Academia requires plenty of critical thinking and original ideas in order for learners to share their knowledge. Essay writing is a way for educators to know if their students have critically thought of topics and ideas during a course. Instead of taking a test, they have a writing assessment. Writing is a sharpened version of thoughts; they are well-defined and focused expressions that develop your own original idea. This is why essays are a great judgement of knowledge.
What makes a good essay?
A good essay expresses your idea, but a great essay convinces readers of your idea by providing a deep analysis and critical thought process of your central idea. So how does one begin to write an analytical essay?
- Find a solid thesis for your essay. The central idea you want to develop needs to have enough content to write about otherwise the analysis will be shallow and uninteresting. For example, “Game of Thrones provides insight to the medieval psychology of a monarchy.” Here we have a central idea that can be supported by many examples to critically think about. Without a clear thesis statement, an essay falls apart.
- Create a hook. The introduction sets the tone for the rest of the essay, and if it isn’t interesting enough people will be bored and won’t want to read it. “Have you ever wondered why Jon Snow doesn’t want the Iron Throne in Game of Thrones?” An opener like this will draw readers in because they are interested in what you have to say
- Create supporting evidence for your thesis. You are trying to showcase your ideas and critical thinking skills, so this is where your creativity shines. Topic sentences for your body paragraphs come from those supporting thoughts, and they are just as important as your thesis statement because they help your ideas stand up and have agency. “A character’s motivation for the throne is based on their logic and belief system, and conflict is based on the difference between a certain character’s decisions.” This supports the thesis given earlier but is able to be elaborated later on in the paragraph.
- Have specific examples to elaborate and connect your ideas. General statements of your thesis won’t help your ideas develop but having specific examples will. Not only does it show that you understand what you are writing about, but the reader can be well-informed about the topic overall. “Vary’s decision to support Daenerys in GoT is based on the good of all the people in the realm rather than the specific few in power.”
- Make your own conclusions. There are plenty of theories and analysis on the internet to read from, but what makes your essay special is that you come to a conclusion based on the rest of your essay. This requires logic of your arguments and examples to be cohesive and coherent. “The series, although Fantastical, portrays real emotion and real logic behind their motives to become the King or Queen, part of which makes Game of Thrones relatable but distant at the same time.”
So now you have a loose format for your essay, you know what to write about and you have a general idea where to take your thoughts. But what’s next?
Give your essay structure
Large bodies of text aren’t easily readable because there are just too many things going on and no sense of organization. Essays in academia have clear guidelines to help you organize your ideas and thoughts. Here’s a basic structure of an essay:
- Title
- Introduction
- Body Paragraphs (1,2,3…)
- Conclusion
Your reader will appreciate the organization and your idea will be clearly understood. This structure actually allows you to create a plan for your essay. Planning your essay is a step usually skipped by Freshers, a rookie mistake! Organizing your essay will make writing a lot easier for yourself and your thoughts can be easily translated to text. Just plug your ideas into the outline above and you have an essay plan!
So now the fun begins, actually writing!
First Draft
The first draft is important because it translates your ideas into words. It isn’t meant to be perfect, but you have to start somewhere before you can fine-tune everything. Worry less about grammar and vocabulary and focus more on the content and structure of your essay. After you have completed your draft, revision can begin.
Revision
Rereading your essay will help you find faults and problems in your essay that you can fix. Have someone else read your essay, they might see something you don’t see or have a different point of view that is useful for you. At this stage you should also be thinking more about language and grammar mistakes, refining and sharpening your ideas to become more effective.
Final Copy
Look through all your revisions and notes and write your final copy. At this stage of writing, have someone proofread it again to make sure the ideas presented are understood. Go back and read it out loud to see if everything makes sense to you.
Tips for Newbies!
Essay writing is an art form, and it takes time and dedication to get it right, so don’t worry if it’s not perfect at first. You always have room to improve! Here are some tips that will help you write only the best of essays.
-
Time Management
This usually goes with any kind of assignment, but especially with an essay. Make sure you have time to write your 5,10, or even 20-page essay, whatever it is. Start by planning as mentioned earlier, it will surely help your time management.
-
Language
Understanding the audience that you are writing to will give you a better idea of how to write. Being analytical doesn’t usually mean using words like LOL or HAHA or SMH. Instead of saying words like big or small, use synonyms like huge or minuscule to convey a stronger element of language. A thesaurus can help you find the right word for the right situation!
-
Quotes and References
Sometimes research is required to provide evidence for your thesis. Instead of trying to paraphrase a really poignant sentence, try using it as a quote and referencing to it in a bibliography. “You know nothing Jon Snow” – Igrid. Just make sure you don’t use too many and that you use it within the context of your writing!
-
Coherence
Make sure your idea in your introduction matches the conclusion you come to at the very end. If they are different, it will confuse readers and weaken your arguments all together. Paraphrase your introduction to create your conclusion!
Of course, writing an essay isn’t always easy, in fact plenty of students dread the thought of writing essays because they require plenty of brainpower and invested time and energy. So, Assignment Expert is here to save the day! If you’re really in a crunch, you can send your request for an essay and our specialists will provide the quickest turnaround for your essay. And what do we say to late assignments? “Not today”
