A collection of most helpful tips for essay writing

Topic

Some assignments have a pre-planned question you need to answer, but sometimes you are required to write a paper on a question of your own choosing. If this is the case then you need to choose a topic that has many resources available about it that you can research on. There is nothing worse than choosing something to write about and then finding out it hardly has any information to write about!

Another thing to keep in mind is to choose something you are genuinely curious about, or have an interest in. If you choose a topic for the sake of choosing one then this will be reflected in your writing.

Planning

Planning is vital for success in your writing. Firstly, you should brainstorm all the ideas you have about the essay. You should brainstorm ideas such as what you can write about, how you will research your topic and also what things you can analyze. Brainstorming then means that even if you forget all the great ideas you have while writing, you can refer back to your brainstorm to remind you again.

Planning is also important so that you can a clear structure in mind before you begin your paper. Visualizing how you want your paper to be will be extremely helpful in keeping you organized and your writing structured.

Keeping on Track

One aspect of writing that many students often struggle with is keeping on track with the question they are answering. Many students fall into the trap of writing about things that are related to their work, but is not directly answering the question they have been set. What this does is that it earns you no marks, as you are doing answering the question, and also takes up valuable words from your word count. Before you begin writing down your next point, think to yourself whether or not it answers the question you have been set, and how it does so.

Variety

A hallmark of a good essay is the variety in your writing. Avoid using the same sentence structure, especially at the start of your sentences. Another thing to keep in mind is that you should mix up your vocabulary. For example if your paper is about religion, avoid using the word ‘religion’ frequently. Instead mix it up and use other words to mean the same thing such as ‘beliefs’and ‘devotion’.

Drafting

Ensure that your punctuation, spelling and grammar are correct throughout your paper. For this reason you need to proof read, edit and draft your work several times. It is a great shame if your writing has good content but you are marked down due to your poor use of English. To stop this from happening keep a spell check on your writing program and draft your work several times.

If you follow all, if not most, of the tips compiled here then you will experience every success in your writing. The key to successful assignment writing is good organizational and planning skills. They play as important a role as the content of your work in you achieving success in your work.