Writing an Essay in 10 Steps

8/13/2019 Writing an Essay in 10 Steps

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How to Write an Essay: 10 Easy Steps

It is my ambition to say in ten sentences what others say in awhole book.

-- Friedrich Neitzsche

Why is writing an essay sofrustrating?

Learning how to write an essaycan be a maddening,exasperating process, but itdoesn't have to be. If you knowthe steps and understand whatto do, writing can be easy andeven fun.

This site, "How To Write anEssay: 10 Easy Steps," offers aten-step process that teachesstudents how to write an essay.

Links to the writing steps arefound on the left, and additionalwriting resources are locatedacross the top.

Learning how to write an essaydoesn't have to involve so much

trial and error.

Brief Overview of the 10 Essay Writing Steps

Below are brief summaries of each of the ten steps to writing anessay. Select the links for more info on any particular step, or use

he blue navigation bar on the left to proceed through the writingsteps. How To Write an Essaycan be viewed sequentially, as ifgoing through ten sequential steps in an essay writing process, orcan be explored by individual topic.


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1.Research:Begin the essay writing process by researching youropic, making yourself an expert. Utilize the internet, the academic

databases, and the library. Take notes and immerse yourself inhe words of great thinkers.

2.Analysis:Now that you have a good knowledge base, startanalyzing the arguments of the essays you're reading. Clearlydefine the claims, write out the reasons, the evidence. Look for

eaknesses of logic, and also strengths. Learning how to write anessay begins by learning how toanalyze essays written by others.

3.Brainstorming:Your essay will

require insight of your own,genuine essay-writing brilliance.

sk yourself a dozen questionsand answer them. Meditate with apen in your hand. Take walks andhink and think until you come upith original insights to write

about.

4.Thesis:Pick your best idea and pin it down in a clear assertionhat you can write your entire essay around. Your thesis is your

main point, summed up in a concise sentence that lets the readerknow where you're going, and why. It's practically impossible to

rite a good essay without a clear thesis.

5.Outline:Sketch out your essay before straightway writing it out.Use one-line sentences to describe paragraphs, and bullet points

o describe what each paragraph will contain. Play with theessay's order. Map out the structure of your argument, and makesure each paragraph is unified.

6.Introduction:Now sit down and write the essay. The introductionshould grab the reader's attention, set up the issue, and lead in to
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your thesis. Your intro is merely a buildup of the issue, a stage ofbringing your reader into the essay's argument.

(Note: The title and first paragraph are probably the most

important elements in your essay. This is an essay-writing pointthat doesn't always sink in within the context of the classroom. Inthe first paragraph you either hook the reader's interest or lose it.Of course your teacher, who's getting paid to teach you how towrite an essay, will read the essay you've written regardless, but inthe real world, readers make up their minds about whether or notto read your essay by glancing at the title alone.)

7.Paragraphs:Each individual paragraph should be focused on a

single idea that supports your thesis. Begin paragraphs with topicsentences, support assertions with evidence, and expound yourideas in the clearest, most sensible way you can. Speak to yourreader as if he or she weresitting in front of you. In other

ords, instead of writing theessay, try talking the essay.

8.Conclusion:Gracefully exityour essay by making a quickrap-up sentence, and then end

on some memorable thought,perhaps a quotation, or an interesting twist of logic, or some call toaction. Is there something you want the reader to walk away anddo? Let him or her know exactly what.

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9.MLA Style:Format your essay according to the correct guidelines forcitation. All borrowed ideas and quotations should be correctly cited in thebody of your text, followed up with a Works Cited (references) page listing

the details of your sources.

10.Language:You're not done writing your essay until you've polishedyour language by correcting the grammar, making sentences flow,incoporating rhythm, emphasis, adjusting the formality, giving it a level-headed tone, and making other intuitive edits. Proofread until it reads justhow you want it to sound. Writing an essay can be tedious, but you don'twant to bungle the hours of conceptual work you've put into writing youressay by leaving a few slippy misppallings and pourly wordedd phrazies.
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Writing an Essay in 10 Steps