The Right Way To Write an Essay: A Complete Guide

Коммуникации и технологии >> 04.03.2019
The Right Way To Write an Essay: A Complete Guide
If you’ve never thought about it in detail, essay writing may seem like a simple, straightforward process to you. You get the topic, you think about it for a while and start writing. Although it does include the aforementioned steps, in reality, there’s so much more to it.

Writing an essay is not as simple and plain. Don’t get us wrong, it’s not hard either. However, you do need to know the basic steps of the essay writing process in order to nail it. If you’re curious about finding out everything you need to know about the essay writing process, say no more.

Here’s a complete essay writing guide, to help you learn everything there is about the essay writing process.

Step 1: Brainstorming


When you have a writing assignment in front of you, or you’re assigned a topic for your essay, you always start the same way. You need to get creative and open your mind to new ideas.

The process we’re talking about is called brainstorming. Here’s how it works:
  • you take a pen and a piece of paper
  • you think about your assignment
  • you write down every single idea that pops to your mind, regardless of how silly or wrong it may seem
  • you do this until there are no more ideas
  • you go back to your notes and pick the best ones
Brainstorming is perfect for letting your creativity out and not overthinking the creative process.

Step 2: Research


When you’ve chosen a certain way you want to go with your essay, it’s time to get the facts. Every properly written essay needs to be backed up with credible information and facts.

Therefore, you need to cover the basic research and find out everything you can about it. Make sure your research is conducted accordingly:
  • use reliable sources such as Google Scholar, online libraries, academic journals, and articles
  • don’t steal information from other authors; quote them to show whose idea you’re interpreting
You need to ensure all the information you’re using is reliable and the authors you’re quoting are trustworthy.

Step 3: First Draft


Now that you’ve gathered the necessary information and have your ideas in order, it’s time for the first draft.

The first draft is about the main ideas of your essay. You need to figure out how you want to present them and arrange them in your essay. Here’s what you need to do:
  • start writing down the main points of your essay
  • add information around every point to make it a paragraph
  • rearrange the paragraphs to make them a coherent whole
Write all your body paragraphs in the first draft.

Remember, the introduction and the conclusion are the last things you want to write. Leave it out for now and focus on the body of the essay.

Step 4: Revision & Proofreading


You’ve done a great deal of work so far, but there’s still a long way to go. You’ve got your first draft, but there needs to be at least two or three more.

Each time you revise your previous draft, you need to focus on new things. Consequentially, each new version needs to be a better, upgraded version of the previous one.

Here’s what to focus on while revising each draft:
  • clarity: Is your message clear?
  • information: Did you provide enough facts?
  • accuracy: Are there any spelling or grammar mistakes?
In case you need help polishing your essay or and you’re struggling, you can check out Get Academic Help to see how they can help you.

Make sure to re-read your essay multiple times until you’ve done all the necessary changes.

Step 5: Finalizing


The final step of the essay writing process is something most people usually skip. However, we strongly recommend you doing it, for the sake of the quality of your essay.

Once you’ve written it and consider it complete, it’s best that you leave it to rest at least until tomorrow.

Here’s the whole idea:
  • finish writing your essay and step away from it
  • don’t come back to it until tomorrow
  • read it again tomorrow to see if you still find it perfectly written or there’s more to add
This strategy will help you see your essay with the eyes of a reader, not the writer. It will help you find the hidden flaws and remove them.

Conclusion


Writing an essay could be tricky if you’re not familiar with the right steps of the process. You may get tangled and lost easily which would only result in you being frustrated.

To avoid that, just follow the steps provided above. Be consistent and follow the guidelines. You’ll be surprised how easy it is to write a fantastic essay.