Writing an essay is one task that is, often assigned to students in school. If students approach the essay writing task logically, then they can write a high-quality essay. The key to effective essay writing is good preparation. Students need to follow 8 steps to become an effective essay writer. Here are those steps:
- Research the Topic: First of all, you need to gather material related to your topic. You must go online or visit a local library for data collection. You may even want to find an expert on the subject matter and conduct an interview. You should make detailed notes so that you can refer to your findings later on.
- Analyze the Findings: Once you have gathered information, you can begin to analyze what you have discovered. You should go through essays written by other people on the same topic. You should see what kinds of arguments other authors have made to support their viewpoints. You should look out for weak and strong points in the logic of other writers.
- Brainstorming: Your essay should be unique. You should write down anything that comes to your mind on a paper. This is called brainstorming. You should keep listing your insights unless you can come up with anything else. You can sort the ideas later on.
- Writing the Thesis statement: You should convert the best of your ideas into a thesis statement. Thesis statement will form the basis for your essay. The thesis statement should cover the main points of your essay. It should give your readers the clue about what they should expect in your essay.
- Making an Essay Outline: You should make an essay outline for the points that you will be covering in your essay. You should use a one-line sentence for each of your main points; it will keep you on track.
- Writing an Essay Structure: Writing an essay structure will require you to write introduction, body, and conclusion. In the introduction, you will be required to introduce your topic well. In the body paragraphs, you will prove your viewpoint with evidence and examples. In the conclusion, you should restate your thesis statement.
- Adding Citations: You will need to add citations in your essay if there is a requirement for it. Make sure you cite all the quotes properly following a particular citation style.
- Proofreading and Polishing an Essay: You will need to proofread and polish your essay in the end. You should go over your essay a couple of times to carefully look for errors. Eliminate grammatical errors and spelling mistakes through proofreading.
These are 8 simple steps for effective essay writing. If you follow the preceding tips, then you will realize that the task of essay writing is a lot simpler than before.
