Needless to say, your instructors say writing essays can be an easy task, but that will not mean that you're a dummy if they are problematic for you. Also it does not mean you are a dummy if it's difficult for you to cope with this sort of assignment. Don't assume all person is really a guru on paper and can contend with Ernest Hemingway. If writing is not your strong point, you can still practice a few helpful methods that will make the writing process easier. The bad news may be the amount of writing assignments in colleges and universities – they constitute a large part of your academic assignments. By following our “Writing Essays for Dummies” guide, you'll improve your writing skills and increase your grades.

What Is an Essay?

You have probably see the definition of an essay many times. Nevertheless , if you still have some questions, a good start is always to read the explanation of what this type of paper is again. An essay in the context of education is just a paper on a specific topic which reveals a certain part of the topic. It has a thesis statement (main idea), strong arguments which support a thesis, and a conclusion. An essay is always an author’s interpretation of a certain topic. Can it be still difficult to understand what an essay is? In that case, then see the explanation to each characteristic below.

• An essay reveals a narrow aspect of the subject. If you are going to write an essay, you should select a narrow topic so that it will undoubtedly be possible to reveal it properly. If your teachers assigned an essay concerning the American Civil War, she or he expects that you write only about taking care of of it. It is impossible to discuss all of the sides of war in a single essay. It is possible to write about one battle, like the Battle of Fort Sumter. And again, this doesn’t sound like a subject for an academic essay. The topic ought to be more specific.

Example of the topic: “The Influence of the Battle of Fort Sumter on the Military Strategy of the Union. ”

• An essay includes a thesis statement and arguments which support it. One of the more important criteria of an essay could be the thesis statement. What is it? In other words, it’s the key idea of your paper; it’s a thought which you are likely to prove throughout the rest of one's paper. Don't confuse a thesis statement with a conclusion. It’s not something you need to write ultimately. The thesis statement is generally presented in the introduction. The rest of the paper consists of evidence which supports your idea, your thesis. Sometimes, it's also wise to present a refutation of the opposite opinion but we shall talk about this later.

Example of thesis: “The Battle of Fort Sumter has immensely influenced the military strategy of the Union rendering it more aggressive towards secessionists. ”

• An essay is definitely an author’s interpretation of a certain topic. Many students confuse “an author’s interpretation” and “personal opinion. ” Please, take into consideration that the essay shouldn’t contain assumptions. You should express your opinion, your look at the topic centered on factual information you’ve found. You need to evaluate information and make your conclusions.

How to Write a Short Essay in 5 Steps

Now, when you know general rules of writing an essay, you can read our guide with specific steps on writing an essay. We’ve prepared an easy-to-read guide for you, showing how to write a short essay with minimum experience and practice in this sphere. Do not lose your faith in the success of one's paper – we will absolutely help you tackle this obstruction.

Step 1: Start with research

Unless you have enough time for brainstorming, skip this and start trying to find useful informative data on the Internet. Locate a topic you might be really enthusiastic about and decide to try become confident in to be able to discuss it easily. In terms of writing, attempt to choose as narrow topic as it is achievable to make your writing process enjoyable. Usually, the first step is always to choose the topic, but we now have talked about this in the previous section. So , our first step is making research on the already plumped for topic. When you're making research, you should count on authoritative sources. Which sources can you often trust?

• Books written by well-known authors that are experts in the field.
• Scholarly articles.
• Dissertations.
• Studies made by well-known institutions.
• Information published online of authoritative educational affiliations.

A point to consider: Sources which don't present references, authors and dates of publishing the material usually are unreliable.

If you are making research, it’s simpler to find from three to five reliable sources than to use fifteen suspicious sources. So , to start with find those reliable sources. Afterward, read information which will be presented in those sources and attempt to formulate your thesis statement. Gather all data available. The next stage of the investigation is to read information again and highlight the most important points and arguments to use in your paper. When making research, you should take down notes on which points are obligatory to mention in your essay. These points will be a basis for your outline.

Step 2: Write an outline

That is one of the most essential points as you create the structure of your future paper and think on the main suggestions to present. The quantity of points in your outline depends on along your paper. Your outline is your plan. The more descriptive plan you make now the easier it'll be for you to write an essay thereafter. The outline should contain such points:

1. Introduction

2. Body:

• Argument 1
  – evidence for Argument 1
• Argument 2
  – evidence for Argument 2
• Argument 3
  – evidence for Argument 3

3. Refutation of opposite side (This point is necessary for argumentative form of essay)

4. Conclusion

What's the huge difference between a disagreement and evidence in the context of the essay? An argument may be the claim which supports your thesis, and evidence is facts which support your argument. Let’s return to our sample thesis “The Battle of Fort Sumter has immensely influenced the military strategy of the Union making it more aggressive towards secessionists” and try to comprehend which points can be arguments and which evidence.

Therefore the argument on why military strategy became aggressive can be the following: After the Battle of Fort Sumter, the Union started more active preparation for military conflict. So what can be the evidence in this case? The data can be the level of people who were recruited to the army, the amount of manufactured weapons, the President’s claims towards the military situation and others.

3-5 main arguments will be enough to support your thesis to determine how to write a short essay according to your instructors’ requirements. The same thing is by using evidence – choose 2-3 points to guide your arguments.

Step three: Prepare the initial draft of one's essay

Follow your want to write the very first draft. Don’t focus on word choice only at that staging point. Concentrating on words will distract you from the semantic aspect of your paper. You shouldn’t take a look at one point on your outline for a long time. If you don’t know what else to write, move further. After completing the very first draft, you'll have time to add or delete something from your own draft.

When writing, keep the interests and expectations of your readers when writing. You know your instructor a lot better than anyone else. Write using the professor’s particular phrases, style of writing, ideas to support, etc . Each paragraph must certanly be dedicated to one separate idea and have arguments to support it.

Step four: Revise the paper to ensure your ideas sound logical and coherent

Only at that step, you'll need to reread your paper and ensure your ideas are logical and coherent. Also, check to ensure you didn’t make inconsistencies and if every thing is understandable for the reader, who didn’t research this topic as much as you. All paragraphs of the human body which present arguments must be equal to one another so that your paper looks balanced and well-structured.

IMPORTANT. Focus on the introduction and conclusion. They should also be add up to each other. If you're attentive enough, you will have noticed the lack of information in these sections, if you have this issue. You can write them once the whole paper is ready. They usually express the same idea from different viewpoints and also have separate purposes. In the final outcome you should restate your thesis and say that, based on the arguments you’ve presented, your thesis statement is true. Also, you can give predictions concerning the development of the issue in the foreseeable future. Or, it is possible to mention issues which keep scientists from coming to an agreement concerning the issue.

Step 5: Edit the paper

Proofread it or ask friends and family to do this for you personally. If you are thinking about writin g essays for dummies, it'll be tough for you yourself to edit the paper precisely following all academic writing rules. Consequently , do not hesitate to request help. But you still should know how exactly to edit your paper. Because of this, we would like to inform you concerning the points you will need to pay focus on while checking your essay:

• Grammatical mistakes
• Word choice
• Inconsistencies
• Inaccuracies
• Spelling
• Punctuation

Recommendations on Writing an Essay You ought to Definitely Follow

• Find information on how to create a particular type. There are numerous types of essays, such as analysis, classification, descriptive, expository definition, reflective, narrative, cause and effect, informal, deductive, assess, persuasive, critical, and evaluation. Each of these types have their specific requirements.
• Include experts’ opinions in your essay to create it sound persuasive. If you'd like to present an expert’s view, make sure that you cite it correctly. Also, don’t forget to say who this expert is, his or her name and occupation.
• Don’t use Wikipedia as a primary source for the paper. Many students prefer to use Wikipedia as a primary source, but this can negatively influence your scores. Articles on Wikipedia are compiled by users, a few of which can be incompetent at revealing the issue. But you can still use Wikipedia to find out which points you need to pay attention to and check the correctness of particular bits of information.
• Find format requirements on the state websites. If you should be to complete an essay in just a specific format style, look at the official internet site of the corporation which created this format. For example , you ought to visit the internet site of American Psychological Association to know what's needed for APA style.
• Stick to the proportion:

INTRODUCTION – 5% -10% of the total word count
Main Body – 80-90% of the total word count
Conclusion – 5-10% of the total word count

Writing Essays for Dummies: Advice to Consider From Students

What's the first thing you do once you write? You see a topic to go over. You have random some ideas and can't focus on the goal of your paper. You know the idea, but it is difficult to utilize this knowledge in practice. We’ve gathered a few helpful tips from former students to make your writing easier and more enjoyable.

“I start getting willing to write my paper in a traditional way – I find informative sources, think over the topic and arguments to present. I actually do this for all days and commence on the last night ahead of the paper is born, when the information is analyzed and chewed over. The only way that works for me is just a strict time frame and the absence of chance to leave an essay for tomorrow. ”

“I use an eccentric method. Instead of spending long and boring hours worrying about how exactly to write a quick essay, I search for challenging ideas in free essay samples on the web, paraphrase them in my own words and write a logical paper. ”

“I copy-paste all ideas I find of use, relevant and appropriate to aid my perspective. Then I set them in a logical order and begin writing my very own arguments. ”

Final Cautions

Develop that after reading this article you won’t feel like a dummy in terms of essay writing. Follow all of our directions thoroughly and you may succeed to accomplish a great essay. You shouldn’t ignore or skip some of the presented steps or tips. In this article, there was basic information that is important for writing essays. Listed here is a complete guide on essay writing with all the current nuances and formatting recommendations. If something goes wrong while you are writing, this doesn’t mean that you’ve lost your chance for success. This means that you will need more practice and more diligence. Try to devote more effort and you will deal with any task!