• By Daniel Millions
• Published 11/26/2008
• Writing

Any essay, especially a college essay, has to follow a number of rules if it is going to be graded well. It is unwise to wait until after you have written the essay to acknowledge these rules, as you should be continually looking for ways to improve the essay and adhere to guidelines as you are crafting it. Writing a Grade A essay is not difficult if you know exactly what you need to do. As they say, knowing is half the battle, and there is no exception in this circumstance. One obviously needs to understand the topic of their essay in order to be successful. If you cannot comprehend the question, the final product will not reflect that which is being asked, and a high grade will be impossible to receive. Even if you are slightly unfamiliar with the topic, familiarize yourself with it by doing research, asking friends, or, better yet, approaching the professor directly. College professors are always willing to help you, and not only will they explain the subject in detail, but they can give you ideas about what to write about and how to write it.

Before jumping in to the process of writing, it is critical that one plans out what they are going to say, and in what order they plan to tackle individual subtopics. Without any planning, the paper will not flow properly, and in some cases might not make much sense. Like most parts of writing an essay, planning itself is not a hard task to handle. The best way to plan is to make a numerically organized outline. This way, you k

now where you are going to mention certain points, and can arrange the content prior to actually creating it. Although the primary purpose of an essay is to produce information, it must be presented in an interesting way that captures the reader’s interest and makes them want to learn more. Even if a professor does not specifically mention this point, it makes logical sense that the paper should be attention grabbing. If the professor is reading it and starts to get bored, he will either consciously or subconsciously give your paper a negative connotation, which will ultimately affect the final grade in a bad way. On the other hand, if the professor is extremely interested in what you have to say, even if there are some inaccuracies, you are bound to get a high assessment. After all, your paper is being read and graded by a human being, and humans are subject to factors beyond those that are listed in the formal rubric. Everybody wants to seem smart, and since college is associated with higher thinking and advanced language, student writers often want to fluff up their papers with industry jargon, technical terms, and general big words in an attempt to appear more intelligent and get a better grade.

While using these kinds of words is important, they should not be thrown in just for the sake of being there. In fact, they are better left out than used improperly, and you can still reach the highest grade by using them infrequently. The concept to remember is context, and any big words you choose to use must make sense in relation to the other words in the sentence.

This article has been added to your ‘Articles to Read’ list.