Essay writing is a piece of cake for experienced authors, writers, and those who know how to effectively put forth their point of view and present their case. However, it can become quite cumbersome for newbie writers, amateur learners, students, and people who are short on time and cannot quite keep up with their deadlines. In order to help such damsels in distress out, a compilation of useful tips to write an excellent essay within a fraction of time have been listed below.
1. Get Clarity on the Purpose of Essay
Before selecting the topic of your essay, you need to at first be sure of what you want to write and why you want to write it. You need to be very clear on your purpose in writing the essay. Ask yourself, what are you trying to achieve by writing this essay? Are you trying to educate people about a topic, or are you trying to present contradictory facts about an already existing topic of debate? Are you trying to persuade your readers about a fact, or you are just narrating incidents of the past? Once you decide on your purpose of writing your essay, then the selection of the topic becomes a breeze.
2. Select a Catchy Topic
Once you have clarified your purpose, now you need to pick a topic. If you do not have a choice of picking up one for yourself, and have been assigned one by someone else, move on to the third point. However, if you have an option of selecting the topic of your choice, then go with the one which resonates most with the ideas you want to convey and catches the attention of the reader. Additionally, the topic must have enough material available. If the topic you selected has little or no material available for research, it is advised that you select another topic with better supporting research available.
3. Make an Outline
The next step is to make a rough draft of your essay. List down all the points you have in mind that you will be discussing in the body of your essay. Organize your thoughts, make bullets, or draw spokes as in mental mapping techniques. Do whatever you feel is easier for you, and whichever method suits you.
4. Gather Information
Once you have prepared an outline, start your research and gather information about your topic. Read as much as you can from authentic sources and jot down at least two examples to support your viewpoint. Collect all the necessary evidence and mention all the noteworthy statistical facts and numbers.
5. Start Writing
After you are equipped with the necessary knowledge, you can now start writing your essay. It is up to you whether you write the body first or the introduction and conclusion. You can check out this MLA title page guide for better writing. Though many writers advise writing the body first and then come back to the introduction and conclusion, it is your choice how you want to work your way through your draft.
6. Edit and Proofread
After you have finished writing your essay, read it again. This proofreading exercise will help you locate spelling and grammatical mistakes. When you find them, correct them and make edits where you deem necessary.
