An essay is one of the most common types of assignments that students get in high school, college, and university. Besides, they are expected to be very good at writing essays and other types of assignments. It may seem simple and all you need to is put words and ideas together. However, it is much more complicated than you may think. Therefore, you should have a simple and thorough guide that explains the basic steps of writing an essay thoroughly.
The Basic Steps of Writing an Essay
In the given article, you will learn the basic steps of writing an essay to ease your job of doing college assignments. Besides, if you pay attention and try to learn all the steps mentioned below, writing an essay will never again bother you. After all, the key to learning anything is paying proper attention.
What is an Essay?
If you are just starting out, it is good to first learn what an essay actually is. Because it will help you find the right approach and understanding to learn how to write essays that can give you A*s.
An essay, on the most fundamental part, is a paper or piece of writing that illustrates a certain topic thoroughly. Besides, an essay basically has three parts: the introduction, the body of the essay, and the conclusion respectively.
In the introduction part of the essay, we have our thesis aka the main idea and the hook which is the main reason your reader sticks to the end. The introduction is followed by the body of the essay which is a series of supporting ideas to help your thesis strengthen and provide valuable information. Lastly, the essay is concluded with the conclusion part which is basically a restatement of your thesis.
Moreover, an essay has 4 basic types such as narrative essay, descriptive essay, persuasive essay, and the expository essay. It is important to note that each essay type has a special purpose and rules to follow.
Best Process of Essay Writing
Whether you are just starting out or you do have a little information about the basic steps of writing an essay, the steps that are mentioned below are some of the easiest yet effective steps of writing an essay. If you follow these steps, there is no doubt you can earn good grades and master essay writing.
- Decide what type of essay you want to write
- Do some research or brainstorm for your essay
- Thesis
- Write your essay
- Lastly, edit
These steps may sound easy and basic but they are indeed very effective. Thus, let us put each of them into perspective.
Decide on Your Essay
The first thing you can do is to decide on what type of essay you need to write. This depends upon the guidelines and instruction given by your teacher. Suppose if you have to convince your reader about something, they may need to write a persuasive essay. If you have to describe an event or tell a story, then you have to choose a narrative essay, Moreover, you can choose to write an expository essay, if you want to explain and illustrate something. Lastly, you can write a descriptive essay, if you want to describe a place or situation to your reader.
Brainstorming
Brainstorming is one of the key factors that help you write a good essay. Basically, it helps you to formulate ideas and dig out information that has the potential to develop a good essay. Moreover, this is the step when you have to think hard and do a lot of research. So,
- You can write down on the paper everything and anything that comes to your mind.
- You can use the mind mapping method to help you brainstorm effectively. Basically, create an enormous bubble at the center of the paper where you can write your main topic. Then, draw smaller bubbles for ideas and connect them with the larger ones to make a tree.
- Besides, you can google and mark ideas that best explain your topic. Or you can also ask your friend to give you some ideas.
- At the end of this step, you will be able to identify and make connections between your supporting ideas and your main idea.
- Once you have a list of supporting ideas, you have identified which ones answer your purpose the best. Mark them.
Besides, an important thing to mention here is to take a topic that is neither too narrow nor too broad. For instance, if you are asked to write about your country then you can choose a specific event of the past and explain it thoroughly.
Developing the Thesis
Your thesis is actually the star of the show. Besides, any type of essay that you write must have a thesis. And basically, the thesis is the summary of your entire essay and it is the part of the introduction. Moreover, the thesis can be a sentence or two but it should answer the main question.
Writing Your Essay
Before you actually start writing your essay, you should first formulate an essay outline. The outline of your essay is the skeleton of your essay. Thus it helps you to write an organized paper.
You can learn more about how to make a perfect outline of your are at How to Write an Essay Outline with Easy Steps.
Since you have developed a strong topic, done research, have brainstormed, developed your thesis, and prepared your outline, you are good to start writing your first draft. But you should remember that you have to follow the outline you have already prepared. So, all you have to do is to write, write, and write. Do not be afraid of making mistakes of any kind because it is your first draft. And focus only on writing your essay.
Lastly, Reread and Edit
Now that you have finished writing your essay and making the first draft, you can start rereading and editing it. This can take some time, so don’t worry. One of the best things you can do is take some time off after writing your essay. Then later come back with a fresh mind to edit and proofread.
Moreover, here can check for grammar mistakes, punctuation, spelling mistakes, and see if your ideas are well connected and organized. All in all, you have to check whether your essay follows the 7 C’s which are coherence, completeness, concrete, clearness, concise, courteous, and correct.
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