A lot of students in Senior High may shy away from essay-writing, since they perceive it to be difficult. However, it is a life skill which they need in order to succeed in their studies. Despite it being seemingly difficult, it can be manageable.So, here is a guide in order to make writing essays a little easier. By knowing how to make a proper outline, introduction, body, and conclusion to your work, essay writing becomes less of a boring and difficult chore but a reflective activity where you can see for yourself how much you’ve learned from the subject.
Outlining Your Essay
One of the reasons why some have a difficult time writing essays is because they don’t try to take a step back first and compose their thoughts before diving into the essay. Because of this, their thoughts seem to be disorganized.To prevent this from happening, a proper outline is crucial, since it serves as the skeleton of your essay. This is because it is the framework of your essay, and thus, when the reader gets the outline, he/she already has the gist of what you are trying to say. After all, readers may not have the time to absorb what you have written.
Write Your Essay
Now that you have introduced what you’re talking about in your essay, it is time for you to talk about your topic. Your essay’s body should provide the bulk of your work, as it is where you will discuss the contents of your essay. From explaining certain terms of your work to arguing your point, your body must contain everything your readers need to know about as well as all possible explanations.
The conclusion is where you summarize what you have written. Make sure that it captures all the points of your essay, and leaves readers something to think about. Remember, readers who have no time to fully digest your points only need to look at your introduction and conclusion to get what you want to say, so invest your time and effort in making these understandable.
Also, write like there is no tomorrow, and don’t worry about making mistakes, for there is always the editing process. Just make sure you try not to make mistakes with regards to ideas!
Revise in Cold Blood
After writing your first draft, the next thing that needs to be done is editing/revising. Feel free to ask others for input, since they may be able to see mistakes which eluded you when you were writing. Also, it is highly suggested that you let your draft rest for a day or two before editing, to make sure you can edit it objectively, since editing it immediately is hard. This is due to the sense of attachment a writer feels towards his/her work. So, remember to revise in cold blood, so you can produce the best essay you can! The process may be long, but remember, newspaper features and academic articles take a while to edit.
Essay-Writing is Manageable After All
In short,writing essays might seem daunting, but it is manageable after all, since it becomes a lot simpler once you start applying the proper approach. Begin first by planning your outline, then write your first draft like there is no tomorrow! After this, revise your essay in cold blood, and always be open for suggestions. Also, remember to be concise, always think of your audience, and treat your essay like your own child. Treasure it, but continue to improve it and make your ideas the best they can be!