Writing essays is something that you can never avoid while in college or university in the US. Most of the students have a problem when it comes to writing the essays because they don’t know where to start or where to end. This article offers a solution to that by giving basic steps that one should follow when writing an easy. It could be one-page, two-page or even twenty-page essay. They all must follow these 11 basic steps.
Step 1- Read the prompt and understand it.
A prompt is a question that you have been given by the instructor to answer. It is the assignment. You need to get it right and understand exactly what the instructor expects from you. This will ensure you don’t answer that which you have not been asked. In order to get it right, underline or highlight the keywords in the prompt such as; discuss, explain, evaluate, compare, etc. In case you are finding a problem understanding the prompt to be sure to consult the instructor.
Step 2- Pick the topic.
The topic is tied to the thesis which we will discuss in a bit. It should incorporate all the areas that the essay will cover. Sometimes it is easy to pick the topic from the prompt given. Let’s take an example of a prompt that reads “Discuss the effects of the American civil rights movement in the US.” In such a scenario you may decide to pick the topic to be; negative effects of discrimination.
Step 3- Create subtopics.
Now that you already have the main topic of discussion then you will have now to write down some of the ideas that you will discuss to show the negative effects. In our scenario of American civil rights movement, it will be basically an overview of the American Civil Rights Movement and a number of negative effects such destruction of property, loss of life, economic disruption, etc.
Step 4- Create a thesis statement.
The thesis will be the guiding star in your essay writing activity. It will guide you to how you are going to discuss or argue your ideas. Your thesis should be one statement. It should present the topic of your paper and also make a comment about your position in relation to the topic.
Step 5- Create an outline.
This is where you plan on how the ideas that you intend to discuss in the paper are going to follow each other. When writing an outline you will have the three main parts of an essay; introduction, body, and conclusion. The outline does not need to be that formal unless it is a requirement by the instructor. It is basically a map that will guide you on how you will present your ideas. So you can just write the main point and then a few points that you will discuss. These points will be built into a paragraph in the actual paper.
Step 6- Introduction.
After you have written the outline, it is now time to get down into the main paper starting with the introduction. The introduction should be a brief summary of the paper and towards the end, it should have a thesis statement. Normally introduction should be one paragraph unless instructed otherwise by your professor.
Step 7- Body.
It is the largest portion of the paper. Here you will discuss all the ideas as per the outline. Be user to remain within the boundary of a thesis statement. Based on the size of the essay or the instruction given by your professor, the body may or may not have headings and subheadings. It is important to pay a lot of attention on the body of the essay because that is where most of the points will come from during marking.
Step 8- Conclusion.
It is the last paragraph of the essay. It briefly highlights the ideas discussed in the paper. It is also important to restate the thesis statement in the concluding paragraph. But be sure to use different words and not exactly as it appeared in the introduction.
Step 9- Editing and proofreading.
Go through the paper to ensure that there are no grammatical errors. If you are using MS Word, it will highlight for you in blue or green the areas that need to be changed. Also, check in-text citations to ensure that they are well put and that you have followed the style of writing instructed by the professor. The most common styles are APA and MLA. You can read this article to learn more about them- APA guidelines for college and university essays.
Step 10- Use professional proofreading services
MS word cannot show you the most grammatical issues that need fixing. I recommend that you use professional proofreading services available online. They are many and some are free. This will ensure that there are no grammatical errors in your essay. If you dong know any you can try Grammarly, it is one of the best proofreading tools.
Step 11- Create the final copy.
After your essay is free of all grammatical issues, now finalize your work by including your name, course, institution, and date in the right order based on the style that you have used. Also, include the reference page at the end of your paper in the correct format. After that now you can submit your paper to the instructors.
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