How to Write an Essay – Tutorial

In the following article, find out – what is essay and what are the best instructions for writing one. This practical tutorial will help you to get the answer to a question: how to write an essay. So, keep on reading!

What is an Essay?

Essay: “a short piece of writing on a particular subject.”

The Oxford Dictionary

An essay is a short prose genre that deals with a variety of topics in a way that involves thinking and reasoning. The name “essay” comes from the French word “essai”, meaning attempt. The essay expresses the personal attitude of the writer, the choice of topics he writes about, and his way of presenting and concluding.

The essay is often dedicated to literature. The originator of essay prose is Michel de Montaigne, who in his work “Essays” deals with a variety of topics characteristic of the essayist approach. Aldous Huxley, another famous essayist, notes that “the essay is a literary device for saying almost everything about almost anything”. He divides essays into personal-biographical, objectively-factual, and abstract-universal.

Essays are usually written in a discursive style, bringing together ideas, evidence, and arguments to address a specific problem or question. The essay must show the writer’s understanding of the topic, the ability to use professional terms, the ability to set theses and arguments, and show clarity and precision in shaping thoughts and expressing views.

How to write an Essay?

The essay must have a three-part composition

Compositional parts must be visually clear and meaningfully connected, thus achieving the integrity of the text. Also, the compositional parts must be aligned. It is important that the ending is not longer than the introduction or that the introduction is not too long compared to the elaboration or that one part is missing, etc.

The essay consists of the following parts:

1. INTRODUCTION

– the topic is determined,

– a certain thesis/statement is presented, or more of them (problematic issues are stated),

– the context is formed.

2. THE MAIN BODY

– methodically the topic is formed and elaborated,

– the topic is critically explained,

– various examples/reflections are given with arguments.

(It is based on an argument, ie evidence, and not on a subjective series of opinions).

Evidence (arguments) and confirmations of opinion include statements, quotations, data, examples, documents, pictures, graphs, and generally accepted facts.

3. CONCLUSION

– a conclusion confirming the statement made (or statements made) is stated,

– the concluding thought is formed,

– a summary of what has been said is given.

PART ONE – The Writing Process

1. Practice essay writing! But first, examine the topic.

Before you even start writing, study the topic carefully. If you are writing for an assignment, understand it first. Ask yourself: What is the goal of this essay?

If you have to choose an essay topic yourself, pick the one that inspires you and will keep your interest. Decide which topic you know the most about. Which topic you could write about so that it is the most meaningful?

When you have to write an essay, it is good to be familiar with the situation and know what to expect. There are many different types of essays. They are defined in four categories: argumentative, expository, narrative, and descriptive essays.

When you know which essay you need to write, learn more about that type of essay. Spend time practicing essay writing. Why is this an important step? When faced with writing one, you will be more relaxed and better prepared.

2. Research.

Look for information on the Internet or in a library. Wikipedia is often a great starting point for learning about a topic (if it is allowed, use it). Carefully make notes. Where have you found all the information? Write down the sources, so you do not have to repeat the same process later.

In most cases, you will have some writing guidelines. Your task is to prepare well and find out everything about the given topic.For example: create a map that will contain all the key concepts you need to cover the thesis. You must know the facts.

Know your facts first, and then build an essay around them.

3. Analyse well-written essays.

In your research, you will surely come across many essays written on the subject. Therefore, in addition to writing a few examples of essays yourself, it is advisable to find some examples of quality written essays to read.

Try to understand:

• Why are these essays exceptional?
• What does the author claim, and why are his thoughts interesting?
• Is the reason for this in the way the author described things? The sources used, the vocabulary, the structure?
• What arguments did the author present?
• Why does the author seem so logical? Are clear examples used to illustrate his arguments?

4. Look for key terms in the topic.

Highlight all-important words, and write a list of ideas. Draw diagrams that help visualize your thought. It helps to highlight the connections between the thesis and the information associated with it. Take your time.

5. Study your ideas.

Choose two or three strong ideas and be sure to provide arguments to justify them. Now write the approach to the dissertation and the problem-solving stages of the topic itself. You will explain why and how the case is a problem and why solving it is crucial. The approach must be concise. It must discuss the issue, and announce the plan that will follow.

For each idea, write a sentence and put arguments below to support it. It is generally appropriate to put forward three arguments to justify each idea. Stay on topic.

6. Build an essay plan.

Planning and organization are the key steps. It all comes down to planning how much time you will dedicate to writing and structuring your work. By creating an outline, it will be much easier to start writing and to know what is the next step in the process.

7. Start writing the body of your essay.

Consider the length of your essay. Avoid generalizations. Offer a clear argument with logical explanations that will seem much more likely.

8. Find a compelling title and write an introduction.

The title and introduction should grab the reader’s interest and inform them of what to expect. Needles to say, the introduction sets the tone for your essay. Think carefully about the first sentence of the introduction! Try to pique your reader’s curiosity by stating an interesting fact about your topic. Ask an intriguing question, etc.

9. Conclude. Summarize all the points discussed.

PART TWO – Re-reading of the Essay

1. Wait a day or two and re-read the essay.

You did all the hard work! Bravo! What comes next?

It is helpful to re-read the essay (especially a few days before the deadline). Take time to correct, and refine it. Avoid submitting text that you have just finished writing. Be sure to read it again, and make corrections if necessary.

2. Look for grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors.

The essay must be written in standard language, following grammar, spelling, lexical, stylistic, and syntactic norms.

3. Delete any unnecessary words. If you are unsure of the meaning of certain words or do not use them often, check their meaning.

4. Review your essay and make sure it is easy to read. Sentences need to be connected with connectors to achieve the integrity of the text. Are there logical connections between the sentences? Between paragraphs?

5. Avoid talking in general terms about the concepts present in the topic, without taking into account the specific question that is being asked.

6. Have your essay read by another person. You will surely notice mistakes you have not noticed before. The essay must seem logical and clear to you. If necessary, reformulate the problematic passages.

Now that you have a better idea of what an essay is, and know a few tips on how to write an essay, all that is left is to write one!