How To Write Essays: Check Steps To Structuring An Essay

Edited By Shashwat Khatri | Updated on Feb 25, 2022 03:36 PM IST

An essay is, generally, a short formal piece of writing that informs readers about a subject matter. They are commonly taught in school, high school and college and are considered elemental when it comes to instilling in students the ability to think critically, develop ideas, and communicate them effectively in written form.

How To Write Essays: Check Steps To Structuring An Essay

Essays include a broad category of writings, such as letters, papers, literary criticism, observations and reflections, arguments, interpretive compositions, etc. The word ‘essay’ itself means “to try” or “to attempt” which perfectly describes the purpose of such assignments and tasks.

Knowing how to write essays can come in handy at various points in life and work and the sooner one learns, the better. Here is all that you need to know to learn how to write essays and write them with purpose and flair.

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Elements Of A General Essay

Some people just know how to start an essay and can simply sit down and start typing them out, while the rest of us may need a proper structure to carry our thoughts and ideas. You may even know how to write an essay from your earlier grades. But as your learning improves, so should your essay writing skills.

The basic structure of an essay includes an introduction, the main body, and a conclusion. The main body is the crux of your essay where you’ll be fleshing out your main points. The length of this section can vary depending on the type of essay and subject matter. But it is a good rule of thumb to have at least three paragraphs in the main body.

In most essays, the idea is to first introduce the subject matter to the readers, discuss ideas or solutions, and then conclude with an informed opinion. In short, tell the readers what you’re going to say, say it, and then tell them what you said. This generally works for most types of writing and is a useful tip to consider when you’re learning how to write essays.

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Types Of Essays

The different essay forms, such as the ones mentioned above, can be grouped into four categories:

Narrative essay - This type of essay provides information about the subject in a simple and straightforward manner, just like a story.
Persuasive essay - This essay type is meant to persuade the readers about a subject, often involving the use of studied and logical arguments to do so.
Expository essay - This sort of essay is meant to educate and inform the readers about performing a process. Instructional manuals are a good example of such writings.
Descriptive essay - This type of essay includes descriptive writings, such as reports and observations. Along with persuasive essays, this is one of the most common essay type that is taught in schools.

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Steps To Writing An Essay

Now that we’ve discussed the basic types of essays that you will generally be asked to write, let’s learn the steps that go into writing one with the help of a “how to write an essay example” for demonstration purposes.

1. Preparation

The preparatory stages of learning how to write essays are as important as actually writing them. This is where you’ll set the stage for the topic you’re going to write about.

Choose a topic - The topic might be assigned to you, or you may have the freedom to write on what you wish. Whatever the case may be, it is important that you study it in earnest, for it is this question or statement upon which you will base your essay.

For our example, we’re writing an essay on the impact of human activities on climate change. So we know that we will have to draw from our study of the environmental sciences.
Choose essay type - Next step is to decide which essay type it is that you’re writing. Is it a report, an argumentative piece, or a straight-up observation and narrative? Oftentimes, the question will explicitly state the essay type that you’re supposed to write, or you may have to make an educated guess.

For example, the question “Analyse and comment on the impact of human activities on climate change” doesn’t explicitly say which essay type to write. For our purposes, we can choose the descriptive type.
Research - Becoming familiar with the subject is one of the more important steps to learning how to write essays. This is where you scour the web, read reports, find expert opinions in journals and studies, brainstorm, and draw from your own understanding of the subject. The more thorough you are, the easier it will be for you to know how to start an essay and go on developing it.

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2. Developing Ideas

Based on the topic and your research, you should have at least three major points to cover in as many paragraphs, barring the introduction and the conclusion. You may first want to roughly sketch out the ideas or points of discussion, have relevant examples and quotes ready to back them up, and any supporting evidence that helps you present your case.

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3. The First Draft

How to write essays, how to start an essay, how to make an essay, how to write an essay example Writing The First Draft

Once you’re ready, it’s time to start writing. It doesn’t matter whether or not you know exactly how to start an essay at this point in time. The idea is to get the building blocks of your main points down so you have something to work with even if it is fraught with errors and is haphazardly put together at first.

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4. Writing The Introduction

Your reader needs to be hooked from the start, so it is important to discuss the importance of the topic and open with the thesis statement - your main argument. This will be the focus of your essay and will illustrate your position on the topic. Make sure it isn’t too long; a sentence or two will do.

Example: The rise in human activities is the number one cause of climate change.

5. Writing The Main body

Once your thesis statement and introduction is down, it’s time to back it up with your main points. Summarise each point in one or two sentences at the beginning of each paragraph. Then, expand on these in the subsequent sentences and provide evidence and examples to support your point. Remember, the more in-depth and rigorous your analysis, the better it will support your thesis statement. At the same time, try not to jumble too many ideas in one paragraph or the reader might get confused. Keep it simple, but keep it thorough.

Example: The unprecedented rise in global temperatures can be attributed to the accelerated use of fossil fuels ever since the industrial revolution. Studies have reported that the emission of greenhouse gases is positively correlated with the sudden increase in temperatures in the past two hundred years. This has been the primary cause of climate change on a global scale.

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6. Writing The Conclusion

Once the main points are down, it is time to wrap up your essay and emphasize your findings and opinions. Reiterate and rephrase your main points succinctly and include a final takeaway from the essay. It is acceptable to use words and phrases from the introduction. The conclusion can be seen as a second introduction as it has many of the same features. It is also your last chance to make your case and, therefore, should be used to tie everything together. By this time, you would have already stated your main points enough times to reinforce your argument.

Example: In conclusion, there is sufficient evidence to support that the recent changes in the global climate are, to a large extent, a direct result of human activities.

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7. Revision

This is the time to turn on the inner critic for fine-tuning the essay. Revising your rough draft doesn’t just involve proofreading the written material and checking for grammar and spelling, although it is important that you do that too.

Ensure that all the elements of the essay do what they’re supposed to do: the introduction should present a clear purpose for your essay, the body contains the main arguments and supporting evidence, and the conclusion tie things together convincingly and finish off with a global statement or “a call to action”.

Additionally, make sure that all points flow logically from one to the next. For this, use “signpost” words in your writing to serve as transition signals and guide the reader through the natural progression of your ideas.

Finally, spend some time trying to learn how to make an essay that is as professional as possible. Add quotation marks wherever necessary, check citations and references, remove unnecessary repetition, and look to make it as reader-friendly as possible. If you’re not pressed for time, you should also keep the essay aside for a while and come back to it later. This will allow you to edit with a fresh eye.

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Tips

Learning how to write essays can be challenging. Here are a few tips to ensure that you don’t become overwhelmed by the process:

Start early: The earlier you begin, the more time you’ll have to research, write, edit, and make the essay concise and to the point.
Always keep the question in mind: Return to the question whenever you’re feeling lost. This will ensure that you don’t digress from the topic and your writing remains relevant.
Write the introduction and conclusion last: Essays don’t have to be written chronologically, nor is it recommended that you write it all in one sitting. Focus on your main points first so you have an intimate understanding of the complete structure of your essay.

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SMART Goals Examples For Students

Learning how to write essays is an important skill to acquire for students. By following a structure, one can learn not only how to start an essay but also develop one’s own academic awareness in the process. It is through the act of thinking through one’s thoughts and writing them out in an academic format that we learn how to make an essay that is relevant, backed up with evidence, and one that reflects our own voice. We hope you now know how to write an essay example.

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Shashwat Khatri is a psychology graduate. He is a content developer with Careers360.