How to Become a Better Essay Writer

There are many points during your life that you will need to write an essay. Most of them as a student. However, there are many people who have never managed to master a method, which will ensure that they are always able to write decent, readable essays. This article will help you to consider the ways in which you may improve your essay skills, and the steps that you can use to make sure that you always produce high quality work. The first thing that is vital is that you know what the essay question is asking of you. It can sometimes seem hard to get your head around it, but if you take a little time to read through the question and any other guidance that you have received, you should find that the ideas will come to you. If you are not sure of what youâ€™re being asked, it is easy to spend hours writing material that doesnâ€™t make much sense, and certainly doesnâ€™t answer the question that you were being asked. Keeping in touch with the tutor who set the question can be helpful, so it may be a good idea to ask whether they are willing to answer any queries via email.

Once you are sure of the question that you’re answering, you should start to make some notes. To do this, it is best to use a pen and paper, as this means that your notes will be available to you when you need them. You can draw pictures or diagrams if you think it will help, and mind maps are one of the most popular techniques to use in this situation. It is important that you read sufficient material to enable you to answer to your question. Sometimes, you will be given a list of books that will help you, but at other times you have to make the decision yourself. To find relevant material, try typing some key words into your internet search engine and finding out whether there are any books which are specific to that topic. There is no such thing as doing too much research; the more information you have, the better you will be able to tackle your assignment.

Plan it before you write it

Write down any key points that you find whilst you’re reading, and don’t forget to make a note of the book that you got it from, as you will need to add a reference for it at the end.

When you are confident that you have enough information on which to base your work, you can start planning. There are many different ways to plan; some people find that it is good to write just a few key words, whereas others like to plan every single paragraph in advance. You should try each method and see which works well for you but, in general, doing a better plan will mean that your overall standard of work is higher. Colour coding is a good idea at this stage, as it will allow you to group similar ideas together.

Now that the plan has been done, it is time to start writing. It is usually best to split this task up into small sessions, because you may tire if you attempt to write it all at once, and this will mean that your work quality deteriorates. You should take a break every hour and do something that you enjoy, such as watch some television or go for a walk. Clearing your head will help, and will ensure that you’re able to go back to your work with a positive attitude. You can take a few days to write your final assignment, so there is plenty of time to iron out any difficulties.

The final stage is proofreading. This is a stage that many people do not leave enough time for, however it is arguably the most important. You should take the time to read through everything that you have written to check for spelling and grammar issues, and also ensure that it flows effectively to allow your key points to be noticed. When you are sure that you are happy with your work, you can then hand it in to your tutor. Providing that you have followed these steps, you should find that you are able to improve your essay writing techniques for future projects.

Sometimes pen on paper just feels right

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by DonaldF