We have been writing essays for as long as we can remember. However, it takes a lot more than following the essay structure to write an outstanding essay. And as you progress through school, the process becomes more intense and demanding. It’s important to know how to write effective essays that communicate what you are trying to convey to the readers and accomplish specific objectives.
“Essay” is a term used for a piece of writing where the author presents their opinion on a topic, it can be academic, editorial or even humorous. There are millions of topics to choose from and different approaches to essay writing. But at the end of the day, the essays that are really considered good tend to follow the same framework.
And folks, in this article we will discuss the framework that helps you write a good essay. So, let’s begin!
Table of Contents
Steps to Write a Good Essay
Following the structure of the introduction, body and conclusion give no guarantee that the essay will be worth reading, there is a lot more planning that goes into writing an essay successfully. Even if you are a seasoned essay writer, reading these steps will only help you become more efficient.
The steps that should be followed are:
- Choose the type of essay
- Decide on a topic
- Brainstorm the topic
- Drafting
- Revise
- Edit and proofread
- Choose your writing style
They may seem a lot but are essential for writing an essay that is clear and cohesive.
Choose the Type of Essay
Like any form of writing, essays come in many different types. Sometimes you are already given the type you will be working with and sometimes you have to choose it yourself. So it is better to know what your options are, so here are some of the most common essay types:
Argumentative Essay
The argumentative essay is a type of essay that presents an extended, evidence-based argument. It also has a strong thesis statement that clearly defines your take on the topic. The main aim of this type of essay is to convince the reader of your thesis using evidence and analysis.
Analytical Essay
It is one of the most common types of essay that provides a clear and substantive analysis of a topic. The major aim behind this type of essay writing is to enhance the understanding of readers
Narrative Essay
As the title suggests, narrative essays are essays where students present their perspectives in a more personal and creative way. In simple words, it is a type of essay where one tells a story, it could be about a personal experience or maybe an imaginative exploration of something. A narrative essay doesn’t strictly follow the format of introduction, body and conclusion but still, it should start by creating a narrative and finish by presenting the point of the story.
Expository Essay
In such an essay, students compare, explore, discuss and give a clear and balanced explanation of a topic. To write this type of essay, you should have real and extensive knowledge about the topic and it should be free of your feelings and emotions. It should be completely based on facts, figures and examples etc.
Descriptive Essays
In such an essay, the writer paints the picture through his words. In other words, it is an essay where the writer describes a pace, an object, an event or maybe even a memory. Just like a narrative essay, it gives the writer more freedom to be creative. If a descriptive essay is done well, the reader can feel the emotions that the writer is trying to convey through writing.
Persuasive Essay
Persuasive essays are written with the purpose to get the reader to your side of the argument. It is not just an essay based on facts and statistics but an attempt to convince the reader of the writer’s perspective. To write a persuasive essay you have to have a solid understanding of both sides of the issue so that you can not only convince the reader why your take on the subject is correct but you will be able to convince why the opposing opinion is incorrect and only then your essay that will be considered persuasive.
Compare and Contrast Essay
In such an essay, the writer points out similarities and differences between two or more subjects. Compare and contrast essays requires critical thinking also. To write one, the writer must analyse and explain the relationship between the subjects.
Admission Essay
Most colleges and universities have requirements to provide an admissions essay in the application, it usually revolves around why you are interested in the discipline you have chosen and in their school.
Let’s Begin the Essay Writing Process
Writing any type of paper, be it a story, thesis, dissertation or anything, really – it is essential to follow a writing process so that your paper turns out readable and good. This is the standard essay writing process that we would suggest you follow:
Brainstorming
Brainstorming is a crucial step to follow, it helps you collect your thoughts even before you start writing. Write everything that comes to your mind, just know that you can take out some of those ideas that won’t help your essay in the later stage.
Drafting
This is the stage where you start writing your first draft. Remember, your first draft doesn’t have to be perfect as this is your first draft, not your final draft. Relax, and work on it and you will still have time to revise and change what needs to be changed in the later stage.
Revising
Now is the time to roll up your sleeves and revise the whole thing from top to bottom. Address all the things that made you stop when you were in the drafting stage.
What you need to pay attention to is the word choice and clarity, if your paragraph is making sense or not. Also, avoid writing in a passive voice, it will help make your essay look more sophisticated.
Edit and Proofreading
Now it’s time for the final step and one of the most important steps – Proofreading. Go through your essay and correct any spelling, grammatical, or structural errors you may have made. We would suggest asking someone else to proofread it for you because, sometimes as you have read your essay thousands of times, you overlook some mistakes, someone reading it for the first time can proofread it better than you. However, if that’s not an option, you can always turn to a writing assistant application such as Grammarly, Reverso or Bartedly write.
Writing/Citation Style
There are many different ways to cite sources from your research. Some of the commonly used citations that are used by students and universities are:
- APA (American Psychological Association)
- MLA (Modern Language Association)
- Chicago/ Turabian Style
Essay Structure
Essays usually follow the simple format of Introduction, body, and conclusion. But, what matters is what you write in those sections.
Introduction
Essays follow the same pattern of writing an introduction that all the other pieces of writing do. Your essay introduction should emphasise the thesis statement so that by the end of your introduction the readers will be able to know without a doubt what your essay is about. Keep it brief, don’t overdo it but provide a summary or a road map of your essay.
Your Introduction must:
- Grab the reader’s attention
- Offers proper background on the topic
- Describe your thesis statement so that the reader knows clearly what the essay is about.
Body
The majority of your essay consists of the body paragraph, you will explain and develop the main idea of your topic and present evidence to support your thesis. What you will do is start each paragraph with a topic sentence, write down the supporting point for the idea and in the end, provide evidence to support it and elaborate on it.
The basic structure for a simple essay is:
- Your point
- Counterpoint
- Evidence to support your point or disproving counterpoint
Conclusion
Now you will wrap up your essay by summarising your thesis in a way that is world reading but still simple enough that the reader can understand. What you shouldn’t do is add new information or evidence as it is just a recap of what you have written in the entire essay.
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