Writing essays is one of the most common tasks students get. Essays are of different types, so each one urges you to focus on presenting the information differently. There are argumentative essays where you need to present your arguments and back them up with scientific data and valid facts. There are persuasive essays where you need to persuade the reader of a specific thing.
There are essays where you need to compare different topics or subjects. And apart from these, there are many other essay types you might be asked to write. And when there is so much information about the particularities of every essay type, you might feel lost and overwhelmed.
You might not know where to start, what to write, or how to organize your work. But do not let these feelings and emotions overwhelm you. Writing an essay is a task you will surely accomplish, no matter how challenging and difficult it may be in the first place. Hopefully, with these guidelines, you will nail it and write a compelling high school essay.
Identify the Essay Type
As highlighted above, there are many types of high school essays your teacher might ask you to write.
- Argumentative
- Analytical
- Expository
- Narrative
- Persuasive
- Comparing
Each of these types comes with a list of requirements and guidelines you need to follow. When you have to compare two perspectives, you can’t argue in favor of one of them, but present both of them. So, it is important to know the essay type you need to write. This will come with some guidelines you can implement in the writing process to make it easier, say expert writers from an Bestessay.com.
Choose Your Topic
This step might not apply to all students. In some cases, you will see that your teacher will provide you with the topic, the requirements, the essay type, and other things you need to follow. But in some cases, you may have the freedom to choose whatever topic you like.
Of course, it needs to be related to the study domain, but there are many vast options you can explore. If you have the freedom to choose your topic, make sure you choose one that you love. Writing a high school essay will take you more than one day.
So, make sure you turn essay writing into a pleasant activity. If you write about a topic you find interesting, all the other steps will come naturally. And you won’t feel this as a burden.
Think About Your Thesis Statement
One of the definitory and most important parts of an essay is the thesis statement. It needs to be expressed in the introduction, where you present to the reader what they will be reading about. When writing a thesis statement, it is important to be as specific as you can be.
Do not focus on too many ideas, but rather keep it simple. You can also write your thesis statement after you have done your research. Also you can check dissertationteam and get help with writing.
Starting the Research
Well, if you already have the essay type, topic, and thesis statement, you can start your research. The most important details you need to know when researching are the topic and how you will present the information. For example, in an argumentative essay, you need to present your points of view and back them up with evidence.
So, in your research, try to inform from high-authoritative sources. Scientific journals, researchers, articles on scientific blogs, and so on. This will give your essay a higher quality, even though the research part might take up longer.
Take Notes
And a trick to put to practice when you research: take notes. You will not remember every detail that you read. At the same time, when reading so many sources on the same topic, you might end up presenting someone else’s ideas as your own. And plagiarizing is something you should keep away from, so take notes while you research.
Create an Outline
After you have done your research and taken notes, you can organize these ideas in an outline. Many students skip this step because they do not find it important. But to deliver an essay that is powerful, smooth, and logical, you need to create an outline.
An outline is like a structure you give to your essay. Of course, any essay has three main parts: introduction, body, and conclusion. So, in the introduction, you need to introduce the reader to the topic and thesis statement. The body is for presenting facts and evidence, exploring the problem, proposing solutions, and so on. And the conclusion is a wrap-up of the entire essay.
Start Writing
If you have organized the notes on an outline, all that remains to be done is write the essay. Keep in mind that teachers keep an eye on how you have followed the guidelines and presented the information. Aim for writing a logical, clear, and smooth essay. Make sure you present different ideas or arguments in different paragraphs. Back up the arguments with solid facts. Depending on your topic, you can also raise some questions at the end. Some food for thought will never go out of style.
Writing an essay might seem complicated, but if you have completed all the previous steps, you can easily reach this step. It is important to write as you feel it. This is your first draft, so do not think so much about the page or word limit. Just start writing and let the words flow on paper.
Editing and Proofreading
The last step of the writing process is about editing and proofreading the essay you have written. If you have enough time, you can let your first draft aside for a few days. When you return to reading it, you will have a fresher perspective. And spotting mistakes will be very easy. Make sure you deliver an essay that has no grammar and spelling mistakes.
Moreover, make sure you accurately present all the sources you have used in your research. This will keep plagiarism away. You need to be very careful as many teachers check essays with plagiarism checker tools. And the consequences are severe, so better avoid this.
Ending Note
Writing an essay might seem a complicated task when you do not know where to start. Many high school students feel they can’t do this. Feeling stressed and overwhelmed by writing essays is something many students go through.
However, if you make a plan and follow a guideline, things might come easy. Do not skip steps and make sure you have enough time to go through them all. And in the end, you will have a powerful and smooth essay your teacher will surely appreciate.
