d had no contact with people for weeks. He thought about how it had happened that he’d lost everything and had no idea what to do.”
- Personal introduction;
A personal essay is a creative nonfiction writing that presents the author’s reflections on their personal experience and tells about the lessons this experience taught. A question, relevant quote, or joke will be great hooks. Then, writers should briefly explain the story’s background and tell what they learned from these experiences.
“Can you tell me something about yourself?” It’s the most challenging question for me. Many people consider it an opportunity to share their achievements with others, but not me. Still, I would try to say some words about myself in the best way possible. I’ll begin with my background and student life, then tell you about who I am and how others see me.”
- Analytical introduction;
An analytical essay is focused on educating the audience about a particular subject. A great hook for this type is an informative sentence or rhetorical question, which gives the readers hints on the essay’s main point. In the middle of the paper, three pieces of information should confirm the thesis statement.
“What does it mean to be vegetarian? It’s widely accepted that a plant-based diet gives many benefits. Eating animal products carries considerable health risks, whereas a rich plant-based diet prevents and can even treat many modern diseases, including hypertension and cancer. Let’s see what advantages we get when removing animal products from our diet.”
- Persuasive introduction;
This type of paper is aimed at persuading readers of something. An interesting fact can serve as a perfect hook and the basis for further argumentation. Then, it’s time to deliver three supporting facts that will gradually lead the audience to the main topic. Completing a thesis statement requires summarizing the point of persuasion for the whole text.
“The popularity of online education is constantly growing due to its easy operation and convenience. Still, despite many advantages, the online study system has some disadvantages. In our essay, we’ll investigate the benefits students get from choosing virtual education.”
Writing tips to create a perfect introduction
Now you know how to write an essay introduction and have some examples to start working with. Discover the key recommendations on what to do and not to do when completing your introduction.
Do’s:
- Remember your research purpose, and make sure your opening paragraph corresponds to it.
- Express your creativity by using an engaging hook that will suit your topic and draw the reader’s attention from the first sentence.
- Be clear and precise to make your audience understand your point of view easily.
- If your essay contains complicated terms, explain them in the introduction.
- Show your expertise and subject knowledge.
- Give your audience a basic understanding of what you want to cover in your essay.
- Be concise and try to write a brief introduction that doesn’t exceed 8-9 % of the total length of your paper (for example, 80 words for an assignment of 1000 words).
- Write a compelling and engaging thesis statement.
- Verify whether your introductory part comes with a smooth and logical transition into the body paragraph.
- Don’t go overboard with background information in your opening section.
- Avoid including unnecessary phrases that are not related to the topic.
- Don’t make your first paragraph too expanded (unless your writing piece contains over 30 pages).
- Avoid revealing all things in the introduction. Readers love secrets; leave them something hidden to keep them engaged.
- Get rid of generalizations and clichés in your paper.
- Don’t include too many quotes in your essay.
- Avoid the usage of broad and unclear sentences.
Do you need writing help when creating an introduction? Hopefully, there is a great solution for you. Edubirdie is here to provide expert assistance. Due to our team, you’ll get to know how to write an introduction for an essay and achieve the best results. We’ll give you valuable recommendations, provide a good introduction sample and polish your content to perfection. Do not hesitate to send us your request; qualified writers will instantly cover all your writing needs.
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9 Easy Steps on How to Write an Essay 03/15/22
How to Write a Good Essay
Many college applications require an essay. This is a way for the school to learn a bit about the student. It also may help them make a decision about whether to extend an offer to attend the school based on the quality and content of the essay. For those who are planning to apply, there are a few things to keep in mind on how to write an essay.
What Is an Essay?
An essay for a college application often is a short few paragraphs of content that answers a question posed by the college admissions team. The use of an essay like this may allow the school to learn a bit about the student as well as the reason they wish to attend.
What is an essay itself? Essays are short pieces of content that provide information in a clear, easy-to-follow manner. What is essay format if asked for it? An essay format typically starts with an introduction, includes topic sentences, and offers a consolation that wraps up and makes a point.
Understand the Essay Prompt
What is an essay prompt? A college essay prompt is often a question or topic that the college administration wants the prospective student to write about in their essay. Some schools offer several options to choose from, while others have a single prompt question to answer.
Essay prompt examples may include:
- Share a story about a difficult time in your life and how you overcame the challenge.
- Talk about an instance in your life where you demonstrated personal growth.
- Who is a person you admire? Why?
- How do you approach challenges or solve problems?
- Where do you see yourself after college?
Write a Thesis Statement
How do you write a thesis statement for a college essay? Start with understanding the question being asked in the essay prompt. Then, create an answer to that question that wraps up your thoughts and feelings. A thesis statement should provide a direct answer to the topic in many cases. You then may expand on this answer in the essay, creating a point.
You may learn how to write a thesis statement by first creating a few notes about what your answer is to the prompt. Sometimes it is easier to create an outline and then a statement from it.
Make an Essay Outline
You may be able to find essay outline examples online that offer some great starting points. However, it is often beneficial to create your own based on the topic and your answer to it. To create a college essay outline, start with writing down a few topics that you want to address within the essay. Then, create a logical order for those topics, building an outline around the topic that leads from the thesis statement to your conclusion.
Begin with the Body, Write the Essay Introduction Later
Don’t start with the introduction. The introduction is where some students struggle, so to avoid getting bogged down, create the introduction later. This allows you to fully form your thoughts and ideas and come back and integrate the main ideas into your introduction.
Remember Your Paragraph Topic Sentence
What is a topic sentence? A topic sentence is the main point of each paragraph within your college essay. Each paragraph has one specific point or thought that is expanded on within the paragraph with supporting sentences to the topic sentence, in many cases. A topic sentence example may be, “One of the reasons I wish to pursue this college degree program is because I enjoy working with people.” From here, you may wish to provide examples of why or how you help people.
Why Do You Need to Use Credible Sources?
What makes a source credible? Credible sources are those that are typically respected as non-biased providers of information. Credible sources are often important in a college essay if you need to source facts and figures or specific information that comes from a specific organization. It may also help prove your argumentative essay and aids in providing backup for the statements made.
Write a Great Essay Conclusion
A great essay conclusion wraps up the entire piece. It should restate the thesis statement in a new way and add in some of the topic sentence statements that help prove or expand on the topic. Essay conclusion examples may show a round up of information from the entire piece but should not restate the entire essay again. Keep it short and to the point, summarizing what the essay included.
Proofread Essay
Reviewing is critical to creating a great essay. Some teachers won’t even finish reading essays if they’re not grammatically sound or riddled with spelling errors . Here are a few ways to make your essay or research paper more academically acceptable and better overall.
- Take out all conjunctions (aren’t, don’t, couldn’t, etc.). This may make your paper longer and more appropriate for academic writing.
- Print out your paper, read it, and mark it up. You may notice more errors when reading it this way than on a computer screen.
- Have friends or parents read it. A second set of eyes may catch any mistakes you missed.
- Read it out loud. This may help with grammar mistakes. If it sounds wrong, it probably is.
How to Write a Great Essay
Here are nine essay writing tips to create a great essay for either college, scholarship, or for your homework.
- Make sure you understand the topic you’re going to write about
- Write a strong, clear, concise thesis to set the tone/intent/direction
- Outline your thoughts and ideas in a rough draft
- Circle back to your introductory paragraph if it’s giving you a hard time
- Each paragraph needs a sentence to frame what it’s going to discuss
- Cite reputable sources and use these quotes to support your opinion
- Stay focused on the topic you clarified in step #1
- Finish by summing up the point you made and how you came to it
- Check for errors and to make sure your essay hits the nail on the head
Writers of all skill levels could find it a challenge to write an essay, especially on a subject they don’t know well. But the above writing tips could make the process a little easier and a lot less stressful. Use your writing skills to apply for scholarships. Check out our Scholarship Match to find scholarships that are optimal for you.
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Business Essay Topics Ideas to Write Successfully in 2023
What is a Business Essay
The business world is large and confusing. It is complex and works like a clockwork machine. People new to the game might find it a little exclusive and overwhelming, but becoming an internal part of their knowledge does not feel like a mission impossible as their knowledge grows.
Business essays provide vital information about different companies' business models and strategies or discuss theoretical ideas that could bring further success. They conclude and make recommendations. Its purpose is to inform and educate readers on a particular issue related to the business world.
An essay on business is a type of academic writing that tests a student's writing and analytical skills. A truly strong business essay requires extensive research and analysis of data to support arguments and provide evidence.
Such essays go beyond regular college papers. They can cover a wide range of topics, including marketing, finances, entrepreneurship, business law, international business essay topics, and more. In this article, our professional paper writers provide a list of thought-provoking business essay topics. Get inspired. Maybe an essay on business ethics is what will get you an A+ in class and have your readers excited and educated.
Proper Business Essay Format
It would not be a surprise to say that high-quality business papers need strong structure. A business essay format and its elements are somewhat familiar to every college student, but it's a lot more loaded with statistics and almost mathematical information.
The essential part of the business essay structure is a strong introduction. This is where you define the scope of your business essay by making a clear and concise thesis statement. Avoid vague or indicative language such as 'good,' 'bad,' and 'interesting,' provide direction for the rest of your essay, and set out to readers what you are reaching a conclusion for.
The next element of a business school essay is background information. Before discussing a certain company's marketing choices or strategic errors, you need to lay the ground for an argument. Provide background information/case study, so you and your readers are on the same page. The audience must be able to make their own conclusions based on the information you provide.
The most demanding and comprehensive part of the essay is the main body. Now your readers understand where you are coming from, it's time to start a discussion. Use paragraphs to separate arguments and their supporting evidence. Use the first sentence of each paragraph as a topic sentence and build the rest of the argument around it. By all means, avoid generalization. Everything you say should be supported by sound evidence. Statistics and numbers come in handy when trying to make a point in a business paper.
The conclusion for any essay is essentially the same. Make sure that you have arrived at the final destination fastest and most efficiently and that logical reasoning guides you all the way. Pull together all your discussion points throughout an essay and restate the thesis statement. Provide recommendations and suggest the areas of future research.
For the best tips on how to format an essay, check out our article on a Harvard format essay .
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How to Write a Business Essay in 5 Easy Steps
You might be overwhelmed with all the information you've just received, and it might seem like you'll never be able to get the job done, but that's not true. Through enough exercise, useful tips, and resilience, you will get through it.
Our experts from the essay writing service took on a challenge and came up with a 5 step guide on how to write a business essay. Take a look, become familiar with the idea, and you will start educating and instructing your audience in no time.
Choose a Related Business Essay Topic
Once you understand the requirements of your business essay, next you will need to choose a topic closest to your interests but also bring value to the business community.
Take your time and write down a list of possible topics. Think about them, categorize them, and prioritize. Ask yourself which is worth writing and which would be a pleasure to work on. The question is whether the topic is still relevant and what value it could bring to the readers.
Once you have identified the one that suits you the best, start writing only after you check it against your professor's requirements. Some topics are interesting to individuals but completely irrelevant to the context and requirements.
If you want inspiration, check out our business administration essay topics and choose the one closest to your interests. Our analytical essay example can help you better understand what information is necessary for business papers.
Conduct Thorough Research on Your Essay on Business
One of the most important but invisible steps to writing a powerful academic paper is prior research. After choosing the most fitting topic for a business school essay, start researching information about it.
Begin by gathering general information. Identify main themes and start collecting more data around them. After gathering sufficient material, narrow it down to the most relevant and check its credibility.
The research part is critical. Even though it's a work not visible, it holds everything together and guarantees reliability.
Before we move to the next step of our 'how to write a business essay' guide, if you need help with dissertation writing , our expert writers will get you the papers meeting the specific standards of any college.
Put Everything in a Business Essay Outline
Plan ahead. Take notes and plot for every stage. Imagine you are a painter. First, create an ideal image of what your paper should look like. This will give you direction and help gather your thoughts and ideas.
After creating an image in your head, start drafting on the paper. Create the rough contours and visualize how the information would look written down. If you feel like something is missing, feel those parts. If there is too much information that could overwhelm the reader and confuse them even more, remove it.
Think about the order of your arguments. Think about how you want your business essay to make people feel and assemble information to help you achieve your goal.
Creating a business essay structure takes almost no time but saves you hours spent going back to find missing information, rechecking facts, and wondering where to start. Create your own map and follow it.
Start the Initial Draft of Your Business Essay
If you've managed to choose one out of so many good business essay topics, did research, and have an outline, it's time to start drafting.
Submitting the first version is always wrong, but not believing in it is also a mistake. The first draft is necessary because it is a great way to build a business essay format and assess what kind of information you have and how they fit with one another.
Don't pressure yourself. There is no need for control. You can even use bad grammar. Just put pen to paper and get your first thoughts out of your head. This will give you clarity and direction. It's always easier to revise than create.
You can either throw the first draft away, or if you feel strongly about it, you can start polishing and making a business research paper out of it.
Spell Check and Revise Your Business Essay
If you think you are finished, you are not. The last step for every academic paper is revising and spell-checking.
Go over the text several times if necessary and make sure there are no grammatical errors. Even a single typo could make you lose credibility. The audience first reads the words and then gets the content; therefore, they notice the grammatical error way before they understand the meaning of it. Don't make an impression of a messy person. The readers don't like people who can't convey their ideas simply and error-freely.
Revise the text. Rewrite parts that need a little more polishing. Enrich those parts that lack information. You can create your own checklist to test your business essay structure and content.
Some of the questions that can help guide during the revision are listed below:
- Have you answered your thesis question?
- Are your arguments presented in a logical order?
- Are the arguments relevant?
- Have you achieved your goal?
- Is the essay on a business topic speaking to the right audience?
- Is the language understandable?
When the answer to all these questions is yes, you have written a successful business paper.
Business Essay Topics that Will Inspire You
Now that you know how to construct a compelling business paper and writing a business essay does not seem so challenging, you need a good idea to get started.
We know that choosing the best business essay topic is time-consuming. To help you get started on time, we have gathered a list of trending business essay topics. Scroll through them and find the one that meets your interests and requirements.
Argumentative Business Essay Topics
Below you will find the 10 most interesting business essay topics. Choose one from business argumentative essay topics and build an argumentative business report around it:
- Should companies prioritize corporate social responsibility over profits?
- Do unpaid internships create an unethical business environment?
- Is outsourcing jobs to developing countries beneficial for business?
- Is minimum wage affecting the labor market?
- Does every business leader need to develop entrepreneurial skills?
- Is globalization beneficial or harmful for international businesses?
- Should businesses be required to disclose their political donations?
- Is using industry-specific business terminologies necessary in business communication?
- Are unqualified business managers affecting the success of companies?
- Do coupon marketing strategies work? Exploring the pros and cons of offering discounts and promotions
Business Management Essay Topics
Here you can explore the most relevant business management essay topics that will inspire you to write a top-notch essay:
- How to optimize supply chain management for competitive advantage
- Navigating the changing landscape of workforce diversity: Challenges and opportunities in human resources management
- How do traditional HR and strategic HR management differ from one another?
- Business management in the age of disruption: how agility can drive success
- Ethical consideration in business management: balancing profit and social responsibility
- Developing effective global leadership: skills and knowledge necessary to lead diverse groups
- Foreign business relations: Managing cross-cultural communication
- Vital tools for business management: Solving world business epidemics through collaborative and innovative solutions
- Managing global businesses: The challenges and opportunities of operating across borders
- Why business strategy matters: Examining the importance of strategic planning
Persuasive Essay Topics for Business Administration
If your college professor wants innovative business essay ideas, check out our list of persuasive essay topics for business administration:
- Managing international companies: the challenges of administering different cultural, political, and economic environments
- Equal employment opportunity balance: exploring the history of policies and practices that promote inclusion and equality in workplaces
- Ensuring global business safety: Best practices for managing risk and security in international business operations
- Learning from business failures: Analyzing the causes, effects, and lessons learned from failed businesses
- Managing virtual companies: Strategies and best practices for building, leading and operating successful virtual teams
- Optimizing human resource management: Exploring strategies and best practices for recruiting and retaining
- The impact of social media on business administration
- The role of business managers in today's corporate landscape: Analyzing the key skills and competencies
- The art of business communication: Examining effective strategies for communicating with stakeholders
- The challenges and opportunities of international business: Identifying strategies for success in Business Administration
Business Ethics Essay Topics
Ethical issues in the business environment make for a great business essay topic. For inspiration, check out our 10 advanced business ethics essay topics:
- Do social media platforms create new ethical issues for the business environment?
- Exploring the foundations of business ethics: examining the key theories and principles that guide ethical decision-making.
- The importance of business ethics: Exploring the role of ethics in corporate culture
- Ethical dilemmas in health and beauty companies: Maintaining ethical standards while meeting consumer demands
- The ethics of online advertising: Analyzing the impact of targeted advertising on consumer privacy
- The ethics of big players: large supermarkets killing local businesses
- The ethical dilemmas of social media platforms: Identifying strategies for ensuring ethical practices in business management
- Teaching ethics in business education
- Corporate social responsibility and business ethics: Exploring the relationship between ethical business practices and social responsibility
- The importance of ethical standards for international companies
Business Law Essay Topics
If you are interested in both law and business, explore the 10 most demanded business law essay topics:
- The ethics of business formation laws: Balancing corporate interests with societal needs
- The impact of business laws on the success of small businesses
- Navigating the complexities of business laws: Challenges and opportunities for modern Enterprises
- Business contract law: Navigating complex agreements and mitigating legal risks
- Ensuring transparency and accuracy in financial reporting: The role of accounting and auditing process in business law
- Why companies demand signing contracts: The importance of contract law
- Legal business analysis: Balancing legal and business considerations in complex corporate transactions
- Navigating the legal landscape of international business: Pros and cons of global enterprises
- The Intersection of business law and social media: Navigating legal risks and opportunities in the digital age
- Business law in the global arena: small vs. international business
Good Business Essay Example
If you are one of those college students that don't find a list of business essays enough and often say, 'I wish someone could write my college essay ,' you've come to the right place. Our professional writers have done it for you. In the next section, you can explore a business essay example.
Extra Academic Help
So, to write an engaging business management essay, you need a clear thesis statement, an interesting topic, and a clear structure and outline. This article provides a step-by-step guide on how to reach the audience when writing about a business topic.
If you find yourself grappling with academic assignments and could use some assistance, our team of skilled writers is here to provide you with a custom essay write service . We can customize your paper to meet your unique requirements, ensuring it aligns perfectly with your academic goals. With our help, you'll be able to soar ahead in your academic career and achieve success.
Ready to Take Your Writing to the Next Level?
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How to Write a Powerful Personal Statement
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One of the essential parts of the college application process is writing a personal statement. A good personal statement is an opportunity to show your uniqueness and convince your chosen university that you are the best candidate and deserve their offer.
Not only ‘hard factors’ like your grades and test scores are important for getting into college, but also some ‘soft factors’ like recommendations, extracurricular activities, and essays.
According to NACAC’s most recent College Admission Report , a personal statement is the key soft factor considered by colleges. Since this is your only chance to make a first impression on admission officers, your statement should be truly outstanding.
Your personal statement is a source of information about your personality, the way you communicate with others, your level of motivation, and your ability to follow instructions.
An impressive personal statement can have a huge positive impact on your application, while a poorly written essay can lower your chances of being admitted.
That is the reason why you should not take your personal statement lightly and you need to put a lot of effort into creating an amazing cover letter.
How do you write a strong personal statement?
The following methodology ensures that you still have all the necessary aspects when writing a personal statement and also makes each sentence as accurate as possible;
- Write a personal introduction.
- Broaden your relevant skills, interests, and experience.
- Write a very strong conclusion.
- Review and editing.
- Personal statement of employment.
What is a good personal statement?
For example, describe how your career or graduation decisions were influenced by a family member or personal moment. Keep it short: Essays are usually limited to 250-500 words or one typed page. Statements should be concise, clear, and detailed. Focus on a single idea in each paragraph.
How should your personal statement end?
How to finish your personal statement: what to write
- Relate it to what you have written above.
- Talk about the future.
- Your college experience.
- Take a break and get back to it.
- Reread what you wrote.
- No waffles.
- Take notes as you type.
- What do your UCAS options have in common?
What should a 500-word personal statement include?
For example, describe how a family member or personal moment influenced your career or title decisions. Keep it short: Essays are usually limited to 250-500 words or one typed page. Statements should be concise, clear, and detailed. Focus each paragraph on a single idea.
What should you not say in a personal statement?
Students are supposed to avoid big mistakes;
- For a topic that isn’t quite right, write a personal statement.
- Spelling and grammatical errors.
- Avoid exuberant vocabulary and nonsensical clichés.
- Listing extracurricular activities endlessly.
- Excessive use of quotes or misquotes in general.
Steps to writing a powerful personal statement
If writing essays isn’t your strong suit, you may need professional help. But still, if you’re going to write a good personal statement yourself, break this challenging task into smaller, more manageable steps. Don’t forget to include all the essential components in your essay and complete them step by step as described below.
# 1. Powerful introduction
Your presentation should perfectly reflect your personality. You must clearly explain why you are interested in a certain degree and, if applicable, your relevant experience with the course topics. To encourage the recipient of your personal statement to read on, start with words that show who you are and describe the most relevant aspects of your personality and interests. The introduction should be a full paragraph.
# 2. Description of skills and interests
The body of your personal statement should contain detailed information about your relevant knowledge, skills, and interests. Mention as many details as possible that relate to the course you are applying for, such as your awards, certificates, or even work experience if you have any. Describe your talents and values that are relevant to the program. Write about your academic achievements and explain how a chosen course can help you achieve your life goals.
#3. Come to a solid conclusion
Create a conclusion that leaves a strong positive impression on the admissions officer. Reinforce how the course can help you in your future career and briefly summarize the main points in the body of the statement. Don’t forget to describe the connection between your skills or achievements and your future college contributions. The conclusion should clearly reiterate the reason you applied and what you want to achieve. Show all your enthusiasm for studying at a chosen university so that your candidacy is taken seriously.
#4. Proofreading
Once your personal statement is finished, proofread it properly. Read it out loud to hear how it sounds overall, and edit if necessary. Typically, there may be the following areas for improvement: clear writing, easy-to-understand language, relevance, and specificity. Pay close attention to these aspects as you review your essay, as they are the most important. Also, you can ask your friend or teacher to read your personal statement and give you feedback. This way, you will have an objective understanding of what should be changed in a better way.
To get the most out of your personal statement, follow the tips below:
- To make your essay feel more personal, write in your own voice. It means that you must use your own words to describe your talents. Still, use a professional tone and provide only relevant information.
- Make your personal statement clear and effective by keeping it simple. Use short sentences and simple language.
- Make your writing sound positive. Try to show your enthusiasm for future study and show your gratitude for being considered.
- Stay unique by describing what sets you apart from other applicants. Include specific details about yourself and give plenty of examples to support them.
What you should know
The best universities always ask applicants for a personal statement detailing their suitability for a degree program. Presenting a compelling personal statement is a great opportunity to highlight your talents at a university. A strong personal statement gives you a huge advantage over your competitors and increases your chances of being enrolled, especially if you’re looking for scholarship opportunities .
To make the writing process easier, create a draft and include in it all the ideas you need to mention. It will help you perfectly structure your personal statement. Don’t rush and take your time to complete the final version, as sometimes it pays to take a break to create a great piece. Try to make your essay sound professional and fancy by using fancy words and expressions. And of course, focus on your strengths!
The most important thing when writing a personal statement is to be yourself and honestly describe your personality. Use this essay to show who you really are and why the university might be interested in you. Although tackling a personal statement can be the most confusing part of a college application, it’s a great opportunity to persuade an admissions officer that your institution is worth studying at.
We also recommend reading the following:
- An Overview of All the Documents You’d Need for A Successful Scholarship
- $18,000 Undergraduate Scholarship at Brock University, Canada 2023
- Why study Business Administration at ASA College?
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Steps in Writing a Good Essay
Writing a good essay for a term paper or a research paper or for any other paper is of primary importance inside the class. The chief aim for all assignments set by the class teacher is to assess the students. The teacher needs to know how much of the taught portion has made sense to the students. He also needs to know whether the student is capable of applying the taught principles, in situations outside what has been taught in class. An essay assignment also tests the writing skills of the students and also checks whether they can express themselves well with a pen and paper. It also shows the teacher how much effort and research work the student has put into the given assignment. So whether you are writing about ‘Shakespeare’, or if you are writing about the ‘failure of dental implants’, your chief aim should be to show how well you have researched, analysed and expressed yourself on the given topic
Writing an academic essay involves many steps. It starts with choosing a good writing topic. This is a vital part in the whole process of essay writing. Always choose a topic that you find to be interesting and stimulating. Check whether there are available material to work on. It would not be advisable to choose a topic that is obscure, with not much previous research work done on it. Similarly a topic that has too much information, might also pose to be a problem. It may confuse the writer, and he may not be able to decide on what material to sieve out. So choose a topic that is interesting to both the writer and reader alike, but not too commonplace.
The next criteria would be to understand the topic very well. Check on all the details of the assigned paper, so that in future while working on it you do not lose focus. Clearly understand and define the topic and from here form the thesis. A thesis statement is important to understand the direction of the research paper. A complete understanding of the assigned topic is thus essential to write a good essay paper. Once the assigned topic has been clearly defined you can start your research work to find relevant material on it.
The next important step would be to read on the topic. It is essential for the writer to find as much as information as possible. Read books, magazines and other related articles. Browse the internet to find relevant information. Be careful while collecting information, and filter all your resources. Check all resources for their authenticity and reliability. Once you have gathered enough reliable information, it will then be necessary to analyse them. Analyse, understand and sieve out the facts that are unimportant.
Make an essay outline before writing the final paper. An outline will help you to keep focus and not lose direction. Do not forget to cite your paper correctly. There are certain fixed essay formats to be followed while essay writing. Find out from your instructor which one suits your assignment best and stick to that format. After writing your paper do not forget to proof read and edit. It will help you to submit a 100% error free paper.
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- What is an essay?
What makes a good essay?
Typical essay structure, 7 steps to writing a good essay, a step-by-step guide to writing a good essay.
Whether you are gearing up for your GCSE coursework submissions or looking to brush up on your A-level writing skills, we have the perfect essay-writing guide for you. 💯
Staring at a blank page before writing an essay can feel a little daunting . Where do you start? What should your introduction say? And how should you structure your arguments? They are all fair questions and we have the answers! Take the stress out of essay writing with this step-by-step guide – you’ll be typing away in no time. 👩💻
What is an essay?
Generally speaking, an essay designates a literary work in which the author defends a point of view or a personal conviction, using logical arguments and literary devices in order to inform and convince the reader.
So – although essays can be broadly split into four categories: argumentative, expository, narrative, and descriptive – an essay can simply be described as a focused piece of writing designed to inform or persuade. 🤔
The purpose of an essay is to present a coherent argument in response to a stimulus or question and to persuade the reader that your position is credible, believable and reasonable. 👌
So, a ‘good’ essay relies on a confident writing style – it’s clear, well-substantiated, focussed, explanatory and descriptive . The structure follows a logical progression and above all, the body of the essay clearly correlates to the tile – answering the question where one has been posed.
But, how do you go about making sure that you tick all these boxes and keep within a specified word count? Read on for the answer as well as an example essay structure to follow and a handy step-by-step guide to writing the perfect essay – hooray. 🙌
Sometimes, it is helpful to think about your essay like it is a well-balanced argument or a speech – it needs to have a logical structure, with all your points coming together to answer the question in a coherent manner. ⚖️
Of course, essays can vary significantly in length but besides that, they all follow a fairly strict pattern or structure made up of three sections. Lean into this predictability because it will keep you on track and help you make your point clearly. Let’s take a look at the typical essay structure:
#1 Introduction
Start your introduction with the central claim of your essay. Let the reader know exactly what you intend to say with this essay. Communicate what you’re going to argue, and in what order. The final part of your introduction should also say what conclusions you’re going to draw – it sounds counter-intuitive but it’s not – more on that below. 1️⃣
Make your point, evidence it and explain it. This part of the essay – generally made up of three or more paragraphs depending on the length of your essay – is where you present your argument. The first sentence of each paragraph – much like an introduction to an essay – should summarise what your paragraph intends to explain in more detail. 2️⃣
#3 Conclusion
This is where you affirm your argument – remind the reader what you just proved in your essay and how you did it. This section will sound quite similar to your introduction but – having written the essay – you’ll be summarising rather than setting out your stall. 3️⃣
No essay is the same but your approach to writing them can be. As well as some best practice tips, we have gathered our favourite advice from expert essay-writers and compiled the following 7-step guide to writing a good essay every time. 👍
#1 Make sure you understand the question
#2 complete background reading.
#3 Make a detailed plan
#4 Write your opening sentences
#5 flesh out your essay in a rough draft, #6 evidence your opinion, #7 final proofread and edit.
Now that you have familiarised yourself with the 7 steps standing between you and the perfect essay, let’s take a closer look at each of those stages so that you can get on with crafting your written arguments with confidence .
This is the most crucial stage in essay writing – r ead the essay prompt carefully and understand the question. Highlight the keywords – like ‘compare,’ ‘contrast’ ‘discuss,’ ‘explain’ or ‘evaluate’ – and let it sink in before your mind starts racing . There is nothing worse than writing 500 words before realising you have entirely missed the brief . 🧐
Unless you are writing under exam conditions , you will most likely have been working towards this essay for some time, by doing thorough background reading. Re-read relevant chapters and sections, highlight pertinent material and maybe even stray outside the designated reading list, this shows genuine interest and extended knowledge. 📚
#3 Make a detailed plan
Following the handy structure we shared with you above, now is the time to create the ‘skeleton structure’ or essay plan. Working from your essay title, plot out what you want your paragraphs to cover and how that information is going to flow. You don’t need to start writing any full sentences yet but it might be useful to think about the various quotes you plan to use to substantiate each section. 📝
Having mapped out the overall trajectory of your essay, you can start to drill down into the detail. First, write the opening sentence for each of the paragraphs in the body section of your essay. Remember – each paragraph is like a mini-essay – the opening sentence should summarise what the paragraph will then go on to explain in more detail. 🖊️
Next, it's time to write the bulk of your words and flesh out your arguments. Follow the ‘point, evidence, explain’ method. The opening sentences – already written – should introduce your ‘points’, so now you need to ‘evidence’ them with corroborating research and ‘explain’ how the evidence you’ve presented proves the point you’re trying to make. ✍️
With a rough draft in front of you, you can take a moment to read what you have written so far. Are there any sections that require further substantiation? Have you managed to include the most relevant material you originally highlighted in your background reading? Now is the time to make sure you have evidenced all your opinions and claims with the strongest quotes, citations and material. 📗
This is your final chance to re-read your essay and go over it with a fine-toothed comb before pressing ‘submit’. We highly recommend leaving a day or two between finishing your essay and the final proofread if possible – you’ll be amazed at the difference this makes, allowing you to return with a fresh pair of eyes and a more discerning judgment. 🤓
If you are looking for advice and support with your own essay-writing adventures, why not t ry a free trial lesson with GoStudent? Our tutors are experts at boosting academic success and having fun along the way. Get in touch and see how it can work for you today. 🎒
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- How to Write a College Essay
College admissions experts offer tips on selecting a topic as well as writing and editing the essay.
Students can go online to review essay requirements for the colleges they want to apply to, such as word limits and essay topics. Many students may start with the Common App, an application platform accepted by more than 900 schools. (Getty Images)
Not only is the college essay a place to showcase writing skills, it's one of the only parts of a college application where a student's voice can shine through.
Unlike test scores and transcripts, the college admissions essay offers students a chance to showcase their personality.
"The essays are important in part because this is a student's chance to really speak directly to the admissions office," says Adam Sapp, assistant vice president and director of admissions at Pomona College in California.
Prospective college students want their essay, sometimes called a personal statement, to make a good impression and boost their chances of being accepted, but they have only several hundred words to make that happen.
This can feel like a lot of pressure.
"I think this is the part of the application process that students are sometimes most challenged by," says Niki Barron, associate dean of admission at Hamilton College in New York, "because they're looking at a blank piece of paper and they don't know where to get started."
That pressure may be amplified as many colleges have gone test-optional in the past year, meaning that ACT and SAT scores will be considered if submitted but are not required. Other schools have gone test-blind and don't consider such scores at all. In the absence of test scores, some admissions experts have suggested that more attention will be paid to other parts of an application, such as the essay.
But just as each applicant is unique, so are college admissions policies and priorities.
"Being test optional hasn't changed how we use essays in our selection process, and I wouldn't say that the essay serves as a substitute for standardized test scores," Barron wrote in an email. "A student's academic preparation for our classroom experience is always front and center in our application review process."
Essay writing tips offered by experts emphasize the importance of being concise, coherent, congenial, honest and accurate. An applicant should also flex some intellectual muscle and include vivid details or anecdotes.
From brainstorming essay topics to editing the final draft, here's what students need to know about crafting a strong college essay.
Step-by-Step Guide to Writing a College Application Essay
- 1. Explore essay prompts and select a topic.
- 2. Start your college essay outline before jumping in.
- 3. Write the essay and leave time for multiple drafts.
- 4. Edit and proofread your essay.
- 5. Submit your essay.
Getting Started on the College Essay
A good time for students to begin working on their essays is the summer before senior year, experts say, when homework and extracurricular activities aren't taking up time and mental energy.
Starting early will also give students plenty of time to work through multiple drafts of an essay before college application deadlines, which can be as early as November for students applying for early decision or early action .
Students can go online to review essay requirements for the colleges they want to apply to, such as word limits and essay topics. Many students may start with the Common App , an application platform accepted by more than 900 schools.
In addition to the main essay, some colleges ask applicants to submit one or more additional writing samples. Students are often asked to explain why they are interested in a particular school or academic field in these supplemental essays , which tend to be shorter than the main essay.
Students will want to budget more time for the writing process if the schools they're applying to ask for supplemental essays.
"Most selective colleges will ask for more than one piece of writing. Don't spend all your time working on one long essay and then forget to devote energy to other parts of the application," Sapp says, noting there may be additional questions on an application requiring thoughtfully written responses.
How Long Should a College Essay Be?
Though the Common App – which students can submit to multiple colleges – notes that "there are no strict word limits" for its main essay, it suggests a cap of about 650 words.
"While we won't as a rule stop reading after 650 words, we cannot promise that an overly wordy essay will hold our attention for as long as you'd hoped it would," the Common App website states.
The word count is much shorter for institution-specific supplemental essays, which are typically around 250 words.
How to Pick a College Essay Topic
The first and sometimes most daunting step in the essay writing process is figuring out what to write about.
There are usually several essay prompts to choose from on a college application. They tend to be broad, open-ended questions, giving students the freedom to write about a wide array of topics, Barron says.
The essay isn't a complete autobiography, notes Mimi Doe, co-founder of Top Tier Admissions, a Massachusetts-based advising company. "It's overwhelming to think of putting your whole life in one essay," she says.
Rather, experts say students should narrow their focus and write about a specific experience, hobby or quirk that reveals something personal, like how they think, what they value or what their strengths are. Students can also write about something that illustrates an aspect of their background. Even an essay on a common topic can be compelling if done right.
Students don't have to discuss a major achievement in their essay, a common misconception. Admissions officers who spoke with U.S. News cited memorable essays that focused on more ordinary topics, including fly-fishing, a student's commute to and from school and a family's dining room table.
What's most important, experts say, is that a college essay is thoughtful and tells a story that offers insight into who a student is as a person.
So, no matter what topic students choose, they'll ultimately be writing about themselves, says Ethan Sawyer, founder of the College Essay Guy website, which offers free and paid essay-writing resources. "What we think of as the topic is just the frame or the lens that we're using to get into other parts of you."
If students are having trouble brainstorming potential topics , they can ask friends or family members for help, says Stephanie Klein Wassink, founder of Winning Applications and AdmissionsCheckup, Connecticut-based college admissions advising companies. Wassink says students can ask peers or family members questions such as, "What do you think differentiates me?" Or, "What are my quirks?"
The essay should tell college admissions officers something they don't already know, experts say. Students should ensure they're writing about something that isn't mentioned elsewhere in their application, perhaps in the activities section, or expand greatly on the topic if it is noted elsewhere.
Writing the College Essay
Some experts encourage students to outline their essay before jumping into the actual writing.
But there isn't one correct way of doing things, says Sara Newhouse, senior consultant at Enrollment Research Associates and former vice president for admission and financial planning at Birmingham-Southern College in Alabama.
"Your writing process is your own," she says. Newhouse encourages students to use whatever process worked for them in the past when they completed writing assignments for English and other high school classes.
The first draft of an essay doesn't need to be perfect. "Just do a brain dump," Doe says. "Don't edit yourself, just lay it all out on the page."
If students are having a hard time getting started, they should focus on their opening sentence, Doe suggests. She says an essay's opening sentence, or hook, should grab the reader's attention.
Doe offered an example of a strong hook from the essay of a student she worked with:
"I first got into politics the day the cafeteria outlawed creamed corn."
"I want to know about this kid," she says. "I’m interested."
But Sawyer cautions that students shouldn't get so caught up in writing the perfect hook that they neglect the rest of their essay. He also says he's read some essays that were excellent overall, even though they had what he would consider mundane hooks.
Editing and Submitting the College Essay
While admissions officers try to learn about students via the essay, they are also gauging writing skills, so students want to make sure they submit top-notch work.
"The best writing is rewriting," Sapp says. "You should never be giving me your first draft."
When reviewing a first essay draft, students should make sure their writing is showing, not telling, Doe says. This means students should show their readers examples that prove they embody certain traits or beliefs, as opposed to just stating that they do.
After editing their essay, students should seek outside editing help, experts recommend. While there are individuals and companies that offer paid essay help – from editing services to essay-writing boot camps – students and families may not be able to afford the associated fees.
However, there may be options to defray the costs. Sawyer, for example, says he offers scholarships to students from low-income families that cover the cost of one-on-one essay consultations.
The availability of and level of feedback from free essay advising services vary. Some college prep companies offer brief consultations at no charge. Free essay workshops may also be available through local high schools, public libraries or community organizations. Khan Academy, a free online education platform, also offers a series of videos and other content to guide students through the essay writing process.
Colleges themselves may also have resources, Barron notes, pointing to pages on Hamilton's website that offer writing tips as well as examples of successful admissions essays. Likewise, Hamilton also holds virtual panel discussions on writing admissions essays.
Students have other options when it comes to essay help. They can ask peers, teachers, school counselors and family members for help polishing an essay.
Newhouse says it works well to have other people proofread an essay in two stages. The first stage focuses on content. Readers should look for information gaps in the essay – anything they are confused about. Once the content is nailed down, the second proofing stage focuses on style, including grammar, punctuation and spelling.
But proofreaders should not change the tone of the essay. "Don't let anyone edit out your voice," Doe cautions.
And while proofreading is fair game, having someone else rewrite your essay is not.
When an essay is ready to go, students will generally submit it online along with the rest of their application. On the Common App, for example, students copy and paste their essay into a text box.
Sapp says even though students often stress about the essay in particular, it's not the only thing college admissions officers look at. "The essay is the window, but the application is the house," he says. "So let's not forget that an application is built of many pieces."
Strong College Essay Examples
Below are two examples of strong essays written by students accepted into Johns Hopkins University in Maryland.
"This is a personal statement, so what works in these essays works because of who the student is and how it fits into the rest of his or her application," notes Ellen Kim, dean of undergraduate admissions at Johns Hopkins.
Hover over the circles along the sides of the letters to read more about what worked.
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Great essay writing in 8 steps
(Last updated: 12 May 2021)
Since 2006, Oxbridge Essays has been the UK’s leading paid essay-writing and dissertation service
We have helped 10,000s of undergraduate, Masters and PhD students to maximise their grades in essays, dissertations, model-exam answers, applications and other materials. If you would like a free chat about your project with one of our UK staff, then please just reach out on one of the methods below.
Can great essay writing really be condensed down into just 8 steps? Well, whilst it's true that there is a lot that goes into academic writing of any kind, these top takeaways are a great place to start if you want to improve your essay writing.
To some, essay writing comes naturally. But for many, knowing how to answer an essay question in a way that will score high marks is something that must be learnt, and practised regularly. You can take comfort in knowing too that, once you learn how to write a great essay, you can apply the same techniques and formulas to almost any piece of academic writing, whether it's a standard essay, a reflective essay, a dissertation or thesis, a course assignment, coursework or something else.
So without further ado, let's dive in and learn the eight steps to writing an essay.
1. Understand the question
This may, at the face of it, sound like somewhat banal advice – but fact of the matter is that failing to properly understand the question set is one of, if not the most common reason behind a disappointing grade when it comes to essay writing. Are you being asked to critically evaluate something ? Compare and contrast? Analyse a particular circumstance? Evaluate the usefulness of a particular concept?
These are some of the common phrases found in essay questions, and each indicates a different set of expectations. If you are asked to critically evaluate a particular theoretical approach, for instance, you have to gain an understanding not only of said theory, but also other common approaches. They must all be weighed against each other, highlighting the relative strengths and weaknesses of each theory and, importantly, you must come to a well-justified and confident conclusion. Is the theory good? What are its flaws? How can it be improved?
If you are asked to evaluate the usefulness of something, however, you don’t necessarily need to go into as much critical depth. Yes, you should still acknowledge alternative approaches, and yes, you should still note some strengths and weaknesses – but the bulk of the work must emphasise the concepts practical usefulness. Perhaps the best approach is to find one, or a few, case studies where the theory has been used – what was the outcome of this? Does the application of the theory reveal any particular shortcomings, or strengths?
“Compare and contrast” essays , meanwhile, are essentially a hybrid of the above – you need to take a critical approach and evaluate the literature, but your focus has to remain solidly on the theories that you have been asked to compare and contrast. It is important to show that you understand both (or all) core theories in great depth, both on a theoretical and applied level.
In essence, the wording of the essay question will tell you how the essay should be written. It will indicate where the focus of your essay should lie as you research and write.
2. Plan and schedule
Understanding the question is the first step, but it is equally important that you make efficient use of the available time. Students often underestimate the amount of work required to write a good essay, which results in two things: (1) late nights at the library, and (2) a disappointing grade. If you want to achieve a good mark, you should start planning your essay the moment you receive the essay question. The following table may be a useful aid:
By setting deadlines for yourself and committing to stick to them, you are ensuring that you won’t be left with too much work right before your hand-in date. It is also important that you leave time, ideally a couple of days, between finishing your first draft and proofreading.
3. Read widely
Writing may be the core task, but reading is equally important. Before you start writing your essay, you should conduct a broad search for relevant literature . Learning how to sift through a large amount of data is an important academic skill. You should start by searching through databases – Google Scholar is a great tool for this – using key words related to your research topic. Once you find an article that sounds promising, read through the abstract to ensure that it’s relevant.
If you are still not a hundred percent sure, it is usually a good idea to skip to the conclusion – this usually contains a detailed summary of the study, which will help determine whether you should read the article as a whole. You don’t want to waste time reading through and endless number of articles simply to find that they aren’t actually relevant. Once you have identified a few solid articles, you should (a) go through their bibliographies and take note of who they are citing, as these articles will likely be of value for your own research; and (b) check on Google Scholar to see who has cited them. To do this, simply input the name of the article in the search bar and hit enter. In the results, click “cited by” – this will return a list of all of the articles that have cited the publication you searched for.
It’s important that you don’t rely too heavily on one or a couple of texts, as this indicates to the marker that you haven’t engaged with the wider literature. You should be particularly careful in using course books (i.e. “introduction to management” and the like), as these are essentially summaries of other people’s work.
4. Be critical
Perfect theories and academic approaches are rare – the clear majority of theories, arguments, and studies have flaws. Being descriptive is fine if you are looking to scrape a pass, but for a higher grade you need to show that you are able to leverage critical reasoning in your dealing with academic materials. What are the limitations of the theories you are drawing on? How have these been dealt with in the literature? How do they impact the quality of arguments presented, and to what extent do they limit our understanding of what you are studying? What alternate explanations might offer additional depth?
Critical thinking is what will make your essay stand out. It shows the marker that you are not simply repeating the arguments that have been fed to you throughout your studies, but actually engaging with theories in an academic manner. A good way to practice this is to pay careful attention when reading literature reviews in published articles – you will see that authors don’t simply summarise previous studies, but offer a critique leading to a gap for their own research.
5. Structure, flow and focus
How you present your argument is nearly as important as the argument itself, which is why it is imperative that your essay follows a logical structure. A classic piece of advice is to "tell them what you are going to tell them, then tell them, and tell them what you told them". This, in essence, summarises the core introduction, main body, and conclusion structure of your essay.
Having a clear and logical structure will help ensure that your essay stays focused, and doesn’t stray from the question being answered. Each section, paragraph, and sentence should add value to the argument you are presenting. As you are writing, it’s good to take a step back and ask yourself: what value does this sentence/section add? How does it link to my overarching argument? If you find that you can’t answer those questions, there is a high risk that you have strayed from your core argument, and you may want to reconsider the path you are taking.
You should also make sure that all the different parts of your essay fit together as a cohesive and logical whole, and that the transition from one argument to the next is fluid. Students often treat essays as lists of arguments, presenting one after the other with little consideration for how they fit together, which inevitably leads to a lower grade. Make sure to tell your reader why you are transitioning from one argument to the next, why they are in this particular order, and how each argument helps shed light on a particular aspect of what you are discussing.
6. Quoting, paraphrasing and plagiarism
Academic writing requires a careful balance between novel argument, and drawing on arguments presented by others. Writing a completely 'novel' essay, without drawing on a single source, indicates that you haven’t made yourself familiar with what has already been published. Conversely, citing someone for every point made suggests that you haven’t produced a novel argument.
As such, it is important that you provide evidence (a credible citation) when you are making a statement of fact, or drawing on arguments, frameworks, and theories presented by other academics. These, in turn, should support the overarching novel argument that you yourself are making.
When drawing on other authors it is important to understand the distinction between quoting and paraphrasing. The general rule of thumb is that you should paraphrase wherever possible, and quote only when necessary or if it clarifies the point you are making. That said, paraphrasing can be difficult without losing the inherit value of the argument presented.
In case you are unsure about the difference between quoting and paraphrasing, we’ve included an example below:
Quote: "Cultural capital can be acquired, to a varying extent, depending on the period, the society, and the social class, in the absence of any deliberate inculcation, and therefore quite unconsciously" (Bourdieu, 1986: 18).
Paraphrase: Unlike economic capital, the amassing of which requires some conscious effort, cultural capital can be built simply by existing and consuming (Bourdieu, 1986).
Both the quoted and the paraphrased versions carry essentially the same meaning, with the exception that paraphrasing shows slightly wider knowledge of Bourdieu (through mentioning another form of capital), and presents an argument that, while true to the writings of Bourdieu, better fits the overall argument.
Properly citing the sources upon which you draw also ensures that you will not be accused of plagiarism, which is a serious offence in academia. In fact, repeated and grievous plagiarism can lead to the suspension of your studies at the majority of academic institutions!
7. Find a 'study buddy'
Having a similarly ambitious 'study buddy' is often undervalued by students, but the synergy achieved by working together can help both of you achieve considerably higher grades. It is important to note that you shouldn’t write your essays together, nor necessarily agree on the approach to be taken beforehand, as this leads to the risk of submitting two papers that are too similar – again linking back to the issue of plagiarism.
Instead, you should exchange essays with each other once you are both done with the first draft. It is immensely difficult to proofread your own work – one goes blind to minor grammatical issues in a text after reading it repeatedly for days on end. It is similarly easy to overlook gaps in flow and logic of argument. Having a friend read through the work will address both of these issues, assuming that they, too, are high achieving.
8. Write academically
Another common issue – particularly amongst first and second-year undergraduates – is that they tend to use rather non-academic language:
In this essay I will look at how people who buy art use cultural capital. My theory is that having more cultural capital will change their taste in art, as they are able to understand the pieces differently to other people.
Examples such as the above are unfortunately rather common, and should give you a good idea of what to avoid. The sentiment behind the text is good, but it reads more like a second-rate blog post than an academic essay. Academic writing should be more formal , concise, unbiased and include good use of rhetoric. As for the above example, an academic might instead write:
This essay explores the role of cultural capital in the consumption of art, and the impact of cultural capital on consumers’ perception of artistic expressions.
You will note that this second example is far more concise yet none of the meaning is lost. It also uses present (rather than future) tense, and avoids informal terms. Clear, concise, and precise language is a hallmark of academic writing.
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- Essay on Muslim
Good Essay About Loud Steps Of Revival
Type of paper: Essay
Topic: Muslim , Islam , Religion , Middle East , Church , Europe , People , World
Words: 1400
Published: 03/08/2023
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Muslims, who are known for their particular patriotism and devotion to the tradition of their country, have suffered too much nowadays from national oppressions. It is clear, that since the death of the prophet Muhammad, the Muslim society has not been completely formed. Thus, his “people”, in order to retrieve a Homeland of their own or, at least, a society, have made many attempts throughout history. Each one, usually, was followed by the chosen one - the Messiah, who was likely to be the savior of the nation (Maudoodi, Ahmad & Ansari, 1979). The wave of Islamic revival has swept through the countries of traditional spread of Islam in the 60s-80s of the 20 century and in the early 21 century. His supporters believe that the only sources of Islam are Quran and Sunnah and advocate for such a change of public order, which would lead to the implementation of the fundamental principles of Islam in the times of Muhammad. ("Islamic Modernism and Islamic Revival - Oxford Islamic Studies Online", 2016). Islam itself is a worldwide spread monotheistic study – its priesthood shares the highly moral as well as rational religion. The world-famous German poet Goethe also showed understanding of the true nature of Islam, as he wrote: "The Belief in one God always uplifts the spirit, because serves to the criteria of the inner man". As a good expert of Islam and psychology, Goethe realized that the meaning of dhikr is that "shuffling Mohammedan rosaries for glorifying the names of Allah, reflecting the ninety-nine of His qualities, is a great prayer of praise.” A long as Islam is completely opposite to the western religion believes, it “provides a moral shield against the ‘onslaught of western ‘anti-values’ it acts as an anchor for individuals and social groups caught in the tempest of incertitude, relativism and an identity crisis.” (Rāhnamā, 1994) In order to share their ideals with the world, which surrounds them, to prove their readiness to accept westernization as it is, Muslim countries such as Iran attempt to reformate not only material aspect of “revival”, but also change worldview of their people. Reza Shah (Pahlavi) - the one, who started the long chain of changes in his homeland in order to ruin antiquated system of his country’s government deserves – successfully rose in rank from the prime minister to the shah. Inheriting the example of the Turkish Republic, the main purpose of his transformations Pahlavi identified as the establishment in Iran infrastructure of a modern state. He destroyed and build anew obsolete aspects of Muslims’ life (Arfa, n.d.). More and more new governments prove that it is sometimes needed to destroy the old and build from scratch. Sometimes it is nearly impossible to improve the old system for it to correspond to the requirements of the new world. Even though this may be hard, it is possible. However, it requires a lot of work, patience and dedication from the people in charge of the nation. They need to be open to change and see the future before them. In just a couple of words, these people need to be true leaders in order to bring a nation to a new level acceptable in order to be competitive in the modern globalized world. In the framework of the legislative reform of 1926-1929, the Majlis adopted new criminal, civil and commercial codes, which were based on the norms of Western European legislation. In addition to that, the Majilis build schools and established universities. An American economist Arthur Millspaugh was hired to reconstruct the economic system. Moreover, women were emancipated from old traditional prohibitions, which allowed them to enter universities, reveal faces from veils, allowed them to vote. Not only that, but the Majilis also made officials wear only European-style clothes and instituted French-origin court structure. (Bashiri, 2004). We cannot ignore the fact that Muslims, on the contrary to Christians, chase a theocentric model of worldview. They live in outdated Koran concepts in their life, which complicates for them the period of adaptation to modernity. Due to their moralities, it is the only humanistic approach, which could possibly be in treating people. Those, who integrate other societies stand out greatly from the mass of the people. They dress differently, eat differently, act differently and cannot be unnoticed. However, this really is what makes them who they are. This is part of their culture and their history and they have all the right to care for it, cherish it for future generation. They follow the steps of their God and what he told them, willingly denying personal development and freedom of choice (Michel, n.d.). Besides, in recent years the population abruptly increased, which, counting the above, impossible living conditions and persistent integration difficulties, leads to the whole nation’s downfall. However, modern European government does all its best in order to keep legacy of Muslim’s culture safe, as well as to make representatives of this nation respectable citizens of Europe (Laurence, 2012). According to Mawdudi, an Indian-Pakistani educator, scholar and philosopher, government does have directly link with the religion, thus its role must not be underrated. He defended Islam’s ideals in front of European government, stating that there are aspects in his people’s faith, which must be kept inviolable. Such is an unbreakable connection between the spiritual life and the mortal one as well as their oneness with the God. Thus, Mawdudi said, “Men’s status in the universe having thus been determined, it follows logically that he has no right to lay down the role of his conduct and decide the right and wrong of it” (Nasr, 1996). Perhaps we should also point out the fact that Islam revivalism is not a united movement. Unfortunately for Muslims themselves, this could also be a reason of their low society status. If only at least a half of them had convened a national gathering, Islam would have become a world-respected force. Nevertheless, there is a very little amount of issues that all people would agree on. There is probably no one issue that will find agreement throughout the whole world or country or even a city. People think differently and believe in different things and that is what makes us all unique and special. The main root lies within people – not all of them are ready to comprehend the ideas of “neo-Islam” or, at least, of the world which surrounds them. Not all of them even find democracy a rightful type of government. Thus, as long as the situation looks that way, Islam cannot fight for its rights in this world. Nevertheless, nowadays Muslims are the best organized among the representatives of Middle-East nationalities (Momayezi, 1994). Some of them struggle for their country. Deep inside their hearts burn with the flame of the desire of making it equal to other countries. The world is to let them keep it burning.
Arfa, H. (n.d.). Reza Shah Pahlavi. Retrieved March 23, 2016, from http://www.britannica.com/biography/Reza-Shah-Pahlavi Bashiri, Iraj. (2004). The Reforms of the Pahlavis. Retrieved March 23, 2016, from http://www.angelfire.com/rnb/bashiri/pahlavireforms/PahlaviReforms.html Haddad, Y. Y., Voll, J. O., & Esposito, J. L. (1991). The contemporary Islamic revival: A critical survey and bibliography. New York: Greenwood Press. Islamic Modernism and Islamic Revival - Oxford Islamic Studies Online. (2016). (n.d.). Retrieved 24 March 2016, from http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t253/e9 Laurence, Jonathan. (2012). The Emancipation of Europe's Muslims | The European Financial Review | Empowering communications globally. Retrieved March 24, 2016, from http://www.europeanfinancialreview.com/?p=2143 Michel, Thomas. (n.d.) Islamic Revival and Its Implications for Christian-Muslim Dialogue. Retrieved March 24, 2016, from http://groups.creighton.edu/sjdialogue/documents/articles/michel_islamic_revival.htm Momayezi, Nasser. (1994). Islamic Revivalism and the Quest for Political Power | Momayezi | Journal of Conflict Studies. Retrieved March 23, 2016, from https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/jcs/article/view/11753/12527 Nasr, S. V. (1996). Mawdudi and the making of Islamic revivalism. New York: Oxford Rāhnamā, Ali. (1994). Pioneers of Islamic revival. London: Zed Books. Qaraḍāwī, Y., Al-Shaikh-Ali, A. S., & Wasfy, M. B. (1991). Islamic awakening between rejection and extremism. Herndon, VA: Jointly published by American Trust Publication and the International Institute of Islamic Thought.
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Monday, March 13, 2023
9 steps to write a good persuasive essay.
Writing a persuasive essay involves convincing your reader to adopt your point of view on a particular topic. To write a good persuasive essay, you should follow these steps:
1. Choose a Topic : Select a topic that you are passionate about and can provide convincing arguments. A good topic should be debatable, relevant, and interesting.
2. Conduct Research : Gather relevant information to support your position. Use reliable sources such as books, articles, and academic journals to back up your arguments.
3. Create an Outline : An outline is a roadmap that guides you in organizing your ideas and arguments. It should have an introduction, body, and conclusion. The introduction should contain a thesis statement, which is the main argument of your essay. The body should have several paragraphs, each discussing a unique argument, and the conclusion should summarize your main points and restate your thesis.
4. Write a Compelling Introduction : The introduction is the first impression that the reader gets of your essay. Therefore, it should be captivating and grab their attention. Start with a hook, which can be a rhetorical question, anecdote, or statistic. Also, provide background information on your topic and state your thesis.
5. Develop Strong Arguments : Each paragraph in the body should have a strong argument supported by evidence. Use facts, statistics, and examples to support your position. Start with a topic sentence that introduces the argument, and then provide evidence to back it up.
6. Address Counterarguments : Anticipate counterarguments and address them in your essay. Acknowledge opposing views and provide evidence to refute them. This demonstrates that you have thoroughly considered the topic.
7. Use Persuasive Language : Use language that is clear, concise, and persuasive. Use strong verbs, avoid jargon, and use rhetorical devices such as metaphors and analogies.
8. Conclude Effectively : The conclusion should summarize your main arguments and restate your thesis. End with a strong statement that leaves a lasting impression on the reader.
9. Edit and Proofread : Ensure that your essay is free of errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Use online tools or ask a friend to help you proofread and edit your essay.
By following these steps, you can write a persuasive essay that is convincing, well-organized, and engaging.
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See Also: A Comprehensive Guide to Writing an Essay in 4 Easy Steps
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Mikki is a graduate of Indian River State College and currently living and working in Isreal as a developer of AI chatbots for the travel industry. She writes part-time and is working on her first book about chatbot development.
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Project report writing – how to write a good report.
There are many forms of projects that fall under our project writing help. These reports include book reports, postmortem reports, and progress reports. In college or university, students will most likely be tested on project writing skills. Our article introduces you to the art of project report writing.
Majorly, it is mandatory for those undertaking project management courses to write project reports. You might be wondering what the steps in report writing are. Probably, you could also be asking what the five elements of report writing are. Another question is, what is a project report?
What is a Project Report?
A project report refers to a document that gives a detailed account or a clear picture of the proposed business. In most cases, the project report explains the proposed project elements to ascertain the prospects of the activity. Projects vary depending on the subject. Therefore, project report writing skills are important to everyone.
The Steps of Writing a Project Report
You could be wondering how to start writing a project report. However, our step-by-step guideline in project report writing can help. Here are the steps:
- Begin by researching the problem or the project to be covered in the report.
- Define the purpose of your report.
- Write a catchy introduction to your report. Your introduction should have a clear, concise, and focused thesis statement.
- Write and develop the body of your report. Pay attention to the elements of a good report. You can find this in the rubric.
- Use active language when writing the report.
- Organize the topic sentences, the facts, and the concluding sentences of the paragraphs.
- Cite every source used in the report.
- Incorporate any charts, images, equations, graphs, figures, and simulation models in the report.
- Have a good conclusion. Restate the thesis of your report and give facts and details in summary.
- Ensure that you have a reference list of all the sources used in the report. Mostly use sources from scholarly databases such as Science Direct, Wiley Online Library, Google Scholar, PubMed, and ProQuest.
- Consider the five basic elements of a paragraph: unity, coherence, order, completeness, and simplicity. These rules are secret to writing a good paragraph for your report
The Structure and Format of an Individual Report
Reports have a common form of structure. Organizing information into levels and categories makes the report flow. Here are the common sections of a report:
- Abstract or Executive Statement. An abstract should never exceed 200-250 words. It is always a summary of the project report. On the other hand, the executive summary should also give a summary but be very detailed.
- Introduction: Mainly, here is where you state the purpose of the project report. It should also have a clear thesis statement. Convince tour audience on why they need to read the conference paper.
- Background: Your project report background should feature and detail the project description. Ordinarily, ensure the information is well supported by the use of examples and in-text citations. Explore past research on the topic and list the shortcomings and how the project will address those.
- The Body of the Project Report/Analysis: This should include the design, approach, findings, and observations.
- Summary: The project report summary should draw together the introduction, project sections, and the background.
- Conclusion: In concluding your project report, restate the thesis. Summarize the major points of the report and make recommendations.
- References: In this section of the report, including all the books, peer-reviewed journals, articles, and other scholarly sources used is critical.
A good report should address facts, it should have evidence, and analysis of the status quo. Our professional essay writers can help you with project report writing tasks. A project management report will have a slightly different format compared to the general project reports in college.
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- Does a teaching or fieldwork report follow the normal report format?
- Can someone help me in writing my project report?
- Is a health report on TB done the same way as normal reports?
- Can someone help me write an organizational report?
Well, we have advised you on how to write a good report. If you need help, our custom writing service can offer project report writing services for you. You need to place an order by filling the order form. Let us help you achieve the best grades this semester.
Read how to format a Report (This is an external source)
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How to Write an Essay in 5 Easy Steps
Need to write an essay? Don’t know where to start? A good place to begin is at the beginning, so let’s first establish what an essay actually is. An essay is defined as a structured piece of writing that expresses an opinion or develops an argument . Before you begin writing, you should understand the type of essay you’re being asked to write.
Types of Essays
While essays come in many lengths and styles, there are four main categories that all essays will fall into.
Argumentative
Like the name suggests, an argumentative essay is written to argue or defend a position . They are typically in-depth and cite research that supports assertions made in the text. Argumentative essays are the most common type of essays assigned in advanced composition classes or as capstone projects.
Descriptive
A descriptive essay is structured creative writing that asks you to detail an event, experience, or idea . For example, you may write a descriptive essay on a trip you took to Disney World, or the book you loved most as a child. While descriptive essays may involve the author’s opinion, the main focus is describing the topic in detail using adjectives , metaphor, and simile to paint a vivid picture for the reader.
Expository essays provide a clear, focused, balanced explanation of a topic. Unlike an argumentative essay, expository essays avoid “I” or “you” statements and heavily researched argument or opinion—they simply present the facts in a well-organized way. Essays on tests like the ACT and the GED , as well as many of those assigned in high school English courses, would be considered expository essays.
Narrative essays tell a story. Because a narrative essay pulls from personal experience and not research, it doesn’t strictly follow the thesis—supporting paragraph—conclusion structure found in more traditional essay types. Typically written from the author’s perspective, a narrative essay is often creative and entertaining , but still has a clear structure and theme .
The Essay Writing Process
Now that you understand a bit more about the essay types, it’s time to get started on the most important part—actually writing your essay! Essay writing may seem daunting at first, but if you follow these 5 easy steps you’ll have the perfect piece crafted in no time!
1. Pick a topic
No matter what type of essay you’ve been assigned, you usually have some agency over what it is you choose to write about. When choosing a topic, try to pick a subject that is broad enough so you’ll have plenty to discuss, but not so broad that you could write a novel. For example, “ Major Organized Religions ” would be too vast a subject to examine in a single essay, but “ The Three Most Important Jewish Holidays ” could easily work in a classic 5 paragraph format. Because writing a good essay can be time consuming and may involve extensive research, it’s also important to choose a topic you have interest in.
2. Brainstorm
You have a topic you like—but what is it you want to say? Rather than just writing down the first thing that comes to mind and hoping for the best, brainstorming ideas is a great way to get all of your thoughts down before you actually begin working on your essay. Jot down any idea that comes to your head about things you’d like to include, such as key points, examples , and illustrations . It’s ok if these thoughts seem disorganized or unrelated at first. Once you’ve written down everything you can possibly think of related to your topic, it’s time for the next step.
3. Organize
From your brainstorm, see if you could spot a strong thesis , or main point you are trying to prove. Choosing a solid thesis is crucial, as your entire essay will be constructed to support it. This will become your first paragraph .
Body Paragraphs
Next, identify three points to back up this thesis. These will become your 3 supporting paragraphs or body paragraphs . Depending on the type of essay you’re writing, the organization of your body paragraphs may change a little.
If your three points build on each other , it is important to arrange them so point one leads to point two, and point two leads to point three.
If you have three arguments that could be arranged in any order , it’s typically best to start with the strongest point first and progress to your weakest point in the final body paragraph.
If you’re writing an essay that involves comparing and contrasting two different views, you have several options for essay organization. You could present your argument first and then the opposing view, or begin with the opposing view and then refute that position. Either way is acceptable as long as you have clear topic sentences that makes it obvious which idea is being discussed.
Finally, think of what you will want to say in the conclusion , which will become your fifth paragraph.
You’ve picked a topic, brainstormed, and organized your thoughts—now it’s time to write your essay!
1st Paragraph (Introduction)
State your thesis and let the reader know what your three supporting points will be. Three or four sentences should be enough for the introduction—you want to establish a general outline, not give everything away. To finish, end with transitional hook that alerts the reader to what they can expect in the body of the paper.
2nd Paragraph (Strongest Point)
This should be your strongest argument or point. Include examples, illustrations, or data to support the main topic of the paragraph.
3rd Paragraph (Second Strongest Point)
This should be your second strongest argument or point. Include examples, illustrations, or data to support the main topic of the paragraph.
4th Paragraph (Weakest Point)
This should be your weakest argument or point. Include examples, illustrations, or data to support the main topic of the paragraph.
5th Paragraph (Conclusion)
The final paragraph of your essay is your conclusion . Restate the thesis, summarize your three points, and make a strong final statement that ties up and closes the essay.
Most great authors just write a book and send it out into the universe, right? Wrong. Revision and editing are crucial steps in writing of any type, but especially when trying to create a strong essay.
You may have read your paper a thousand times, but sometimes it’s good to step back for a bit. Read your paper over after not viewing it for a while so you can see it with fresh eyes . Look for ways you could strengthen your argument or grammar . Check for punctuation and spelling errors you may have missed while writing, and don’t be afraid to re-write parts that aren’t clear or purposeful.
After you’ve made all of the revisions you believe are necessary, have a friend read your essay and give you feedback. Sometimes it can be hard to be objective about your own work, and another pair of eyes can help alert you to issues you may have missed.
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How to Write an Opinion Essay in 6 Steps
Should students be required to do homework? The answer might seem obvious to you, but sit with it for a minute. If yes, why? If no, why not? Thinking through your answer to questions like this can form the basis of an opinion essay , an essay written to express and defend an opinion. Give your writing extra polish Grammarly helps you communicate confidently Write with Grammarly
What is an opinion essay?
An opinion essay is where a writer shares a clearly formed opinion backed by research, logic, and anecdotal evidence. The purpose of an opinion essay is to clearly articulate a position, often in response to a question. It’s a writer’s way of demonstrating both what they think and why they think it.
Being able to express an opinion well is an important skill to have in the world. For example, being on social media exposes you to a wide array of opinions, so it’s good to be able to recognize which opinions are backed up with substantial evidence and which ones aren’t.
You will also find opinion essays in the Op-Ed sections of newspapers. The most famous op-eds, like those printed in the New York Times , are read by millions of readers and can have a serious impact on the way that people think.
How is an opinion essay different from other essays?
Opinion essays are only one type of essay that you might be assigned. Different essay types have different goals. Opinion essays are great for sharing an opinion, while persuasive essays are useful for convincing the reader that an opinion is correct. Argumentative essays also demonstrate why something is correct, but they do not rely on emotions as much as persuasive essays do. Expository essays explain the reasons why something is a certain way without taking a side.
Opinion essay: States an opinion and backs it up with facts
Argumentative essay: States a fact and backs it up with more facts
Persuasive essay: States a fact or opinion and tries to convince the reader to agree using facts and emotions
Expository essay: Explains a subject by laying out all of the evidence connected to it
How to structure an opinion essay
If this is your first time writing an opinion essay, a good way to start is by using the five-paragraph essay structure .
Paragraph 1: Introduction
Capture your reader’s attention with a good hook. Present the prompt and state your opinion.
Some tips for a good opinion essay hook:
- Use a surprising statistic.
- Profess an unpopular opinion.
- Ask a rhetorical question.
- Share an anecdote .
Paragraphs 2, 3, and 4: Body
Use facts and anecdotes to explain why you hold your opinion. Make sure you use credible sources! It’s not enough to just say what you think; you should also explain what evidence led you to that opinion.
You can also use these paragraphs to work through any counterarguments or alternative points of view that you might encounter. Addressing those in the body of your essay will strengthen your argument and help you clarify why you believe something to be true.
Paragraph 5: Conclusion
Draw a logical arrow through the body paragraphs and point it at your opinion. The conclusion is a place to remind the reader of your evidence and make your point.
What to include in an opinion essay
A clear opinion (thesis): Your opinion is your thesis. Forming your opinion might happen quickly in response to the prompt, or it might be something that you’ve been mulling over for a long time. Either way, your opinion should be clear from the start of the essay.
Novelty: A good opinion essay adds something to the discourse. Maybe your opinion doesn’t align with the mainstream. Or, if your opinion is generally agreed upon, you could find some interesting new research that supports it.
Semiformal tone: It’s easy to drift into a casual, conversational tone in opinion essays because you’re writing about a personal topic. Keeping a measured, semiformal tone that’s not too stiff or too casual will lend more credibility to your opinion.
What not to include in an opinion essay
“I think”: It’s true that technically an opinion essay is all about what you think. It’s OK to use this phrase to begin, but your essay will fall flat if you rely only on “I think” statements without providing external evidence for how or why you think those things.
Ambiguity: By the time you sit down to outline and write your essay, you should have a clear understanding of what you think and why you think it. It’s fine for your opinion to stretch over the course of your essay, but if you aren’t clear about your opinion at the beginning of the essay, you can’t expect your reader to have a clear understanding of your ideas after reading it.
Rambling: Stick to the subject. Again, because the material begins in your own head, it’s easy to get off track following your own wandering thoughts. If you need to, allow yourself to go off on those tangents, but just remember to go back and cut out any material that isn’t relevant to your thesis before you turn the essay in.
Write an opinion essay in 6 steps
1 brainstorm .
If you don’t have a prompt, this is where you will start brainstorming all of the topics you might want to write about. If you do have a prompt, then brainstorm all of the possible answers to it.
2 Research
In this step you’ll form your opinion. As you form it, continue to ask yourself why. Why do you believe something to be true? Do you have data to support it? Have you heard similar stories from multiple sources? If something sounds true to you, but you’re not sure why, continue to investigate it using primary and secondary sources. If it’s a valid opinion, you will find the support somewhere.
This is also a time to research any counterarguments or alternative perspectives. Including these in your essay shows you have done your research thoroughly. However, make sure you are presenting them in a way that still supports your point.
Create an outline according to the five-paragraph essay structure mentioned above. Adjust the paragraph count according to the assignment you’re given and how much room you need to explain or support your opinion.
4 Drafting
It’s finally time to write! Start with a rough draft and remember that it’s called rough for a reason. Write it all down. You’ll have time to clean it up and make it sound nice when you’re revising. If you don’t write anything down, you won’t have anything to revise. For opinion essays, include any quotes or research you’ve gathered and cite your sources.
Now is the time to revise , or clean it up. Make sure your essay flows logically; jumping from one topic to the next will disorient the reader. Check that all of your evidence supports your opinion. Listen to the way your essay sounds (literally, read it out loud to yourself). And triple-check that your opinion is crystal clear!
6 Proofread
The proofreading stage is where you get granular. Make sure your words are spelled correctly and that your commas and periods are in their places. If you aren’t confident in your proofreading skills, you can use Grammarly to review the essay with you.
Opinion essay outline (example)
If you’re not sure what an opinion essay should look like, here is an example of an opinion essay outline using the five-paragraph essay structure.
Prompt: Should students be required to do homework?
Introduction
Hook reader with a statistic about how much time the average student will spend on homework.
State the prompt: We accept homework as a natural part of our scholarly lives. But should we?
Thesis: I do not believe homework should be required of students because it widens inequality and damages students’ mental health.
Body paragraph 1
Homework widens the gap between socioeconomic classes because those with access to time and resources, like tutors, will do better on their homework and get higher grades in class.
Talk about the paper showing the gap in education investment between high- and low-income families.
Body paragraph 2
Homework creates extra stress in students’ lives and can have a negative effect on mental health.
Quote from Stanford study : “students in high-achieving communities who spend too much time on homework experience more stress, physical health problems, a lack of balance and even alienation from society.”
Body paragraph 3
Counterargument: Some may argue for homework as a way of instilling discipline and persistence in students, regardless of how well a student performs on the assignment.
While that is true, students learn and demonstrate discipline and persistence simply in the act of getting up and going to school five days a week. Provide an anecdote about your morning routine and getting ready for school every day.
Restate opinion: I do not think that homework should be required of students.
The way that homework exacerbates inequality and harms mental health creates costs that far outweigh the benefits of homework.
Opinion essay FAQs
An opinion essay is an essay where the writer forms an opinion about a topic, often in the form of an answer to a question, and uses factual and anecdotal evidence to support that opinion.
What is the purpose of an opinion essay?
Opinion essays are used to clearly and informatively articulate a position. Sometimes these positions go against the grain and need extended explanation. Sometimes they are a fresh take on an already popular belief. The opinion essay allows a writer to form an opinion and demonstrate to their reader why they believe it to be true.
How is an opinion essay different from other kinds of essays?
Opinion essays are different from other types of essays because the thesis is based on the writer’s own opinion. Other essays, like argumentative, persuasive, and expository essays, require the thesis to be formed around an external fact, event, or argument.
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How to Write an Essay
Last Updated: March 6, 2023 References Approved
This article was co-authored by Christopher Taylor, PhD and by wikiHow staff writer, Megaera Lorenz, PhD . Christopher Taylor is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of English at Austin Community College in Texas. He received his PhD in English Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014. There are 13 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. This article has 37 testimonials from our readers, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 7,754,602 times.
An essay is a common type of academic writing that you'll likely be asked to do in multiple classes. Before you start writing your essay, make sure you understand the details of the assignment so that you know how to approach the essay and what your focus should be. Once you've chosen a topic, do some research and narrow down the main argument(s) you'd like to make. From there, you'll need to write an outline and flesh out your essay, which should consist of an introduction, body, and conclusion. After your essay is drafted, spend some time revising it to ensure your writing is as strong as possible.
Understanding Your Assignment
- The compare/contrast essay , which focuses on analyzing the similarities and differences between 2 things, such as ideas, people, events, places, or works of art.
- The narrative essay , which tells a story.
- The argumentative essay , in which the writer uses evidence and examples to convince the reader of their point of view.
- The critical or analytical essay, which examines something (such as a text or work of art) in detail. This type of essay may attempt to answer specific questions about the subject or focus more generally on its meaning.
- The informative essay , that educates the reader about a topic.
- How long your essay should be
- Which citation style to use
- Formatting requirements, such as margin size , line spacing, and font size and type
Christopher Taylor, PhD
Christopher Taylor, Professor of English, tells us: "Most essays will contain an introduction, a body or discussion portion, and a conclusion. When assigned a college essay, make sure to check the specific structural conventions related to your essay genre , your field of study, and your professor's expectations."
- If you're doing a research-based essay , you might find some inspiration from reading through some of the major sources on the subject.
- For a critical essay, you might choose to focus on a particular theme in the work you're discussing, or analyze the meaning of a specific passage.
- If you're having trouble narrowing down your topic, your instructor might be able to provide guidance or inspiration.
Planning and Organizing Your Essay
- Academic books and journals tend to be good sources of information. In addition to print sources, you may be able to find reliable information in scholarly databases such as JSTOR and Google Scholar.
- You can also look for primary source documents, such as letters, eyewitness accounts, and photographs.
- Always evaluate your sources critically. Even research papers by reputable academics can contain hidden biases, outdated information, and simple errors or faulty logic.
Tip: In general, Wikipedia articles are not considered appropriate sources for academic writing. However, you may be able to find useful sources in the “References” section at the end of the article.
- You might find it helpful to write your notes down on individual note cards or enter them into a text document on your computer so you can easily copy, paste , and rearrange them however you like.
- Try organizing your notes into different categories so you can identify specific ideas you'd like to focus on. For example, if you're analyzing a short story , you might put all your notes on a particular theme or character together.
- For example, if your essay is about the factors that led to the end of the Bronze Age in the ancient Middle East, you might focus on the question, “What role did natural disasters play in the collapse of Late Bronze Age society?”
- One easy way to come up with a thesis statement is to briefly answer the main question you would like to address.
- For example, if the question is “What role did natural disasters play in the collapse of Late Bronze Age society?” then your thesis might be, “Natural disasters during the Late Bronze Age destabilized local economies across the region. This set in motion a series of mass migrations of different peoples, creating widespread conflict that contributed to the collapse of several major Bronze Age political centers.”
- When you write the outline, think about how you would like to organize your essay. For example, you might start with your strongest arguments and then move to the weakest ones. Or, you could begin with a general overview of the source you're analyzing and then move on to addressing the major themes, tone, and style of the work.
- Introduction
- Point 1, with supporting examples
- Point 2, with supporting examples
- Point 3, with supporting examples
- Major counter-argument(s) to your thesis
- Your rebuttals to the counter-argument(s)
Drafting the Essay
- For example, if you're writing a critical essay about a work of art, your introduction might start with some basic information about the work, such as who created it, when and where it was created, and a brief description of the work itself. From there, introduce the question(s) about the work you'd like to address and present your thesis.
- A strong introduction should also contain a brief transitional sentence that creates a link to the first point or argument you would like to make. For example, if you're discussing the use of color in a work of art, lead-in by saying you'd like to start with an overview of symbolic color use in contemporary works by other artists.
Tip: Some writers find it helpful to write the introduction after they've written the rest of the essay. Once you've written out your main points, it's easier to summarize the gist of your essay in a few introductory sentences.
- For example, your topic sentence might be something like, “Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories are among the many literary influences apparent in P. G. Wodehouse's Jeeves novels.” You could then back this up by quoting a passage that contains a reference to Sherlock Holmes.
- Try to show how the arguments in each paragraph link back to the main thesis of your essay.
- When creating transitions, transitional phrases can be helpful. For example, use words and phrases such as “In addition,” “Therefore,” “Similarly,” “Subsequently,” or “As a result.”
- For example, if you've just discussed the use of color to create contrast in a work of art, you might start the next paragraph with, “In addition to color, the artist also uses different line weights to distinguish between the more static and dynamic figures in the scene.”
- For example, if you're arguing that a particular kind of shrimp decorates its shell with red algae to attract a mate, you'll need to address the counterargument that the shell decoration is a warning to predators. You might do this by presenting evidence that the red shrimp are, in fact, more likely to get eaten than shrimp with undecorated shells.
- The way you cite your sources will vary depending on the citation style you're using. Typically, you'll need to include the name of the author, the title and publication date of the source, and location information such as the page number on which the information appears.
- In general, you don't need to cite common knowledge. For example, if you say, “A zebra is a type of mammal,” you probably won't need to cite a source.
- If you've cited any sources in the essay, you'll need to include a list of works cited (or a bibliography ) at the end.
- Keep your conclusion brief. While the appropriate length will vary based on the length of the essay, it should typically be no longer than 1-2 paragraphs.
- For example, if you're writing a 1,000-word essay, your conclusion should be about 4-5 sentences long. [15] X Research source
Revising the Essay
- If you don't have time to spend a couple of days away from your essay, at least take a few hours to relax or work on something else.
- Excessive wordiness
- Points that aren't explained enough
- Tangents or unnecessary information
- Unclear transitions or illogical organization
- Spelling , grammar , style, and formatting problems
- Inappropriate language or tone (e.g., slang or informal language in an academic essay)
- You might have to cut material from your essay in some places and add new material to others.
- You might also end up reordering some of the content of the essay if you think that helps it flow better.
- Read over each line slowly and carefully. It may be helpful to read each sentence out loud to yourself.
Tip: If possible, have someone else check your work. When you've been looking at your writing for too long, your brain begins to fill in what it expects to see rather than what's there, making it harder for you to spot mistakes.
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- ↑ https://www.gallaudet.edu/tutorial-and-instructional-programs/english-center/the-process-and-type-of-writing/styles-of-essays/guide-to-different-kinds-of-essays
- ↑ https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/moving-assignment-topic
- ↑ https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/how-read-assignment
- ↑ http://www.easybib.com/guides/students/writing-guide/ii-research/a-finding-sources/
- ↑ https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/developing-thesis
- ↑ https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/outlining
- ↑ https://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/ld/resources/writing/writing-resources/writing-essays
- ↑ https://intranet.ecu.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/20609/essay.pdf
- ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/transitions/
- ↑ http://www.nus.edu.sg/celc/research/books/cwtuc/chapter01.pdf
- ↑ https://www.plagiarism.org/article/how-do-i-cite-sources
- ↑ https://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/twc/sites/utsc.utoronto.ca.twc/files/resource-files/Intros-Conclusions.pdf
- ↑ https://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/ld/resources/writing/questions-to-ask/questions-to-ask-when-editing
About This Article
If you need to write an essay, start by gathering information from reputable sources, like books from the library or scholarly journals online. Take detailed notes and keep track of which facts come from which sources. As you're taking notes, look for a central theme that you're interested in writing about to create your thesis statement. Then, organize your notes into an outline that supports and explains your thesis statement. Working from your outline, write an introduction and subsequent paragraphs to address each major point. Start every paragraph with a topic sentence that briefly explains the main point of that paragraph. Finally, finish your paper with a strong conclusion that sums up the most important points. For tips from our English Professor co-author on helpful revision techniques, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No
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Structuring your essay according to a reader's logic means examining your thesis and anticipating what a reader needs to know, and in what sequence, in order to grasp and be convinced by your argument as it unfolds. The easiest way to do this is to map the essay's ideas via a written narrative.
The essay writing process consists of three main stages: Preparation: Decide on your topic, do your research, and create an essay outline. Writing: Set out your argument in the introduction, develop it with evidence in the main body, and wrap it up with a conclusion.
Step 3: Writing a first draft Step 4: Redrafting and revising Step 5: Editing and proofreading Frequently asked questions about the writing process Step 1: Prewriting Before you start writing, you need to decide exactly what you'll write about and do the necessary research. Coming up with a topic
Step 4: Map your essay's structure Step 5: Check and revise More examples of essay introductions Frequently asked questions about the essay introduction Step 1: Hook your reader Your first sentence sets the tone for the whole essay, so spend some time on writing an effective hook.
Step 1: Start with a question. You should come up with an initial thesis, sometimes called a working thesis, early in the writing process. As soon as you've decided on your essay topic, you need to work out what you want to say about it—a clear thesis will give your essay direction and structure.
The body of your essay is where you develop your story or argument. Once you have finished your research and produced several pages of notes, go through them with a highlighter and mark the most important ideas, the key points. Choose the top three ideas and write each one at the top of a clean page.
One common structure for an essay is the Five-Paragraph Essay, with the following parts: Introduction with thesis statement Main Point #1 Main Point #2 Main Point #3 Conclusion Although this structure is made up of five paragraphs, we can easily use the same model and make it into a Five-Part Essay Structure.
Steps to write an essay introduction Step 1. Engage your reader. Your essay beginning sets the tone for the whole paper. That's why it's necessary to put some effort into creating a good hook. Forget about using long, complicated sentences, common statements, and dry facts. You should also avoid dictionary definitions, especially for ...
When you're writing a persuasive essay, you need more than just an opinion to make your voice heard. Even the strongest stance won't be compelling if it's not structured properly and reinforced with solid reasoning and evidence. Learn what elements every argumentative essay should include and how to structure it depending on your audience ...
To create a college essay outline, start with writing down a few topics that you want to address within the essay. Then, create a logical order for those topics, building an outline around the topic that leads from the thesis statement to your conclusion. Begin with the Body, Write the Essay Introduction Later Don't start with the introduction.
Business Law Essay Topics. If you are interested in both law and business, explore the 10 most demanded business law essay topics: The ethics of business formation laws: Balancing corporate interests with societal needs. Navigating the complexities of business laws: Challenges and opportunities for modern Enterprises.
1. Write one or two paragraphs (dependent on paper length) discussing the first idea in detail. In the same section, back up each paragraph with research, facts, examples, an anecdote (a short personal story), or some type of descriptive justification. 2. The last sentence in this section should be a transitional one. Try to make a statement
When you write an essay, your introduction provides relevant information about your argument or the purpose of your essay. Here are four simple steps for how to write a good introduction: 1. Write a hook. The first sentence in your introduction is known as the hook. It's called a hook because it's meant to capture your audience's attention.
If writing essays isn't your strong suit, you may need professional help. But still, if you're going to write a good personal statement yourself, break this challenging task into smaller, more manageable steps. Don't forget to include all the essential components in your essay and complete them step by step as described below.
Writing a good essay for a term paper or a research paper or for any other paper is of primary importance inside the class. The chief aim for all assignments set by the class teacher is to assess the students. ... Writing an academic essay involves many steps. It starts with choosing a good writing topic. This is a vital part in the whole ...
7 steps to writing a good essay. No essay is the same but your approach to writing them can be. As well as some best practice tips, we have gathered our favourite advice from expert essay-writers and compiled the following 7-step guide to writing a good essay every time. 👍. #1 Make sure you understand the question. #2 Complete background ...
1. Explore essay prompts and select a topic. 2. Start your college essay outline before jumping in. 3. Write the essay and leave time for multiple drafts. 4. Edit and proofread your essay. 5.
In essence, the wording of the essay question will tell you how the essay should be written. It will indicate where the focus of your essay should lie as you research and write. 2. Plan and schedule Understanding the question is the first step, but it is equally important that you make efficient use of the available time.
For essay writing, we recommend this six-step writing process: 1 Brainstorming It always helps to collect your thoughts before you begin writing by brainstorming. Based on your prompt or thesis, try to generate as many ideas as possible to include in your essay.
Good Essay About Loud Steps Of Revival. Type of paper: Essay. Topic: Muslim, Islam, Religion, Middle East, Church, Europe, People, World. Pages: 5. Words: 1400. Published: 03/08/2023. ORDER PAPER LIKE THIS. Muslims, who are known for their particular patriotism and devotion to the tradition of their country, have suffered too much nowadays from ...
Writing a persuasive essay involves convincing your reader to adopt your point of view on a particular topic. To write a good persuasive essay, you should follow these steps: 1. Choose a Topic: Select a topic that you are passionate about and can provide convincing arguments. A good topic should be debatable, relevant, and interesting. 2.
Learn affordable essay writing in just 6 easy steps. This comprehensive guide covers everything from brainstorming to proofreading. ... You have finally found the best affordable essay writing service! We know that you need to save money, but you don't want to sacrifice quality.
However, our step-by-step guideline in project report writing can help. Here are the steps:, Begin by researching the problem or the project to be covered in the report. Define the purpose of your report. Write a catchy introduction to your report. Your introduction should have a clear, concise, and focused thesis statement. Write and develop ...
Jot down any idea that comes to your head about things you'd like to include, such as key points, examples, and illustrations. It's ok if these thoughts seem disorganized or unrelated at first. Once you've written down everything you can possibly think of related to your topic, it's time for the next step. 3. Organize.
How to structure an opinion essay. If this is your first time writing an opinion essay, a good way to start is by using the five-paragraph essay structure. Paragraph 1: Introduction. Capture your reader's attention with a good hook. Present the prompt and state your opinion. Some tips for a good opinion essay hook: Use a surprising statistic.
Once you've written out your main points, it's easier to summarize the gist of your essay in a few introductory sentences. 2 Present your argument (s) in detail. Working from your outline, write a series of paragraphs addressing each of the major points you'd like to make.
How to write a conclusion. An effective conclusion is created by following these steps: 1. Restate the thesis. An effective conclusion brings the reader back to the main point, reminding the reader of the purpose of the essay. However, avoid repeating the thesis verbatim. Paraphrase your argument slightly while still preserving the primary point.