Whether you’re in high school or college, chances are you’ve had to write an essay at some point in your academic career. However, it can be hard to know exactly what makes a perfect essay so many students find themselves stuck in endless revision cycles that don’t seem to get them anywhere. To help every essay writer out there, we’ve put together this list of the top seven steps that every essay needs to follow to get that A+ grade on test day.
Step 1: Set a Goal
Set your goal for the essay and figure out what you need to do in order to reach that goal. Is your goal to write an essay about a certain topic? Is your goal only one paragraph? Or, is it five paragraphs? What are the guidelines for your essay assignment? What is the length of time you have allotted yourself? The questions will help you decide how many steps should be included in your plan.
Step 2: Start with an Outline
Start with an outline, then start with a thesis sentence. Once you have your outline and your thesis sentence, continue on in paragraph form. Each paragraph should be four sentences long. The first sentence should be an introduction of what the paragraph is about, the second sentence should be an explanation of the idea or point being made, the third sentence should offer supporting evidence and examples for that idea or point and finally, there should be a conclusion that links back to the original thesis statement.
Step 3: Get Creative
Get creative with your essay title. It’s often difficult for students to come up with a creative title for their essays, but it’s worth the effort! You want your title to intrigue the reader and make them want to read more. Try brainstorming different titles, making sure that you have some that are humorous and others that are more serious. Don’t be afraid of using clichés or references if they really speak to you and make sense in the context of your essay topic.
Step 4: Write a Thesis Statement
Write a Thesis Statement. Start by coming up with a thesis statement that is a clear and concise topic sentence for your essay. For example, This blog post will discuss how to write the perfect essay for school. Keep in mind that your thesis statement should not be too vague or broad such as writing the perfect essay. Keep it on topic and narrow so your readers can quickly understand what the main point of your paper is going to be.
Step 5: Organize your essay
Organize your essay into a coherent, logical sequence of thoughts. If you are writing about more than one idea in your paper, create subheadings and make sure each idea is discussed only once. Make sure that the thesis sentence is clearly stated and appears at the end of the introductory paragraph, which should not exceed three sentences in length. If you are writing an argumentative essay, organize your points in opposition to the other side of the issue, making sure that your evidence supports what you are saying.
Step 6: Use supporting details
Use details from the text of your paper, such as On page seven, it mentions that… or In the third paragraph on page four, it is stated that…. For example: In the first paragraph on page two, it states that supports an argument made in the first paragraph of your essay.
Step 7. Proofread
Proofread your essay at least twice and more if you have time. Errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation are a major turn-off for teachers. Take your time and double check all of your work before submitting it. You want to give the best possible product so that you can get the grade that you deserve.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is important to be organized, well-versed in grammar and sentence structure, and ready for any challenges that may come your way just as professional essay writers do. Writing a perfect essay requires research, hard work, determination, and motivation. It may seem like an impossible task at first glance; but with these steps outlined in this post and my personal advice from years of teaching high school students how to write essays, you will soon find that writing essays is not as difficult as you thought.