We’ve all been there. You’ve spent days crafting what you think is the perfect essay yet when you get it back there is pen all over it. After you’ve deciphered what all the marks are your gaze shifts to the comment at the end: “You have not answered the question.” This is a frustratingly common comment written by teachers, lecturers and professors the world over yet it is one which can be so easily avoided. Read on to find out how you can write the perfect essay.
Essentially you need to treat the reader as though they were a child. You need to tell them what you’re going to tell them, then you need to tell them, then you need to tell them what you’ve told them. Simple, yes?! You would think so, but actually, the process of choosing what to include in your essay can be really quite tricky for some.
The silver lining in all of this is that much of the work has been done for you. The hardest part is narrowing down the topic to form a single question and that has already been done for you by the person setting the essay questions. What you need to do is to make sure that you answer that single question and no other.
Feeling a bit daunted? You don’t need to be. Feel confident and follow these tips for a foolproof guide to writing the perfect essay.
1. First of all, you need to work out what you’re being asked to do!
It isn’t always immediately obvious, but get this wrong, and you’ll find that the whole process has been a waste of time. Identify the keywords and phrases which tell you exactly what the question is asking.
2. Create a diagram or an outline of your ideas.
Don’t get hung up about what the diagram looks like. It is merely a tool to help you to organize your thoughts, so it can be as messy or as neat as you like.
3. From your outline, think about what the main ideas and themes are.
From these ideas and themes, you can form a thesis statement, A thesis statement is simply a two-part statement, or alternatively two sentences, which state the purpose of both the topic and the essay. It is your take on the question if you will.
4. Plan your essay
It is really important that you plan out your essay. It doesn’t need to be majorly comprehensive, but you need a plan to ensure that your essay has flow, that you don’t repeat yourself and that each point builds naturally on the points which came previously.
5. Draft your essay
Using your plan as a guide, focus on just getting your thoughts down on paper as they are. They won’t be perfect at this stage but that’s fine because they don’t have to be. At this point, do not worry about writing the introduction.
6. Take a break from your essay.
That’s right. In an ideal world, you have not left your essay to the last minute so you are able to take a day, or preferably two, away from the draft.
7. Re-draft the essay
Your break will have given you the time and space you need to come back to your essay with fresh eyes. Take the opportunity to ensure that your points flow succinctly from one to the next and that, at all stages in your essay, you are telling the reader why your opinions, answers, and evidence are relevant to answering the question!
8. Be brutal.
You have re-drafted your essay, but can you be sure that each point is relevant and that it adds value to the finished piece? If it doesn’t then it needs to go as one weak area will leave the reader looking for further weaknesses in your writing instead of looking for the strengths.
9. You guessed it.
Point 9 is to re-edit the essay again. It is a good idea at this point to ask a friend, relative or colleague to look over the essay for you. At the very least they should be able to tell you if your sentences make sense. If they don’t make sense, then they need to be changed so that they do!
Ideally, find someone who knows a little about the topic because they’ll be able to spot any glaring errors or omissions.
10. It might sound a little backward, but now is the time to write the introduction.
Essentially, you are using the introduction to tell the reader what it is you have written about, and it’s much easier to do that once the essay is actually written. Read through your essay, highlight the main points and then briefly summarize them in the introduction and you’ll be good to go.
These 10 points will help you write a fabulous essay that is not only relevant to the question throughout but which is well planned, thought out and written. Don’t forget, let your personality shine through the essay- the reader wants to hear your opinion, they want to know that you have engaged thoroughly with the relevant texts and they want to know that you have come to a thoughtful conclusion. Most importantly, remember that your essay will be one of very many that the teacher is marking, so make sure it stands out for all the right reasons.
Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post written by CustomWritings in partnership with Lagos University Info (LASU-INFO) which is among the Top 20 Nigeria Education blogs. All opinions are 100% mine.
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