How to Write an Essay – A Complete Guide with Examples?

Overview:

Do you find essay writing challenging? Well, don’t worry; you are not alone in this boat. Essay writing is like a nightmare for all the students around the world. But no matter how much you hate it, you still just can’t escape it. And you know what? You should not be escaping it. But you must accept it as a challenge and conquer it. And in this blog, I will tell you exactly how you can do it like a pro.

Importance of Essay Writing

I understand that essay Writing is surely a difficult task, but do you know it is quite important for your personal and academic growth as well? I know it is quite surprising for you. But trust me, that is why it is emphasized so much from your schools to your university levels.

According to a recent survey, it was found that “Around 85% of teachers believe that through assessing the essays written by students. They can get good insights into their critical thinking skills.”

So, writing an essay is like inserting the key into your treasure chest and exploring its numerous benefits like:

• Better Understanding of the topic
• Good time management skills
• Improve critical thinking abilities
• Enhanced communication
• Build Focus
• Promotes Creativity

Types of Essays

So, before we move forward, we need to learn how to write a good essay. Let us first explore the types of essays. Well, you have to learn the basics of anything first before moving to its depths. You can’t just learn to drive a car without first knowing about the brakes, accelerators, use of side view mirrors, and everything else. If you need assistance, you can reach out to expert Essay Writing Services. They will help you understand each essay type in detail. Furthermore, you need to learn the basics to form a solid base for your learning. So, here are the most common kinds of essays.

1. Descriptive Essays

Well, as the name suggests, these essays are descriptive. And discuss the topics in detail with the readers.

2. Narrative Essays

The narrative essay narrates a story about something or maybe someone. These are mostly describing your personal experiences. So, if you like telling stories and tales, this is your chance.

3. Persuasive Essays

So, in persuasive essays, your goal is to convince your reader with your views and your perspectives. Hence, you will need good stats and facts to prove your point.

4. Expository Essays

Finally, the expository essays are about exploring the depths of a topic. It describes a topic with great detail and focus.

Well, these are not just it. But they are the most common ones. There are other kinds of essays as well that you must be familiar with that, including:

• Argumentative Essays
• Persuasive Essays
• Analytical Essays
• Cause and Effect Essays
• Reflective Essays and
• Synthesis Essays

How to Write An Essay Step-by-Step (Examples Included)

Now, fast forward to our main focus here. Let me tell you how you can craft a flawless essay for your academics in simple steps. Yes, it is just a matter of a few steps, and you will get your perfect essay ready for you in no time. Remember, you have to divide your essay into three different stages to get that perfectly crafted work. Come on! Let’s have a look at three of them.

Planning Stage

One thing you need to do before starting the essay is to think about what you are going to write. Wondering why? Well, this will give you time to think and come up with a flawless plan of action. And you should have an essay checklist to evaluate whether you created a perfect essay as per the plan or not. Here is how you should plan your essay. These stages include:

Read the Requirements

Just imagine, you are starting your journey somewhere. So, What will you do first? Oh, I know you will review your map first right? Obviously, how will you reach your destination without knowing your way? That is why it’s the most important thing to do here.

Likewise, the requirements of your essays are your roadmap that you need to follow carefully to craft your perfect essay. So, take the time to read them first before embarking on your journey of essay writing.

Choose your Topic

Now, you know the requirements. So, it is time to choose a topic for your essay. Well, I know essay writing is quite boring. But not when you are writing an essay on some interesting topic. So, instead of making it boring, make it fun for you. You can choose some interesting or trending topics that will help you focus easily on your essays. And make it interesting for you.

Example:

So, if you are interested in space, then you can choose some space-related topics for your essay. Well, it will not just make your essay interesting for you. But it will cater to your curiosity as well.

Brainstorming is the Key

Yup! That’s right! One thing I would suggest to you guys is to brainstorm what you are going to write. The reason? Sometimes, our minds are so jumbled that that when we start writing,, we end up forgetting the crucial points. Hence, brainstorming is the key to essay writing. Trust me! By creating a mind map and a little bit of pondering, you can come up with excellent ideas.

Start your Research

The fun part starts now. So, once you know your requirements and your topic, start your research for collecting information. Well, the world is full of information that just needs to be explored.

Hence, what you need to do is wake up your inner detective to find the relevant information for your essays. Well, you can use some keywords to help you filter out irrelevant information. So, start your mission and find all the relevant information for your essay. Remember, spend 70% of your time on research and the remaining 30% on writing. Are you failing to conduct extensive research? Well, don’t you worry, It is not that hard. You just need to keep these points in mind:

• Don’t just rely on one resource, but use multiple resources.
• Only use authentic sites for information
• Just add relevant information
• Use Google Scholar, Research Gate, and Wikipedia.

Additional tip: Always jot down the information on the piece of paper. This way when you start writing you can include the vital points easily.

Outline Your Essay

Yup! That’s right! It is a part of the planning process,, too. Imagine you submit your essay without adding a table of contents. Will your readers be able to find what they are looking for? Nope! The essay outline acts as a roadmap, allowing readers to navigate smoothly. Additionally, it allows you to track your progress. So, don’t forget to create a rough outline. If you have no clue what to add, no problem! I have made a sample outline for you. It includes:

• Introduction
• Main Body Paragraphs (Add different sub-sections)
• Conclusion

So, these are some steps that will help you in planning the essays. Remember, without proper thinking, you won’t be able to get your words on the paper. Thus, make sure not to miss out on these steps. Now, let’s move to the writing stage.

Writing Stage

Done with the planning? Good! Now, you need to move toward the writing stage. Do you know it takes up to 3 to 5 hours to write a school essay? Yup! That’s right! Hence, you need to make sure that you have enough to complete the composition and submit it within the given deadline. Here is what you should do:

Structuring the Essay

So, once you are done with your research, start writing your essay. Well, you can’t just put all the ingredients together in your dish while cooking, right? Every ingredient needs to be added one by one at the right time.

Well, that goes with the essays, too. You just cannot put all of your research randomly in your essays. But it needs to be put in an organized manner, too. So, craft an outline for your essay to put all of your ingredients at the right time. Normally, the structure of your essay consists of an intro, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

How to write an essay introduction

You know the intro of your essay is the first impression of your essay, so it must be good enough to grab the attention of your readers. It is like releasing a trailer for your movie to persuade your viewers to watch it. So, it must include your topic and a brief insight as to what your readers will get to learn. But make sure that you are starting it with a hook to grab their attention at first sight.

There are three crucial points that you should remember while crafting an essay introduction.

• Hook Your Reader: The first sentence of the essay should be compelling enough to grab the attention of the reader. You can do this by, Adding questions, Or by presenting astonishing stats.
• Provide Background Information: Next, You have to provide background information about the topic, Like what made you choose it, Or a bit about the complex terms in it.
• Thesis Statement: Formulating an ideal thesis statement is really crucial. It shows the main focus or aspect of the topic you have written this essay about. It is usually just 1 to 2 sentences long.

For Example – Start your essay with an interesting question or some incredible fact, like Do you know that it rains diamond on Jupiter? Now that you have grabbed the attention, you should provide the background information, which would be “In the lower parts of Jupiter, the atmospheric pressure and temperature conditions are so extreme that diamonds melt into liquid and form into drops of rain. According to scientists, the rain on Jupiter and Saturn is caused by enormous carbon creation due to lightning storms on the planet that enter deep atmospheric pressure.”

Now, it’s time to create a thesis statement that could be “This essay revolves around the scientific reasons, Theories, and observations about the climate and atmospheric environment of planet Jupiter.”

Body Paragraphs

Well, if the intro was your trailer. Then, the body of your essay is your full movie. This is where you have to discuss everything most compellingly. To make sure that your readers enjoy their reading without getting bored. So, this is your chance to make your impression. Hence, to make it more interesting and valid, try using examples and facts.

But you must remember that you should only explain one point at a time. I mean, just explain one point in one paragraph and back it with examples or facts. So, prefer quality over quantity. Don’t worry about the quantity. But make sure whatever you are writing is solid as a brick.

Some important factors that you should consider while writing the body section of the essay. Firstly, write according to the length of the essay. For a school essay, the body is just three paragraphs. It is usually 60%-80% of the essay. And for the graduate level essay, where the length of it is around 6000 words, it would be around 8-10 pages. Secondly, focus on creating the perfect essay structure. The ideal structure should be a topic sentence. After that, Add evidence or examples to support the topic sentences.

For example, Lets take the example we took for introduction of planet jupiter. So, the body paragrphs should be based on all the significant research, Stats, and Examples to back the ponts that you make in the paragraphs. So, the body paragraphs would be on the Jupiter missions, Jupiter environment changes investigation, Atmosphere of the planet.

Conclusion

Think of the conclusion as the climax of your movie. Here, you need to summarize everything in a short paragraph. Restate your thesis statement, and don’t introduce anything new. Additionally, stick to the main points and talk about what you learned. Remember, the conclusion is as important as your introduction. Thus, you need to ensure that your readers like the ending, too.

Use Evidence To Back your Work

Do you want to make sure your audience likes the essay? Then, you have to build credibility. The question is how you are going to do it. Well, it is simple! Just use evidence to back your work. Furthermore, you can use various real-world examples. But the condition is that they should be relevant. Also, ensure the sources are original and will make an impact on your work.

Add References

Well, we all know how bad plagiarism is for our academics, right? So, one thing is for sure: you need to avoid it at any cost. That is why it is time to add references to your essays.

If you don’t know how to find the right references, Then read this: How to Find References

So, add your references according to the requirements you have given to avoid plagiarism in your content. You must ensure that your references are according to the given style and have proper citations. If you don’t know how to do it, then you can get assistance from professional Essay Writing Services. They are professionals and are familiar with all the referencing styles. Furthermore, you can use tools like Zotero for in-text citations and referencing.

Some of the most common kinds of referencing methods are:

• MLA
• Chicago
• APA
• Harvard

Editing Stage

Oh wait, where are you going? Once you are done with the writing stage, it is time for you to edit your work. Why? It is just your first draft. You still need to refine it to perfection. So, it is now time to edit and proofread your document. For this, don’t start right away. Instead, take a short break and come back with a fresh mind. It will give you room to look at your work from a new perspective. Here are some steps in the editing stage.

Review Your Work

Well, we are all human beings, and there is no shame in making mistakes. So, read your document to check out any errors or mistakes and correct them in your essays.

You know it is quite a crucial step for your essays. It makes sure that everything is good to go, just like you taste your dish once before presenting it to your clients. To make sure that it tastes great. So, review it once before presenting it to avoid any problems in the future.

Keep it Simple

There is one important thing that you must keep in mind while writing essays. That is to keep everything simple and precise. Well, your professors don’t have time to read unnecessary information. So, avoid adding irrelevant information in your essays just to prolong it. Keep it simple and precise to make a good impression on your professors.

For Example – if you are writing about Jupiter. Then you don’t need to explain details about other planets too. That would be irrelevant to add as it is not your topic.

Clarity is the Key

That’s right! You don’t want to submit essays that are jumbled and don’t make any sense. Honestly, readers hate that sort of work. Thus, they won’t stick to the essay for over a minute. So, to avoid all this, you need to maintain clarity. Use easy-to-understand wordings and avoid jargon. Also, keep your sentences short. The average length of a sentence is 20 to 25. Thus, make sure to stick to it.

Furthermore, you can use different synonyms and transition words to enhance your readability. Also, make sure the sentences connect. Lastly, maintaining a flow between paragraphs is important. So, ensure that too.

Check for Grammars and Spelling

Do you know most students make the mistake of submitting poorly edited work? Yup! That’s right! Well, the audience hates it! So, if you want them to like your work, then you have to make sure your work is error-free. Quickly skim through your work and make sure that there are no spelling mistakes. Remove if you find any. Moreover, irrelevant words should be removed to enhance readability. If you have no time to edit your work, then simply go to the essay writing services. You can ask them to proofread your work. By going to the professionals, you can ensure your work is error-free and flawless.

Get Feedback

Once you are done with your essay, it is time for you to get feedback before making the final submission. It will give you room for improvement. For this, you can ask your professors, professional Assignment Help services, or your peers. Tell them to review your work and provide their insights. Moreover, you can incorporate them for better quality work.

Avoid Plagiarism

As you know, plagiarism is considered an ethical offense in academia. Moreover, do you know according to studies, 38% of students submit their work with plagiarism? Also, 14% of the students have been caught using unethical content in their essays. Well, it resulted in consequences. Thus, if you want to avoid it, make sure to keep your work original. You can use a plagiarism detector to check the uniqueness of your essay.

Here is how you can avoid the plagiarism:

• Cite your sources effectively
• Paraphrase the wordings
• Use plagiarism detectors and tools to change the sentence structure
• Put your own spin on it.
• Review, review, and review

5 Incredibly Effective Essay Writing Tips

When it comes to essay writing, there is more to it than just the planning, writing, and editing phase. There are certain additional tips you gotta follow for quality work. Here are some of them.

• Start as soon as possible so that you can complete it within the given deadline.
• Additionally, stick to the word count.
• Use attractive headings and sub-headings.
• Break your work into manageable parts.
• Add citations, graphs, visuals, images, and stats to enhance the quality of your work.
• Manage your time effectively and avoid procrastination. Otherwise, you might not be able to finish the essays on time.

So, these are some of the tips you can follow for more enhanced writing.

Formatting: The Art of Presenting Your Essay In Concrete Manner

While essay writing is all about planning, writing, and editing, the format matters too. Why? Well, it enhances the look of your work and makes it visually appealing. Thus, while working on your essay, make sure to follow through with a format.

Don’t know what it is? No problem! I have a sample outline for you. It includes:

• Font and Spacing: The art of essay writing includes choosing the right font and spacing. The reason? It gives your work a neat look. Thus, you have to choose the correct font and spacing. In my opinion, Times New Roman and Arial are best for academic work. Additionally, double spacing is used on both sides.
• Title Page: The title page is also a vital part of an essay. Hence, write down your name, essay name, submission deadline, and the professor you are submitting your work to.
• Citations: Once done, make sure to add citations. From APA to MLA, Harvard, Chicago, etc, there are many referencing styles. Hence, use the ones that are recommended.
• Header or Page Number: You should add headers or page numbers while formatting the essay. It will tell the readers how many pages are there in your essay.

Dos and Don’ts of Essay Writing

Before I end the guide, you need to understand the dos and don’ts of essay writing. It will help you ensure your work matches the academic standard. Here are some do’s and don’s. They include:

Do’s of Essay Writing

While writing the essay, here are some specific things you must involve in your work. They include:

• Understand the question prompt effectively and ensure that your essay answers them critically.
• Additionally, ensure your essay has a beginning, middle, and end.
• Stick to the crucial information one point per paragraph.
• Revise and edit once you are done to ensure the quality of the essay.
• Tell the effective solutions and what you learned from them.
• Use formal language
• Reference your work by using the correct citation styles, aka APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, etc.
• Identify the relevant sources.

Don’t of Essay Writing

Here are some things you need to steer clear of in your work. They include:

• Avoid negative and irrelevant words
• Don’t introduce any new points in any of the paragraphs
• Use conjunctions
• Avoid plagiarism
• Using Passive voice
• Citing Unreliable sources
• Adding improper sentences

Conclusion

So, that’s it! Here is everything you need to know about essay writing. Remember, it is an art that you should master for quality work. From planning to outlining, writing, and editing, everything is crucial. First, you must understand the question, brainstorm, research, and then start writing.

Moreover, you should convey your ideas and thoughts clearly so readers can understand them effectively. Proofreading before making the final submission is also crucial. Remember, it is all about developing proper writing skills that will lead to effective work. Hopefully, my detailed guide will help you in crafting a flawless essay.