8 Tips For Writing An Excellent Essay

8 Tips For Writing An Excellent Essay Some writers argued for the five-paragraph essay or other formulaic models, on the grounds that clear expectations at least give underprepared students something to work with. Others advocated replacing the essay with more “real-world” forms that would force students to think in fresh ways. When writing essays it is extremely important to cite other people’s opinions, and original sources, on what you’re writing about. Do not use big words just for the sake of it though. Your essay should not contain meaningless meanderings, so review each sentence and remove any words or paragraphs that don’t add anything to your argument. In an exam, I also jotted down the relevant points I could think of, added a relevant example/quote/fact then sorted into order for the essay. Many students go through a whole year at school and only do one or two practice essays . They may know the subject backwards, but if they don’t know how to write a good essay then they’re screwed. Because we want your teen to master essay writing as much as they can during their time at high school, here are 5 tips that will significantly increase your teen’s essay marks. The format of a 500-word scholarship essay is similar to a shorter essay. Each paragraph is about words, and it consists of 3-5 well-written sentences. No student can create such an essay in one draft. To get there, we tell our students, they’ll need a meaningful, effective, multistep writing process. But what we’ve just described is a final essay -- that is, a product. And essays don’t emerge, fully formed, like Athena from Zeus’s head. Sometimes this means placing it early so the rest of introduction can expand and provide supporting arguments. Other times, you might find you need other arguments before your thesis. As a good test, I tell my students they should never be more than one sentence away from their thesis. It really was effective in clarifying what to write when you can’t cut and paste your work! And saved a lot of time as I had lots of time for writing rather than getting the ideas tumbling over each other. If you’re writing a literature essay, it’s CRUCIAL that you include some close analysis of passages to support your argument. Jot down the sentences that link these in to the greater structure. 2) Sit back and look at your diagram, perhaps alongside your notes, and work out the main ‘point’ or conclusion you want to make in your essay. By this, I mean that if, at any point in their essay, they need more than one sentence to connect what they're saying back to their thesis then they are off-track. Often students struggle with essays because they don't understand essay structure. The best essays are characterised by a clear line of argument throughout â€" I don’t really buy the idea that essays should present both sides of a question. I always decide what I’m trying to say; the point I want to conclude with, before I start. Now, the job you’ve got in writing the essay is to set this conclusion up. Even if your teacher does prescribe reading, it’s always worth seeing whether you can find something extra that will add breadth, depth or a fresh perspective to your argument. If you are writing a story or personal anecdote, the formatting can be more like a novel than a news article. Learn to write the perfect 500 word essay with this step-by-step guide. We will also provide an example for inspiration. Includes sample introduction, body, and conclusion paragraphs. 4) Start to fill out your skeleton with information from your notes, and any extra ideas you might have.