An overview of some essential tips you will need during your collegiate years to write good and engaging essays in all fields.
College is not as many students describe it to be or anything like what is portrayed in modern day films. College is a time where you will need to get involved in a lot of studying, research, assignments, and essay writing. This tremendous amount of work alongside heavy amounts of reading a lot makes college life hard for many of us. For bright students, essay writing might also be challenging as they are not exposed to good essay writing tips. Even if you are a natural writer, writing a college essay is an overwhelming task that needs hard work and preparation. For further explanations about essay writing, click here. Here we will discuss some of the crucial tips a student should follow in coming up with a good and attractive essay.
Read the instructions carefully
Reading instructions is usually the first part of any essay writing practice. As a student, you typically have to read the instructions given to you by your lecturer carefully. If you do not follow the given instructions, your lecturer might assume that you will not follow other instructions given to you in the future. Page and word number limits are given for a reason, and you must be able to organize your submissions according to the rules given. After you have read through the instructions thoroughly and gathered your notes, you can start by creating an outline to organize your essay and decide what message you want to send.
Use outlines as a friend
Before you start writing, sketch an outline of what you plan to write about on a piece of paper. This is the battle plan that will help you to win the war. Even the most experienced writers outline what they will write about to ensure that ideas flow. An outline should not be complex. It should be a simple work frame of which sections to write about and what order to follow, accompanied by a few sentences of what each section contains. If the topic you are tackling is complex, your outline too ought to be complex. If you feel like you are getting lost in between your writing, refer back to your outline and continue writing.
Start with a compelling introduction
As it goes, introducing an essay is usually the hardest part of essay writing. Your introduction tells your reader what to expect from your essay. Think of it as a brief roadmap that begins with an intriguing opening line, includes a quick summary of the topic and ideas you’ll present, and concludes with a thesis statement. It is also important to start to draw the reader’s attention from the first sentence of your introduction or paragraph. Your introduction should also have a thesis statement. A thesis statement states the main point of the essay for which you intend to make a case.
Do not overwrite
Overwriting is writing too much information that is unnecessary to the reader. Do not over-explain everything. The main purpose of writing about something is to give the reader enough knowledge of what you intend to communicate without flooding them with unnecessary information. This unnecessary information confuses the reader rather than making them understand the message you are conveying. If you find yourself having written too much unnecessary information, go back to your essay and read through each piece of information, and determine whether it is necessary to help your reader understand the message or not. If it is not needed, edit it and get rid of it.
Write simple
Reading is hard since it requires a lot of concentration which in turn takes a lot of energy. You should therefore avoid using complex words in your essays. Difficult words increase the chances of confusion to the reader. They also disconnect the reader from the message being delivered since they have to stop reading and look for the meaning of that word. It is therefore advisable to use simple, understandable words. Paragraphs, on the other hand, should be made short. Making paragraphs short makes it easier to read. Reading a huge section of information is tiring. Information is processed by our brains better if it is broken down into small pieces or sections. So, break your sentences down into small sets of information and get rid of everything else that you do not require. Each sentence should, therefore, have a straightforward thought. Do not write more than what is needed. You might end up being off-topic. A good essay is easily and quickly understood, simplifies the complex, and gets to the point quickly.
Practice
Practice makes perfect. Write a lot. Make writing essays a daily routine. Fix a time for it in your daily schedule. Practice is a unique skill when it comes to not only sports but also essay writing. As a beginner, you may not be able to write two thousand words a day. That is why you need to keep practising to become better at essay writing. Make sure you always make time for it. Writing is a process, not a product. Write, then write more, then write even more and keep writing. The aims of writing more are to understand the audience and discover what works out. Writing is an art and science. Take a look at what others are writing, see what catches your eye, make you want to read the essay, blog article, book more, and write about that topic. Writing makes you more confident in your work. Just write!
Read a lot
Reading is an art of writing. The best writers are avid readers. Reading a lot is good for your brain. Good writers have a broad knowledge of vocabulary. Good readers are, on the other hand, aware of what makes the story interesting. Both good readers and good writers have a solid understanding of the clarity and flow of writing. As a good writer, you should, therefore, read as much as you can. Reading books of different genres, fiction, non-fiction, and other formats, poetry, blog articles, magazines, and marketing books is essential. The purpose of reading more is to see great examples of how people write, how they communicate, and how they express their thoughts. Reading broadly naturally expands your vocabulary, and this will help to improve your writing skills. For example, you can read an interesting and insightful article on essay writing by clicking here.
Ask someone to proofread your work
If you want to write a good essay, you will probably read through it repeatedly to make sure there are no typing, spelling, and grammar errors. But even after reading through it on your own, you might need a fresh perspective on your work. Therefore, it would be best to ask someone who has not seen your essay to take a look as they may see mistakes you had not seen on your own. A lot of writing is rewriting. After going through your work thoroughly, start editing by removing the errors you came across and those seen by others. While editing, discipline yourself to remove unnecessary words and sentences. Be tough on yourself and know when to edit or when to delete your essay and start afresh. This way, your essay will be much engaging.
Learning various tricks on how to improve your college essay writing skills is not hard. Make reading and writing a hobby as it will tremendously improve your writing skills. These and all the tips we have discussed above will help you realize much improvement in your college essays. It is my hope and belief that these tips will be helpful, no matter how long you have been writing essays.