Writing essays can be an overwhelming and confusing task, especially if you’re trying to write your first one. If you want to make the process as easy as possible, there are plenty of steps you can take that will reduce stress and eliminate any ambiguity that might creep into your paper later on. Here’s an outline of everything you need to know in order to write an essay for the college students who are looking for a custom essay writing service.
Title (Motivation)
Motivation for students to write essays is vital for successful essay writing. Most students prefer not to write custom essays, often due to a lack of motivation. We’ve written a guide on building your motivation, and hopefully, get back to writing those long-overdue essays! The best way to start an essay is by reading it through from beginning to end, editing as you go along. The goal at first should be to read through quickly and make sure that you can understand what you’re trying to say. After sitting down at your computer for two hours, the last thing you want is an essay full of run-on sentences or misspellings—and believe us, we know how that feels!
Choose a topic
When you choose an essay topic for your composition classes in college, it can seem like you have a plethora of options. Choosing a topic is about finding an idea that interests you, but narrowing down your selection can be difficult. In high school, most of your essays likely had simple and obvious topics: compare and contrast two poems or describe what summer vacation means to you. However, in college-level writing courses, you will face more challenging choices such as What does being American mean to me? or How has technology changed my life?.
Body Paragraph 1 (Thesis)
Before you even outline your essay, have a general idea of what you want to say. Take all of your ideas and relate them to one main point or theme. It may seem like common sense, but many students either forget their thesis, or their paper becomes a jumbled mess to get everything out there. To avoid any confusion, take time before writing to develop a concise thesis statement (this is sometimes referred to as an objective) that will remind you of what you’re trying to accomplish throughout your essay.
Body Paragraph 2 (Backing of the thesis)
Great writers know that writing persuasively doesn’t mean forcing a reader to agree with you—it means appealing to their reason. A good way to do that is by backing up your thesis statement. Your second body paragraph should do just that: begin with a topic sentence and then present evidence (quotes, statistics, etc.) in favor of your thesis. In other words, it’s time to prove why your point is worth making. There are a few different strategies for doing so: Sometimes, you might want to argue against a counterargument or claim; in these cases, identify a common misconception and explain why it’s wrong or misplaced—that makes readers appreciate your perspective; even more!
Proofread and edit
Another great tip for writing essays is to read them out loud. This allows you to identify awkward phrasing, spelling and grammatical errors, and repetitions of words. Another good idea is to ask a friend or family member for feedback on your essay. Their perspective can help identify areas where your writing could be improved or clarified. If possible, have someone else proofread your work before handing it in. While it may seem unnecessary when you’re just starting with college papers, having someone else go over your work will make a big difference later on when assignments get more complicated. When proofreading an essay, focus on two things: grammar and content.
Focus on grammar first by reading each sentence aloud and listening for mistakes like missing commas or quotation marks that should be there but aren’t. Then read through again, looking only at the content to make sure that everything makes sense logically and flows well together. If possible, have another person review both aspects of your paper after you’ve made corrections so they can confirm that they are fixed correctly and completely.
