Simple Ways to Write a Short Essay

Throughout your life, you may receive numerous requests to write essays. It can be frightening, mainly if you are unsure what an essay is and how to write one. In this article, we'll take a closer look at what an essay is, what it is intended to accomplish, and the different types of essays.

First, Let's Define an Essay

An essay is typically a brief piece describing the author's viewpoint or personal experience. Beyond that, this kind of writing has many uses, such as criticizing and whatnot.

Although there are many different kinds of essays when discussing types, they are frequently divided into the following four groups −

• Argumentative essay

• Expository essay

• Narrative essay

• Descriptive essay

People tend to believe writing an essay is as easy as typing, but successful essays require much more planning. If you've never written an essay before, struggle with writing, and want to get better at it, or were given the assignment to do so, you should follow these steps to create a flawless essay.

Step 1: Choosing a Topic

No matter what kind of essay you are writing, understanding the prompt is the first step. You might have the option to choose your topic for your assignment, or you might have to respond to a specific question.

Don't just start writing about the first thing that comes to mind. Instead, you should choose the best topic that will almost certainly earn you a high grade. Make sure the topic you select can convey the purpose of your essay by giving it some thought.

Step 2: Do Some Research on the Topic

Time to think of some ideas and do some research on the subject. Start by quickly noting down what you are already familiar with. You can then easily record any helpful information you discovered along with your sources and find the answers to your predetermined question. To make future citations and references simpler, make a note of any concepts, discussions, quotations, or examples you want to use in your writing along with the source.

If you have time, you can make an extra effort to research outside your course textbooks. To learn more, you can refer various informational sources, including journals, newspapers, and online resources.

Step 3: Form a Thesis Statement

You need a thesis statement to demonstrate your main idea, even if your assignment doesn't pose a straightforward question. Additionally, it should clarify what you believe about the subject and point readers in the right direction for the essay. You should write a concise sentence that presents a debatable argument.

Step 4: Essay Outline

It can be as easy as writing down your ideas on a mind map or fully developing them in a straightforward outline. Here, the goal is to arrange the arguments and supporting data you gathered. Never omit this step when composing your essay. It will assist in organizing your writing and help you determine how to include all your key ideas while maintaining a logical flow.

Step 5: Writing the Introduction Paragraph

Planning a schedule before you write earlier in the day is crucial. Essay writing shouldn't cause you to lose sleep, and hastily written assignments are more likely to contain errors. Thus, you must start writing earlier to receive a distinction on your essay.

If you mess the introduction part, then no matter how well you have written it inside, the perception will always be different because of your bad introduction. With a hook, you must grab the reader's interest right away.

Even though you may be writing an official academic essay, you are still writing for a specific audience. So you should be careful to make your piece attractive so that it can able to grab the instructor's attention. You can use dialogue, story, shocking statistics, or a quotation if it is interesting and relates to the thesis statement.

Step 6: Writing the Body of the Essay

This section of the essay develops the argument and supports your thesis statement. It should explain, outline, or defend your position on the subject. A substantial body paragraph includes a topic sentence, additional explanation, and support from reliable sources. Additionally, it should make sense to your reader and tie back to the main subject.

Make sure that you properly end each paragraph by restating the main point and connecting it to the following one when moving from one idea to the next.

Step 7: Writing the Conclusion

Your opportunity to leave readers with a positive impression of your work is in the conclusion, which is the last section of your essay. It ought to confirm your response to the query. Writing a concise summary of your prior arguments in three to five sentences is required.

Remember that there shouldn't be any new information in your conclusion. Restate your thesis statement once more to strengthen your argument and connect your points.

Step 8: Editing the Essay

Your essay has not yet been completed. You should reread your work once you've completed writing to make corrections. Read your essay from beginning to conclusion to ensure a solid flow and structure. Verify that the correct structure is used, and your most vital ideas should be included in the first and last paragraphs.

Check to see if your essay addresses the assignment and consider any potential improvements to your argument. Check if your topic sentence is backed up by evidence or examples in every paragraph.

To ensure that your essay is flawless, check it for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. Eliminate all filler and pointless sections, vary your expressions, and don't overuse transitions or vocabulary

Conclusion

Every essay or paper must go through the same preparation, writing, and editing stages; however, the time and work required for each stage vary depending on the type of essay. For instance, if you're writing a five-paragraph expository essay for a high school assignment, you'll likely spend the most time writing. However, if you're writing a college-level argumentative essay, you'll need to spend more time researching your subject and coming up with an original argument before you begin writing.