Essay Writing Guidance or How to Write an Essay
- Types of essays
- Common strucrure
- Outline writing
- How to write introduction (with example)
- How to write thesis (with example)
- How to write body paragraphs
- How to conclude
Custom essay writing is an unending process that college students engage in throughout their college life. The process of writing an essay is usually systematic and calls for uttermost dedication. One should put into consideration clarity and comprehension of ideas he or she seeks to put across. Essays serve different purposes, which form the basis for their classification.
Essays are classified as:
- descriptive,
- argumentative,
- expository,
- persuasive essays.
Descriptive essay
A descriptive essay is one that is meant to describe what the writer feels sensory-wise. This includes what one hears, sees, or touches.
Argumentative essay
An argumentative essay seeks to support an argument to the reader. It is written from the writer’s point of view and seeks to sway the reader onto the writer’s track of ideas. The writer uses facts and figures that are relevant to the argument
Expository essay
This essay calls for in-depth research on a given topic or idea. The writer presents their findings in a systematic manner. They are more opinion-based and different writers may come up with different ideas on the same topic.
Persuasive essay
A persuasive essay is meant to persuade the reader to get along with the writer’s ideas. This essay is meant to completely change the reader’s perspective on a given topic.
Common Structure of your Essay
Essays are usually written in a manner that seeks to present ideas in a systematic and understandable manner. The most common format for writing an essay is the “introduction-body-conclusion” format. These parts are written in paragraphs with the body having three paragraphs since it is here that the main ideas of the essay are. A perfectly written essay in most cases takes the five-paragraph format. This format is popular owing to the fact that it ensures that all ideas of the essay are clearly and efficiently outlined.
Outline for a Five-paragraph Essay
Introduction
This is the first paragraph of your essay. It gives a brief description to the writer of what the essay is about. The introduction seeks to capture the reader’s attention to what the writer is going to elaborate on further in the body. It should be brief and to the point. Making the introduction longer may lead to getting into further details on the topic, which is a role served by the body paragraphs.
Body
The body contains the main ideas for your essay. The purpose of the body is usually to support and elaborate your introduction and thesis statement. A perfect paragraph contains and supports one idea conclusively. The opening sentence of a paragraph is usually known as the topic sentence. The topic sentence serves as a brief overview of what the whole paragraph is all about. Be sure to conclusively explain your ideas in the following sentences before moving to a new paragraph.
Normally, the body of a well-written essay has three paragraphs that are linked to one another starting with the most important arguments or ideas as you move to the least important ideas. Be sure to always have a relevant topic sentence for each paragraph, followed by supporting sentences.
Conclusion
This is the last paragraph of your essay. The conclusion serves as a reminder or summary of the writer’s ideas to the reader. It usually provides recommendations and implications of what you have written about. The conclusion ties together all the points and arguments outlined in your essay in an understandable manner.
Writing a Proper Introduction
The introduction serves as the first impression to the reader. The introduction should be concise and catchy at the same time to build the reader’s interest. A poorly written introduction can make the reader stop reading your essay from this point since he or she assumes that the entire essay is equally poor. There are various tips that a writer can use to come up with a proper introduction.
- Start your introduction with an anecdote, relevant quote, or facts and figures that are relevant to your context. This hooks your reader and develops an interest in them to continue reading.
- Summarize the structure of your essay. It is often advised that the introduction should be written last in order to cater to this. A summary of the essay gives the reader a preview of what it is all about.
- Be sure not to get into details that should be catered for by the body paragraphs.
- Write a catchy thesis statement that summarizes the ideas of your essay in a manner that the reader will develop an interest.
This is an example of a proper introduction
“In the world of education, tutoring is very important. It is highly expected that not everyone has the power to grasp what they are taught in the same manner and pace. Some people are quick-learners whereas others are slow-learners. Fortunately, in order to provide equal learning opportunities for students, tutors come in handy to facilitate this. I am going to get into an in-depth analysis on why tutors are important and the impact that they have on students”
How to Write a Tentative Thesis Statement
The thesis statement is usually captured in the introduction paragraph. Your thesis statement should be wrapped up in one or two sentences. The reader should comprehend what your essay will be about. There are various tips that a good writer should employ to come up with a tentative thesis statement.
- You need to be clear and concise as much as possible. Avoid wordiness that could confuse your reader. The reader needs to understand what you will discuss in the least words possible.
- Avoid a sentence such as “In my paper, I am going to talk about….”
- Be specific as much as possible. Avoid generalizing your thesis statement. Drive your reader to your main idea conclusively.
- Make sure that your thesis statement will be limited to the content that you are supposed to write. Put into consideration that there is a specific number of pages that should be achieved as per the instructions.
- Unless one is writing a technical paper, the thesis statement should have simple language that your audience will easily understand.
Below is an example of a perfect thesis statement from the sample introduction already given.
“…This essay is an overview on the importance of tutors to students and the impact they have on a student’s life”
Writing Intriguing Body Paragraphs
The body paragraphs contain your essay content and arguments. In most cases, the body paragraphs are usually three in number. Your ideas should be arranged in an orderly manner for ease of incomprehension by the reader. There are various tips for writing intriguing body paragraphs.
- Each paragraph should start with a topic sentence. A topic sentence is a simple overview of what the paragraph is about.
- Following the topic sentence, are supporting sentences. These sentences are meant to back up the topic sentences.
- Each paragraph should only contain one idea. Avoid mixing up ideas that would confuse your reader.
- Your body paragraphs should be arranged in a logical manner for ease of flow of ideas.
- Be sure to stick to the scope of what you are writing about.
How to Conclude your Essay
The conclusion of your essay is a summary of what you have written about. There are various tips a writer can use to develop a good conclusion.
- Avoid bringing up new ideas.
- Do not restate your thesis statement in the conclusion.
- The conclusion paragraph should give your reader a sense of closure.
- The concluding sentence should make your reader feel it was worth reading your essay.
- A conclusion paragraph may include a solution or recommendation to a stated problem.
What to do after your Essay is written?
After your essay is ready, it is of great importance to proofread and edit your paper for various errors. Be sure to correct spelling, sentence structure, and grammatical errors. Read through several times to ensure the flow of ideas. You can read out your essay to a friend to help you check any other errors that you may not have corrected.
