• By Daniel Millions
• Published 03/6/2009
• Writing

For most students the prospect of writing an essay is a scary event, particularly if you do not have the experience of such a task. In practice the process is not all that daunting and if you follow a few simple steps then the overall grade that you achieve will improve significantly. This article will look at some of the most important aspects of a written essay. By taking a short amount of time adopting this information you can be sure to be on the right track. To begin with before you even start to write, it is important to choose the correct topic. Regardless of which subject you are studying the likelihood is that the tutor will provide some choice in which essay questions you can write about. This is an opportunity for you to choose a topic that you are familiar with and so can write a good quality essay. Avoid the temptation to write about something that you know little about. While it is fun to look at new subjects, the objective here is to achieve a high grade and this will be best achieved through writing about topics you know at lot about. Once you are happy with the topic, it is time to construct a basic outline of what you intend to write about. This does not need to be complicated and can easily be adjusted as you begin to write. Based upon the essay question, look to establish a clear structure that addresses the key issues and the relevant research.

Each paragraph should address each key point and then use the conclusion to

tie together all of them. This kind of approach is useful as it avoids confusion. Many students will skip this process and rush straight into writing the essay and subsequently start to muddle the arguments so that t is unclear what they are exactly saying. Now you need to think about what it is you are to write about. Researching an essay is perhaps the most important stage. It is crucial that you locate and use the correct resources and information in order to answer the question correctly. Use the library to find relevant material and then spend some time reading the various books and papers to construct a strong and relevant response to the question. With the research completed you are now ready to begin writing the essay. With all of the preparation done, the writing is exactly not that difficult. Simply follow the basic outline that you created earlier in conjunction with the research to develop the argument. Use each paragraph to address the issues and then use relevant research to add weight to your points. The concluding paragraph should be used to tie together all of the points that you have made in order to offer a judgment on the original question.

Once the essay is written it is then a good idea to edit what you have done. Look for any spelling and grammatical mistakes and also use this opportunity to check the facts and other information that you have used in the essay. Finally ask a fellow student to read through the paper in order to get a second opinion. This is a very useful exercise in ensuring that you have answered the essay question correctly.