Essay writing is a common task for students. It may be part of a language learning test or a requirement for a college application. Thus, it is crucial to master essay writing skills, which may not seem that easy. Happily, some basic principles and tips will allow you to create killer essays.
Before we go deeper, it is crucial to review the main types of essays.
Narrative Essays
The first, and, arguably, the most popular essay type is a narrative essay. When writing such a piece, the student should tell a story about based on experiences from real life. Narratives essay are usually written in the first person, which should help in engaging readers. An essay of this type should guide a reader to a form of conclusion or a personal statement.
Descriptive Essays
The main goal of the descriptive essay is to draw a picture with words. Usually the writer describes situations, people, or objects, while aiming to convey some deeper meaning via simple descriptions. Such texts deal with reader’s emotions, urging people to make their own conclusions based on what they have read.
Expository Essays
Expository essays involve an analysis of a specific topic using facts, statistics, or other research findings. In this case, facts are more important than emotions, so the writer should not convey to the reader his or her personal feelings even when writing in the first person.
Persuasive Essays
As can be ascertained from the name, the main goal here is to convince the reader through facts, logic, and a description of related situations. Such texts are perfect for using expert opinions, practical examples, etc.
There are actually more types of essays than are covered here. However, for most students, these four main types should suffice. Now as we have this sorted t, let’s move on to practical advice regarding making your texts better.
1. Come up with an idea
Though writing is hard, writing without a clear idea is even harder, and it is unlikely that you will end up with a good piece. So, before you even put pen to paper, think about what you want to say with your text. The easiest way to solve this puzzle is to create a thesis and an argument. Once you’ve got these elements, you can move on to structuring your piece.
2. Create basic structure
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication, so, to craft an excellent piece, you need to structure it properly. There is no need to include a lot of elements or sections: just follow the basics. Usually, an academic essay includes:
- an introduction including the thesis;
- the body of the piece, which includes t separate paragraphs that communicate your main idea and support the thesis – try to use at least three supporting points ;
- a conclusion that connects all the elements and ties them to the thesis.
3. Fight writer’s block
Even when you’ve determined what type of essay you should write, what to say, and what structure to use, there is still such a thing as writer’s block which can stand in the way. Very often there are situations when you need to sit down and write, and you even know what you should write, but you just can’t. You feel that there is no creative bone left in your body; you are simply staring at a blank page, and nothing is happening.
There might be numerous causes of writer’s block: not the right time to write, fear of missing a deadline, unnecessary perfectionism. Or, if you a newbie to essay writing, a lack of writing experience.
The solution is simple — once your page is not blank, it becomes psychologically easier to continue writing. The secret is you don’t have to write a word yourself to get this first content down on the page. Simply use a template of an essay of the required type, and then change the initial text to reflect your thoughts, and then add more information. The content template library by Linguix.com is a perfect tool to use for fighting writer’s block:
4. Use an essay checker
Grammar, punctuation and style are crucial elements for a successful essay. You want your text to be as clean as a whistle so that the reader can understand your main points quickly. To avoid grammar mistakes you can use an English grammar corrector – a tool like Linguix.com that automatically corrects typos and any other writing mistakes.
An essay checker helps to ensure proper article and comma use, correct sentence structures, no tense errors, and so on. Also, such a tool helps you to eliminate wordiness: avoiding words that don’t add anything to your text and detract from your argument.