How to Write an Essay: What You Missed in School

1. Analyze Your Prompts Carefully

Most of your professors’ rubrics will ask students to demonstrate critical thinking in their essays. What students often don’t realize is that their first opportunity to do so is in the essay prompt itself.

I give students high marks for deconstructing my prompts, questioning their inherent assumptions, and even discussing what their words mean. These things prove to me that they’re reading carefully and thinking creatively. Furthermore, students who gloss over essay prompts either fail to answer every part of them or write irrelevant answers. Again, I call these “dumb points.”

When you read your essay questions carefully – make it part of your brainstorming session! – you ensure not just that your response will be original but also focused. In this case, questioning everything like Socrates, or one of his philosophy-majoring admirers, is actually an asset.

2. Write Confidently

Everyone has their own writing style, and that’s worth celebrating. However, students who need help writing an essay often don’t have a problem with organizing ideas nor citing sources. More frequently, they need to improve their actual sentences. (And that’s ok!)

Whether it’s because you’re trying to sound impressive or just have less writing experience, your professors won’t be convinced by anyone whose prose is hard to follow.

So here’s my advice: Simple is better. Simple words are better than unnecessarily complex words. Simple statements are better than unnecessarily (“flowery”) statements. When possible, always use active voice instead of passive voice.

In other words, don’t obscure your argument; just come out and say it! Your professors don’t care if you have an impressive vocabulary so much as they want you to show critical thinking and reasonable judgment. When you write confidently, you get your points across more clearly and convincingly.

3. Establish Tone

Sometimes students struggle with managing tone because it’s harder to demonstrate. However, it’s important to understand that your word choices contribute to the overall “mood” of your writing, whether it’s angry, optimistic, or downright sarcastic.

What’s exciting about writing essays, as opposed to a rigid scientific paper, is that you can often choose the tone for your argument. My advice to students is twofold. First, read and learn from classic essays that utilize tone effectively, like Jonathan Swift’s darkly satirical A Modest Proposal or Mark Twain’s humorous lesson How to Tell a Story.

Second, try getting help with writing an essay using an online service. Platforms like WriteMyEssayToday are useful because you can hire an expert writer to follow the specific requirements of your assignments. Alongside its 60-day money-back guarantee and 10-day window for requesting revisions, I recommend WriteMyEssayToday because I trust its experts to get the job done efficiently.

4. Know Your Audience

If you interviewed for a job at a law firm, would you show up in a Hawaiian shirt and shorts? Similarly, when you turn in a final exam for English class, do you think your professor will want you to start your essay by saying, “I feel like Charles Dickens was the best author because his books are really cool”?

If your goal is to write convincingly, you have to understand your readers. If you’re writing for children, for example, it’s ok to oversimplify your language. However, formal assignments for formal audiences require formal language.

When it comes to essay writing in particular, you should tailor your argument towards what will best convince your readers, be they teachers, scientists, or the general public, that you’re correct. Demonstrating knowledge of your audience is implicitly a way of establishing trust, but it’s also a sign that you understand what they care about.

5. Master Rhetorical Appeals

When it comes to argumentative writing, establishing trust is also about establishing
authority by using different modes of persuasion.

You may already have learned the Big Three in school. Ethos is about showing your own expertise so that readers will take you seriously; if I were writing an article about education, I would mention that I’m a teacher with extensive experience in the field.

Pathos is about appealing to your readers’ emotions; think of those commercials from animal rights organizations that show wide-eyed dogs over sad music. Finally, logos is about persuading your readers with evidence and logic; every time you cite a research paper, for example, you’re using logos to advance your argument.

But did you know there are more rhetorical appeals at your disposal? A lot more, actually. Like, here’s a list from the South Carolina Department of Education. Learn them, practice them, and weave them together in your essays!

6. Do Not Write Your Entire Essay in One Sitting

We’ve all had to cram an assignment. Sometimes, it just happens. However, if you can help it, do not cram an essay. It simply will not turn out as well.

Arguments need time to develop, and so does the editing process. Trying to work magic the night before a deadline only ensures that your essay will be less organized, under-researched, and less well argued. My best writing moments often come the day after I hit my daily word count, because that’s when I realize, with fresher eyes, in which ways I can improve what I’ve written.

I know it’s hard; I also had a million other things going on in high school and college. However, it will help you tremendously, in the short and long runs, to pace yourself.

7. Research Things That Seem Irrelevant

Remember when I said analyzing prompts is a good way to show originality? Well, so is doing what you might call tangential research.

When you don’t use the exact same, predictable sources as your peers, you will stand out to teachers who have to grade dozens of papers, often back to back, and who (cough, cough) get a little tired of overly similar, repetitive analyses. When you do more background reading than seems necessary, you’ll discover new, creative things to write about.

Tread carefully with this one, as you don’t want to actually write about irrelevant things. However, if you can thread the needle, learning material or even taking classes that aren’t “in the right field” can turn out to be especially impactful.

8. Write an Interesting Conclusion

It’s not students’ fault that their conclusion paragraphs tend to be a bit boring. After all, they’re often taught that conclusions are just for restating their thesis statement, even verbatim, and summarizing the argument they’ve just made.

However, a strong conclusion is a great way to explain why your essay should actually matter; we teachers call this the “so what?” factor. Yes, you should reference your thesis statement, the crux of your argument.

But here’s also your chance to discuss the implications of your research, make broader statements about the field you’re in, and even use a little rhetorical flourish just to polish off your essay. My advice to students is not to fixate on their conclusions, but don’t treat them as an afterthought either.

If You Still Need Help, Tap in an Expert

The internet is just amazing. Who could have predicted thirty years ago that students would eventually be able to place a custom order essay online?

Writing services are an excellent way to find an expert who can meet your project requirements, including deadlines, formatting standards, and numbers of sources. Rather than undermine learning, I argue that these platforms support education by empowering students to consult with a writer or editor who knows what they’re doing, and who can teach with their example.

If I wanted someone else to write my essay for me, I would use WriteMyEssayToday. All you have to do is tell them about your assignment – the more detail, the better – and place your order. Within minutes, you’ll hear back from a graduate-level expert who’s happy to cater to your needs. While I’m not a student anymore, I know they’ve helped thousands get their grades up, stand out in class, and ease the stress of high school- and college-level workloads.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the best way to write an essay?

In fiction, many writers consider themselves “pantsers”; they sit down and start writing “by the seat of their pants” with no plan. However, essays are different. Refer back to the five-step process described above. Taking the time to brainstorm and research before writing will prevent you from running into dead ends later.

When will I know how to write an essay without help?

Argumentative writing is all about practice. Your first college essay will probably feel like nonsense, and that’s ok. Don’t panic, but do put effort into developing your style and getting comfortable with the research process. More than anything, to quote William Faulkner, “Read, read, read. Read everything – trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it.”

I’m not fluent in English. How can my essays get better?

First of all, learning how to write an essay in English as an ESL student is impressive! However, my advice is to worry less about perfecting your English and focus more on your argumentative skills. Professors often know which students are writing in their second language and will usually forgive occasional grammatical errors. When it comes to grading, showing critical thinking and conducting research are more important!

When and why should I hire an essay writing service?

If you’re still struggling, perhaps enough to Google, “How do I write an essay,” don’t panic. Before the internet, you would have been on your own. Nowadays, you can even hire a scholarship essay writing service to give you a helping hand. Once again, I recommend WriteMyEssayToday; it’s easy, affordable, and gives highly personalized support to students who need an expert to write their paper for them.