Writing a great essay is like swimming. Even if you know how to do it, it still takes a lot of effort to perform. However, writing an essay can be one of the most boring and tedious things to do, especially as a student.
Things to keep in mind before writing a great essay:
Here is a list of a few great tips that will help you write a great essay that might drop your teacher’s jaw:
Stay focused on your task from the beginning?
One of the reasons why you cannot muster the energy or the creativity to spice up the wording of your essay is because your brain is busy somewhere else. Your brain would rather scroll through Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat than write something as tedious as an essay. As Albert Einstein himself states, boredom leads to creativity.
Try to put your phone away for a few hours, and stare at a blank wall. Something great will definitely come to you. Stick to what you are writing and you will surely write something great.
Follow the basics to plan and move ahead:
Sometimes it feels like a massive burden writing an essay, but not knowing where to go. Many people decide to just wing it, which often leads to disappointing results.
Try to follow the basics that you were taught long ago: create a mind-map, organize it, and finally scribe it properly somewhere. You will realize how easy it is to fill up the words when you know exactly what to write about.
Do extensive research beforehand:
An essay is a short formal piece of writing that deals with a single subject. Most of the time, an essay is just giving a formatted form of opinion on something. It usually deals with the introduction of the issue at hand, some general criticism, and then finally your own opinion.
To write something that is enticing, you need to understand the issue completely. This is why most teachers expect students to add references at the end. Open up Google Scholar and start searching. You will eventually have enough information to make an opinion that the teacher can definitely give you an A or an A+ on.
Maintain your flow of writing:
One very important fact to keep in mind when writing a great essay is to ensure that you are keeping a flow within the paragraphs. Because an essay deals with only one subject, it can become difficult to figure out which line is appropriate where. This is why it is imperative that you proofread over and over again. Proofreading is also a great way to find out what your essay might be lacking. If you have a friend who has great grammar and language skills, try asking them to proofread too.
Be that person who knows “how”:
Many essays deal with ‘what’ the issue is. They tend to briefly explain the issue, and ‘what’ can be done to fix it. Teachers generally do not like to be given information on something they already know about. ‘What’ essays are generally given C+ or B- at best. Instead, be the person who can answer the questions of ‘why’ and ‘how’. Explain ‘what’ the problem is, ‘why’ it started, and ‘how’ it can be solved.
The person who knows how to solve a problem is always given a better grade than someone who is reiterating what the problem is all the time.
Avoid clichés & empty words:
If you are writing a creative short story, the worst thing you could do to butcher up your essay is to add clichés – things that have been repeated in similar themes over and over again. Clichés bring down the originality of your theme considerably, and makes your story feel predictable.
Empty words
Avoid use of words that mean nothing like
- “Some”
- “That”
- “For the longest time”
- Contractions
- Idioms
- Slangs
- Rhetoric questions
and so on.
Final Thoughts:
These tips will surely help you write a great essay. One more thing which you need to keep in mind is being creative. Every writer has his/her own style. You should follow your style by keeping above things in mind.