10 Steps to Writing an Essay

Published by Charlie Davidson on

10 Steps to Writing an Essay

Have you ever wondered why you are assigned various writing tasks? From time to time, you need to compose various essays.

As a rule, an essay consists of 5 paragraphs, so it’s not such a huge assignment. It is true so far that it can demand a lot of time. Students have to begin with the introduction of the main topic idea, involve at least three powerful arguments with the evidence, and conclude the findings. The knowledge of steps to writing an essay allows interacting with your target audience better. You will obtain the following skills while reading this article:

  1. Research
  2. Reading & comprehension
  3. Analytical and critical thinking
  4. Writing

The goal of a five-paragraph essay is to prove student’s knowledge of the given subject, proficiency in English, and other valuable skills.

Another purpose of assigning this task is to train students for potential exams they may face later in their academic life. You can always take TOEFL, ACT, IELTS, SAT, or Michigan test. Each of them requires working on the essay part. As far as each applicant is limited in time (up to 50 minutes for the writing section), you should be ready ahead. It requires some training.

It’s not enough just to look for the examples of free essays online. You need to practice to hit the highest score on the test. So, it is time to discuss how to write A essay paper step by step.

This assignment is given to check how well a student:

  1. Interacts with the audience
  2. Protects thesis statement
  3. Conducts broad research
  4. Manages to read selected sources
  5. Decides on the arguments
  6. Makes a summary of the outcomes

This assignment improves reading, writing, and analytical skills a lot.

Step by Step Essay Writing Guide with Examples

Please have a look at these 10 steps to writing an essay which are used by all successful students.

Step 1. Know the different types of academic papers.

  1. Narrative
  2. Descriptive
  3. Definition
  4. Expository
  5. Reflective
  6. Critical thinking
  7. Persuasive
  8. Argumentative
  9. Compare and contrast
  10. Cause and effect

Step 2. Choose your topic.

Think about the one related to your current class. Listen to what people are talking about today. Observe different newspapers, TV channels, and magazines. Check how many information is available on the web and in the library books for free. Finally, decide whether you are competent enough in the chosen question.

Sometimes, you don’t have a right to pick the subject, so just rely on the instructions of your educator.

Step 3. Develop a detailed outline.

It will serve as your action plan for further implementation. Follow it during the entire writing process.

Step 4. Try to memorize by heart how a common essay looks like.

You need to succeed with all homework essays for future luck with highly responsible test/examination.

Step 5. Move to the general structure of your essay.

Any step by step essay writing guide you may find will highlight three main parts of the essay. Those are intro, body, and conclusion.

Step 6. Write your first draft.

Start with your introduction to the topic. The main purpose is to create a strong and impressive thesis statement in the first or last sentence of the introduction.

Step 7. Work on your body text.

Usually, it has 3-5 sections dedicated to each separate argument respectively. Provide evidence for each main point inserting direct in-text quotes and using indirect citations. Make sure to write down both pros and cons of the chosen question. The opposing views help support your point of view as well.

Step 8. Develop a meaningful conclusion.

Mention all findings, recall all arguments, and, of course, rewrite your essay to remind your reader what you’ve been talking about and why. Stress the importance of your research question once again.

Step 9. Come up with the full list of Bibliography.

It is actually the last page of any essay or research paper. Depending on the preferred writing style, it may be called Works Cited (MLA) or References (APA).

Step 10. You may ask now, “Which is the final step in writing an essay?”

Well, it is about making sure the text is free of plagiarism as well as English grammar or spelling mistakes. Revise the entire paper sentence by sentence before submitting it to your teacher or admission committee.

Grading Rubric for Your Essay

Every teacher or professor grades the paper according to the several criteria. Some of the features weigh more, some of them weigh less. To earn the best mark, a student has to do his best in every section anyway.

Look at the information below to remember the grading rubric by heart. It will work with any sort of writing assignment. Keep in mind that it is critical to know the standards of the specific educational institution, especially prestigious universities like Cambridge or Harvard. They establish their own rules.

There are 5 basic features every tutor pays attention to when deciding on the final grade for your 5-paragraph paper:

Focus.

The tutor decides whether all supporting evidence was relevant and powerful sufficiently to prove your thesis.

Organization.

The teacher evaluates the accuracy of the essay structure and general flow of thoughts. He assures that it is logical and everything makes sense.

Conventions.

It is time to double-check the student’s grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Even the smallest typos count when grading the paper.

Style.

It is not about checking the formatting only. The educator also checks whether the student is proficient in English. It is better to avoid slang and jargon words and be creative.

Content.

On the whole, it is important that your content proves the thesis statement and answers all questions. The conclusion has to contain all the results.

Finally, if you do not get any of the steps to write an essay, professional academic writers can explain it to you for free. Just order efficient writing help from our service to get a properly composed essay without risks.

Categories: Helpful tips