General Essay Writing Tips

As a student, a professional, or a businessman, you may need to write an essay at some point. Here are some general essay writing tips you will need.

Essay 101

General Essay Writing Tips

Essay writing is something in which many people find solace. I prefer to write novels or other genres. This is because I have established a kind of relationship with writing it. For some writers, essays are more fun and easygoing than walking in the park. Writing an essay is the simplest form of writing – you just

need to scribble down your thoughts with good research. There are rules to follow, and the rules extend to other genres too. Therefore it is not a weird thing.

What does an essay mean?

The question above is for newbies because I believe that everyone who calls him a writer has either come across this or heard about it. The word ‘essay’, was gotten from the Latin word ‘exagium’, which means ‘to present one’s case’

This automatically defines an essay as a personalized opinion about a given topic. An essay is a form of writing which denotes the author’s ideas or opinions about a topic of discussion. 

Are you looking for an example of an essay? What you are reading now is it!

Writing an essay is simple. You have to design your writing style, language, and form. Just like what you are reading now, you can decide to write on this very topic using a different initiative and writing style. It is about an argument, and you need to present your thoughts on it. Your thoughts can either negate or support what you are writing or further express it more elaborately.

There are inevitable formulas that you must insert while writing a good essay. They are mentioned below as general essay writing tips. Before delving into them totally, it is only necessary to

mention the types of essays you should know.

Some of the types of essays include:

Argumentative essay – this is used to argue a topic or to defend such a topic. The arguments are fact-based.

Narrative essay – this essay type tells a story.

Expository essay – this exposes a narration or a given topic with details.

Persuasive essay – this essay is used to lure your targeted audience to subscribe to your own opinion.

Personal essay – this is usually an essay about the personal life of the writer.

NB: The above essay types have been discussed previously in my last article – How to write a thesis statement. You may need to refer to it to get a deeper understanding of the terms.

Tips for writing a good essay:

❖ Find a topic

❖ Always define/introduce your given topic/argument

❖ Do not forget your thesis statement

❖ Good and advanced vocabulary

❖ Coherence and Cohesion

❖ Citations

❖ Conclude your argument

The list above may not be in chronological order, but it will serve as a guide with which you can make a good essay out of nothing but your pen and research tablet. I will carefully analyze each step eloquently for your perusal.

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● Find a topic

It is the very first step of writing an essay. You cannot claim to be writing an essay when you are yet to decide on the topic of discussion. You must also choose a debatable topic to be able to express your ideas and give room for your intended audience or readers to debate or argue on them.

● Always define/introduce your given topic/argument

After presenting a debatable topic, the next step is to define the topic you chose. The introduction of the topic makes your readers understand what the essay covers. At the end of this introduction comes the thesis statement. Before this article, I have discussed – what a thesis statement is about, how to go about it, the types of thesis, and tips for writing a good thesis statement. You may want to know that thesis writing and essay writing are not very different.

● Thesis Statement

While writing an essay, you need a thesis statement – this is just like the synopsis of your writing. It is just like the central point of everything you have written. It is best to place your thesis statement at the end of your introduction; it would serve as a transition to the main body of your argument.

● Good and advanced vocabulary

Writing is not just about cooking your thoughts and dishing them out for your audience to eat. Just like the ingredients of a food must be complete for it to be tasty, you have to apply some basic rules to polish your thoughts before dishing them out. While writing an essay, it is always better to use the present tense when writing an essay. It enhances engagement and makes the reader believe he is living the moment. Use unique ways to express an opinion with fewer words. This is to discontinue the frequent use of cliché by writers.

● Coherence and Cohesion

Not to discomfort the new and learning writer with these two, coherence and cohesion in literature refers to the logical use of words and their seamless connection to the sentence. This brings the about good structure of a sentence or paragraph. When a writer uses these tools effectively, the flow of words is seamless, and the simplest grammar used to express thoughts becomes effective in sentence structure.

● Citations

Citations add evidence to your research. This tells your audience that you did not wake up one morning and wrote something out of the blue. Citations are related works by other writers and scholars on the topic you are discussing. It gives you an edge and lends credibility to your work. 

● Conclude your argument

The conclusion is the point where everything you’ve discussed in your work or argument comes to an absolute end. The conclusion can also be said to be a wrap-up of your essay – you need this wrap-up to be simplified so your audience will seamlessly digest it and cover all you have got to say.

Conclusion

A good essay has many ‘do’s’ and ‘don’ts’ that make it worthy of being called a ‘good’ essay. Before writing an essay, you must be prepared to brainstorm your ideas or arguments – in the opposing or proposing sense. You must prepare your essays and make relevant outlines. In the end, do not publish your essay at a go. Revise your work to achieve a stronger effect and minimize errors. You must proofread what you have written and have it reread by a friend or a professional.

In addition, your grammar must conform to the rules of grammar. Its correspondence with the SVO

(Subject-Verb-Object) the format must be intact, so your work doesn’t lose its vigour. After going through this article, I believe that a newbie is ready to give his first essay a shot.

 

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