Essay Writing StepsHow to Write a "Compare and Contrast" Essay with the Foolproof "Matrix Method" Writing a College Application Essay How to Use Stories to Support Your Essay
Follow these essay writing steps to compose a useful, relevant, and persuasive piece of work. 1) Decide on what type of essay you’d like to write. See: Essay Types 2) Make an outline with main headers and sub-headers. A two-level outline is sufficient for most essays. Example: [ESSAY TITLE] How to Save African Wildlife [HEADER 1] The historical background [HEADER 1] Saving the Big “Hunt Animals” [HEADER 1] Responsibility of the United Nations 3) Start writing each section. Write the HEADER1 topic first before tackling any Header 2 topics. At a minimum, each section should have the following elements:
You can of course include all kinds of supporting materials like photos, diagrams, flowcharts, graphs, web links, even video clips, if appropriate. Example: [HEADER 1] Responsibility of the United Nations [in saving African Wildlife] [OPENING STATEMENT] To save African wildlife, passing U.N. resolutions is not enough. There should also be a budget dedicated to monitoring violations and enforcing penalties. [SUPPORTING FACTS] …. State your facts. What has been the damage for the absence of such enforcement? Did other regions fare any better in terms of preserving their wildlife? How’s the situation in India, for example? Or Latin America? Etc. [CONCLUDING STATEMENT] Without such robust and dedicated support, Africa is expected to lose 8% of its protected species with every passing year. [Quote an academic study.] The U.N. must take the issue by the horns and do what’s necessary to preserve one of the most important natural resources of mankind – the African Wildlife. 4) Make sure all sentences, paragraphs, and sections follow each other logically and support each other’s assertion. To create a sense of logical continuity, it helps if you use a word (or phrase) in the last sentence of a paragraph again in the first sentence of the next paragraph. Here is an example of the “Stitching Method”: [LAST SENTENCE of PARAGRAPH 1] Member countries must pay their annual dues to support discretionary funds. [FIRST SENTENCE of PARAGRAPH 2] To maintain a healthy discretion fund, however, is not the end of it but just the beginning. As you can see, the phrase “discretionary fund” is used in both paragraphs, stitching them together nicely and creating a sense of logical continuity and flow. 5) Proofread what you’ve written. It’s best if someone else, a new pair of eyes, does the proofreading for you. Check not only for misspelled words but for grammar errors as well. At a minimum, put your essay through a spellchecker. If you are using MS Word, turn on the “Check spelling as you type” option in the Proofing Options dialog box. Whenever you have a spelling error, Word will underline it with a squiggly red line. Right click on the misspelled word, and MS Word will show you all the correct alternatives for easy insertion. Click on the correct word and you’re done. 6) If you have the luxury, have someone you trust and respect review the essay for you and give you some feedback. Study the feedback and incorporate those that you think are justified and appropriate. Congratulations, you’re done!
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