Academic Writing Skills for Essays: Guide & Tips
This is a complete step-by-step guide to writing perfective and effective academic essay papers. We cover this subject because essay writing is a critical practice that helps you develop the writing abilities necessary to succeed academically and in the real world.
As a student, you are forever obligated to generate perfect academic essays that add considerably to your GPA. While many students believe the procedure is straightforward, many want assistance in learning how to write an effective essay.
If your primary concern is how to produce an essay that earns you a high grade on the Rubric, this comprehensive, step-by-step essay writing guide will prove useful. Any student who wishes to earn an A+ on their essay must follow this extensive advice.
We feel that this thorough approach to writing an effective essay will assist any student in earning an A. It makes no difference what subject you choose; as long as you follow these ten steps to essay writing, examine examples of well-written essays, and edit your papers thoroughly, you are certain to succeed. If you are a parent looking for an excellent resource for essay writing, this instruction is the greatest on the internet.
We make essay writing so simple that all you have to do is inquire when you will be assigned another essay. Our website provides dependable essay assistance that you can utilize. If, on the other hand, you want to take the bull by the horns, here is our full beginner’s guide to essay writing.
What Exactly Is an Academic Essay?
Essays are simply a collection of thoughts and ideas organized around a specific theme or subject. The length, tone, and style of an essay are all up to the writer. It can be your thoughts or a summary of other people’s thoughts. A good one is all about staying on point.
In academic writing, an essay is defined as a “short formal piece of writing…focusing on a single subject.” It is usually written to persuade the reader by presenting evidence from a particular body of work. Essays for academic purposes generally consist of three sections:
- The introduction introduces what the reader will learn and makes a point in the form of a thesis statement in the introduction.
- The body, or middle section, is where the evidence is used to show and convince the reader to agree with the writer’s point of view.
- The conclusion sums up the content and findings of the essay.
Whether you’re studying English, sociology, history, biology, art, or public speaking, you’ll almost certainly be required to write an essay or two. So, it would help if you grasped the fundamentals of writing an academic essay. An essay is a tool for presenting a writer’s ideas in a non-fictional manner. This style of writing can be used for a wide range of purposes, including political manifestos, art criticism, and even the author’s observations and reflections.
How to Write an A+ Grade Essay in Ten Easy Steps: The Academic Essay Writing Process
The procedures below will assist you in writing an essay, beginning with the essay guidelines (prompt and Rubric) and concluding with a well-crafted comprehensive essay. We are committed to sharing these recommendations with you in order to help you write an essay of exceptional quality that demonstrates clarity, excellent organization, and a natural flow of ideas.
Step One on Academic Essay Writing: Read the essay prompt and directions carefully.
Although sometimes forgotten, familiarity with any assignment is critical for comprehending what your professor, instructor, or teacher is requesting before you begin writing your essay.
Most students succumb to the temptation of bypassing this step and wind up receiving a low grade on an essay they likely spent a lot of time on or hoped would earn a higher grade. The biggest reason for bad essay grades is a persistent failure to understand the requirements.
Take some time to review the homework, ensure that you understand it, and seek clarification from your professor/instructor as soon as possible. It is critical that you thoroughly read the prompts, grading rubric, and any other materials provided with the essay assignment. The more highlights and concise comments you can make on your essay assignment, the better.
Reading the directions enables you to comprehend how the essay will be judged and what your instructor is looking for in order to award you the highest possible grade. Once you’ve comprehended the directions, you’re well on your way to creating an excellent essay.
Step Two on Academic Essay Writing: Decide on an essay topic that is appropriate for you.
After you’ve determined what you’re supposed to write about in your essay, it’s time to choose a topic. Generally, you cannot begin writing about anything; an essay is a focused piece of writing on a single subject.
This is the most difficult step in the essay writing process, but do not panic. Although some instructors may assign essay themes, this is not given in the majority of circumstances. Rather than that, professors frequently prefer that students write essays on topics of their choice, which leaves you facing an elephant hill. Believe us when we say that none of the two possibilities is simple.
Given that students frequently need to choose from a plethora of ideas when developing themes and are restricted by instructors to specific topics. In either case, it becomes a quagmire. However, do not be misled, not with this complete essay guide, and never!
Let’s simplify the process of selecting an appropriate essay topic.
Simple approaches to selecting a pleasant essay topic: Academic Essay Writing
This statement summarizes the process of selecting a great topic: Choose a topic that is appropriate for the essay’s length and on which you will most likely like writing. A reasonable topic is neither too limited nor too broad; it is one that interests you and contains sufficient research resources to substantiate your arguments or thesis.
If you’re unsure how to choose a suitable topic, the following are seven crucial measures to take:
- Read the assignment instructions again and again. Although you are probably already familiar with the instructions, read them and your notes quickly. This way, you may see the paper’s structure and select an engaging topic that is appropriate for the essay you are about to write. Additionally, you can refer to the clarification provided by your professor or instructor, if you sent them an email or messaged them via Canvas.
- Brainstorm your topic’s options. If you want to choose the best topic, conduct a brainstorming session by generating several ideas and researching general facts. This is the stage at which you can use sources such as Wikipedia that are not permitted in academic studies. When developing a topic, conducting an information search enables you to broaden your comprehension and visualize the essay’s thesis or primary points. Once you’ve gathered all of the necessary material, choose a topic that interests you and satisfies the essay’s requirements.
- Concentrate on a single Topic. Because you have a restricted number of words in which to compose an essay, you would theoretically want to keep everything focused. When choosing a topic, keep it narrow, but not so narrow that it will impair your study. Choose topics that are not too broad, as you will struggle to write without overgeneralizing.
- Create a list of valuable keywords. Once you’ve chosen a topic or a direction, make a list of the words that are critical for describing, explaining, or analyzing a subject. Then, you can utilize them to create an essay title.
- Concentrate on a single subject theme. You’re likely to wind up with a variety of subject themes and a preference for 2-3. At this point, you can choose one of those and stick with it until the completion of your essay, or you can modify it if you run into difficulties along the way.
- Conduct research on the subject theme. Now that you’ve chosen a topic, you should conduct additional research and move to the final stage below.
- Create a title for your essay. After you’ve narrowed it down to a topic, use the keywords you discovered during your research to create a strong essay title.
Guidelines/Hints for Selecting Academic Essay Topics
When it comes to academic writing, two things are likely to happen when choosing a topic: (i) you will either be assigned a specific topic or asked to choose from several options and (ii) you will either be asked to come up with a topic and write your essay or you will be asked to submit the topic for approval.
When deciding on your own subject, keep the following five points in mind:
- Choose a topic that is appropriate for the length of the essay. We’ve seen students choose topics that are too broad to discuss in a short or lengthy essay, robbing them of the opportunity to get an A+ on their essays. We encourage you to choose focused topics that frequently result in close observation rather than large topics that result in overgeneralization. This is true for each essay you write, whether it is five pages, two or three pages, six or ten pages, descriptive or personal. However, avoid selecting a topic that is so limited that you are unable to write about it or have problems locating research sources.
- Pick a subject that interests you. If you struggle with writing on cigarettes and alcohol and are more interested in history, choose an essay topic and run with it to an excellent mark. If you choose an interesting subject, you will almost certainly have more to say. Additionally, there is a chance that you will improve your writing. Finally, you interest the reader “your professor or instructor” and walk away with the highest grades.
- Rather than summarizing, examining, and discussing. If you’re writing about The Great Gatsby, for example, resist the desire to choose the entire storyline. Rather than that, identify a specific character, action, or section of the plot that exemplifies a particular concept. The latter enables you to focus on a clear and reasonable thesis.
- Select a topic on which you can get information. Even while writing a personal narrative essay or personal statement, you must ensure that the content meets the essay’s standards. If you are required to conduct research, even if you are not writing a research paper, ensure that you choose a topic for which you can locate credible scholarly sources to substantiate your assertions and arguments.
- Be adaptable in your topic selection. When you’ve chosen a topic, keep the door open to modifying it if anything doesn’t appear to be working. Instructors appreciate it when students produce a well-written essay instead of churning out pages and sweating over a topic that reflects a poor choice.
Step 3 on Academic Essay Writing: Conduct research on your chosen subject.
Finally, the moment of truth has arrived: time to conduct some research! The research procedure may be the most adaptable when it comes to essay writing, but it is also the most time-consuming. The time limit for completing your essay isn’t interminable, after all.
Three quick tips for conducting research on your subject: Skim, locate credible scholarly sources, and do not overlook/ignore any material.
By skimming, we mean that you are not required to read the complete website, book, journal, or article on your topic. The truth is that you are unlikely to be able to: technically, it is impossible. Thus, you should scan materials and discover the essential ideas or arguments without becoming bogged down and reading every word.
You should seek credible sources for your essay. As previously stated, non-scholarly sources such as Wikipedia can be used to assist in the drafting of an essay. However, they cannot be relied upon as authoritative sources. Rather than that, you use generic sources such as Wikipedia to acquaint yourself with the subject, establish keywords to guide your research and obtain a summary of a big body of available material. However, you must locate credible sources for the information you will cite in your essays, such as books, journals, and articles.
After seeding the keywords with generic sources, delving deeper into the internet and academic databases, or consulting an expert for credible sources; a librarian can help.
Note: While you may use Wikipedia to conduct preliminary research, you should never cite it in your essay.
Finally, avoid omitting or disregarding information. Any article will state whatever it wishes to state. Simply because an article asserts that something is incorrect or true does not make it a confirmed fact to include in your essay. Therefore, it would be beneficial if you verified by conducting an additional investigation to uncover the correct facts. Correlate the findings of one author with those of other authors writing on the same subject to determine the information’s relevance, reliability, and authenticity.
Step Four on Academic Essay Writing: Organize your Research
Now that you have gathered all of the necessary information, you must organize it to facilitate your task. This is another essay technique that provides versatility; the majority of people have varying preferences for information organization. After all, in this case, the objective justifies the means.
After you’ve chosen the best sources, you can compile a bibliography. In a Microsoft Word document, you can enter bibliography information. Alternatively, you can structure your bibliography using online citation tools. Online digital bibliography tools enable you to create links to sources you discover online and can refer to at any time.
Research organization enables you to reference each idea as you read and compose your essay. For instance, rather than drafting a paper and then citing it later, which frequently results in incorrect citations, cite the essay as you write the initial draft.
Additionally, it is a good idea if you are required to submit or turn in a bibliography along with an outline or an annotated bibliography prior to being given permission to start your essay.
In either case, develop a bibliography that adheres to the essay’s criteria. Another way to organize your articles is to have them bookmarked or downloaded and kept in a special folder. Others prefer to write and publish a list of resources; if this is your style, go for it!
Step Five on Academic Essay Writing: Construct a compelling thesis statement; the working thesis
At this point, you have taken control of the academic essay writing process. You are aware of the requirements, have chosen an appropriate topic, and have conducted and structured your research. You are now prepared to construct an argument, assertion, claim, or opinion. Even if there is no obvious counter-argument, your work needs a solid thesis statement.
Learn more about how to write an essay’s thesis statement for your essay.
For your essay, you must develop a distinct, arguable, and compelling thesis statement. Our experienced essay writers think that this is the most crucial step after selecting a topic, as it establishes the essay’s direction and scope.
A thesis statement is a brief statement, typically one or two sentences that you present to your readers on what you are writing about or aiming to prove. It is the essay’s fundamental argument or idea. It succinctly summarizes the essay’s subject matter.
A strong thesis statement enables you to construct sound arguments and provides you with the freedom to test your ideas. For instance, when writing the thesis, you can begin with a one-sentence response to the question, “What is the subject of my essay?”
As an example, suppose you’re writing an essay about animal testing. In such a situation, the response might be something like this:
My paper is about how animal rights are being violated by incorporating animals in research when there are alternatives to animal experimentation.
Assume you’re writing about a university’s policy regarding first-year students living on campus. In that situation, the essay could go as follows:
My essay is concerning the university’s rules regarding freshman students living on campus.
Your essay could be about the influence of media on children, in which case your one-sentence statement could be:
My essay is about the influence of media on children.
That does not appear to be difficult, does it? This, however, is only the beginning. Most students stop here and use this as their thesis statement, only to be disappointed when their essays receive a low mark.
The truth is that you must have a conclusive thesis that is not personal. Thus, the preceding statements become:
- Research has established that there are superior alternatives to animal testing, particularly in the cosmetics industry that can be pursued to spare animals unnecessary pain when used in research.
- The majority of colleges and universities require freshmen students to live on campus during their first year, which helps keep students out of trouble and enables them to concentrate on their studies for improved grades.
- Depending on the nature of the programming, television can have a favorable or detrimental impact on children’s life, depending on their exposure to it.
You can see the stark contrast between the initial two sentences with which we began writing the essay and the second working thesis statement. The bottom line is to avoid using dull phrases such as “my paper argues,” “my paper is about,” “this essay argues that,” or “I believe.” As a result, your essay will receive a lesser grade.
Avoid being ambiguous and instead, make a strong statement that makes a precise point about the subject. When developing a solid thesis statement, make certain that it is debatable. This does not necessarily mean that you should adopt a contentious or opinionated thesis; it just implies that someone may disagree with it entirely. This strategy enables you to craft a compelling thesis. The thesis is referred to as a working thesis since it is subject to revision while the paper is written.
Step Six on Academic Essay Writing: Compose an exhaustive essay outline
You now have a plethora of excellent ideas and a working thesis as a result of your research. Apart from organizing your research, you must now organize your ideas into an effective presentation. Without an essay outline, your essay will almost certainly lose its focus, and you will likely spend additional time revising the copy to make sense of the scattered arguments and views.
An outline is a road map or blueprint for your essay; it assists you in structuring your work. For instance, in high school, you most likely wrote three- or five-paragraph essays. It is acceptable to follow the same framework when writing essays for college, university, or graduate school. However, the format you choose should be consistent with the essay’s length constraints, purpose, and scope.
When writing the outline, consider the key topic of your essay “the thesis” and then structure your essay to ensure the flow of ideas is organized.
Outline for a General Academic Essay
Here is an example of a general essay outline. You can use it to create a custom essay based on your subject.
- Introduction
- Hook statement, which may include data, a quote, or an anecdote
- Background
- Thesis statement
- Body Paragraphs (Three)
- Body Paragraph 1
- Topic sentence supporting the thesis
- Evidence supporting the argument on (a): data, facts, examples.
- Explain how they relate to the thesis
- Closing sentence and transition to the next paragraph
- Body Paragraph 2
- Topic sentence supporting the thesis
- Evidence supporting the argument on (a): data, facts, examples.
- Explain how they relate to the thesis
- Closing sentence and transition to the next paragraph
- Body Paragraph 3
- Topic sentence supporting the thesis
- Evidence supporting the argument on (a): data, facts, examples.
- Justify their inclusion in relation to the thesis
- Closing sentence and transition to the next paragraph
III. Conclusion
- Summary/Synthesis
- Importance of the topic
- Strong closing remark
An Academic Essay’s Typical Outline
Bear in mind that the majority of essays follow the five-paragraph essay pattern; an academic essay written in English will contain an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.
The framework of a typical essay is depicted graphically in the photo below. You can use it to write your next essay assignment.
Step Seven on Academic Essay Writing: Write the essay in a methodical manner
With everything else completed, it is now time for the rubber to meet the road. While you may feel as though you should have begun writing sooner, the progress you have made thus far is crucial and enjoyable. It will assist you to write an essay that is robust, well-organized, and engaging.
However, a word of caution: DO NOT BE A PERFECTIONIST WHEN WRITING. Avoid succumbing to the hype of finding the ideal words, obsessing over flawless subtitles or punctuation, or at the very least perfecting everything in your article. There is still time to revise and polish your essay. However, for the time being, simply write.
Start with an introduction
We’ve detailed how to write an eye-catching essay introduction in a separate tutorial to assist you in crafting introductions that stand out and capture the reader’s attention. Of course, any essay writer will tell you that your first objective should be to capture the reader’s interest. Thus, begin your beginning with an essay hook or attention grabbers, such as a statistic, startling fact, general thought, story, or quote. Additionally, the beginning should include a background statement and conclude with your thesis. Occasionally, your instructor will want you to construct the essay’s roadmap following the thesis, in which you will outline how ideas are organized in the body paragraphs and conclusion.
Essay Introduction Components
When writing an academic essay, you should have a strong paragraph. An introduction is composed of several components, including the following:
- Thesis hook: This is your first sentence, sometimes referred to as the attention grabber. It may take the form of a quotation, statistic, fact, anecdote, rhetorical question, or original statement.
- Background information: Include two sentences that provide background information on the subject.
- Thesis statement: the thesis statement should contain the essay’s argument or primary issue.
- Outline: Your opening should inform the reader of the essay’s logical organization.
- Scope: In this portion of the introduction, specify the essay’s purpose.
Create compelling body paragraphs
With the outline complete, it’s time to flesh out the skeleton and bring it to life. If you evolve and discover that your outline has to be tweaked, you have complete freedom on earth and in outer space to do so. The critical element here is to keep your argument in focus by presenting proof, facts, and points that support the thesis.
Each body paragraph begins with a topic sentence, followed by the arguments and supporting evidence, and ultimately with the concluding sentence. The concluding sentence directs the reader to the subsequent body paragraph. As you write, keep in mind that each body paragraph should contain only one central idea/point; avoid jumbling the points to the point of confusion for your readers.
Maintain a paragraph length of 150 words or distribute 80 percent of the essay’s overall word count evenly among the paragraphs. As you present information, provide instances, and illustrate points, alternate between short and large sentences. Each paragraph should have between five and seven sentences in which you thoroughly support the topic statement.
When composing the body paragraph, connect the paragraphs with appropriate sentences. Additionally, support your claims with proof from the literature via in-text citations. Finally, conclusion sentences should summarize a paragraph by restating the paragraph’s major idea and incorporating transitions to the following paragraph.
The components of an outstanding body
- Topic Sentence: This should be the paragraph’s primary argument. It takes precedence.
- Evidence-based supporting sentence: Use trustworthy sources such as journals, books, government websites, and publications to substantiate the topic sentence. Utilize appropriate transition words to help your writing flow.
- Concluding sentence: This sentence brings the paragraph to a close. It should serve as a transition to the following paragraph to maintain a smooth flow.
Create a compelling conclusion
Consider our advice on writing effective essay ending paragraphs. In a nutshell, the conclusion is the essay’s concluding paragraph. A strong conclusion is well-written, precise, succinct, and elaborate. A robust solution:
- Demonstrates the argument’s worth; why it matters.
- It makes a lasting impression on the readers regarding your essay writing prowess.
- Connects the essay’s main points.
- Restates the essay’s topic in a rephrased form to demonstrate its evolution from the introduction to the body paragraphs.
- Summarizes the essay’s important points.
Because your conclusion provides a sense of closure or conclusion to your argument, it must be well-written. Additionally, it must demonstrate how your argument raised new issues or possibilities.
Never introduce new evidence in a conclusion. Any evidence that supports the thesis should already be included in the body paragraphs. As a result, you are not permitted to introduce novel concepts or sources that require additional explanation.
Additionally, avoid overused phrases such as “in conclusion,” “to summarize,” or “in summary.” While the statements are not prohibited, they dilute your work and make it sound weak. You immediately return to your topic; the reader will understand that you are finishing the essay.
Additionally, when finishing, avoid undermining your point. This means that you should avoid employing ambiguous and perplexing apology statements. Even if you are debating multiple points of view, your primary argument should be apparent to your reader.
To produce an effective and compelling conclusion for your essay, follow these steps:
- Rephrase the overall thesis statement.
- Conduct a quick review of the main points covered in your body paragraphs.
- Demonstrate why your argument is significant.
- Consider the argument’s broader ramifications, explaining how your ideas can be used in a variety of settings.
- Ensure that it accounts for 10-15% of the essay’s total word count.
Step Eight on Academic Essay Writing: Create your References/Bibliography and Title pages
Thus, you have already slain the dragon; all that remains is a small amount of work, and you are finished. Assuming you are writing your essay concurrently with the in-text citations, the second last ritual is to create your reference page, which should be the final page of your essay.
When writing references, reference lists, bibliographies, or works cited pages, adhere strictly to the formatting and style standards specified by each style. Online bibliography creators give you the option of saving and re-formatting your ordered bibliography without losing any items. The same is true for MS Word’s bibliography feature.
If you are utilizing the electronic bibliography, copy and paste your references and format them appropriately.
Following the reference page, write a title page for your essay that is appropriate for the MLA (Modern Language Association), Harvard, Chicago, or APA (American Psychological Association) formatting styles. As a general rule, utilize the most recent formatting styles, such as MLA 8 and APA 7, unless otherwise specified.
Proofread, edit, and polish your initial document to create a final draft.
Before submitting your essay, the final step in the essay writing process is to look over it and revise it for substance and grammar.
Generally, after completing the initial draft of your essay, you should pause and revise and polish it when your mind is clear, re-energized, and objective enough to see things differently. This is the moment at which you can release your perfectionist tendencies because, after all, this is a do-or-die situation.
Here are some pointers for refining your draft into a final comprehensive essay (the final document that is worthy of submission for grading):
- Content editing. Examine the essay’s structure, organization, flow, phrasing, and length. You can compare the structure of your essay to the outline you produced. If the document is excessively long or excessively short, appropriately lengthen or shorten it. A complete essay must adhere to the required essay length in the Rubric. Re-evaluate the paper’s logic in light of the modifications.
- Proofread for grammar. It is critical to proofread for grammar errors. This process can be automated using grammar editing tools such as Grammarly, Ginger, or Hemingway Editor. Additionally, you can read Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style, which can assist you in writing more effectively, particularly with regard to punctuation such as commas and semicolons, as well as how to avoid run-on sentences. Editing may entail a few rewrites. As a result, you can take breaks while editing to retain your frame. Returning to the material with a clear mind improves focus, which aids in identifying and correcting errors.
- Reread your entire work. After revising the grammar and content, take a pause and reread the entire essay. While reading, concentrate on proofreading for syntax, mechanical, and stylistic mistakes. Verify that your paper adheres to the Rubric and the requirements. Examine the body paragraphs’ flow and eliminate any difficult sentences. Additionally, examine your essay’s formatting, including indentation, alignment, margins, and page numbers. If you believe your essay may be improved more, you can always employ online essay grading or editing services.
When self-editing an academic essay, concentrate on the essay’s flow. The following is a checklist to assist you:
- Agreement of subject and verb
- Fragments of sentences
- Imprecise phrases or words
- Mistakes in pronoun agreement
- Misspellings
- Grammatical mistakes
- Inappropriate use of language
- Run-on Sentences
- Incomplete sentences
- Present passive tense
- References that are missing
- Citations that are missing
- Incorrect punctuation
We hope this helps you become a more effective editor for your essay if you are given the opportunity to write one.
A quick recap of how to write an excellent academic essay like an expert
We may divide the 10 processes required to write an effective essay into three major stages: preparation, writing, and revision.
- The preparation stage entails selecting a topic, performing research, organizing your findings, developing a thesis statement, and generating an essay outline.
- The writing step comprises composing an introduction, refining the thesis through the use of evidence in the body paragraphs, and concluding with a summative statement.
- The revision stage comprises revising the essay for content, proofreading, and polishing it to verify that the essay’s style, format, grammar, and organization are all correct.
On a typical day, our top-rated essay writers certify that they adhere to the processes meticulously, which results in well-written essays. Additionally, the authors indicate that once you master the three processes, you will perform them automatically when writing essays. It’s unsurprising that we can compose A+ essays even with the shortest deadlines possible. Similarly, each step is significant and contributes to your final grade.
Now that we’ve learned how to write a complete essay that earns the highest grades, wouldn’t it be an injustice if we didn’t cover some of the more typical types of essays you’re likely to encounter, just to familiarize yourself with how to approach each? Then let us proceed.
19 types of academic essays that students typically write
There are more than five distinct essay types. Expository, responsive, narrative, explanatory, compare and contrast, persuasive/argumentative, and descriptive essays are the most common sorts of essays. You may only be familiar with these five at the moment. Nonetheless, we’re willing to wager that you’ll encounter more than 10 different types of essays during your high school, college, or university career.
Advantages and Disadvantages Essays
In contrast to argumentative or persuasive essays, advantages, and disadvantages essays examine the advantages and disadvantages of a certain problem without persuading the audience to adopt the author’s point of view/argument. A possible essay topic is as follows: Discuss the benefits and drawbacks of renewable energy sources or the merits and pitfalls of medicinal marijuana legalization.
Analytical Essays
An analytical essay makes an argument or a claim concerning the subject of the author’s writing. For example, it could be a film, a drama, a literary work, or a work of art. Additionally, it could comprise the examination of a person’s conduct, habit, occurrence, or event. To compose an analytical essay, the author frequently uses logical reasoning, critical thinking, and excellent judgment in order to achieve a natural flow. Persuasive analytical essays, analytical expository essays, analytical history essays, and analytical comparison essays are all examples of common analytical essays. A topic for an analytical essay would be: Why do youngsters flee their homes? Or, rather, why do stalkers enjoy social media?
Argumentative Essays
Authors of argumentative essays attempt to persuade readers to embrace their perspective by meticulously outlining the advantages, disadvantages, and counterarguments to a specific problem. It is one of the most often assigned sorts of essays in college. When it comes to written tasks, however, all fields are likely to require students to write an argumentative essay. The following is an example of an argumentative essay topic: Is social media more of a monitoring tool than a means of communication?
Classification Essays
A classification essay’s major purpose is to classify and distinguish objects, things, events, or places based on their conspicuous features. As a result, it is usually prudent to use a distinct method to categorize things. For example, you might be requested to write about the five personality kinds.
College Admission Essays
Each year, as part of the application process, students are required to write a college application essay. Your objective in this type of essay is to persuade the admissions board/committee as to why they should admit you to the college or university. You may be thinking how to find the greatest college essay topic or how to write it better, but by the time you finish reading this, it will be history. This is comparable to the frequently encountered APP essays or personal statements.
Compare and Contrast Essays
The title is self-explanatory of what a compare and contrast essay is. It is just a process of contrasting and comparing phenomena, events, happenings, physical characteristics, countries, celebrities, comedies, books, automobiles, and individuals. For instance, comparing and contrasting communism and capitalism would be an excellent topic.
Critical Essays
A critical essay is used to analyze and assess a work of art, literature, or anything else presented by highlighting its strengths and shortcomings. It requires offering a thorough examination of a subject in a critical, logical, and fluid manner.
Cause and effect essays
The primary objective of a cause-and-effect essay is to investigate the causes and effects of certain phenomena or events. There are procedures or ways to follow. You can begin by outlining the reasons and then the results or conduct a paragraph-by-paragraph comparison. You may select a suitable cause-and-effect essay topic from our list of cause-and-effect essay themes.
Definition Essays
The purpose of this style of essay is to thoroughly define a term, concept, idea, vocabulary, method, phenomenon, or occurrence. When composing one, you should investigate the origin/genesis, meanings, applications, and, if necessary, pros and disadvantages. For example, a great definition essay topic might be “Explore the concept of divorce.” Or “Define the concept of social media or hacktivism.”
Descriptive/Description Essays
As the author of a descriptive essay, it is your responsibility to describe objects, people, events, or occurrences. It should be written in your own voice and should convey your overall impression. For instance, explain the appearance, fragrance, and sensation, among other things.
Discursive Essays
The author’s role in a discursive essay is to provide an unbiased and credible judgment of a certain subject. It is similar to an argumentative essay in that it demands the selection of a contentious subject, but discursive essays give a balanced examination of the subject. Opinion essays and for and against essays are both examples of discursive essays.
Expository Essays
An expository essay is a piece of writing that examines a subject or phenomenon from the author’s perspective. It’s all about simplifying a specific topic’s explanation without attempting to prove anything. Your primary function is to give the reader the advantages and disadvantages, merits and demerits, or pros and cons. “Explain why art therapy can be employed in mental health hospitals.” Or “Explore the possibilities of employing laughter as medicine.”
Narrative Essays
A narrative essay requires you to always write in the first person while telling a story about yourself. It’s comparable to writing an autobiography.
Personal Essays
These are essays on yourself that you write. It is nearly identical to a narrative essay. Indeed, it is a subtype of the narrative essay. Personal essays include scholarship essays, statement of purpose essays, transfer letters, appeal letters, and entrance essays.
Persuasive Essays
This is the polar opposite of an argumentative essay. It is intended to persuade readers to take the author’s point of view as an axiom. While it may appear straightforward, it is one of the most difficult forms of an essay. Write your essay in such a way that everyone who reads it finally agrees with your thoughts and arguments. In a persuasive essay, the reader must believe your statements are valid. This is where your negotiation abilities and conviction come into play.
Poetry Essays
As the name implies, a poetry analysis essay entails debating the essay’s important components. For instance, it could examine a poem’s literary devices, themes, and fundamental claims. A topic for a poetry essay might be as follows: Investigate the concept of heroism in the Beowulf Poem.
It should be well-packed with essential information. As we are examining the essay writing process, this piece may easily be a process essay. “Explain the Solvay process.” or “Explain how to find an exceptional essay topic.”
Profile Essays
Profile essays are essays in which you detail a person, place, event, or object. It could be an essay about yourself or about someone else. For example, you could create an article about Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, or Vladimir Putin.
Synthesis Essays
A synthesis essay, which is classified as advanced-level writing, examines a unique perspective on a major idea, a topic, or a theme.
Problem-solution essays
A problem-solution essay is a persuasive essay in which the author explains an issue, persuades readers to care about it, and then provides the most effective remedy while rebutting any objections. It can either describe several solutions to a problem or concentrate on a single one.
Informative Essay
An instructive essay is used to educate readers about a particular subject. It can describe a phrase, contrast and compare objects, analyze data, demonstrate how-to, and outline procedures without expressing a viewpoint or convincing the reader.
Phrases that help you determine the style of essay you’ll write
There are guidance terms that indicate what should be done with your essay.
- Describe: You should write about facts, events, and procedures in this section. It should adhere to a particular order and underline the significance of something. When writing descriptive essays, it is best to interpret or explain.
- Explain: You are needed to evaluate and clarify topics in these writings. This is a frequently used technique in cause-and-effect essays. This is a frequently used technique for narrative essays.
- Discuss: These essays require you to present a viewpoint, perspective, or elaboration on a subject. Utilize examples, arguments, and facts from reliable sources in doing so.
- Compare and contrast: As the name implies, compare and contrast essays demand you to identify and contrast events, ideas, or interpretations.
- Critique: critique essays discuss the advantages and disadvantages of articles, books, or works of art.
- Argue: argumentative or persuasive essays ask you to reject or defend an idea in a methodical or logical manner using appropriate evidence.
- Classify: the objective should be to group ideas according to predefined criteria. This is a frequently used technique in categorization essays.
- Critically Analyze: this should be a critical analysis. This means that it may take the form of an analytical essay.
Recommendations for Crafting a Comprehensive Academic Essay
As with any other game, some rules govern how essays are written. The following are the guidelines for producing an academic essay.
- Write in proper academic English. Avoid the use of slang when writing an academic essay. Similarly, avoid employing difficult English terms. Rather than that, present concepts in your essay using acceptable academic writing terms. When writing essays, simplicity is paramount.
- Analyze the questions to verify that your essay adequately addresses the prompt or assignment Rubric.
- Everything you write should be properly referenced. To avoid plagiarism, support ideas with evidence from trustworthy sources.
- Never use Wikipedia as a source in academic work. However, you can use it to familiarize yourself with the subject, generate ideas, and gain important information about how to approach an issue or topic.
- To avoid plagiarism, whenever you utilize the information that is not your own, include a reference to the source. For instance, when paraphrasing an article’s premise, ensure that you provide the appropriate in-text citation and references.
- Always adhere to the formatting and citation formats specified by your instructor or those that are relevant to your field of study.
- At all costs, avoid plagiarism. Professors adore non-plagiarized essays.
- Essays should be written in prose. However, ensure that your paragraphs are well-balanced. A paragraph should never have more than 150 words.
- Always write an essay in the five-paragraph format: introduction, body, and conclusion.
- Your introduction and conclusion should each account for 10% of the total word count.
- An essay’s introduction must include a hook and thesis statement.
The Conventional Structure of an Academic Essay
As with research papers, term papers, and reports, writing essays deviates from the specified directions. You must thoroughly review the assignment instructions to gain an understanding of the proper formatting rules to follow. However, the majority of academic essays will ask you to employ the following:
- 5 x 11-inch paper
- 12-point font (the industry standard for legibility)
- 1-inch margins on all sides of the paper
- Page number
- Cover page/title page
- Paper with a left-aligned margin
- Arial, Times New Roman, or Calibri typefaces.
Additionally, the assignment rubric will include directions on how to split down the headings and subheadings. Certain lecturers enjoy providing the page count and bibliography for academic articles.
How to Reference Sources in an Academic Essay
The citation style is determined by the subject. Occasionally, when given the option, it is a matter of personal preference for the student. The most often used citation styles, however, are MLA, APA, Harvard, Chicago, ASA, and Oxford.
- Academic articles on social science topics are frequently cited in the APA and ASA styles.
- Academic essays in humanities areas, such as history and literature, are written using Turabian, Chicago, or MLA citation styles.
- The majority of medical, psychology, criminology, and nursing essays, as well as health-related essays such as nursing academic essays, are written in the American Medical Association (AMA) style.
- It is beneficial to have some knowledge about the citation you are employing. Otherwise, you should contact Reliaplepapers.com for essay writing assistance. Our essay editors and proofreaders can help you format, edit, and proofread your writings. All you have to do is contact our editing and proofreading service.
The Characteristics of a Comprehensive Academic Essay
When teachers or professors assign an essay, they frequently emphasize the importance of a well-written essay.
- It is exhaustive, well-structured, and in-depth. A complete essay is one that delves deeply into a subject or delivers strong arguments in support of or in opposition to a thesis statement. Its material focuses on delving deeper into issues without omitting critical information.
- It is a well-written piece. Composing an exhaustive essay is not rocket science. It’s comparable to giving your all while planning, writing, and revising your essay. After all, every essay that is well-written is thorough.
- The central argument is easily identifiable and comprehended. When an audience reads such an essay, they should be able to follow the author’s arguments, form their own opinions on the subject, and reason with the content.
- Paragraphs are balanced. A thorough essay, depending on its length, contains a well-balanced introduction, body, and conclusion paragraphs.
- Has a well-developed, well-supported, and reasonable thesis. A thorough essay’s start contains a powerful thesis statement that informs the reader of the essay’s fundamental purpose or argument.
- Is free of mistakes. A flawless essay’s structure, presentation, organization, and flow are immaculate. Each paragraph has transitions that connect it to the next and help tie the essay together.
Thus far, we have hoped that you will create an essay that is flawless and will earn you a higher mark. If this is not the case, you can purchase essays from our website to assist you in your writing process. Our custom essays are produced from scratch using the steps indicated above to ensure that they are 100% plagiarism-free.
The 9 Most Frequently Made Essay Writing Errors and How to Avoid Them
Each student who writes an essay hopes that it will earn them the highest possible mark. However, there is a fine line between an academic essay that is well-written and garbage. Yes, it is rubbish in the sense that it is illogical. To prevent professor corrections with comments, lower scores, and resubmission requests, you must avoid these nine most typical essay writing errors.
- Constructing ambiguous thesis statements. A strong thesis is necessary for writing an effective essay. Having an unclear, unsupported, and unsupported thesis statement is academic suicide. Make an attempt to be as specific as possible while stating your thesis.
- Using an excessive number of quotations. An essay exhibits your command of the subject and your ability to conduct thorough research to substantiate your points. Excessive use of quotes in an essay from the book you are examining or from research sources diminishes your authority on the subject. Citations should be used sparingly, and if they are unnecessary, they should be omitted.
- Plagiarism. Avoid directly plagiarizing a source’s words and passing them off as your own. Likewise, do not rewrite a full article or a piece of one and claim it as your own. Rather than that, engage in reading, internalizing, summarizing, paraphrasing, and citing concepts. Then, compose an essay based on your grasp of the subject, utilizing data from further sources to bolster your position. Plagiarism carries severe penalties, including expulsion. Indeed, there are stringent university and college anti-plagiarism laws that must be followed.
- Punctuation errors. When composing your essays, keep your Ps and Qs in mind. Simply put, make certain that commas, hyphens, semicolons, colons, quote marks, full stops, and question marks are correctly placed and used.
- Using language that is difficult to read. This is a common error made by the majority of students. They compose lengthy, intricate sentences, which are occasionally run-on sentences. Surprisingly, these sentences fall short of the mark. Instead of utilizing complex terms (jargon), phrases, and numerous words, write plain, short, and cohesive sentences. Allow for sentence variation in your essay by incorporating both short and long sentences.
- Using sources that are not scholarly. Yes, you may consult Wikipedia and other online sources, but do not reference them in your essay; instead, utilize them to acquaint yourself with the subject. Utilize academic and professional sources authored by academic experts and professionals. When visiting websites, stick to credible .edu,.org, and.gov domains.
- Use descriptive language rather than analytic language in your writing. The purpose of an essay is to develop an argument and defend a thesis. As a result, it is vital to exercise critical thinking. Rather than telling (reiterating), demonstrate to your readers.
- Rewording the introduction to serve as the conclusion. The conclusion is not a rewrite of the opening. Additionally, kids begin finishing papers with overused phrases. To avoid this, restate your thesis in the conclusion paragraph’s first sentence, summarize the major arguments, and reflect on the argument you made — the big picture.
- Inadequate evidence to substantiate the thesis. Students occasionally choose an essay topic that they are having difficulty comprehending and compose an essay on it. At other times, it concentrates excessively on the writer’s thoughts and ideas rather than on the evidence. To avoid this, have an open mind while writing an essay. Additionally, consider a topic that is specific and supported by proof. Finally, choose a subject on which you can gather information to substantiate your arguments.
Frequently Asked Questions on Academic Essay Writing
The following are some often asked questions by students as they are preparing their essays. We’ve supplied responses that can steer you in the correct direction and on the proper path. Our essay writers discussed these questions and came up with some succinct responses:
Can I incorporate photographs into my academic essay?
Yes, you may use and mention illustrations such as photographs, graphs, pictures, and etchings in your essays as long as they are directly relevant to the subject of your essay. However, unless your instructor specifically requests them, avoid using them when writing an essay. Use them sparingly if you believe they will take up space. While the use of visuals is recommended in ad analysis essays, geography essays, visual analysis essays, and art analysis essays, each image, graph, or illustration must be attributed appropriately in the text.
When is it appropriate to reference sources in an academic essay?
When writing essays at the high school, college, university, or graduate level, you must correctly cite your sources, just like you do when writing a research paper, dissertation, or another academic assignment. When paraphrasing, quoting or summarizing material or ideas from a scholarly source, citations should be utilized. Apart from in-text citations, you must include complete information about the source in your references, reference list, or works cited pages, which appear at the conclusion of your essay.
Why is a thesis statement necessary for an academic essay?
A thesis statement is a sentence or two phrases that summarize the essay’s or academic paper’s key topic. It is the central argument of your paper. It is critical while writing academic papers because it establishes the text’s scope, direction, and focus. It also aids readers in comprehending your key idea succinctly. It serves as the framework for your essay’s ideas.
Is the thesis the same thing as the thesis statement in an academic essay?
The thesis is synonymous with the primary goal, central argument, or main argument in essay writing since it integrates the remainder of the essay. This is why it should be interpretive or analytical in nature rather than factually or descriptively oriented.
Is there a difference between a thesis and a research question?
No, a thesis statement is a brief sentence or two that describes the essay’s or research paper’s primary argument or idea, whereas a research question is a query that suggests the direction of the research. A research topic is frequently an open-ended inquiry, as opposed to the thesis, which makes a conclusive claim. A thesis is a precise assertion or claims about a subject that can be contested or argued. On the contrary, a research question assists in determining the methodology that will be used in subsequent stages of the investigation.
Is it necessary to include a topic sentence in an academic essay?
Yes, a topic sentence is an opening sentence in each of your body paragraphs. It is crucial because it represents the paragraph’s central notion, which means that everything that follows is tied to it. You support the topic statement using arguments, facts, and examples.
How can I write an academic essay start that is flawless?
To ensure that your introduction paragraph is flawless:
- Begin with an appropriate beginning hook or attention grabber to pique your readers’ interest.
- Provide brief, logical, and accurate background information about the subject that your readers must be aware of.
- Create a thesis statement that summarizes your primary argument, core claim, or central notion.
Distribute your introduction’s word count according to the length of your essay.
Where can I locate credible references for my academic essay?
To locate credible sources for your academic essay, conduct research using the internet, scholarly databases, Google Scholar, and reputable websites, newspapers, and magazine articles such as those published by the Guardian, TIME, the Wall Street Journal, or the New York Times. EBSCO, InfoTrack, ProQuest, LexisNexis, Google Scholar, and JSTOR are just a few of the online scholarly databases. Avoid employing sources that are not scholarly in your article. Rather than that, these non-scholarly general sources can be employed to aid in the development of your topic’s understanding.
Valuable Tips for Academic Essay Writing
If you are required to write an essay, follow these five critical steps to earn the “A” you desire:
- Understand and take a glance over the kind of essay you need to write before you start writing it.
- Brainstorm your points of view.
- To back up your viewpoint, conduct research from reputable sources.
- Cite all of your sources in-text and in the Works Cited section in parentheses.
- Maintain strict adherence to all grammatical rules.
Generally speaking, when you have to write an essay of any kind, start early rather than wait until the last minute! Avoid rushing and allow yourself plenty of time to refine your point of view and come up with a truly original approach. Remember: Before you send your essay to your teacher or professor, always have someone else check it over. Do you have reservations about your classmates’ trustworthiness? Consider enlisting the assistance of an online essay editor or a ghostwriter!
If you’re still unsure about your ability to complete your task, you’ve come to the right place. If you’re thinking to yourself, “Who can write my essay for me?” ReliablePapers.com is your best bet.
Hire an Expert Paper Writer on Any Subject, Any Topic, Any Deadline! Submit your paper instructions by placing your order here to get started!