Essay Writing Tips: How To Complete Your Essay On-Time?

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Essay writing is a skilled task. Students have to write essays on regular basis. The aim of writing an essay is to interpret a topic or its specific aspect(s) through articulate writing. So you will need excellent critical thinking skills and effective writing techniques to produce a good essay. At times, students do not plan their essays and end up delaying the task. So you have to remember the ‘deadline’ while working on an essay.

In this article, I will demonstrate some important tips on ‘how to write an essay’ while not wasting your time. Here they are:

•    Plan Your Essay Task

Do not procrastinate. Start your topic as early as possible. Organize your tasks and allocate specific time limit to each task in such a way that your essay is completed before the deadline. This will give you the time and room to make important amendment(s) in your essay if any. Besides, when you finish up your work in haste, it tends to affect the quality of your writing.

•    Write to Rewrite

Start by writing a first draft of your essay. Do not worry about the nitty-gritty mistakes at this stage, you can revise them later. The aim of writing a rough draft is only to put your words down a paper. Once you are done with writing a rough draft, you can make corrections to make it more refined and polished.

•    Write In Simple Language

Use easy to understand language when writing an essay. Avoid using technical words or jargons. Remember your audience while writing the essay and modify your writing according to their needs. Your should only aim to educate the audience and not to confuse them.

•    Quote Your Sources Properly

Be very particular when using excerpts of others in your work. Use proper citation style to quote your sources such as APA, MLA, Chicago etc. You have to acknowledge every idea that is not a scientific fact or common knowledge. Remember that plagiarism is not just copying work of others but failure to properly acknowledge your sources is also considered plagiarism. Refer to a citation manual for further guidance.

•    Edit Your Work

Finally, you must edit the rough draft. Just imagine how it looks like to have spelling, punctuation and grammar errors if you are majoring in “English Language”. So you must make sure to edit your thoroughly to make it free from all such errors.

What Topics to Choose For Writing a Great Essay?

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Choosing a good topic is like winning the half battle. After you have chosen a good topic, you will only need to focus on a specific aspect of it and the rest will follow. But what actually defines a good topic and what areas one should look into for searching it, are two important questions that come in mind of probably every student. This article will provide you with four important areas for writing an essay and will help you decide on an interesting theme.

1.    Current Events Topics

You can focus your essay on current events. They can make for an interesting topic for an essay. It is like writing on any other topic with the only exception that it tends to be the most recent. Firstly, you have to find an interesting story and then narrow it down into an inspiring idea. For example, you could write an essay on current events in world politics such as “The Role of Social Media in the Political Change in Egypt” or “2012 American Presidential Election”.

2.    History Topics

History is also another good subject for writing an essay.  Topics, such as World War I and World War II, offers range of ideas to write a good essay. For example, you can discuss “How Winston Churchill Led Britain to World War II” or “The effect of World War I on Europe”.

3.    English Literature Topics

Writing on literature topics is another good idea for an essay. However, it must not be a summary of a book or play and rather focus on a specific aspect of a piece of literature. “Analyzing Elements of Love and Jealousy in Othello through the Eyes of William Shakespeare” is one good example for an essay on English literature.

Since English literature essay topics are subjective in nature, you cannot refer to others while writing on them. That is to say, you can only give your interpretation of the elements described in a novel or play based on your opinions and do not include viewpoints of others about the same.

4.    Science Topics

Scientific essays are based on evidence and facts rather than on collection of other’s work. So you will be writing on something that can be supported by facts. For example, you can write an essay on environmental science topic such as, “Is Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) Solely Responsible for the Damage of Ozone?” or you can shed light on something about future like, “Is Time Machine a Fiction or Fact?”

Do You Know These 4 Topics For A Cause And Effect Essay?

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The cause and effect essay is a popular form of essay writing. This type of essay focuses on the causes of an event to explain its outcome. Due to its simple format, you can write plenty of topics on this type of essay. All you need is to find an interesting topic and make an outline of important points. But you have to struggle to find an interesting topic since there are not many. This article will suggest you some interesting and meaningful topics to write in this type of essay. So if you are thinking on how to write an essay on a cause and effect topic, here are some ideas:

1.    History Topics

Focus your essay on topics from history such as the reasons of British involvement in World War II, the motives behind the assassination of John F. Kennedy or the outcome of automobile industrialization on the American economy. Here you can explore the causes responsible for these events and their effects. You also write about events from recent history such as the causes leading to 9/11 and its implications on American people and the world. Or you can talk about the recent political change in Middle East and its effects on the region.

2.    Politics Topics

Political events can make for interesting topics for a cause and effect essay. Here you can explore themes such as reasons of American Civil Rights Movement or the causes of World War II. You can also discuss topics from recent period such as the causes of political change in Egypt or the reasons behind the resignation of Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi.

3.    Societal Topics

In this type of essay, you can research the effects of different elements on the society. For example, you can discuss the modern internet age and its positive and negative effects on the society. You can shed light on the causes and effects of fast food trend around the globe or the impact of e-commerce on global trade.

4.    Whimsical Topics

You can touch some light-hearted topics. Here you can discuss why you like or dislike a public figure such as sports person, showbiz celebrity or a politician. You can also discuss something as trivial as “social media websites” or “cash dispensers” and give reasons why they have become so popular. You can explain here how these items change our lives in certain ways. To write an essay on such topic, you must come up with an idea that you find interesting.

Reflective Essay Writing: How to Write an Interesting Introduction?

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A reflective essay is a popular type of essay writing. It aims to interpret personal feelings of an individual about a certain experience. It is similar to personal essay in that it focuses on narrative style of writing to express thoughts. Although many students try to write a reflective essay but very few are able to write it successfully.

As with any other type of essay, a reflective essay will not make an impact in mind of the readers unless it has an excellent written introductory paragraph. So the key to write an impressive reflective essay is to write an interesting introduction. To accomplish this task, you must capitalize on some important elements that I will be explaining in this article, use them in their true sense and you will be able to write an appealing introduction for your essay assignment.

•    Start by writing an eye-catching first sentence. The first sentence of the introductory paragraph must be strong enough to grab attention of the readers.

•    Add interesting information in the introductory part and express your thoughts eloquently. Give background information about your topic. Write the introduction in the first person or the third person pronoun.

•    Be sure about the purpose of your essay so that you can align your ideas with it. Give your reasons for writing the essay. Your readers must understand the experience you felt. Be clear about what you want them to understand from it.

•    The introduction is where you state your thesis. The art of writing a strong thesis is to condense your whole discussion into a few sentences. Your thesis must be debatable and address the core issue of your essay.

•    The importance of editing cannot be denied by any. But when it comes to editing the introductory part, you have to be extra careful. You have to make sure that your introduction is interesting while at the same time makes sense. It must make a smooth flow all through the end of the paragraph, encompassing the basic and important information about your topic. Remember to make it free from any grammar and spelling mistakes.

•    Always check that your introduction compliments the concluding paragraph. The conclusion relates the audience back with the introductory paragraph. An essay with incompatible introduction and conclusion will not make an impact in mind of the readers

Essay Writing Skills: Read These Useful Tips For Writing A Coherent Essay!

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While everybody writes essays, not all are able to write it coherently. It is always a consistent and well thought-out essay that actually conveys the essence of your central argument in an essay. Therefore, it is required that your essay is coherent and logical, presenting your arguments in a proper organizational layout. In this article, I will highlight some important points that will help you write even the most complex types of essay writing (such as a compare and contrast essay) in a clear and coherent way. Here they are:

•    Create a Proper Outline

Since it is required that your essay shows a logical interpretation of the arguments, it is helpful to first write an outline. Structure your essay in a proper format i.e. introduction, body and conclusion and write relevant points in each of the paragraphs. The thesis will come in the first paragraph, while the supporting arguments will be included in the body part. Finally, the concluding paragraph will list all your main arguments in a summarized way.

•    Centre your Whole Essay on Your Thesis

The thesis is the most important part of an essay. It establishes the purpose of writing an essay and why it is important to discuss a point. It either presents a point of view or compares two opinions. In either case, it must be arguable and narrow enough to explore a specific point. Typically, a thesis is stated in the ‘introductory paragraph’ of an essay while the rest of the paragraphs provide evidence and facts to prove your thesis. Since it is the central argument of your whole discussion, your whole essay must be focused on this point.

•    Write Topic Sentences for Each Paragraph

A topic sentence is another integral part of an essay. All your paragraphs should be based upon a topic sentence. Writing a topic sentence allows you to focus on a specific point and also helps your readers get an idea what point a specific paragraph will address. The topic sentences must align your whole paragraphs with the thesis and each of your paragraphs must builds towards the interpretation of your thesis.

•    Show Consistency between Paragraphs

While each of your paragraphs should discuss a specific point, all of them should relate with each other. This can be achieved by arranging your paragraphs in an organizational layout in such a way that each of them makes smooth transitions into each other. Using proper transitional words such as “however”, “additionally”, “hence” etc is another good way to infuse consistency between paragraphs. This will make your essay more focused and will help you put across your argument in a clear and coherent way.

Interesting Ideas for Different Essay Types

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If you have not figured out a good topic because your teacher has instructed you to write an essay on your own choice of topics, then there is range of ideas that you can select for your specific essay type be it narrative, persuasive, expository or informative. Here are some tips that will help you choose an interesting topic for your specific type of essay:

1.    Consider An Interesting Topic

It is always easier to write about something that fascinates you. Therefore, always choose an idea that you find interesting. Think about the topics that you feel strongly about and then narrow it down into a more specific idea. Consider the things that inspire you the most such as technology, politics, cinema, science, spatial studies etc. Now choose an idea that best fits in your particular essay type.

2.    Narrative Essay

A narrative essay is the type of essay that discusses a story about a person. The narrator focuses on a specific experience of his life and shares the experience in descriptive language. For writing a narrative essay, you can consider topics such as a memorable event of your life, something you achieved in life or failed at, or an incidence that changed your view about life etc.

3.    Persuasive Essay

The aim of a persuasive essay is to convince the readers about your viewpoint of a topic. Choose an arguable topic that offers good room for debate. This may include issues such as war, alcohol consumption, abortion, unemployment, capital punishment, global terrorism and drug abuse etc.

4.    Assorted Ideas For Other Essay Types

In case none of the above mentioned topics inspired you, you can consider topics for other essay types such as cause/effect, compare/contrast, informative and critical essays. Again, you have to dig out a topic that can pick your interest. For example, if you want to write an essay about English plays, then you can consider writing on William Shakespeare because you are his big fan. So you can give a review about one of William Shakespeare’s plays. But if you have a liking for sports, such as water sports, you can consider comparing water skiing and surfing for a compare/contrast essay. Similarly, if you are a lover of cinema, you can consider writing an informative essay on ‘film making’. You can choose any topic as long as it is interesting and suits to a particular essay type

4 Distinct Methods of Paragraphing an Essay

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Paragraphs are important part of essay writing process. They are like building-blocks of an essay and therefore must be written in the most effective way. Unless your essay is properly paragraphed, it is highly impossible that you effectively convey your points to the readers. To know how you can use this technique to put across your points, you must capitalize on the tips demonstrated in this article.

Given below are four different ways of writing a paragraph that you must know for different essay types:

1.    Classic Method

A classic method of writing a paragraph is effective for persuasive essay type. The classic method demands some basic rules for writing such type of essay. While initiating a paragraph, the first sentence must introduce the topic. The subsequent sentences will then expand on the topic, explaining any supporting ideas or facts. Afterwards, you will write range of sentences to reinforce an idea or opinion with solid examples such as statistics and data. You can also use relevant stories to further solidify a paragraph. Lastly, you will wrap up the paragraph with a concluding sentence by restating what you have stated in the introductory sentence.

2.    Narrative Method

When writing a narrative essay, it is best to follow a narrative or descriptive writing method. This technique is particularly effective when you are describing something from past. Since you will be writing about events and people, it will be suitable to break the information in terms of chronology, groups or any other distinct feature.

3.    Process Method

The process method aims to provide step-by-step information involving a process. It is best when you have to reconstruct a process in order to achieve a certain result. This method divides a paragraph into different steps, each constructing towards the completion of the process. The paragraph is concluded with the last sentence where the process is finished. Breaking down the paragraph into different steps help readers clearly understand the whole process. This method is applicable to write a process essay where you have to recreate events to demonstrate a process.

4.    Illustration Method

The illustration method is suitable for argumentative type of essay. An illustration method aims to provide you with the facts about a certain point. The goal is to prove an argument by persuasion techniques, using evidence from a source. Illustration method uses only one source to get evidence while explaining a topic.

Remember!

No matter what method you take to write a paragraph, it is important that you arrange the paragraphs in a proper organizational order such as chronological steps or hierarchical order.

Idea Generation Techniques for Writing a Personal Narrative Essay!

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Personal narrative is an exclusive type of essay that does not require any academic research or analysis. Rather it involves the descriptive form of writing to create certain emotions in the readers. A personal narrative essay focuses on the observations of the person that he learned through an event of his life.

Typically, a personal narrative essay is required when you need to get admission in a college. It is an important part of your college admission application. You have to craft a personal narrative essay in such a way that can best reflect your personality to the assessors. Instead of consuming your time thinking about what you should write in your essay, it is better to go through some effective idea generations techniques. With some productive brainstorming and mind mapping sessions, you can easily achieve this task.

•    Reconstruct the Event

Create a sketch of the event. Think about the series of actions that were responsible for the event and then think in retrospect how this event changed you as a person. This will give you an idea of the actions and their timeline surrounding the event.

•    Outline the Characters

Before writing the essay, it is necessary to outline all the characters involved in the story. You need to write down all the distinct qualities of the characters such as their appearance, body language and mannerisms that define their personalities. It is important to use the descriptive writing style to create a vivid image in mind of the readers.

•    Include the Sensory Details

Write down the sensory details to relate audience with the event. Using sensory elements i.e. sight, sound, smell, sensations and other descriptors help readers clearly understand the setting and emotional state of the characters.

•    Do Some Self-Reflection

Looking in the hindsight, consider the changes the event has brought about in your life. Brainstorming and cluster thoughts can help you know the absence of certain aspects of your life that were present before the event.

•    Use Journalistic Method

Using journalistic approach is another good way to generate ideas for a personal narrative essay. Answering the questions who, why, what, where, when and how, can help you fill in any missing information and further expand the outline.

Important Tips!

•    Find a noise-free place to generate ideas for your essay. Look for a place where you can focus on your theme without being distracted by any commotion or noise.

•    Consult with your confidants to help you outline your essay writing task. Since they are the closest persons to you, they would know exactly about your strengths and weaknesses.

Writing an Essay on Weather Issues: 4 Thought-provoking Ideas!

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Writing an essay on “weather issues” brings in many ideas in your mind. It also offers some hottest phenomenon pertaining to current climate changes such as “Global Warming” and “Carbon Footprints”. To know other more interesting ideas, you have to read on this article:

1.    Inform People about Hurricane Hazards

Hurricanes are powerful and devastating form of cyclones that can cause great suffering and damage to human life. Through writing an essay on hurricane, you can educate the readers about hazards of hurricanes and how to avoid them. You can inform them about warning signs of a storm such as large waves, high winds, heavy rain and flooding. You can also discuss the importance of having an evacuation plan in case of a hurricane. Here you can tell people ways to survive a cyclone such as “finding a safe place” or “calling to emergency services”.

2.    Tornado Awareness

Tornadoes are another form of cyclones that are lesser in magnitude and power than a hurricane. Through writing an essay on this topic, you can suggest local government about ways that can save people’s lives and their commodities if there are signs of tornado. Here you can also tell them about any improved tornado alert system that can help the meteorologists predict any indications of a tornado. You can also cite here any tragic incidences caused due to a tornado to reinforce your argument.

3.    Safety Procedures for Volunteers

Cleaning up is an important process after a disaster. Many volunteers work along with the safety personnel to remove wreckage and save lives. An essay focusing on such topic can discuss how an affected area can pose serious hazards to the volunteers operating in the area. You can give suggestions on what procedures and precautions the volunteers must follow while cleaning up the rubble. You can address the serious threats to the volunteers such as gas leaks or open electrical wiring that can cause instant death . Here you can also warn them about the importance of wearing a proper safety gear that includes goggles, gloves and hard boots. The aim of writing an essay on this topic is to inform the volunteers about the necessary safety measures to perform a clean up after a disaster.

4.    Global Warming

A paper on weather can debate whether or not Global Warming is responsible for the rising Earth temperature. The critics argue against this claim due to the lack of facts. To elaborate on this theory, you should argue both points of the debate. Here you can also address the issues of animal extinction and rising sea-level, the two major effects of Global Warming. Many environmentalists and ecologists also associate increasing number of Hurricanes to Global Warming.

How to Remove Wordiness from Your Work?

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Writing is all about rewriting. Unless you revise your work and get rid of all the clutter, it is highly unlikely that your writing will make an impact. The wordiness makes for most of the clutter in a work, so it is important that you delineate and remove all the words that have no place in your work. This will not only make your writing simple and easy to understand but will also save you more space to add useful information. It is always the rewriting part that tests your writing skills. Even the seasonal writers seem to be goofing up with this task. However, by applying some simple tips, you can accomplish this task effectively.

•    Make sure that your work is free from wordiness. Having unnecessary words in your work only complicate your writing and confuse the readers. Instead of writing “Through wire transfer, you can send and receive cash at any place in the world”, you should write “Through wire transfer, you can send and receive cash anywhere”.

•    Get rid of all the unnecessary modifiers. Sometimes modifiers tend to only exaggerate the meaning of a sentence and do not describe or modify anything as such. Rather than saying “Having a daily consumption of green tea is a great way to lose weight”, it is better to describe the actual benefits of having green tea than to use a modifier.

•    Avoid using technical or complex words. Use a simpler word or phrase instead of using a technical word. Although you will need to use technical words, especially if you are writing on a technical topic, try avoiding them wherever possible unless otherwise required.

•    Keep away from using clichés. Not only they make your work sound unoriginal but sometimes also make your work questionable. Besides, they tend to elongate the sentence and make it more complicated. While some people write, “First and foremost, …” it is equally acceptable to write “firstly,…” instead .The same goes for “Last but not the least,…” which can be similarly replaced by “Lastly,…”

•    Look out for ‘out-of-place’ similes in your work. Similes can prove to be a powerful tool if used in the right context. But if used incorrectly, they will connote as clichés and will lack purpose. For example, “For a compulsive drug addict, smoking Cannabis becomes as essential as oxygen for life” is a wrong use of analogy to demonstrate effects of a drug. Using similes in such a way will only make your argument unconvincing and weaker.