Acing in Writing Essays: Academic Tutorial for School Students

Writing good essays is a craft that you can learn. Essays vary in type, topic, and style but the basic structure remains the same. You are going to follow the basic format whether you are writing a persuasive essay or an argumentative one, whether the essay debates an issue or describes something. This means that you only need to practice the craft enough to ace it.

To write an essay you have to follow these simple steps:

1. Choose a topic: This is probably the most time consuming part of essay writing. Choosing a good topic depends on the type of essay e.g. Argumentative, and your interest. Select a topic area that you will enjoy writing about, and then find a feature of that area that you can argue. Formulate this feature into an argument thesis statement and you are good to go.
2. Outline a sketch of your ideas: the purpose of an outline or a flow chart diagram is to organize your ideas. This does not mean that you have to stick to this outline no matter what. The essay will take its shape by itself while you put ideas to paper. Write three main ideas and three supporting statements for each.
3. Write your thesis statement: Write down in three sentences your position on the topic.
4. Write an introduction: The introduction is the part where you win or lose the reader. Start with something interesting to grab the attention of your reader and expand on the theme in three or four sentences. End the introductory paragraph with your thesis statement.
5. Write the body of the essay: This is the part where you explain, argue, or describe your topic. Your first paragraph will start with one of your main ideas and its supporting points. Elaborate on the supporting points in three to five lines. Repeat for each paragraph. The body of your essay will have three or four paragraphs in this format. You can also write a summary statement at the end of each paragraph.
6. Conclusion: The conclusion is the exit point of your essay. It is the last parts your reader will remember, so make these strong and memorable. A good conclusion should sum up the essay and round it up neatly. You can restate the main points here using different words. A quotation, exclamation, your feelings on the topic or an anecdote will work fine too. If you started with imagery, you should finish it with that too. The same applies if your introduction contained a story.