Can great essay writing be condensed into just 10 steps? Well, there is a lot that goes into academic writing in general, these top takeaways are a great place to start if you want to improve your essay-writing skills.
Some people find it easy to write essays. However, for many, knowing how to answer an essay question in a way that will earn them high marks is something that must be learned and practiced regularly. You can also take comfort in knowing 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, or a course assignment, coursework or something else.
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In this article, we will discuss some best practices for writing academic essays!
How to Write Effective Academic Essays?
Here are 10 best tips for writing an effective essay.
Read the prompt carefully
When you write an essay for a class assignment or a scholarship application, you usually receive a prompt that tells you what to write about or provides a list of possible topics. Carefully reading the prompt can help you choose an effective topic for your essay and give you ideas for how to structure your argument. When you read the prompt, underline any instructions that tell you how many points to include or how long your essay should be.
Plan and schedule
Understanding the question is the first step, but it is also critical that you make good use of your available time. Students usually underestimate the amount of effort required to write a good essay, which results in two outcomes: (1) late nights at the library and (2) a poor grade. If you want to get a good grade, you should start planning your essay the moment you get the essay question.
Setting deadlines for yourself and committing to stick to them, you do not have too much work right before your hand-in date. It is also essential that you allow enough time, ideally a couple of days, between finishing your first draft and proofreading.
Read widely
Reading is just as important as writing. Before you begin writing your essay, conduct a comprehensive search for relevant literature. Learning how to sift through a large amount of data is a valuable academic skill. You need to start by searching databases (Google Scholar is an excellent tool for this) for key words related to your research topic. When you find an article that sounds interesting, read the abstract to ensure that it is relevant.
Structure, Flow, and Focus
How you show your argument is nearly as important as the argument itself, which is why your essay must follow a logical structure. A classic piece of advice is to "tell them what you are going to tell them, then tell them, and then tell them what you told them". This summarises the core introduction, main body, and conclusion structure of your essay.
A clear and logical structure will help ensure that your essay remains focused and doesn't stray from the question being addressed. Each section, paragraph, and sentence should add value to the argument you're presenting.
Improve your spelling, grammar, and punctuation skills
Improving your grammatical skills will allow you to create rough drafts that are closer to the finished product, saving you time during the proofreading stage of your writing process. If you're a student, you could ask your English or writing teacher for extra help with punctuation, active voice, proper pronoun usage, and other concepts.
Use appropriate vocabulary
Using words that are suitable for the tone and purpose of your essay can help you write more compellingly and persuasively. When writing, only use words you understand to ensure proper usage. You can use a dictionary to expand your vocabulary and diversify your writing. When deciding on words for your essay, keep the tone in mind. For example, if you're writing a formal paper for a class, avoid using slang and abbreviations to maintain a professional tone. For example, if you write a research paper and you know how to choose the right words. So, you can get help with research proposals from online expert writers to improve your writing.
Be critical
Perfect theories and academic approaches are rare; the vast majority of theories, arguments, and studies have flaws. Being descriptive is fine if you only want to pass, but if you want to get a higher grade, you must demonstrate that you can use critical reasoning when dealing with academic materials. What are the limitations of the theories you are relying on? How have these been addressed in the literature? How do they affect the quality of arguments presented, and how much do they limit our understanding of what you're studying? What other explanations might provide more depth?
Critical thinking will help your essay stand out. It shows the marker that you aren't just repeating the arguments that have been fed to you throughout your studies, but actually engaging with theories in an academic manner.
Write a strong conclusion
Ending your essay with a well-written, thoughtful conclusion can boost your credibility and leave a positive impression of your skills. In your conclusion, you may restate your thesis and main points. You can also demonstrate the significance of your topic by outlining the implications of your research and argument. For example, if you're writing an essay arguing for more arts funding at your college, you could end by visualising the fantastic works of art that students could create if their programs were given more funding.
Be specific
When writing an essay, use specific details such as historical facts, numerical data and descriptions of places and people, to support your argument and engage your readers. The types of details you use might be based on the goal of the essay or your topic.
Proofread your essay
Before you submit or complete your essay, read it several times and look for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. Consider asking a friend or classmate to read your final draft and give you feedback on its readability, clarity, and tone. You might also read your essay out loud to yourself, which can show you places to improve your sentences and word choice.
Final Words
We hope these top best practices for writing an essay will be helpful to you. Also, consider writing sample essays on various topics to help you gain confidence in your writing. Regular practice can help you hone your skills and feel more prepared when it comes time to write an actual essay. You can also find sample prompts for a wide range of essay topics online.
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