Writing an essay is a common assignment given by professors in high schools, colleges, and universities with the aim to consider the various issues raised throughout the particular course, applying the student`s personal experience and improving the way of thinking. Besides, it may require conducting additional research so that the professor could understand that the student tackles the topic well. If you do not know what is an essay and need to get some answers about its purpose or structure, feel free to read our manual.
Undoubtedly, writing an essay is an inevitable part of the educational process as writing an essay, the student learns new information by interpreting the already known concepts. Unfortunately, many students are not aware of how to write a good essay. If you are one of them and feel that you need the assistance, keep reading our article.
The word “essay” has a French nature and derives from the word “essayer,” which means “to try” or “to attempt.” Usually, it refers to a short composition about one subject and presents the author`s personal opinion. Aldous Huxley, the well-known English essayist, gives such a definition of the essay: “an essay is a literary device that helps tell everything about everything.” In its turn, the Oxford Dictionary says that “an essay is a short piece of writing about one certain subject.” To put it simply, an essay is the scholarly writing work that reveals the author`s personal thoughts and ideas. There are many types of essays and essay formats. For instance, an analytical essay requires the in-depth analysis of the issue so that the student could look at it from different perspectives. When it comes to writing an argumentative essay, the student should choose the best one of the good argumentative essay topics to write a thought-provoking essay that could engage the reader.
According to the classic essay structure, there are a few parts of an essay such as an introduction, several body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
Introduction Section
Usually, the introduction paragraph covers two equally important aspects:
First, it should include the background information that the reader should know about your essay.
Second, the introductory paragraph should include the roadmap of how you are going to present your topic, as well as the questions you are going to analyze.
Noteworthy, many students find it easier to write roadmap at the end of the writing process when the main points discussed in the essay are already known.
Main Body
The main body of your essay usually consists of several paragraphs. The number of the paragraphs depends on the complexity of the work and the overall word count. Each paragraph should be dedicated to one point only since it helps avoid mixing the ideas.
Each paragraph starts with the topic sentence, which clearly states the point that will be discussed in the essay. Usually, it is the first sentence of the paragraph, but it can also be the second sentence while the first one is related to the first paragraph. Writing the list of the topic sentences is a good tip that can facilitate the process of essay writing. This enables the students to see how the essay develops and monitor if the thoughts are organized in the logical flow.
The topic sentence is usually followed by the sentences that contain the arguments and evidence supporting the author`s point. Undoubtedly, one cannot tell that something is true or false without providing the reasonable arguments for proving this claim. Undoubtedly, your word is not enough because you are not an expert.
Evidence may come from the credible books, journals, and other peer-reviewed sources in the forms of direct quotations. When using the ideas and thoughts taken from the outside sources, be sure to mention all the information about the sources such as its author, date of publication, the full name of the sources, and the publisher or website from which these sources were taken. When it comes to writing the personal essays, your personal experiences can become the evidence as well.
The last sentence answers the basic question “So what?” It means that it answers how this paragraph is relevant to the overall topic of the essay.
Also, there are many acronyms that will help remember the essay structure better such as TEA(L) [Topic, Evidence, Analysis (Link), PEE(L) [Point, Evidence, Explanation (Link), WEED [What is it about? Evidence, Examples and Do say “so what”?] All you need to do is to choose the favorite one and create a perfect essay!
Conclusion
All concluding sentences should be meaningful and straightforward. Remember that if the final draft of our essay is not submitted, you can adjust your conclusion until you make it perfect. Many students wonder how to end an essay in the best way. First, there should not be the new information or citations. At the same time, an essay conclusion does not simply restate the ideas discussed previously, though it points to the relevance of the topic and importance of discussing it.
Undoubtedly, writing an essay requires much time and dedication. If you experience some difficulties on the particular stage of the essay writing process, feel free to ask your instructor for assistance. He/she will provide you with the effective secrets that will improve your writing skills.