Every student will need to write many essays and if you can find the format or a method of tackling each essay which works really well for you, then you should grab it with both hands. Everyone is different. Every student will have a different approach. But the following 10 steps are universal. Each step has been proved to work time and time again. You may wish to vary the order a little but each of these 10 steps can go a long way to helping you create a high-scoring essay.
- Get the research right. Every essay requires some form of research, some more than others. You need to perfect the skill of knowing where to find research material, have this sorted into relevant and irrelevant and how to make notes that will appear in your essay.
- Brainstorming is a simple, free and brilliant activity. You can share your brainstorming activities with other students. Learn how to create and discover lots of ideas and information for your essay through brainstorming.
- Writing a thesis statement is very important. You need to learn how to do this particular skill. You need to understand the importance of the thesis statement, where it appears in your essay and how it is the driving force or fulcrum for the rest of your writing.
- You must have a plan or an outline. You must take time to prepare the writing for the writing. Your plan needs to have as much detail as possible, certainly every point you intend to make throughout the essay.
- The introduction is the hook for the reader. If you want to keep them reading you need to have a terrific opening sentence which is part of a terrific opening paragraph.
- The middle or body of your essay will be made up of two or three paragraphs. This is where you will make the case for your thesis statement. You lead off each of your body paragraphs with the main point and substantiate them with another minor point or points throughout.
- The conclusion is the summary of your essay. You don’t introduce anything new in the conclusion but you do remind the reader of everything which they’ve read before.
- Have you stuck to the topic? If there is a question to be answered in your essay, have you answered it?
- Was there a set number of words which needed to be included in your essay? Have you kept as close to that number of words as possible?
- Was there a format such as MLA or APA which was required for the presentation of your essay? If so, have you followed all the rules and requirements? Have you carried out detailed proofreading of your document?