Top 20 Essay Writing Tips

Essay Writing Tips

Essay writing tips makes essay writing straight forward and reduces the reliance upon a trial and error approach. Essay writing tips can be used as a check list in the planning, process and review of essay construction.

  1. The first essay writing tip is for the writer to be clear about the essay’s overall purpose. Often the purpose is to persuade an assigned reader or imagined audience of the plausibility of a particular viewpoint. Essays also need to inform in order to be able to persuade.
  2. Since this is the case, essay writing tip number two is to identify key terms in the topic or set question, to ensure the response composed addresses the question and is relevant to the subject matter.
  3. Essay writing tip three is to develop a thesis, commonly known as taking a position on the topic or in response to the question, so the essay writer has something to say and something to defend.
  4. Essay writing tip four is to locate supporting evidence for the thesis from either the text specified by the question, or from relevant, current material which will lend greater credibility to the argument.
  5. Essay writing tip five is to devise a plan structured around a beginning, middle and an end, or, at a more advanced level, an orientation, followed by a substantiating section, which is then synthesised by a conclusion.
  6. Essay writing tip six is to know how to structure a paragraph effectively, so that the essay overall maintains direction, continuity and momentum. To do this, it is best if each paragraph is conceived as a microcosm of the entire essay, each beginning with an orientating thesis statement linked directly to the question or topic, followed by an explanation, then an illustration, concluded with a summing up to reiterate the main idea of the paragraph.
  7. Essay writing tip seven involves the appropriate selection of vocabulary and language, most suited to constructing an argument based upon evidence and persuasion. This tip involves choosing words which help to convey points quickly and accurately.
  8. Essay writing tip eight follows from seven, involving the use of words which link one idea to the next, to demonstrate cause and effect relationships, numerical or thematic sequence; or the relative degree of importance of ideas. Words and phrases such as “as a consequence of...”, ‘consequently’ indicate effect and promote causality, a key component of argument; while words and phrases such as “Since”, “While” or “On account of” , signal causation, the other vital ingredient of causal argument construction.
  9. Essay writing tip nine concerns how to make an argument more advanced, by indicating an awareness of exceptions, conditions, and particular circumstances, which shape the validity of the ideas presented, and indicate the conditions under which what is stated remains true. This essay writing tip, when used effectively, makes an essay’s argument more difficult to refute or dismiss. Phrases and words such as “On the one hand”, “Although”, “However”, “Nevertheless”, and “Despite”, show an awareness of complexity and can be used very effectively in the construction of a compelling essay.
  10. Essay writing tip ten advocates the use of formal vocabulary in most essay writing contexts, choosing a more objective language register to keep the focus upon the logical use of evidence to persuade, rather than the more superficial use of opinionated, subjective and emotive terms. While an emotive word may anchor attention, it may distract the reader from the reasoned outline of evidence you have set forth. While emotion will draw a response from the reader, it will not necessarily move the mind of the astute reader to reconsider their own position on a topic, in the same way that logically used evidence will.
  11. Writing tip eleven concerns the deliberate use of varied sentence length, to maintain the rhythm and clarity of the argument being constructed, to facilitate easier communication. When sentences become too long, it is difficult for a reader to hold on to the flow of the argument.
  12. Writing tip twelve involves the use of punctuation to maintain the clarity of the argument and keep the communication of the intended ideas clearly before the reader’s mind. Punctuation can control sentence length, control the location of pauses, help to link ideas together, raise questions in a reader’s mind and signal emphasis where it is warranted.
  13. Writing tip thirteen involves the placement of the verb (or action) close to the subject within each sentence, so that the reader may easily follow the line of argument and see who is doing what and to whom.
  14. Essay writing tip fourteen concerns the awareness that a writer has at their disposal, a range of choices as to how they can illustrate an idea to have it register an impression upon a reader. Illustration may be by way of example, either from the content of a text or life; from an abstract notion relevant to the context, or from a parallel text. Direct quotation or paraphrasing, are also ways to exemplify and illustrate an idea.
  15. Essay writing tip fifteen, involves the effective use of direct extracts from texts to illuminate a point. Direct quotation or citation must be managed carefully and skilfully to illustrate points in a salient manner. Direct extracts should illustrate the writer’s position, not be a substitute for it. Direct extracts must be concise, directly relevant and used in context, in order to be effective as an essay writing tip.
  16. Essay writing tip sixteen, involves highlighting the main idea in each paragraph of the draft of the essay, to establish whether the writer has said something worth saying. If the highlighted text is limited, repetitive, self evident or vague, this becomes a guide for how to edit the draft.
  17. Essay writing tip seventeen involves the correct use of a specified citation system, which can be checked online from web searches of University English department websites.
  18. Essay writing tip eighteen, is to leave sufficient time in the planning of the completion of the essay, to be able to leave the draft for 48 hours, and revisit it with a fresh mind. This process always helps the writer detect ways the essay may be improved, so that the ideas are conveyed with greater force, clarity and relevance.
  19. Essay writing tips nineteen and twenty, involve the use of software editing tools, such as spell and grammar checks, as part of the editing process
  20. followed by formatting tools, to present the essay in a polished and highly presentable format.