How to Write an Essay
An easy step-by-step student guide
Writing a strong academic essay at university can seem daunting at first. That’s why we’ve got you covered with some pro tips on how to structure a blinding essay and glide through your exams (…well kind of, it’s inevitable there will be *some* less-glidey elements involved).
Essay Introduction, main body, and conclusion
Introduction:
Every good essay has a strong introduction, main body and conclusion. A good introduction would typically begin with signposting what this essay will address, the question at hand, and how you will answer the question. Basically you want to make your essay as easy as possible for the reader so they know what to expect, unlike an edgy drama with a surprising plot twist. People often find it easier to write the introduction at the end since the introduction will be setting the scene before you’ve begun writing.
Main Body:
The main body is everything in-between the introduction and the conclusion and should represent a balanced argument even if you have a strong opinion about which side you prefer. Essays vary by subject however a good way to start would be by providing a bit of background information initially, and treating the reader as if they have never been exposed to the topic. Once you have set the scene you can then start to introduce your argument and demonstrate what other people have found in support and against the main argument. For tips on how to correctly reference click here.
Conclusion:
The conclusion should be fairly straight forward to write as this will be a summary of the whole essay and essentially the answer to the question you are arguing. Through this you should reference and bring your key findings all into one place and wrap that bad boy up. Think of it this way, if a reader only read the introduction and the conclusion they should be able to find out the gist of what happened throughout the essay alone.
if a reader only read the introduction and the conclusion they should be able to find out the gist of what happened throughout the essay alone.
Be clear
It’s tempting to use a thesaurus throughout so your essay looks like it was written by some linguistic deity however excessive use can look clumsy and not make a lot of sense. For instance, which one version makes the most sense, “I established a dissimilar automobile itinerary this daybreak” vs “I found a new bus route this morning”. See what we mean?
Make sure to refer back to the question
At the end of each major paragraph, remember to refer and relate back to why this new information you’ve brought in is relevant to the question. This helps you to stay on track and conveniently flow the end of your paragraph to the next. You’re welcome.
Grammar and spelling
We honestly can’t stress enough that correct grammar and spelling are the highest priority *goes back and checks the spelling for this blog. It happens to everyone, you make a typo here and there, you send texts with typos, but an essay isn’t the place for it. That’s why we’d encourage drafts of your essay before submitting which means leaving plenty of time. Run spell-check, triple check, even bribe someone else to proof read it we don’t care.
Plan your essay
Which leads smoothly to the final point (nailing this structure) planning your essay. People often see for example 2000 words and think “that’s nothing” and underestimate time to research, correct referencing, and proof reading time. Sometimes the time frames between multiple assignments can throw this idea out of the window but where you can, set a reasonable word target e.g. 500 words a day. It eases the stress and feels far more productive than pulling an all-nighter and banging a flat essay out in one day.
Just do it
The rest is up to you, stop procrastinating by reading this article and in the words of Shia Le Boeuf, “just do it!”
