Essay writing is a skill that students learn as they graduate from school and enter colleges and universities. Many students see it as a challenging exercise. In this article, we will discuss a few essential essay-writing tips and strategies for students and researchers in their PhD journey.
7 steps for writing an excellent essay
Writing an excellent essay is a daunting task for many students, especially when they are given a tight deadline. However, with this step-by-step guide, you can produce a well-crafted essay that impresses their professor or instructor.
Writing a personal statement: Your personal statement should demonstrate your academic strengths, keen interests in pursuing research, and key reasons for choosing the specific department and university for study.
Picking a specific topic: Choose a broad topic that you are particularly interested in and passionate about. Read extensively on the topic and narrow it down to a question or argument. This will help you choose the specific topic for your essay.
Conducting research: This is the most critical part of the process and needs to be carried out with rigour. Your research’s strong evidence and informed arguments will reflect the quality of your essay. Start by locating relevant and reliable sources from which you can gather information. Ensure that you conduct a thorough literature review with a clear understanding of the latest scholarship available.
Producing an outline: Creating an outline is essential for structuring your ideas and arguments. Plan out the outline before you begin writing your essay. Outline the main ideas and arguments through bullet points, numbering, or headings. The outline may change as you gather evidence and carry out research, but it will still help you in presenting your arguments in a structured and logical manner.
Writing the first draft: Use the outline you created as the framework for writing the first draft. Develop and build on the points and ideas noted in the outline. Support the ideas and arguments with the evidence gathered while conducting research. Ensure that there is a logical flow of ideas through the paragraphs and that they are related to your core research problem.
Editing your writing: It is always helpful to give a day or two before you objectively assess the first draft. Try to identify areas that need improvement, such as strengthening arguments, clarity of ideas, and logical flow of thoughts.
Formatting and proofreading: This is an important but often overlooked step before finalizing the essay. Take time to identify grammatical and spelling errors, ambiguities in sentences or phrases, and repetitive texts. Formatting the text and citations should follow the style guides followed by your respective discipline or institution.
Common essay formatting rules
Different citation styles, such as APA, Chicago and MLA, follow their own specific rules. However, there are some standard formatting rules to follow across academic writing style guides, as outlined below.
- Font: The recommended font is 12-point Times New Roman.
- Spacing: Ensure double space for all text
- Margins: Leave a 1-inch margin on all sides
- Indentation: The first line of every paragraph must have a half-inch indent
- Alignment: Except for the title and headings, the body of the text must be aligned left
3 essay writing tips
Structuring essays correctly: The essay should consist of an introduction, the main body, a conclusion, and references. The introduction should clearly set out the main points of your study and show the depth of your engagement with the topic. The main body of the essay should detail the main aspects of your research. The arguments should be substantiated with supporting evidence. The conclusion should summarize your key ideas and results and provide recommendations for future studies. All the sources used in the essay should be cited with proper references according to the chosen citation style.
Writing longer pieces: Dissertations and extended essays involve longer writing, so they need to be planned out well in advance. Try to treat each chapter of your dissertation as a short essay with sound evidence and arguments. This will make the work easier to handle.
Better planning and time management: Your essay may take several drafts before you finalize it. Therefore, it is important that you do not wait until the last moment to start writing. Make it a habit to note down ideas and questions that come to your mind from the beginning. As you proceed with your research and writing, this process will help you structure and write your paper clearly.
Essay writing is an essential skill for students and researchers to master in their academic journey. By following the tips and strategies outlined in this article, you can produce a well-structured and well-researched essay that demonstrates your academic strengths and research interests.
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