How To Write An Effective Essay: Essential Things To Consider
There are many different cases when you need to write an essay. You might need to write it for a school or college, when applying for a scholarship or program or as a part of a competition or contest. No matter what essay you are going to write, it should be interesting, informative, and well-structured. In this article you will find some tips on how to write an effective essay.
- Choose the topic and clarify the aim.
- Write a plan.
- Elaborate a thesis statement.
- Write the main body.
- Write the introduction and conclusion.
- Proofread the text.
This stage depends on whether you are given the topic or you can choose it yourself. If you are free to select the theme of your work, think of something topical and appealing to the wide range of readers. Once the topic is chosen, decide on the aim of the essay: to inform, explain, persuade or entertain the potential readership. Now it’s time to do a bit of research on the topic. Find interesting examples to illustrate the problem, recall your personal experience. First and foremost make sure you are interested in the topic. Take notes.
At this point your task is to summarize and organize your ideas. Make a logical outline of all your findings. Categorize them properly. This plan will help you see the links between your thoughts and write in more coherent way.
Having written the plan, you should think about the main idea of you essay. It is called a thesis statement - the key point you want your readers to understand. This statement should be specific, relevant to your findings and later supported with facts and evidence.
Describe, explain and analyze your topic in your essay’s body. Elicit all the aspects of the plan. Divide it into paragraphs; each paragraph will discuss a different aspect of the problem.
In the introduction try to catch your reader’s attention. Start with a question, an interesting fact, a joke or a story, but it has to be relevant to your topic. The conclusion should summarize your ideas, outline the results and show a perspective of your topic. Stress your main points and confirm that the goal of your essay was reached.
Look through you text again carefully. Analyze the order of the paragraphs, check for grammar and spelling mistakes. Read it out loud or ask someone else to read it for you. Once you are satisfied with the content and the layout, you are done.