how to improve my writing skills essay

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How to Make Your Essay Better: 7 Tips for Stronger Essays

Krystal N. Craiker

Essay writing doesn’t have to be intimidating. With a few tips, you can improve your writing skills for any type of academic essay.

How to Write Better Essays

7 tips on how to make your essay better, how to become a better essay writer.

The best way to sum up how to write better essays is, “Make sure you’re answering the question.”

This sounds obvious, but you would be surprised how many students struggle with this.

From not understanding the prompt to poor research skills to off-topic body paragraphs, it’s easy for an essay to derail.

We’ve got seven tips for writing better essays that will help you avoid common mistakes and craft the best essays possible.

Here are our top tips for improving your essay writing skills.

Understand the Prompt or Research Question

The first step in your writing process is to fully understand the essay topic. If your professor gave you a prompt for your academic essay, spend some time analyzing it.

First, take note of whether you’re writing an expository or persuasive essay. The tone, structure, and word choice will differ between essay types.

Pay close attention to the wording of the prompt.

If your teacher wants you to “analyze” the effects of new technology in World War I, but you turn in a descriptive overview of the technology, you are not answering the question.

If they have given you a topic but no prompt, you’ll need to create a guiding question for your research.

Be specific in what you are trying to research, or you’ll end up overwhelmed with a topic that is too big in scope.

“Symbolism in modern literature” is too broad for a term paper, but “How does F. Scott Fitzgerald use symbolism in The Great Gatsby ?” is an achievable topic.

Take Excellent Notes

Once you understand exactly what your essay is about, you can begin the research phase. Create a strong note-taking system.

Write down any idea or quote you might want to use. Cite every note properly to save time on your citations and to avoid accidental plagiarism.

Once you have gathered your research, organize your notes into categories. This will help you plan the structure of your essay.

You’ll likely find that some of your research doesn’t fit into your essay once you start writing. That’s okay—it’s better to have too much information to support your argument than too little.

Write a Strong Thesis Statement

Possibly the most important step in essay writing is to craft a strong thesis statement. A thesis statement is a brief—usually single-sentence—explanation of what your essay is about.

The thesis statement guides the entire essay: every point you make should support your thesis.

A strong thesis is specific and long enough to address the major points of your essay.

In a persuasive or argumentative essay, your thesis should clearly establish the argument you are making.

Make an Outline

Once you have all your research, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. How do you turn the information into a cohesive essay?

Rather than writing an essay with no roadmap, an outline will keep you on track. An outline helps you organize your thoughts, plan your arguments, and sort your research.

A good outline saves you time, too! You can compile the relevant evidence in your notes before writing, so you don’t have to find that specific quote in the middle of essay writing.

An outline will also stop you from reading your finished essay and realizing you went completely off track.

With an outline, you can avoid finding paragraphs that don’t support your thesis right before you submit the essay.

Craft a Great Introduction

An academic essay needs a strong introductory paragraph.

The introduction is the first impression of your essay. It prepares the reader for what’s coming and gets them excited to read your paper.

A good introduction has three things:

• A hook (e.g. insightful statement, quote, interesting fact)
• Brief background information about the topic
• A thesis statement

Using this formula will help you write a strong introduction for your essay.

Have Original Ideas and Interpretations

The best academic writing advice a professor ever gave me was, “You’ve shown me what other people have said about the topic. I want to know what you think about the topic.”

Even a fact-heavy or data-heavy essay needs original ideas and interpretations. For every piece of information you cite, whether you quote or paraphrase it , offer original commentary.

Focus on insights, new interpretations, or even questions that you have. These are all ways to provide original ideas in your essay.

Proofread for Readability

A good essay is a proofread essay.

Readability, or how easy something is to read, has many factors. Spelling and grammar are important, but so is sentence structure, word choice , and other stylistic features.

Academic essays should be readable without being too simple. In general, aim for a readability score that is close to your grade level in school.

There are several ways to check readability scores, including using ProWritingAid’s Readability Report.

The quickest way to increase readability is to fix grammar and spelling mistakes . You can also raise the readability score by using more complex and compound-complex sentences.

ProWritingAid can offer suggestions on how to improve your essay and take it to the next level.

Our free essay checker will check for spelling and grammar errors, plus several other types of writing mistakes.

The essay checker will offer you suggestions on sentence length and passive voice.

It will help you trim the excess words that bog down your writing by analyzing your sticky sentences and overused words.

The essay checker is here to help you turn in an error-free essay.

Want to improve your essay writing skills?

Use prowritingaid.

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Krystal N. Craiker is the Writing Pirate, an indie romance author and blog manager at ProWritingAid. She sails the seven internet seas, breaking tropes and bending genres. She has a background in anthropology and education, which brings fresh perspectives to her romance novels. When she’s not daydreaming about her next book or article, you can find her cooking gourmet gluten-free cuisine, laughing at memes, and playing board games. Krystal lives in Dallas, Texas with her husband, child, and basset hound.

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How to Improve Essay Writing Skills

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If you've been told time and time again that you express great ideas in your essay writing but your writing needs polishing, you aren't alone. The following tips will help improve your writing skills and turn you into a great writer.

Avoid repetition: It's an essay killer

Though it may seem difficult when writing a five-page term paper on a single idea or character, avoiding repetition is essential to improving your writing skills. When you use the same words ad nauseam, your reader views it as a sign of laziness. Here are three tactics that will help eliminate wordiness and eradicate repetitive words and phrases:

• The simplest approach to improving your writing skills is to eliminate the repetitive word or phrase from your essay.
• If you feel you need to keep the idea, replace the word or phrase with something similar. This may mean substituting a pronoun for a proper name, such as he instead of George; or it may mean searching for an alternative. Use a thesaurus only to remind you of words you already know but have temporarily forgotten. Don't select unfamiliar words that merely sound good; this risky path often leads to the use of words with different underlying meanings, which ultimately can hurt you more than the original repetition.
• The last of our techniques for improving your writing skills is more difficult, but usually the most effective. Begin by crossing out the offending repetition. Next, circle key words in the sentence (skip words such as a, of, while, it, etc.). Now craft a new sentence that retains the circled words but discards the repeat ones. This may require you to add more ideas to round out the thought, but our term paper editors have found that expanding on your new sentence in this manner will improve your paper.

Active voice: Breathe life into your essay writing

In order to improve writing skills, we encourage students to write in the active voice . For those of you who have misplaced your grade school grammar book, this means that the subject of the sentence performs the action; it does not receive the action. Compare the following examples:

• Tom tossed the ball (active)
• The ball was tossed by Tom (passive)

To find the dreaded passive voice, look for a "to be" verb (is, am, are, was, were, be, being, or been) followed by a past participle (often a verb ending with -ed). Ask yourself who is performing the action (the verb). Move that person or subject in front of the verb and make the necessary grammatical changes.

Trite phrases: Banish the banal

In order to improve your writing skills, force yourself to delete all idioms and clichés. Your reader wants original thoughts, not processed or canned sentiments. Yes, this means you must replace those mundane words with something clever of your own. Reduce—perhaps to zero—the number of similes and metaphors, particularly if they are common ones.

There may be instances in which you have devised the perfect comparison, one that highlights the essence of your argument, but chances are that an experienced reader won't be as impressed with your creativity as you are. While certain types of writing (advertising, speeches, etc.) may call for this, such phrases are anathema in formal writing. Eliminate these to improve your writing skills.

Literary present: Just do it

When writing about literature, you must write in the literary present. Your natural inclination will be to write:

The river symbolized freedom and enlightenment for Huckleberry Finn.

But the literary present demands that you write:

The river symbolizes freedom and enlightenment for Huckleberry Finn.

A key tip to improving your writing skills is that everything should be in the present tense. It doesn't matter that you read the book last week, or that the author wrote it a century ago. Write about the characters and events as though they exist in the here and now. This is one of those conventions that is just easier to accept than to question.

Mechanics: Sweating the small stuff is important when improving your writing skills

Always run a spell check. It only takes a moment, and it will save you the embarrassment of turning in an analysis of Julius Caesar in which you consistently misspell Caesar. Pay attention to the suggested replacements when editing your essay, however, as these canned wizards do not always understand your meaning. Even Bill Gates can't turn "it" into "in" or "you're" into "your" for you, so you also need to comb through the paper carefully with your own eyes to find every error before handing it in. Brilliant essays receive lower grades if simple mistakes are left unchanged.

Ask for a second opinion

If you're thinking that this seems like a lot to remember, you're right. But focusing on one or two areas at a time will help you steadily improve your writing skills.

Image source: condesign/Pixabay.com

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How to Improve Essay Writing

Last Updated: December 28, 2023 References

This article was co-authored by Christopher Taylor, PhD . Christopher Taylor is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of English at Austin Community College in Texas. He received his PhD in English Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014. There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 42,247 times.

Do your teachers always mark up your essays with red ink? Are you eager to learn how to express yourself clearly and effectively? If so, there are plenty of steps you can take to improve your essay writing skills. Improve your grammar, refine your style, and learn how to structure a well-organized essay. Since academic essays are especially tricky, learn the ins and outs of formal, scholarly writing. Be sure to read as much as possible; seeing how other authors use language can improve your own writing.

Improving Your Grammar and Style

• For example, while writing, you might not know whether to use “who” or “whom,” so you check the rule online. You’d use “who” for a person doing an action (called a subject), and “whom” for someone who gets something done to them (called an object). “Who called you,” and “Whom did you call” are grammatically correct.
• Find a general guide on grammar at https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/grammar/index.html .
• If you’re a student, see if your school has a writing lab. If so, they’ll have useful resources on grammar and tutors who can help you improve basic writing skills.

• That said, some exceptions apply. If you’re discussing a scientific study, “The subjects were divided into control and experimental groups,” is better than “Researchers divided the subjects into control and experimental groups.” This is because passive voice emphasizes the object of the action rather than the subject. In scientific writing, the object is more important than the subject.

• For example, “The author of the selection establishes the foundation of the work’s controlling metaphor in the initial stanza,” is packed with unnecessary words. A cleaner version of this example could be, “The author introduces the poem’s controlling metaphor in the first stanza.”
• Instead of “The animal sleeps during the day and is active at nighttime,” write “The animal is nocturnal.”
• Rather than "The fox ran very fast," write "The fox sprinted."
• In the sentence, “The argument is compelling and convincing,” compelling and convincing are close enough in meaning. Using one would get the point across, but using both is repetitive.

• Keep in mind the clause that follows a semicolon needs to be a complete sentence. It should also continue the idea conveyed in the clause before the semicolon. Proper use would be, “The platter dates to 1790; examples of British transfer-ware from this period are rare.”
• Use punctuation strategically. A complicated sentence, like this one, with too much, or confusing, or misplaced, punctuation is hard, for most readers, to follow. Aim instead for clear, easy-to-read writing.

• For example, “The platter dates to 1790. It is in pristine condition. There are no nicks or cracks,” are choppy and repetitive.
• Better phrasing would be, “An impressed back-stamp indicates that the platter was made in 1790. With no nicks, cracks, or discoloration, its condition is pristine; few pieces of this age and quality exist.”
• Keep in mind repetitive sentences aren’t necessarily choppy. For instance, “Since the platter has a maker’s mark, accurately determining its age is possible. Since it has no nicks or marks, it is in excellent condition,” are repetitive sentences, even if they’re not short and choppy.

Using Academic Language

• For example, instead of, “I think it’s pretty crazy how the artist made the painting so detailed,” write, “The artist achieves an impressive level of detail.”
• Note that you can use the first person and contractions in less formal essays, such as an autobiographical sketch or college application essay. However, your writing still shouldn’t be too casual. “I found myself questioning my assumptions” is fine but, in most cases, “I was like wow I didn’t know what I was talking about” is too casual.

• Say you’re writing an essay about school uniforms. “Uniforms are good because they make it easier to get ready in the morning,” might be a fair point, but it's not the strongest argument you could make. Backing up your point with objective evidence would be more convincing.
• On the other hand, “According to a 2017 study, schools reported an average of 44% fewer disciplinary referrals the year after implementing mandatory uniforms,” cites a specific, concrete fact.
• Additionally, use specific quantities whenever possible. In this example, “an average of 44% fewer disciplinary referrals,” is more effective than “a significant decrease.” [5] X Trustworthy Source University of North Carolina Writing Center UNC's on-campus and online instructional service that provides assistance to students, faculty, and others during the writing process Go to source

• Learning how to properly use subject-specific terminology can help you express yourself clearly and effectively. Academic writing is a dialogue, and learning the language of a scholarly dialogue is essential.
• For instance, if you’re writing a literary analysis, you might discuss how an author makes a comparison. While technically correct, the word “comparison” isn’t as precise as literary terms such as “metaphor” or “simile.”

• Using convoluted jargon or big words just for the sake of it will make your writing clunky. Furthermore, you’ll lose credibility if you misuse a complex word or technical term.
• For instance, “By utilizing efficacious examples, the author elucidates an irrefutable argument” is verbose. Simpler phrasing would be, “The author presents a convincing argument by using effective examples.”

Mastering the Writing Process

• Note that an essay prompt’s keywords have distinct meanings. Analyze, for example, doesn’t mean to describe; it means to pull apart and examine something’s structure.
• Suppose you have to analyze an argument. Your essay needs identify the argument's rhetorical elements, such as pathos (appeals to emotion), logos (employing reason or logic), or ethos (relying on authority or credibility). After breaking down the argument's structure, you'll then need to explain how the author uses these devices to make their case.

• Remember to check your sources’ credibility. If you’re writing about a former president, find the biography scholars consider most authoritative. Check the authoritative biography’s footnotes and references, which will help you track down more reputable sources.
• You won't conduct thorough research if you’re writing an essay for a test. Instead, read the sources provided with the exam. For example, if a literature essay test requires you to analyze an excerpt, read the passage carefully.

• For instance, “Schools should implement mandatory uniforms because they reduce disciplinary issues, help students focus on learning, and promote school spirit,” is clear and specific.
• The thesis, “Mandatory uniforms are beneficial, so schools should implement them,” makes a claim, but “beneficial” is vague. It doesn’t convey why uniforms are good, so it’s not a strong thesis.

• For the next Roman numerals, write the subtopics, citations, and other details that you’ll cover in each body paragraph.
• In the following example, Roman number II. would be an essay section, and letters A. through D. are body paragraphs that each focus on a sub-topic: II. Uniforms reduce disciplinary issues   A. 44% decrease in detentions after introducing uniforms (Smith, 2017)   B. Suspension decreased by 60% (Smith, 2017)   C. Absenteeism and tardiness decreased (Pew, 2013)   D. 66% of students report less bullying (Ohio Board of Education, 2016)

• Topic sentence: School uniforms may reduce the number of serious behavioral problems.
• Explain: Evidence suggests dressing alike lowers peer pressure, promotes discipline, and prevents the display of controversial or offensive imagery.
• Evidence: For example, according to the Ohio Board of Education, schools that introduced uniforms reported 44% fewer disciplinary referrals, such as detentions and suspensions. Furthermore, 66% of surveyed students said they witnessed fewer bullying incidents after they started wearing uniforms.
• Link: These findings suggest that implementing uniforms is an effective way to foster a disciplined school environment.

• A counterargument could be, “Opponents claim that mandatory uniforms stifle self-expression and lower self-esteem. Although uniforms do prevent personal expressions of style, studies show they actually improve confidence and encourage the expression of ideas. Rather than harm self-image, research suggests that uniforms positively impact mental health. In a 10-year Oxford University study, a majority of students reported that wearing uniforms boosts their self-esteem. With a level playing field, they worry less about choosing clothes that fit the norm.”

• First, revise your essay’s content. Check for unclear language, unorganized spots, awkward sentences, and weak word choices. Next, proofread your work and fix any spelling or grammatical errors.
• For important essays, like a term paper or an admissions essay, have someone read your work and offer feedback.
• In general, try to leave a day for edits at the bare minimum. For a big research paper, scheduling a week or more is ideal.
• For a quick, paragraph-long assignment that’s due the next day, you might only need 15 or 20 minutes for revisions. If you're taking a timed essay test, set aside the last 5 to 10 minutes to check your work.

Expert Q&A

• To improve your writing, read as much as you can. Reading a mix of fiction, newspaper articles, and scholarly works will help you learn new ways to structure sentences, refine your grammar skills, and improve your vocabulary. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• You might not have to conduct thorough research or develop a scholarly thesis if you’re writing an informal essay. However, basic elements such as strong word choices, varied sentence structures, and concise language still apply. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/passive-voice/
• ↑ https://slc.berkeley.edu/nine-basic-ways-improve-your-style-academic-writing
• ↑ https://emedia.rmit.edu.au/learninglab/sites/default/files/academic_style.pdf
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/sciences/
• ↑ https://emedia.rmit.edu.au/learninglab/sites/default/files/vocabulary.pdf
• ↑ https://emedia.rmit.edu.au/learninglab/sites/default/files/Essay_writing_process_accessible_2015.pdf
• ↑ https://emedia.rmit.edu.au/learninglab/sites/default/files/super%20essay.pdf
• ↑ https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/developing-thesis
• ↑ https://emedia.rmit.edu.au/learninglab/content/paragraph-structure

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5 Tips for Improving Your Essay Writing Skills

5-minute read

• 5th November 2021

As a student , essay writing is an integral part of your education. So, how can you improve your essay writing skills? We’ve got five top tips that may help:

• Analyse the essay question so you understand the assignment.
• Write an outline to organize your ideas and prepare your essay.
• Do research to find evidence and sources to support your ideas.
• Use the drafting process to refine your essay before submitting it.
• Get your essay proofread to make sure it is clear and error free.

Read on to learn more about how to improve your essay writing skills.

1. Analyze the Essay Question

The most important step in writing an essay is understanding the assignment. As soon as you have your essay question, then, try to identify the following key words:

• Content words – Content words will tell you what the topic of your essay should be. For instance, in “Discuss the causes of World War II,” the key content words are “causes” and “World War II.”
• Instructional verbs – Instructional verbs will give you a sense of how to approach your essay. There is a big difference, for example, between explaining an idea and analyzing it. Look for what you’re being asked to do in the question, then let this guide your essay writing.
• Limiting words – Limiting words will tell you what to focus on. For example, “In discuss the consequences of the Brexit for trade in the EU,” the phrase “for trade in the EU” limits the scope of the essay question (i.e., while Brexit may have many consequences, the focus here should be trade in the EU).

Try underlining or highlighting these types of words in your essay question.

2. Create an Outline

Another great essay writing skill is to outline your work before you start writing. Most essays will follow a basic format, which you can use to structure an outline:

• An introductory section or paragraph that presents the topic, your thesis statement , and any important background information the reader will need.
• The body paragraphs (or sections), each of which should discuss a single point, example, or idea that supports your main argument.
• A conclusion , where you summarize how your argument supports your thesis.

When planning an essay, then, you can break it down in the way shown above and make notes about what each part will say. Once you are happy with your outline, you can then use this to guide the essay writing process.

3. Use Evidence and Sources Effectively

Having a point you want to argue for or a claim you want to make is fine, but a good essay will also use evidence and sources to support the points it makes.

Once you have worked out a position to argue for, then, do some research to find evidence that supports it. This can include quotations, statistics, and illustrations.

As well as including this evidence in your essay, though, you’ll need to analyze it and show how it support your arguments. Whatever you use, make sure there’s a clear connection between the evidence and the point you’re trying to make.

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In addition, remember to cite your sources properly! You need to show where you’ve found your evidence. This will usually include citing sources in the text of your essay and adding a reference list or bibliography at the end of your document, where you should provide full details of the sources you cited. If you’re not sure how to approach referencing sources, check your style guide or ask your professor.

4. Use the Drafting Process

The biggest mistake people make when writing an essay is to only write it once! Rather, you should always redraft at least once to polish your initial version.

Once you’ve written a draft, then, take a break from it (ideally at least overnight). Then, when you’re ready, go back over your essay and look for ways to improve it. This might be simply checking that you express yourself clearly. But you might also spot ways to strengthen your arguments, such as by adding more evidence.

If you do this at least once, your essay will be far stronger. And there’s always room for further redrafting if you want to be certain your writing is perfect.

5. Have Your Essays Proofread

Okay, strictly speaking this doesn’t quite fall under the category of “essay writing skills” in the same way as the other points here. But one of the smartest things you can do before submitting an essay is have it proofread by an expert.

At Proofed, for example, our academic proofreaders can check your writing to make sure it reads clearly and smoothly, correcting any spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors that slipped through the drafting process. We can even provide feedback on how to improve your academic writing.

If you need help polishing an essay, then, submit it for proofreading today.

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Essay and dissertation writing skills

Planning your essay

Writing your introduction

Structuring your essay

• Writing essays in science subjects
• Brief video guides to support essay planning and writing
• Writing extended essays and dissertations
• Planning your dissertation writing time

Structuring your dissertation

• Top tips for writing longer pieces of work

Advice on planning and writing essays and dissertations

University essays differ from school essays in that they are less concerned with what you know and more concerned with how you construct an argument to answer the question. This means that the starting point for writing a strong essay is to first unpick the question and to then use this to plan your essay before you start putting pen to paper (or finger to keyboard).

A really good starting point for you are these short, downloadable Tips for Successful Essay Writing and Answering the Question resources. Both resources will help you to plan your essay, as well as giving you guidance on how to distinguish between different sorts of essay questions. 

You may find it helpful to watch this seven-minute video on six tips for essay writing which outlines how to interpret essay questions, as well as giving advice on planning and structuring your writing:

Different disciplines will have different expectations for essay structure and you should always refer to your Faculty or Department student handbook or course Canvas site for more specific guidance.

However, broadly speaking, all essays share the following features:

Essays need an introduction to establish and focus the parameters of the discussion that will follow. You may find it helpful to divide the introduction into areas to demonstrate your breadth and engagement with the essay question. You might define specific terms in the introduction to show your engagement with the essay question; for example, ‘This is a large topic which has been variously discussed by many scientists and commentators. The principle tension is between the views of X and Y who define the main issues as…’ Breadth might be demonstrated by showing the range of viewpoints from which the essay question could be considered; for example, ‘A variety of factors including economic, social and political, influence A and B. This essay will focus on the social and economic aspects, with particular emphasis on…..’

Watch this two-minute video to learn more about how to plan and structure an introduction:

The main body of the essay should elaborate on the issues raised in the introduction and develop an argument(s) that answers the question. It should consist of a number of self-contained paragraphs each of which makes a specific point and provides some form of evidence to support the argument being made. Remember that a clear argument requires that each paragraph explicitly relates back to the essay question or the developing argument.

• Conclusion: An essay should end with a conclusion that reiterates the argument in light of the evidence you have provided; you shouldn’t use the conclusion to introduce new information.
• References: You need to include references to the materials you’ve used to write your essay. These might be in the form of footnotes, in-text citations, or a bibliography at the end. Different systems exist for citing references and different disciplines will use various approaches to citation. Ask your tutor which method(s) you should be using for your essay and also consult your Department or Faculty webpages for specific guidance in your discipline. 

Essay writing in science subjects

If you are writing an essay for a science subject you may need to consider additional areas, such as how to present data or diagrams. This five-minute video gives you some advice on how to approach your reading list, planning which information to include in your answer and how to write for your scientific audience – the video is available here:

A PDF providing further guidance on writing science essays for tutorials is available to download.

Short videos to support your essay writing skills

There are many other resources at Oxford that can help support your essay writing skills and if you are short on time, the Oxford Study Skills Centre has produced a number of short (2-minute) videos covering different aspects of essay writing, including:

• Approaching different types of essay questions  
• Structuring your essay  
• Writing an introduction  
• Making use of evidence in your essay writing  
• Writing your conclusion

Extended essays and dissertations

Longer pieces of writing like extended essays and dissertations may seem like quite a challenge from your regular essay writing. The important point is to start with a plan and to focus on what the question is asking. A PDF providing further guidance on planning Humanities and Social Science dissertations is available to download.

Planning your time effectively

Try not to leave the writing until close to your deadline, instead start as soon as you have some ideas to put down onto paper. Your early drafts may never end up in the final work, but the work of committing your ideas to paper helps to formulate not only your ideas, but the method of structuring your writing to read well and conclude firmly.

Although many students and tutors will say that the introduction is often written last, it is a good idea to begin to think about what will go into it early on. For example, the first draft of your introduction should set out your argument, the information you have, and your methods, and it should give a structure to the chapters and sections you will write. Your introduction will probably change as time goes on but it will stand as a guide to your entire extended essay or dissertation and it will help you to keep focused.

The structure of  extended essays or dissertations will vary depending on the question and discipline, but may include some or all of the following:

• The background information to - and context for - your research. This often takes the form of a literature review.
• Explanation of the focus of your work.
• Explanation of the value of this work to scholarship on the topic.
• List of the aims and objectives of the work and also the issues which will not be covered because they are outside its scope.

The main body of your extended essay or dissertation will probably include your methodology, the results of research, and your argument(s) based on your findings.

The conclusion is to summarise the value your research has added to the topic, and any further lines of research you would undertake given more time or resources. 

Tips on writing longer pieces of work

Approaching each chapter of a dissertation as a shorter essay can make the task of writing a dissertation seem less overwhelming. Each chapter will have an introduction, a main body where the argument is developed and substantiated with evidence, and a conclusion to tie things together. Unlike in a regular essay, chapter conclusions may also introduce the chapter that will follow, indicating how the chapters are connected to one another and how the argument will develop through your dissertation.

For further guidance, watch this two-minute video on writing longer pieces of work . 

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• How to Improve Your Essay Writing Quickly: A Step-by-Step Guide

About the Author Stephanie Allen read Classics and English at St Hugh’s College, Oxford, and is currently researching a PhD in Early Modern Academic Drama at the University of Fribourg.

Whatever your brand of brilliance – whether you’re a physics genius, a sporting hero or (like me) a blinky, bookish type – there comes a point in most students’ academic careers when being good at life means being good at essays.

You should also read…

• Focus and Precision: How to Write Essays That Answer the Question
• How to Conquer Your Nightmare Subjects

As the subjects you study get more advanced and complex, you’re increasingly asked to think, evaluate, and have opinions where you once might have simply made calculations or learned definitions. In general, the further you progress through your education, the more rote learning will be replaced by the kind of analysis usually best demonstrated by essays. If by some miraculous feat you manage to avoid writing anything substantial at high school, it’s something you’ll almost certainly have to face at university – yes, even if you’re studying a science subject (although the essays won’t usually be quite as long). One way or another, essay writing comes to us all.

The likelihood is that at some point in the not-too-distant future (unless you are both incredibly reluctant and startlingly resourceful) you will have to write an essay, either in exam conditions or in your own time, that will count towards a final grade in some way. If this is a scary prospect for you, there’s good news and bad news. The bad thing about essay writing is that it’s not something – like French verbs, or the ability to run long distances – that miraculously gets better on its own if you just keep having a go. To improve at essay writing, students often need a paradigm shift: to figure out exactly what isn’t working, and why, and to learn and apply a new way of doing things. The good news, on the other hand, is that the individual skills required to write a strong essay are things you can learn, practise and improve in. This article is all about pinpointing what those skills might be, and giving you some suggestions as to how you might develop them. Not all these tips will work for all of you, but being good at essay writing, like being good at any other school-related discipline, is all about trying different things, and devising your own way of doing things.

Getting organised

Before you even start planning an essay, I’d recommend you sit down and have a quick think about how you want to do it. First, what resources will you need? The internet, or library books? This might affect where and how you decide to work: I have wasted a huge amount of time trying to find versions of articles on the internet that I knew were in books at the library, or procrastinating because I wanted to work at home rather than leaving the house. I would recommend taking yourself to a library ninety-nine times out of a hundred. Secondly, if you’re working from books or downloadable articles, can you afford to work somewhere without the internet? The absence of Facebook and Instagram will guarantee your concentration will be about a hundred times better, which will show in the quality of your work. Next, make a little timeline for your essay. Make a list of everything you want to read and try to get hold of all your material before you start. Think about how long you’re going to spend reading and researching, planning, and writing – leaving a day or two before the deadline to make any significant changes, or just in case things don’t go to plan. I’d recommend allotting 3 hours to read a 20-page article, and about a day to write 2000 words. This might sound like a silly amount of planning, but the point of it is this: hundreds of all-nighters have taught me that essay-writing becomes incredibly stressful and painful when you’re up against the clock, and a reader can tell immediately if something is rushed or dashed off at 2am on the day of the deadline. What’s more, you simply won’t have your best creative ideas under pressure. If you’ve got time, have a look at this – comically eighties and slightly cringey – video about creativity . A lot of what the speaker says about thinking and playfulness is, in my opinion, directly applicable to essay-writing.

Gathering information

Some teachers set reading lists for essays, or make suggestions about where students should look for information; others ask you to find sources yourself. Even if your teacher does prescribe reading, it’s always worth seeing whether you can find something extra that will add breadth, depth or a fresh perspective to your argument. However, it’s important to think carefully about whether a source is reliable and valuable.

What sort of sources should I use?

The most appropriate sources will vary from subject to subject. Here are some common ones: – Academic articles: These are essays by scholars at universities, and usually published in journals or as books. They are always useful, and can be found by looking in the library (ask your teacher for recommendations!), having a poke around Google Scholar, or, if your school has a subscription, on the website JSTOR.org. Search for key words and phrases and see what comes up. – Newspaper articles: might be useful evidence for an essay in History, but may not be detailed or scholarly enough for Biology. If you use a newspaper article or opinion piece, think about the factors that might bias it and include your thinking in your essay! – Wikipedia: a very useful starting-point, and an increasingly reliable resource. However, avoid referencing it: a teacher or examiner might not like it and may take against your essay. Instead, look at the reference section at the bottom of the article and see where the writer has gathered their information from. – Online blogs: in general, stay away from these, as you don’t know who’s written them and how valuable their opinion is, or how reliable their facts. The exceptions are blogs by well-known experts.

How should I take notes?

It might feel like the world’s greatest faff, but taking good notes from your sources will save you a huge amount of time when you come to plan and write your essay: – Type out notes as you read, rather than simply underlining or highlighting – thus you’ll have a summary of the most important chunks of essays ready to use when you plan, rather than having to trawl through whole documents again looking for quotations. – For this reason, if you think you might want to quote something, copy it out in the exact wording of the writer. – Type notes in a different colour for each new source you read. In order to engage intelligently with what you’ve read, you’ve got to remember who said what, what they meant by it, who they were fighting against and whether you agreed with them or not. Colours are a really helpful visual aid to doing this. – At the end of each new essay or article, write a few lines summarising the author’s main points, and whether or not you agree with them. N.B. Your critical engagement with the scholars and authors whose work you’ve read will count for a huge chunk of marks. This does not mean listing a load of names and rehearsing their arguments; nor does it mean disagreeing with everyone for the sake of it. Instead, think about whether or not what they’re arguing holds true in your experience – or compare them to each other.

Planning is the single most important step in writing a good essay, and, frustratingly, also the step that’s most often rushed or neglected by students. If your essays often get criticised for having poor structure or unclear lines of argument, chances are you need to practise your planning. I use the following step-by-step process to turn my notes into a good plan; you can try it too, and see if it works for you. 1) Re-read your notes a couple of times, and underline anything you think is particularly important, interesting, or relevant to the area of the topic you want to discuss. As far as possible, try and organise your thoughts into sections, and see if you can link ideas together. Tip: It might be that you’ve got two or three different ideas for a topic, and you’re not sure which to go with: in this case, you can use a couple of different spider diagrams to see which works best. Where do the ideas link together most easily, or fall together into neat sections? Which question would you be able to answer most fully? 2) Sit back and look at your diagram(s), perhaps alongside your notes, and work out the main ‘point’ or conclusion you want to make in your essay. The best essays are characterised by a clear line of argument throughout – I don’t really buy the idea that essays should present both sides of a question. I always decide what I’m trying to say ; the point I want to conclude with, before I start. Now, the job you’ve got in writing the essay is to set this conclusion up. 3) Work backwards, using the links you’ve made on your spider diagram: what do you need to argue or show to make your point? Jot these ‘points’ down in a couple of words each. This forms the beginnings of a skeleton for your essay. 4) Start to fill out your skeleton with information from your notes, and any extra ideas you might have. If you’re writing a literature essay, it’s CRUCIAL that you include some close analysis of passages to support your argument. Jot down the sentences that link these in to the greater structure. 5) Fill out your skeleton more and more, until it’s essentially a rough draft in bullet points. Every twist or nuance of your argument should be in there; every introductory and concluding sentence for every paragraph, making it explicit how this paragraph answers your question.

6) At this point, it’s very helpful if you can get someone (a friend or a parent will do) to read over your plan and see if it makes sense. Does everything follow? Is it all relevant? Your plan should be so complete that the person who reads it will immediately be able to spot any flaws. Move things around, add or delete to incorporate their criticism: it’s much easier to change something in bullet-point format than when it’s all written out properly. Don’t expect this process to be quick or easy. For a 1500-word essay, I usually write a plan of about three sides, and spend at least three hours making sure that before I put pen to paper, every kink in my argument is ironed out. The pay-off of doing it this way is that the writing process is short and easy – a case of joining up the dots, polishing bullet-points into sentences – much better than coming up with ideas and organising thoughts at the same time as finding the words to express them. Get better and better: If you struggle with structure or clarity, practise your planning! Give yourself a limited amount of time (say, two hours), pick three previous essay questions from an exam or coursework paper, and plan your answers as thoroughly as possible. Get your teacher to look over your plans when you’re done.

The ‘actual writing’-bit can be the most daunting and stressful part of the essay process, and is where most students get stuck. Here are some tried-and-tested solutions to common writing problems:

I can’t get started

It’s quite common to want your first sentence to be arresting, paradigm-shifting, to propel your reader headlong into your essay. However, this desire can be paralysing: one of the most stressful feelings in the world is that of staring at a blank page, thinking about the number of words you’ll need to fill it all up. The key to getting started is to just write something . Don’t worry about how good it is – get it down, and move on, and come back and change it when you’re well into your flow.

Writers’ block

Go back to your plan and make sure you know what you’re arguing. If you still can’t get the words out, try and write down what you want to say as simply as possible. Then move on to an easier section of the essay. Alternatively, you can try going for a walk, making a cup of tea or having a break.

It all feels a bit wrong…

Sometimes, in the process of writing, you’ll realise that you entirely disagree with two-days-ago you, and you don’t really believe in the argument you’re trying to make. If it is the case, go back to the drawing board. Don’t plough on regardless – a lack of conviction will show in your essay. Return to your plan, and see if you can use similar material but change the emphasis, and perhaps the odd bit of evidence, to produce a different argument.

Everyone has their own individual writing style: your might be as purple and flowery, or scientific and direct as you like (within reason). However you write, to get top marks, it’s crucial that you learn to be precise .

Style-wise, there are two poles of wrongness: vagueness, and over-complication. Of course, every subject has its particular vocabulary, and learning this will be crucial, and sharpen your analysis; but remember that little words are your friends too! Make sure that you know the exact meaning of each word you use. Crucially, make sure you know exactly what each word you’re using means, and think carefully about whether you’re applying it in the right context – remember that whoever is reading your essay will know better than you the meanings of zeugma, stagflation or symbiosis. Finally, don’t hide behind subject-specific vocabulary: make sure that you’re using terms to contribute to and develop your essay, and nothing of the flow is lost.

The boring stuff

– Get good at conventions like footnoting, and writing bibliographies. Examiners really do check these! – When you’ve finished, leave the essay for a day or two, and then re-read it. If possible, get someone to proofread for you. This way, you’ll avoid making lots of silly mistakes that threaten the clarity and flow of your essay.

Image credits: banner ; runner ; old library ; new library ; pens ; map ; parent ; tapping pencil ; egg . 

7 Effective Strategies to Improve Your Essay Writing Skills

Essay writing is an essential aspect of academic and professional life. Whether you are a student, a researcher, or a professional, your ability to convey your ideas effectively through writing can significantly impact your success. Therefore, it is crucial to improve your essay writing skills to excel in your academic or professional career.

While some people possess a natural talent for writing, most individuals can learn to write well with some effort and practice. This essay explores various strategies that can help you improve your essay writing skills and elevate your writing to the next level.

1. Develop Strong Writing Habits

To become a skilled writer, you must develop strong writing habits. One of the most effective ways to do this is by setting aside dedicated time each day to write. Whether it's for 30 minutes or an hour, making writing a regular habit can help you improve your skills over time. 

Additionally, it's crucial to create a comfortable and distraction-free writing environment. Find a quiet and comfortable place to write, turn off your phone and other electronic devices, and focus solely on the task at hand.

2. Read Extensively and Analyze Writing Styles

Reading extensively is another effective strategy for improving your essay writing skills. By exposing yourself to a wide variety of writing styles and genres, you can learn different techniques and approaches to writing that you can then apply to your own work. 

Pay attention to how authors structure their arguments, how they use language to convey meaning, and how they engage readers. By analyzing these elements of good writing, you can incorporate them into your own work and improve your writing skills.

3. Develop Strong Research Skills

Good research skills are a critical component of effective essay writing . The ability to find, evaluate, and use sources effectively can help you write well-informed and well-structured essays. 

Start by familiarizing yourself with different research methods and sources, such as academic journals, books, and online databases. Additionally, ensure that you properly cite all sources in your work, as plagiarism can result in serious consequences.

4. Use a Clear and Concise Writing Style

Clear and concise writing is essential for effective communication. Avoid using overly complicated vocabulary and convoluted sentence structures that can confuse readers.

Instead, strive to write in a simple, straightforward, and easy-to-understand style. This will make your arguments more accessible and help you connect with your readers.

5. Edit and Revise Your Essay

Editing your essay and revising it is a critical step in improving your essay writing skills. Start by reading through your work to identify any errors in spelling, grammar, or punctuation. Then, revise your work for clarity and organization.

Ensure that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence and supports your thesis. Additionally, ensure that your writing flows smoothly and logically from one idea to the next.

6. Seek Feedback and Learn from Criticism

Seeking feedback is an essential strategy for improving your essay writing skills. Share your work with others and ask for their honest opinions and suggestions for improvement. 

This can help you identify areas where you need to improve and provide you with valuable insights into your writing. Additionally, be open to constructive criticism and use it as an opportunity to learn and grow as a writer.

7. Practice Writing on Different Topics

Writing on different topics is an effective way to challenge yourself and expand your writing skills. Experiment with different writing styles and genres, and practice writing on topics that you're not familiar with. This will help you develop a broader range of writing skills and increase your versatility as a writer.

Improving your essay writing skills is a challenging but rewarding journey. It requires dedication, perseverance, and a willingness to learn and grow. By utilizing the strategies discussed in this article, you can improve your writing and increase your chances of success in academia, career, and personal endeavors.

Remember that writing is not just about conveying information or ideas; it is also about engaging and inspiring your readers. Your ability to articulate your thoughts effectively and persuasively can make all the difference in achieving your goals.

So, take the time to develop your writing skills, practice regularly, and seek feedback from others. With patience and hard work, you can become a proficient and confident writer who can express yourself clearly and effectively.

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A (Very) Simple Way to Improve Your Writing

• Mark Rennella

It’s called the “one-idea rule” — and any level of writer can use it.

The “one idea” rule is a simple concept that can help you sharpen your writing, persuade others by presenting your argument in a clear, concise, and engaging way. What exactly does the rule say?

• Every component of a successful piece of writing should express only one idea.
• In persuasive writing, your “one idea” is often the argument or belief you are presenting to the reader. Once you identify what that argument is, the “one-idea rule” can help you develop, revise, and connect the various components of your writing.
• For instance, let’s say you’re writing an essay. There are three components you will be working with throughout your piece: the title, the paragraphs, and the sentences.
• Each of these parts should be dedicated to just one idea. The ideas are not identical, of course, but they’re all related. If done correctly, the smaller ideas (in sentences) all build (in paragraphs) to support the main point (suggested in the title).

Where your work meets your life. See more from Ascend here .

Most advice about writing looks like a long laundry list of “do’s and don’ts.” These lists can be helpful from time to time, but they’re hard to remember … and, therefore, hard to depend on when you’re having trouble putting your thoughts to paper. During my time in academia, teaching composition at the undergraduate and graduate levels, I saw many people struggle with this.

• MR Mark Rennella is Associate Editor at HBP and has published two books, Entrepreneurs, Managers, and Leaders and The Boston Cosmopolitans .  

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How to Perfect Your Essay Writing Skills

While school and college students are required to write numerous essays throughout their education, they are not always supported with adequately honing their essay writing skills. Here’s how to perfect your essay writing skills so you get the grades you deserve.

When it comes to essay writing, some students struggle with how to bring together information and ideas. Other students have all the information they need in their heads, but can’t quite get to grips with the craft of writing it all down. Whatever you need to improve on, these essay writing tips can be applied to any type of essay, giving you a process you can use again and again.

Craft An Outline

If you don’t already do this, making an essay outline is something that will revolutionize your approach to essay writing. Many people avoid making an outline as they are anxious to just start writing and not waste time. In fact, an outline will save you time in the long-run, and make the essay writing part itself much easier. Every essay starts with an introduction and ends with a conclusion, but you might save the outline of these until the end. What you really need to note down in your outline is all the different points you need to make in your essay. Each different point will be a different paragraph. Jot down the subject of each paragraph, plus a few notes of points you definitely need to make. Then outline your introduction and conclusion. This is basically your essay already written in note form.

Write The Essay

Once you have your outline, make a start at writing the full essay. This involves fleshing out all the points you have noted down in your outline, and making persuasive arguments about these points. Write clearly and without using over-complicated language, but make effective use of adjectives and good sentence structures. If you’re unsure about some aspects of grammar and punctuation, educate yourself about the things you’re not sure about along the way. This will help to make you a better essay writer as time goes on. Some people who are in the process of perfecting their essay skills do the best job they can do, before putting their essay into an article rewriter . This automated tool can make suggestions on how the style and language of the essay could be improved, and is a great way to understand the art of essay writing better.

Hone In On Your Essay Purpose

Part of becoming a better essay writer is to be able to critically analyze your own work. When you’re doing this, focus on the purpose of the essay. What was the task originally set to you by your school or college, and does your essay properly address this? Then think about the main argument of your particular essay, and the key point you want to make. Everything you write in your essay should serve the purpose of supporting your key argument. If your essay goes off on unrelated tangents, these are sections that need reviewing, editing and possibly removing entirely. Remember that a longer essay is not necessarily a better one, and being able to stick to the point is a key essay writing skill.

Keep It Unique

While you want all the points you make in your essay to support its main purpose, make sure you do not keep repeating the same points. Each paragraph should have a unique purpose and bring something new and original to your essay. Also think about being unique in the words and phrases you use. Do not over-use any single word in an essay (it is a common problem to get a word stuck in your head!) so use a thesaurus for inspiration if you are struggling for alternatives. Also review your essays to see if you have a tendency towards using particular phrases, and then try to mix it up a little bit by introducing some alternative phrases.

Plain English

If you aren’t already aware of Plain English , read into it so you understand its principles. It means that you shouldn’t use overcomplicated language when something simpler does the job just as well. Note that Plain English does not mean simplifying your ideas, but rather making the delivery of your ideas crystal clear and easier to understand. Getting to the heart of what you mean is very effective in essay writing. Plain English also means avoiding the use of clichés. A cliché is any phrase that is overused and is not very original, for example: ‘there are plenty of fish in the sea’ or ‘the mountains have awe-inspiring views’. Whenever you can, come up with a more original way of putting things – it’ll win you some points with whoever marks your essay. Originality and being clear about your argument will go a long way towards improving your writing skills.

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Essay Papers Writing Online

Esl essay writing – a comprehensive guide to improving your english writing skills.

Looking to upgrade your written English essays? Look no further! In this article, we’ll share some valuable insights and pointers to help you refine your English composition skills. By implementing these practical tips, you’ll be able to express yourself more eloquently and effectively in your written assignments.

Refine Your Vocabulary: One of the key components of enhancing your essay writing skills lies in improving your vocabulary. Expanding your repertoire of words not only adds depth and sophistication to your writing, but it also enables you to articulate your arguments more effectively. Make it a habit to learn and utilize new words, and consider using a thesaurus to find synonyms that lend precision and nuance to your ideas.

Master Grammar and Punctuation: Proper grammar and punctuation are crucial for conveying your ideas accurately. A well-structured sentence with correct punctuation not only enhances readability, but it also showcases your attention to detail and professionalism. Brush up on the fundamentals of grammar and punctuation, and proofread your work thoroughly to eliminate any errors that might distract your readers.

Understand the essay prompt thoroughly

Before starting to write an essay, it is crucial to have a clear understanding of the essay prompt. By thoroughly comprehending the prompt, you can ensure that your essay addresses the topic appropriately and fulfills all the requirements set forth by the prompt. Understanding the prompt allows you to organize your thoughts more effectively and create a well-structured essay.

Begin by carefully reading the prompt and identifying the key elements and instructions. Take note of any specific questions or tasks mentioned in the prompt and make sure to address each one in your essay. Consider the tone and style of writing that the prompt requires, as this can guide your writing process.

In addition to understanding the main topic or theme of the essay, it is essential to grasp any additional guidelines or limitations provided in the prompt. Ensure that you have a clear understanding of the essay’s length, formatting requirements, and any specific sources or references you may need to include.

By having a thorough understanding of the essay prompt, you can approach your writing with clarity and confidence. It allows you to stay focused and avoid drifting away from the main topic. Understanding the prompt also enables you to tailor your essay to meet the specific requirements, which can ultimately result in a higher quality piece of writing.

In conclusion, taking the time to understand the essay prompt thoroughly is a critical step in the essay writing process. It allows you to grasp the main topic, identify any specific tasks or questions, and adhere to the guidelines provided. By understanding the prompt, you can write an essay that effectively addresses the topic and meets all the requirements, thereby enhancing your essay writing skills.

Develop a clear thesis statement

When it comes to writing an ESL essay, one of the most important elements to consider is developing a clear thesis statement. A thesis statement is a concise and specific sentence that presents the main argument or point of your essay. It not only provides a clear focus for your writing but also helps guide your reader through your essay.

Having a clear thesis statement is crucial because it sets the tone for your entire essay and informs your reader about the main idea you will be discussing. It allows you to present a coherent and organized argument, as well as ensure that your essay stays focused on its topic.

To develop a clear thesis statement, you need to identify the main idea or argument of your essay. This can be done by analyzing the topic and determining what specific point you want to make or what aspect you want to explore. Once you have identified the main idea, you can craft a thesis statement that clearly states your position or opinion on the topic.

It is important to keep in mind that your thesis statement should be concise and specific. Avoid using vague or general statements that do not clearly convey your main argument. Instead, use language that is precise and to the point.

In addition to being concise and specific, your thesis statement should also be arguable. This means that it should present a position that can be debated or opposed. Avoid stating facts or obvious statements that cannot be challenged.

Overall, developing a clear thesis statement is essential for writing a successful ESL essay. It provides focus and direction for your writing, helps guide your reader, and ensures that your essay stays on track. By taking the time to craft a strong thesis statement, you will set yourself up for a well-organized and persuasive essay.

Create an outline before starting to write

One of the crucial steps in effective essay writing is creating an outline before you begin drafting your essay. An outline is a helpful tool that allows you to organize your thoughts and ideas, ensuring that your essay follows a logical structure and flows smoothly.

When you create an outline, you are essentially creating a roadmap for your essay. You can think of it as a skeleton, providing the framework for your writing. By outlining your essay, you can identify the main points you want to make and the supporting arguments or examples you will use to back up your claims.

There are various ways to create an outline. You can use a traditional format, such as a hierarchical list with roman numerals, letters, and numbers. Alternatively, you can use a more visual approach, such as a mind map or a flowchart. The important thing is to choose a format that works best for you and helps you organize your thoughts in a clear and logical manner.

Start by writing your main topic or thesis statement at the top of the page. This will serve as the central focus of your essay. Then, list the main points or arguments you want to make in support of your thesis. These will form the body paragraphs of your essay. Under each main point, include the supporting details or evidence that will strengthen your argument.

Remember to use concise and clear language in your outline. Use short phrases or keywords rather than full sentences. This will help you stay focused and prevent you from becoming overwhelmed by too much detail. Your outline should provide a snapshot of your essay’s structure and main ideas.

Creating an outline may take some time and effort at the beginning, but it will ultimately save you time and make the writing process smoother. It will help you stay organized and ensure that your essay has a coherent structure. So before you start writing your next essay, be sure to create an outline to guide you along the way.

Use appropriate vocabulary and grammar

One of the essential aspects of effective essay writing is the use of appropriate vocabulary and grammar. Choosing the right words and constructing sentences correctly can greatly enhance your writing and help you convey your ideas clearly and effectively.

When writing an essay, it is important to use a variety of vocabulary to express your thoughts and arguments. Avoid repetitive words and phrases by utilizing synonyms and related terms. This will not only make your essay more interesting to read but also demonstrate your language proficiency.

In addition to vocabulary, using correct grammar is crucial for conveying your ideas accurately. Make sure to pay attention to subject-verb agreement, verb tenses, and sentence structure. Use punctuation marks, such as commas and periods, appropriately to clarify your sentences and avoid confusion.

Furthermore, avoid using overly complex or convoluted language. While it may be tempting to include fancy words or lengthy sentences to impress your readers, it can actually hinder the clarity and coherence of your essay. Instead, aim for simplicity and clarity in your writing, ensuring that your ideas are easily understandable.

Lastly, proofreading is a vital step in ensuring that your essay is free from grammatical errors and vocabulary mistakes. Take the time to thoroughly read through your essay, checking for any errors or inconsistencies. You can also seek feedback from others to get a fresh perspective on your writing and identify areas of improvement.

In conclusion, using appropriate vocabulary and grammar is essential for effective essay writing. By choosing the right words, constructing sentences correctly, and paying attention to grammar rules, you can enhance the clarity and coherence of your writing. Remember to proofread your essay to eliminate any errors and improve its overall quality.

Practice writing essays regularly

In order to enhance your capabilities in composing essays in English, it is essential to engage in regular writing practice. Consistently putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard will facilitate the development and refinement of your writing skills, allowing you to become more proficient in expressing your thoughts and ideas in a clear and coherent manner.

Engaging in regular essay writing exercises enables you to enhance your ability to articulate your arguments effectively, structure your ideas logically, and convey your message concisely. By engaging in consistent practice, you will gradually gain confidence in your writing abilities and become more comfortable with expressing your ideas in English, ultimately becoming a more proficient writer.

Regular writing practice also helps you to expand your vocabulary and improve your grammar and sentence structure. As you write more frequently, you will inevitably encounter new words and phrases, allowing you to broaden your repertoire of vocabulary. By practicing writing essays regularly, you will also become more attuned to grammatical structures and sentence patterns, enabling you to construct more sophisticated and well-organized sentences.

Moreover, regular essay writing practice provides an opportunity for self-reflection and self-improvement in terms of your writing style and techniques. By reviewing your own essays, you can identify areas for improvement and work on refining your weaknesses. Additionally, you can seek feedback from peers or teachers, which can provide valuable insights and tips for enhancing your writing skills further.

In conclusion, practicing writing essays regularly is a fundamental step towards improving your English writing skills. By engaging in consistent practice, you can enhance your ability to convey your thoughts and ideas effectively, expand your vocabulary, and refine your grammar and sentence structure. Embrace the opportunity to practice writing essays regularly, as it is through this dedication and perseverance that you will become a more skilled and confident essay writer in English.

Edit and proofread your essays carefully

One of the most important steps in successful essay writing is to thoroughly edit and proofread your work. After spending time brainstorming ideas, developing a strong thesis statement, and organizing your thoughts, it is crucial to go back and review your writing for errors, clarity, and coherence.

To ensure your essays effectively communicate your ideas, it is essential to edit them with a critical eye. This means carefully reading through your essay multiple times, paying attention to grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Look for any awkward or unclear sentences and rephrase them to improve clarity. Additionally, check for consistency in verb tense and ensure that your ideas flow logically from one paragraph to the next.

Proofreading goes hand in hand with editing and involves looking for any typographical errors or mistakes that may have been missed during the initial editing process. It is crucial to read your essay word by word, checking for small errors such as missing or repeated words, incorrect word usage, or any other grammar mistakes. Consider reading your work aloud to help identify any awkward phrasing or sentences that do not sound natural.

While editing and proofreading are important for catching errors, these steps are also an opportunity to refine your writing and strengthen your argument. As you review your essay, ask yourself if your ideas are well-supported with evidence and if your arguments are logical and persuasive. Look for areas where you can provide additional examples or clarify your reasoning.

Another helpful tip is to have someone else read your essay. A fresh pair of eyes can often catch mistakes or unclear passages that you may have overlooked. Consider seeking feedback from a classmate, friend, or tutor who can provide constructive criticism and help you improve your writing.

In conclusion, editing and proofreading are vital steps in the essay writing process and should not be ignored. By taking the time to carefully review your work, you can ensure that your essays are clear, cohesive, and error-free. With practice and attention to detail, your essay writing skills will continue to improve, resulting in more confident and effective writing.

Seek feedback from others to enhance your writing

One of the most effective ways to elevate your writing abilities is to seek feedback from others. By sharing your work with peers, teachers, or professional writers, you can gain valuable insights and improve your writing style. Constructive criticism allows you to identify your strengths and weaknesses, refine your ideas, and polish your language choices.

When seeking feedback, it is important to approach the process with an open mind and a willingness to learn. Be open to suggestions and different perspectives, as they can provide fresh insights and ideas that you may not have considered before. Embrace the opportunity to receive feedback, even if it means revising your work multiple times. Remember, the more feedback you gather, the better equipped you are to refine your writing skills and produce high-quality work.

One way to seek feedback is to join a writing group or workshop where you can share your writing with like-minded individuals. This allows you to engage in discussions, receive critiques, and learn from others who have similar goals. Additionally, participating in writing communities online or attending writing conferences can provide you with a wealth of feedback and resources to enhance your writing.

When sharing your work for feedback, it is beneficial to provide specific questions or areas you would like reviewers to focus on. This ensures that you receive targeted feedback that addresses your concerns and helps you address specific areas for improvement. Additionally, consider seeking feedback from individuals with different backgrounds and perspectives to gain a diverse range of opinions.

Remember to view feedback as an opportunity for growth rather than a personal attack. Embrace constructive criticism as a means to enhance your writing skills and bring your ideas to life. Through seeking feedback from others, you can continually refine your writing style, develop a strong voice, and improve your overall writing ability.

• Share your writing with peers, teachers, or professional writers to gain valuable insights.
• Approach feedback with an open mind and a willingness to learn from different perspectives.
• Join a writing group or workshop to engage in discussions and receive critiques.
• Participate in online writing communities or attend writing conferences for additional feedback and resources.
• Provide specific questions or areas of focus when sharing your work.
• Seek feedback from individuals with different backgrounds and perspectives.
• View feedback as an opportunity for growth and improvement.

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How Has My Writing Improved – Essay About Improving Writing Skills

Writing of academic articles and term papers has often been a challenge to many students and I am not an exception. Academically, excellent writing skills aid in getting satisfactory grades. Sadly, I did not only have poor writing skills, but also a poor command of English. To improve my writing, I had to learn how to write proficiently by taking writing skills as an extra unit. Besides allocating more time to my extra unit, I had to do research on ways of improving my writing skills.

Tutors at a writing center, my lecturer, and frequent analysis of my low-graded papers assisted in improving my writing. Overcoming the hurdle of my writing inadequacy was not an easy task; however, collaboration between my lecturers and other experts in the writing center proved vital in ameliorating my writing skills especially in organization, spelling/grammar, and the overall quality of my work among others.

The first step in improving my writing skills was to analyze my written work critically. I had to rely on other students with strong writing skills to correct my papers. Most of my term papers had poor grades because of the spelling and grammar mistakes, lack of clarity and poor content. Rarely did the lecturer award any mark on the spelling and grammar slots. For example, the common comments on my papers included, “read your work before submission” or “read widely to improve your grammar”.

The last remark on my papers was always “below average”. Consequently, the disheartening comments resulted into terrible low-grades. From the comments and the results of the papers, my education was in crisis. Therefore, I had to read novels widely, and other articles to improve the grammar and spelling. While reading the novels, I had to note the spelling of new words and check their meanings from the dictionary.

The new advanced learner’s dictionary was my companion. Furthermore, I collected papers from my colleagues who performed better in class. Through reading and analyzing their papers, I was able to note the significant difference between the organization and content of their papers with mine. Eventually, I started receiving positive comments from my lecturer.

Secondly, I had to form a positive student-teacher relationship between my teacher and I. with my goals well outlined the lecturer was not hesitant in assisting me in improving my writing skills. The lecturer had to give me extra lessons and assignments to make sure I was picking up his comments.

Besides, rewriting my poor graded papers, I had to write extra papers as a practical lesson. At least I had to write a new paper every single day to check on my skills. My lecturer marked all the extra papers instructing me on, which ways to follow. I had to peruse through many English text books to learn about verbs, adverbs, and sentence construction among other issues. More over, I had to learn on the method of writing different essays (descriptive, expository, and argumentative) from books and read journals to improve my writing.

Although I killed my social life to create time for improving my writing skills, my papers started showing better comments. For instance, in one of the assignments I was happy when my lecturer commented, “cogent points”, which meant the paper was not only clear, but also the content was compelling. A clear paper means the audience or reader understands both the language and message of the writer, which is a quality of a good writer.

Thirdly, I had to learn on how to organize and construct an academic paper. All papers have a similar format , where the introduction, body and conclusion are mandatory. However, the content of these sections always seemed to be challenging especially in formulating a strong thesis.

The arrangement of the body paragraphs always seemed to be poor. Each paragraph has to have a topic sentence, which describes a specified point. Nevertheless, through continuous practice and reference from other well-written papers, I was able to sail through smoothly.

Due to the inability to construct a persuasive paper, I always submitted my assignments late, a fact, which led to the deduction of marks. Even writing a single page seemed tough to me. Nevertheless, currently, I can write more than a 1000 words within two hours and the paper will be devoid of errors. Therefore, the mastering of organization skills as a way of improving my writing has worked miracles. My papers are at per with other top students in my class.

Finally, I had to visit a writing centre to interact with the tutors and to learn from them on how to improve my writing skills. Before giving me a lecture on the basic qualities of a good paper, my tutor asked for my term papers to ascertain my level of skills.

He noted all the areas, which needed improvement guiding me on the way forward. For example, to improve my organization ability, he gave me written papers to go read and write the main points in each paragraph. From the small practical, I was able to master on how to organize my papers.

On the other hand, the quality of a paper is also a crucial element for a person who has decent writing skills. However, reading a variety of papers and books improves a person’s ability in writing an excellent paper. The last task in the writing centre was to write a 1-page paper on ‘how to improve my writing skills”.

By reading the paper, the tutor at the writing centre wrote comments on how to improve the quality of papers. I can clearly remember a comment in which he said, “read more on tenses”. In my paper, I had mixed both present and past tenses, which is a taboo in English. Finally, I had to read on all English tenses while taking practical exercise on each of them.

In a recap, the journey to an excellent has been a tough, but an exciting one. I had to learn from my mistakes to improve my writing skills. Reading a variety of books was not an exception.

Frequent consultations from the expert gave me the way forward. My lecturer and the writing centre are among the people I thank for the excellent writing skills I possess now. Luckily, I was not only quick, but also ready to learn, which enable me to grasp everything that a brilliant writer needs.

By taking negative comments positively, I rectified all the mistakes I had made in earlier papers. When compared to my previous results my papers contain positive comments like, “exemplary or average”. Occasionally, I emerge among the best in my class during assignments. In brief, although I have better writing skills, I still read articles, newspapers, peer reviews and other materials to improve.

• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2023, October 31). How Has My Writing Improved – Essay About Improving Writing Skills. https://ivypanda.com/essays/my-improvement-in-writing/

"How Has My Writing Improved – Essay About Improving Writing Skills." IvyPanda , 31 Oct. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/my-improvement-in-writing/.

IvyPanda . (2023) 'How Has My Writing Improved – Essay About Improving Writing Skills'. 31 October.

IvyPanda . 2023. "How Has My Writing Improved – Essay About Improving Writing Skills." October 31, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/my-improvement-in-writing/.

1. IvyPanda . "How Has My Writing Improved – Essay About Improving Writing Skills." October 31, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/my-improvement-in-writing/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "How Has My Writing Improved – Essay About Improving Writing Skills." October 31, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/my-improvement-in-writing/.

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