Academic Essay Writing Guide
At least once in their lives, students have to write an academic essay. This assignment is pretty widespread in colleges and universities, which is why it is necessary to learn how to write it.
First, let's establish whether writing an academic essay is difficult or not. Some students may say that it is a very easy task while others claim that it is quite complicated. Why do they disagree? The reason is that some people have excellent writing skills while others don't. It is no news that to master academic essay writing you have to spend a great deal of time researching, thinking of a thesis, searching for evidence and, of course, learning how to write it. Thus, at first, it may seem very difficult, but with a bit of practice, it will get easier and easier. If you can write a proper academic essay, it will assist you greatly in your studies because you will get better grades and earn your teachers' respect.
How to Structure
A well-established structure can help the writer organize their thoughts in a perfectly clear way, using the thesis and evidence to back them up. Therefore, to have an excellent and coherent essay, the author should organize their thoughts and ideas into a plan in advance, thus making the writing process easier and ensuring that no information is omitted. Be sure to follow the below steps, and you will be able to improve your skills in writing an academic essay:
- Gather all information about the question. You have to be competent in the issue you are discussing in your paper. For example, if you're interested in medical issues and want to bring them up in an essay, you have to read different books and articles about medicine. You can even interview a doctor, which will make the essay more informative and persuasive.
- Use a mind map. It can help you structure your information. Sometimes, disorderly thoughts appear in our head, making us want to write about this and that. Only a mind map is the best solution in this case.
- Think ahead. Before writing an essay, it is worth making a plan because it helps to structure the information and set the priorities.
Outline Drafting
At the very least, every type of writing assignment needs to have the introduction, body paragraphs, conclusion, and references (if you use different sources). The academic essay structure is no exception, so let us learn more about it.
The introduction
The introduction is the first thing a person will read in your essay. Therefore, it should arouse the reader's interest and draw their attention. It is the 'face' of your essay that shows what goal you wanted to reach by writing it.
It is vital to have an excellent beginning, so here are some tips that might really help you improve the first paragraph:
- Give general information about the topic and then pose a question you are going to answer.
- Show the steps you are planning to follow.
- Explain why it is important to explore your idea.
The introduction should always include the purpose of the essay and show the reader the value of your work.
Body Paragraphs
It is evident that the most voluminous part of an essay is its body paragraphs because they include all the information and evidence. Here, you analyze your thesis statement. That is why it is the central part of the essay. Let's go into more detail and find out how you can improve the quality of your body paragraphs:
- Search for controversial information from different sources, compare it and show that you understand all the possible sides of the issue you're talking about.
- Express your opinion and back it up with evidence.
- Cite various examples and famous quotations.
The conclusion
Any essay or research paper should include a conclusion because otherwise, the whole thing will be incomplete. In the conclusion, you sum up all data and finalize your writing. Therefore, to make your essay clear, show the result of your research and prove the importance of your goal. While writing the last paragraph of your paper you should:
- Be brief and clear;
- Sum up the essay;
- Explain why your topic and research is so important.
References
While reading different sources, you may come across some smart-sounding things that can motivate you to write something and come up with new ideas. It is, therefore, worthwhile to read other people's works because you can broaden your outlook and improve your writing skills. Scientific sources can also help you find a massive amount of evidence, so do not neglect to search for solid references.
Tips from our experts
Every student at least once asked themselves a question: "How do I write better essays?" At a glance, it may seem that writing is complicated, but after you read these academic essay writing tips it will get much easier and even enjoyable:
- Don't procrastinate. If you write an essay in advance, you will get more time to proofread it.
- Make detailed research of the topic first and then break down the raw data into smaller chunks. After that, you will be able to include the most relevant information.
- Make a clear and detailed plan. It proves to be efficient when you need to structure all of the major points and evidence.
- Use straightforward language. Your task is to inform the readers, so it's better to be as clear as possible.
- Be critical while proofreading your essay. You should reread your paper at least several times to spot mistakes and inaccuracies. The more times you check your essay, the better it will be.
You always enjoy the result if you do your work well.
An example of academic essay writing
Here you can read an example of the introduction and one body paragraph to the topic: "Why do we read?".
At first glance, the book is just a collection of pages with a cover. But when you open it and begin to read, you become a princess, a king, a giant or even a little ant. In any case, you become the main character of the book you read. You could say, it is something like magic. So, what is the reason behind this? Why do we read? Let's consider a few ideas.
Firstly, reading helps us to relax and forget about real troubles. As soon as you begin to read, you find yourself in a different world, full of new adventures and overwhelming feelings. Just remember the people who read in the underground - they look like nothing in this world can get to them.
Help with academic essays
Let's be honest - not every person is fond of writing. For some, it is effortless while for others it is an extremely complicated assignment. Hence, if you are not confident in your writing skills, consider asking us for help.
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To sum it up, writing an interesting academic essay requires you to choose a topic, do extensive research, write a plan and outline, stay clear-minded and think critically. However, if you don't have enough time or desire, writing will be a torture for you, and you might be better off looking for help.