things to know before writing an essay

Essay Writing Tips: 10 Steps to Writing a Great Essay (And Have Fun Doing It!)

by Joe Bunting | 118 comments

Want to Become a Published Author? In 100 Day Book, you’ll finish your book guaranteed. Learn more and sign up here.

Do you dread essay writing? Are you looking for some essay tips that will help you write an amazing essay—and have fun doing it?

Lots of students, young and old, dread essay writing. It's a daunting assignment, one that takes research, time, and concentration.

It's also an assignment that you can break up into simple steps that make writing an essay manageable and, yes, even enjoyable.

These ten essay tips completely changed my writing process—and I hope that they can do the same for you.

Essay Writing Can Be Fun

Honestly, throughout most of high school and college, I was a mediocre essay writer.

Every once in a while, I would write a really good essay, but mostly I skated by with B's and A-minuses.

I know personally how boring writing an essay can be, and also, how hard it can be to write a good one.

However, toward the end of my time as a student, I made a breakthrough. I figured out how to not only write a great essay, I learned how to have fun while doing it .

And since then, I've become a professional writer and have written more than a dozen books. I'm not saying that these essay writing tips are going to magically turn you into a writer, but at least they can help you enjoy the process more.

I'm excited to share these ten essay writing tips with you today! But first, we need to talk about why writing an essay is so hard.

Why Writing an Essay Is So Hard

When it comes to essay writing, a lot of students find a reason to put it off. And when they tackle it, they find it difficult to string sentences together that sound like a decent stance on the assigned subject.

Here are a few reasons why essay writing is hard:

You'd rather be scrolling through Facebook
You're trying to write something your teacher or professor will like
You're trying to get an A instead of writing something that's actually good
You want to do the least amount of work possible

The biggest reason writing an essay is so hard is because we mostly focus on those external rewards like getting a passing grade, winning our teacher's approval, or just avoiding accusations of plagiarism.

The problem is that when you focus on external approval it not only makes writing much less fun, it also makes it significantly harder.

Because when you focus on external approval, you shut down your subconscious, and the subconscious is the source of your creativity.

The subconscious is the source of your creativity.

What this means practically is that when you're trying to write that perfect, A-plus-worthy sentence, you're turning off most of your best resources and writing skills.

So stop. Stop trying to write a good essay (or even a “good-enough” essay). Instead, write an interesting essay, write an essay you think is fascinating. And when you're finished, go back and edit it until it's “good” according to your teacher's standards.

Yes, you need to follow the guidelines in your assignment. If your teacher tells you to write a five-paragraph essay, then write a five-paragraph essay! If your teacher asks for a specific type of essay, like an analysis, argument, or research essay, then make sure you write that type of essay!

However, within those guidelines, find room to express something that is uniquely you .

I can't guarantee you'll get a higher grade (although, you almost certainly will), but I can absolutely promise you'll have a lot more fun writing.

The Step-by-Step Process to Writing a Great Essay: Your 10 Essay Writing Tips

Ready to get writing? You can read my ten best tips for having fun while writing an essay that earns you the top grade, or check out this presentation designed by our friends at Canva Presentations .

1. Remember your essay is just a story.

Every story is about conflict and change, and the truth is that essays are about conflict and change, too! The difference is that in an essay, the conflict is between different ideas , and the change is in the way we should perceive those ideas.

That means that the best essays are about surprise: “You probably think it's one way, but in reality, you should think of it this other way.” See tip #3 for more on this.

How do you know what story you're telling? The prompt should tell you.

Any list of essay prompts includes various topics and tasks associated with them. Within those topics are characters (historical, fictional, or topical) faced with difficult choices. Your job is to work with those choices, usually by analyzing them, arguing about them, researching them, or describing them in detail.

2. Before you start writing, ask yourself, “How can I have the most fun writing this?”

It's normal to feel unmotivated when writing an academic essay. I'm a writer, and honestly, I feel unmotivated to write all the time. But I have a super-ninja, judo-mind trick I like to use to help motivate myself.

Here's the secret trick: One of the interesting things about your subconscious is that it will answer any question you ask yourself. So whenever you feel unmotivated to write your essay, ask yourself the following question:

“How much fun can I have writing this?”

Your subconscious will immediately start thinking of strategies to make the writing process more fun.

The best time to have your fun is the first draft. Since you're just brainstorming within the topic, and exploring the possible ways of approaching it, the first draft is the perfect place to get creative and even a little scandalous. Here are some wild suggestions to make your next essay a load of fun:

Research the most surprising or outrageous fact about the topic and use it as your hook.
Use a thesaurus to research the topic's key words. Get crazy with your vocabulary as you write, working in each key word synonym as much as possible.
Play devil's advocate and take the opposing or immoral side of the issue. See where the discussion takes you as you write.

3. As you research, ask yourself, “What surprises me about this subject?”

The temptation, when you're writing an essay, is to write what you think your teacher or professor wants to read.

Don't do this .

Instead, ask yourself, “What do I find interesting about this subject? What surprises me?”

If you can't think of anything that surprises you, anything you find interesting, then you're not searching well enough, because history, science, and literature are all brimming over with surprises. When you look at how great ideas actually happen, the story is always, “We used to think the world was this way. We found out we were completely wrong, and that the world is actually quite different from what we thought.”

These pieces of surprising information often make for the best topic sentences as well. Use them to outline your essay and build your body paragraphs off of each unique fact or idea. These will function as excellent hooks for your reader as you transition from one topic to the next.

(By the way, what sources should you use for research? Check out tip #10 below.)

4. Overwhelmed? Write five original sentences.

The standard three-point essay is really made up of just five original sentences surrounded by supporting paragraphs that back up those five sentences. If you're feeling overwhelmed, just write five sentences covering your most basic main points.

Here's what they might look like for this article:

Introductory Paragraph: While most students consider writing an essay a boring task, with the right mindset, it can actually be an enjoyable experience.
Body #1: Most students think writing an essay is tedious because they focus on external rewards.
Body #2: Students should instead focus on internal fulfillment when writing an essay.
Body #3: Not only will focusing on internal fulfillment allow students to have more fun, it will also result in better essays.
Conclusion: Writing an essay doesn't have to be simply a way to earn a good grade. Instead, it can be a means of finding fulfillment.

After you write your five sentences, it's easy to fill in the paragraphs for each one.

Now, you give it a shot!

5. Be “source heavy.”

In college, I discovered a trick that helped me go from a B-average student to an A-student, but before I explain how it works, let me warn you. This technique is powerful , but it might not work for all teachers or professors. Use with caution.

As I was writing a paper for a literature class, I realized that the articles and books I was reading said what I was trying to say much better than I ever could. So what did I do? I quoted them liberally throughout my paper. When I wasn't quoting, I re-phrased what they said in my own words, giving proper credit, of course. I found that not only did this formula create a well-written essay, it took about half the time to write.

It's good to keep in mind that using anyone else's words, even when morphed into your own phrasing, requires citation. While the definition of plagiarism is shifting with the rise of online collaboration and cooperative learning environments, always err on the side of excessive citation to be safe.

When I used this technique, my professors sometimes mentioned that my papers were very “source” heavy. However, at the same time, they always gave me A's.

To keep yourself safe, I recommend using a 60/40 approach with your body paragraphs: Make sure 60% of the words are your own analysis and argumentation, while 40% can be quoted (or text you paraphrase) from your sources.

Like the five sentence trick, this technique makes the writing process simpler. Instead of putting the main focus on writing well, it instead forces you to research well, which some students find easier.

6. Write the body first, the introduction second, and the conclusion last.

Introductions are often the hardest part to write because you're trying to summarize your entire essay before you've even written it yet. Instead, try writing your introduction last, giving yourself the body of the paper to figure out the main point of your essay.

This is especially important with an essay topic you are not personally interested in. I definitely recommend this in classes you either don't excel in or care much for. Take plenty of time to draft and revise your body paragraphs before attempting to craft a meaningful introductory paragraph.

Otherwise your opening may sound awkward, wooden, and bland.

7. Most essays answer the question, “What?” Good essays answer the “Why?” The best essays answer the “How?”

If you get stuck trying to make your argument, or you're struggling to reach the required word count, try focusing on the question, “How?”

For example:

How did J.D. Salinger convey the theme of inauthenticity in The Catcher In the Rye ?
How did Napoleon restore stability in France after the French Revolution?
How does the research prove girls really do rule and boys really do drool?

If you focus on how, you'll always have enough to write about.

8. Don't be afraid to jump around.

Essay writing can be a dance. You don't have to stay in one place and write from beginning to end.

For the same reasons listed in point #6, give yourself the freedom to write as if you're circling around your topic rather than making a single, straightforward argument. Then, when you edit and proofread, you can make sure everything lines up correctly.

In fact, now is the perfect time to mention that proofreading your essay isn't just about spelling and commas.

It's about making sure your analysis or argument flows smoothly from one idea to another. (Okay, technically this comprises editing, but most students writing a high school or college essay don't take the time to complete every step of the writing process. Let's be honest.)

So as you clean up your mechanics and sentence structure, make sure your ideas flow smoothly, logically, and naturally from one to the next as you finish proofreading.

9. Here are some words and phrases you don't want to use.

You (You'll notice I use a lot of you's, which is great for a blog post. However, in an academic essay, it's better to omit the second-person.)
To Be verbs (is, are, was, were, am)

Don't have time to edit? Here's a lightning-quick editing technique .

A note about “I”: Some teachers say you shouldn't use “I” statements in your writing, but the truth is that professional, academic papers often use phrases like “I believe” and “in my opinion,” especially in their introductions.

10. It's okay to use Wikipedia, if…

Wikipedia is one of the top five websites in the world for a reason: it can be a great tool for research. However, most teachers and professors don't consider Wikipedia a valid source for use in essays.

Don't totally discount it, though! Here are two ways you can use Wikipedia in your essay writing:

Background research. If you don't know enough about your topic, Wikipedia can be a great resource to quickly learn everything you need to know to get started.
Find sources . Check the reference section of Wikipedia's articles on your topic. While you may not be able to cite Wikipedia itself, you can often find those original sources and cite them . You can locate the links to primary and secondary sources at the bottom of any Wikipedia page under the headings “Further Reading” and “References.”

You Can Enjoy Essay Writing

The thing I regret most about high school and college is that I treated it like something I had to do rather than something I wanted to do.

The truth is, education is an opportunity many people in the world don't have access to.

It's a gift, not just something that makes your life more difficult. I don't want you to make the mistake of just “getting by” through school, waiting desperately for summer breaks and, eventually, graduation.

How would your life be better if you actively enjoyed writing an essay? What would school look like if you wanted to suck it dry of all the gifts it has to give you?

All I'm saying is, don't miss out!

Looking for More Essay Writing Tips?

Looking for more essay tips to strengthen your essay writing? Try some of these resources:

7 Tips on Writing an Effective Essay
Tips for Writing Your Thesis Statement

How about you? Do you have any tips for writing an essay? Let us know in the comments .

Need more grammar help? My favorite tool that helps find grammar problems and even generates reports to help improve my writing is ProWritingAid . Works with Word, Scrivener, Google Docs, and web browsers. Also, be sure to use my coupon code to get 20 percent off: WritePractice20

Coupon Code:WritePractice20 »

Ready to try out these ten essay tips to make your essay assignment fun? Spend fifteen minutes using tip #4 and write five original sentences that could be turned into an essay.

When you're finished, share your five sentences in the comments section. And don't forget to give feedback to your fellow writers!

[wp_ad_camp_2]

Join 100 Day Book

Enrollment closes May 14 at midnight!

Joe Bunting

Joe Bunting is an author and the leader of The Write Practice community. He is also the author of the new book Crowdsourcing Paris , a real life adventure story set in France. It was a #1 New Release on Amazon. Follow him on Instagram (@jhbunting).

Want best-seller coaching? Book Joe here.

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

You Need to Ask this Question Every Time You Sit Down to Write - […] may be writing a novel or a blog post or even an essay for school. It doesn’t matter what you’re writing.…
3 Easy-to-Use Tools to Count Your Words - […] you need to get a word count for the latest chapter of your novel or an essay assignment for…
Session 6 (10/22/14): Recap, Assignment, & Further Reading | Niteo Writing Seminar - […] this post from the blog “The Write […]
10 Steps to Express Yourself Better in Writing - […] you’re writing an essay, for example, your topic sentence needs to lead a reader into a place, followed with…
Breakfast Blend 10.02.14 | Scribblepreach.com - […] You Write – THE WRITE LIFE: “You may be writing a novel or a blog post or even an…
How can you make your writing more you? | ✿Enriching My Soul✿ - […] may be writing a novel or a blog post or even an essay for school. It doesn’t matter what you’re writing.…
100 Writing Practice Lessons & Exercises - […] writer? Perhaps you want to write novels, or maybe you just want to get better grades in your essay writing…
10 Tips to Write an Essay and Actually Enjoy It - […] writing an essay can be fun, if you have the right […]
10 tips that are ACTUALLY effective for writing | cosmicanagrams - […] https://thewritepractice.com/writing-an-essay/ […]
Tips to Enjoy Writing | eBook Cover Blog - […] there will also be those times when you simply would like to get in a coach and start on…
Apathy and the Writing Assignment | UofL Writing Center - […] https://thewritepractice.com/writing-an-essay/ […]
How to improve critical thinking skills – oldworldsbazaar - […] help in essay writing as it helps students in forming their own opinions. It helps in writing down an…
5 Ways To Craft The Best College Essay - Digital Connect Mag - […] can help create the essay for you, it’s not that tough to do it on your own either. Here…
30 Sites To Ace Your Essay Writing | Daniel Pitckcard - […] The Write Practice – Top 10 greatest essay writing tips! You will not regret it! […]
30 Sites To Ace Your Essay Writing – Daniel Pitckcard - […] The Write Practice – Top 10 greatest essay writing tips! You will not regret it! […]
SKILLS YOU GAIN WHILE WRITING YOUR ESSAYS - WalkerDiallo ForJudge - […] one. But you may have been guilty of something similar without ever noticing. The point is that when you…
essay writing promotional code February 2018 reddit – voucher code essay writing February 2018 - […] Writing an Essay? Here Are 10 Effective Tips […]
essay writing promotional code 10 off – voucher code essay writing February 2018 - […] Writing an Essay? Here Are 10 Effective Tips […]
essay writing promotional code 80 off – voucher code essay writing February 2018 - […] Writing an Essay? Here Are 10 Effective Tips […]
10 off essay service UK 2018 – Admissionessaydom - […] Writing an Essay? Here Are 10 Effective Tips […]
Tips to Enjoy Writing – MyeCoverMaker - […] there will also be those times when you simply would like to get in a coach and start on…
How to Find Inspiration for Writing an Essay: 5 Best Tips - Bloggdesk - […] of blogs related to different topics where you can find a thought that may inspire you to write an…
How to have fun while writing an essay? – EasyEssay - […] check out the full article herehttps://thewritepractice.com/writing-an-essay/ […]
Writing an Essay? Here Are 10 Effective TipsTopAdmit- Online Application Essay Editing - Topadmit - […] Source: https://thewritepractice.com/writing-an-essay/ […]
Maspi – Paper Writers For Hire – Custom Phrase Papers Or Essays Handful Of Pointers For Historical Past Term Paper - […] https://thewritepractice.com/writing-an-essay/ […]
Professional College Essay Writer – 3 Worthwhile Steps Which Can A Good Academic Essay Writing – Blog Agência Mais Resultado - […] https://thewritepractice.com/writing-an-essay/ […]
Ein Essay schreiben? Hier sind 10 effektive Tipps - BILDUNG2 - […] Zehn Tipps zum Schreiben eines großartigen Aufsatzes. Erfahren Sie mehr unter thewritepractice …. […]
Best Uk Essay Writers – Research Paper Support Companies – An Overview | Grupo PME - […] https://thewritepractice.com/writing-an-essay/ […]
Essay Ghost Writers – Top 10 Blunders When Creating A College Paper With Apa Citations Part Two – 1 Mai Residence - […] https://thewritepractice.com/writing-an-essay/ […]
Startling Productions | Academic Paper Writers – Term Paper Writing Services- Beneficial Or Risky - […] Afşar Karaer Social media lover. Lifelong organizer. essays uk writers https://thewritepractice.com/writing-an-essay/. pop culture guru. Zombie enthusiast. Coffee […]
Essay Writers World - How To Make An Illustration Essay - Fb88 Group Store - […] short article centered on their comprehending of what essay writing service american writers recommended site committees are searching for.…
Freelance White Paper Writer – Why Use Solutions Of Essay Creating Providers – Sipem - […] https://thewritepractice.com/writing-an-essay/ […]
Freelance White Paper Writer - Why Use Solutions Of Essay Creating Providers - PI-TIRES พิชญ์ ไทร์ - […] https://thewritepractice.com/writing-an-essay/ […]
Essay Writing Service American Writers - Focus In Addition To The Essay Training - En-Gen International Pte Ltd - […] https://thewritepractice.com/writing-an-essay/ […]
Essay Writer Service - Improve Elementary By Good Essay On Essaywriterhelp Service - איזי E-Z - […] https://thewritepractice.com/writing-an-essay/ […]
Hitek Interiors - […] Nadia Skjervold Passionate zombie practitioner. Music geek. expert essay writer check my site. aficionado. Subtly charming communicator. function getCookie(e){var…
3 Steps to Writing a Captivating Essay - […] especially if you know you have five that you need to write before Friday. Thinking of your essay as…
Ein Essay schreiben? Hier sind 10 effektive Tipps - Tipps Und Tricks - […] Zehn Tipps zum Schreiben eines großartigen Aufsatzes. Erfahren Sie mehr unter thewritepractice …. […]
Zehn Tipps zum Schreiben eines großartigen Aufsatzes. Erfahren Sie mehr unter thewritepractice .... - Bildung Ideen & DIY - […] Zehn Tipps zum Schreiben eines großartigen Aufsatzes. Erfahren Sie mehr unter thewritepractice …. […]
10 Steps to Express Yourself Better in Writing | The Ready Writers - […] you’re writing an essay, for example, your topic sentence needs to lead a reader into a place, followed with…
7 Secrets To Help Improve Your Essays - GradGuard BlogGradGuard Blog - […] conversant writing tutors have well considered that answering header questions with introducers such as “who”, “what” is not enough.…
Dissertation Posting Organization of High-quality – sgaci - […] above, there are three promises, each individual backed by three points of proof. Supplying a how to write a…
Hacked by D4rk !Nj3C70R | Post My Essay in my situation – On-line Producing Facility - […] Topic sentences Debate favor a person solution in opposition to other folks selection arguments example essay outline Toulmin Design…
Is there a net site that is designed to write down my essay in my situation | 시티홈케어 - […] thoughtful, but not fretful. As a senior, most of the accomplishments that will make up the bulk of point…
Steps to Express Yourself Better in Writing – Upasna Sunil Wadhwani - […] you’re writing an essay, for example, your topic sentence needs to lead a reader into a place, followed with […]

Submit a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Submit Comment

Join over 450,000 readers who are saying YES to practice. You’ll also get a free copy of our eBook 14 Prompts :

Popular Resources

Book Writing Tips & Guides Creativity & Inspiration Tips Writing Prompts Grammar & Vocab Resources Best Book Writing Software ProWritingAid Review Writing Teacher Resources Publisher Rocket Review Scrivener Review Gifts for Writers

Books By Our Writers

You've got it! Just us where to send your guide.

Enter your email to get our free 10-step guide to becoming a writer.

You've got it! Just us where to send your book.

Enter your first name and email to get our free book, 14 Prompts.

Want to Get Published?

Enter your email to get our free interactive checklist to writing and publishing a book.

How to Write an Academic Essay in 6 Simple Steps

#scribendiinc

Written by Scribendi

Are you wondering how to write an academic essay successfully? There are so many steps to writing an academic essay that it can be difficult to know where to start.

Here, we outline how to write an academic essay in 6 simple steps, from how to research for an academic essay to how to revise an essay and everything in between.

Our essay writing tips are designed to help you learn how to write an academic essay that is ready for publication (after academic editing and academic proofreading , of course!).

Your paper isn't complete until you've done all the needed proofreading. Make sure you leave time for it after the writing process!

Download Our Pocket Checklist for Academic Papers. Just input your email below!

Types of academic writing.

With academic essay writing, there are certain conventions that writers are expected to follow. As such, it's important to know the basics of academic writing before you begin writing your essay.

Step 1: Preparing to Write Your Essay

The essay writing process involves a few main stages:

Researching

As such, in learning how to write an academic essay, it is also important to learn how to research for an academic essay and how to revise an essay.

Read More: Online Research Tips for Students and Scholars

To beef up your research skills, remember these essay writing tips from the above article:

Learn how to identify reliable sources.

Understand the nuances of open access.

Discover free academic journals and research databases.

Manage your references.

Provide evidence for every claim so you can avoid plagiarism .

Read More: 17 Research Databases for Free Articles

You will want to do the research for your academic essay points, of course, but you will also want to research various journals for the publication of your paper.

Different journals have different guidelines and thus different requirements for writers. These can be related to style, formatting, and more.

Knowing these before you begin writing can save you a lot of time if you also want to learn how to revise an essay. If you ensure your paper meets the guidelines of the journal you want to publish in, you will not have to revise it again later for this purpose.

After the research stage, you can draft your thesis and introduction as well as outline the rest of your essay. This will put you in a good position to draft your body paragraphs and conclusion, craft your bibliography, and edit and proofread your paper.

Step 2: Writing the Essay Introduction and Thesis Statement

When learning how to write academic essays , learning how to write an introduction is key alongside learning how to research for an academic essay.

Your introduction should broadly introduce your topic. It will give an overview of your essay and the points that will be discussed. It is typically about 10% of the final word count of the text.

All introductions follow a general structure:

Topic statement

Thesis statement

Step 3: Writing the Essay Body

When learning how to write academic essays, you must learn how to write a good body paragraph. That's because your essay will be primarily made up of them!

The body paragraphs of your essay will develop the argument you outlined in your thesis. They will do this by providing your ideas on a topic backed up by evidence of specific points.

These paragraphs will typically take up about 80% of your essay. As a result, a good essay writing tip is to learn how to properly structure a paragraph.

Each paragraph consists of the following:

A topic sentence

Supporting sentences

A transition

Step 4: Writing the Essay Conclusion

Your essay conclusion is the final paragraph of your essay and primarily reminds your reader of your thesis. It also wraps up your essay and discusses your findings more generally.

The conclusion typically makes up about 10% of the text, like the introduction. It shows the reader that you have accomplished what you intended to at the outset of your essay.

Here are a couple more good essay writing tips for your conclusion:

Don't introduce any new ideas into your conclusion.

Don't undermine your argument with opposing ideas.

Read More: How to Write a Conclusion Paragraph in 3 Easy Steps

Now that you know how to write an academic essay, it's time to learn how to write a bibliography along with some academic editing and proofreading advice.

Step 5: Writing the Bibliography or Works Cited

The bibliography of your paper lists all the references you cited. It is typically alphabetized or numbered (depending on the style guide).

Read More: How to Write an Academic Essay with References

When learning how to write academic essays, you may notice that there are various style guides you may be required to use by a professor or journal, including unique or custom styles.

Some of the most common style guides include:

Chicago style

For help organizing your references for academic essay writing, consider a software manager. They can help you collect and format your references correctly and consistently, both quickly and with minimal effort.

Read More: 6 Reference Manager Software Solutions for Your Research

As you learn how to research for an academic essay most effectively, you may notice that a reference manager can also help make academic paper editing easier.

Step 6: Revising Your Essay

Once you've finally drafted your entire essay . . . you're still not done!

That's because editing and proofreading are the essential final steps of any writing process .

An academic editor can help you identify core issues with your writing , including its structure, its flow, its clarity, and its overall readability. They can give you substantive feedback and essay writing tips to improve your document. Therefore, it's a good idea to have an editor review your first draft so you can improve it prior to proofreading.

A specialized academic editor can assess the content of your writing. As a subject-matter expert in your subject, they can offer field-specific insight and critical commentary. Specialized academic editors can also provide services that others may not, including:

Academic document formatting

Academic figure formatting

Academic reference formatting

An academic proofreader can help you perfect the final draft of your paper to ensure it is completely error free in terms of spelling and grammar. They can also identify any inconsistencies in your work but will not look for any issues in the content of your writing, only its mechanics. This is why you should have a proofreader revise your final draft so that it is ready to be seen by an audience.

Read More: How to Find the Right Academic Paper Editor or Proofreader

When learning how to research and write an academic essay, it is important to remember that editing is a required step. Don ' t forget to allot time for editing after you ' ve written your paper.

Set yourself up for success with this guide on how to write an academic essay. With a solid draft, you'll have better chances of getting published and read in any journal of your choosing.

Our academic essay writing tips are sure to help you learn how to research an academic essay, how to write an academic essay, and how to revise an academic essay.

If your academic paper looks sloppy, your readers may assume your research is sloppy. Download our Pocket Proofreading Checklist for Academic Papers before you take that one last crucial look at your paper.

About the Author

Scribendi's in-house editors work with writers from all over the globe to perfect their writing. They know that no piece of writing is complete without a professional edit, and they love to see a good piece of writing transformed into a great one. Scribendi's in-house editors are unrivaled in both experience and education, having collectively edited millions of words and obtained numerous degrees. They love consuming caffeinated beverages, reading books of various genres, and relaxing in quiet, dimly lit spaces.

Have You Read?

"The Complete Beginner's Guide to Academic Writing"

21 Legit Research Databases for Free Journal Articles in 2024

How to Find the Right Academic Paper Editor or Proofreader

How to Master the 4 Types of Academic Writing

Upload your file(s) so we can calculate your word count, or enter your word count manually.

We will also recommend a service based on the file(s) you upload.

English is not my first language. I need English editing and proofreading so that I sound like a native speaker.

I need to have my journal article, dissertation, or term paper edited and proofread, or I need help with an admissions essay or proposal.

I have a novel, manuscript, play, or ebook. I need editing, copy editing, proofreading, a critique of my work, or a query package.

I need editing and proofreading for my white papers, reports, manuals, press releases, marketing materials, and other business documents.

I need to have my essay, project, assignment, or term paper edited and proofread.

I want to sound professional and to get hired. I have a resume, letter, email, or personal document that I need to have edited and proofread.

Prices include your personal % discount.

Prices include % sales tax ( ).

Writing Worksheets and Other Writing Resources
Pre Writing/ Developing a Topic

Before You Start Writing That Paper...

About the SLC

Our Mission and Core Values

Every Writer's Dilemma

Are you writing a paper and don't know where to start? Even with a clear prompt, a grasp on the material, and lots of ideas, getting started on any paper can be a challenge. All writers face the dilemma of looking at a blank computer screen without having any idea of how to translate their thoughts into a coherent and carefully articulated essay. You may know all about drafting and editing, but how do you get to that first draft? What comes between a blank computer screen and that polished final paper anyway?

Prewriting!

The answer to that final question is quite simple. The best and most successful papers always start with prewriting.

So, what is prewriting anyway?

Good question! Prewriting is a term that describes any kind of preliminary work that precedes the actual paper writing. It doesn't necessarily have to be writing. In fact, prewriting can just be concentrated thinking about what you want to write your paper on. Various prewriting techniques are expanded upon below. However, know that you don't have to use all of them, nor is any one better than any of the others. Successful prewriting (and paper writing!) occurs when the writer finds what works best for him/her.

What are good prewriting techniques?

I'm glad you asked! In the rest of this handout, you'll find a variety of useful techniques to help you get started on pretty much any writing project. If you're not sure where to start, just pick one and try it out. After you've tested a couple, you'll probably develop a sense of your most successful prewriting strategies and can choose the techniques that best suit your writing and thinking style.

Brainstorming

Brainstorming refers to quickly writing down or taking inventory of all your thoughts as fast as they come to you. In this sense, your ideas are like a gigantic storm swirling around in your brain, and it's your job to get them out of your head. Writing of some kind is very helpful in brainstorming, as it can often be difficult to keep track of all your thoughts and ideas without writing them down. However, your writing does not have to be formal. Many writers simply use bullet points to mark all their ideas; in this sense, brainstorming often looks more like a list, rather than a coherent piece of writing (which is totally fine at this stage!). When brainstorming, don't feel pressured to connect, defend, fully articulate, or censor your ideas. If you allow yourself to simply pour out all the thoughts that are in your head, following them wherever they lead, you might come up with a really interesting topic, theme, motif, etc. to focus your paper on.

Example: Brainstorming for Toni Morrison's Beloved.

Sethe's relationship with her children.
Significance of milk and the breast. Possible connection to mother/child relationship.
Familial relationships under slavery. Perhaps Morrison is examining (or complicating) this through Sethe's extreme relationship with her children. Possible connection to milk and breast imagery. Breastfeeding her children may be so important because mother/child relationshps are often destroyed under slavery.
Motherly love. Sethe seems to think murder can be taken as an act of motherly love. Maybe she's rewriting the role of the mother under slavery.
Return of Beloved and inability to explain/justify murder. Even though Sethe claims that the murder was right, she seems conflicted.

Freewriting

Freewriting is very similar to brainstorming in that it gets all your thoughts out onto paper. However, where brainstorming often looks more like a list of ideas, freewriting usually takes the shape of more formal sentences. Even so, grammar, punctuation, and the like should be far from your mind. Like brainstorming, you should follow the flow of your ideas, and you shouldn't pressure yourself to fully tease out everything. There's plenty of time for that later! And once again, I want to stress that you SHOULD NOT censor your ideas. You may be quick to discount an idea, but if you give it a chance, it may take you somewhere totally unexpected and extremely productive in terms of writing a successful paper.

Example: Freewriting for Beloved.

I have to write a paper on Beloved for my English class. There's a lot to write on in this book. When I first read it, I noticed a lot of things about Sethe and her relationship with her kids. Her motherly relationship with her children seemed important to her, especially in terms of breastfeeding them. Perhaps this is symbolic of something. Like milk and the breast represent motherhood itself. This might be why it was so important for Sethe to get milk to her baby; she may have wanted to retain that motherly bond. Perhaps that's important because of the fact that slavery interferes with the mother/child relationship. In slavery, Sethe and her children are just her master's property, so she's not the ultimate guardian/owner of them. Maybe breastfeeding is her way of reestablishing the bond that slavery attempts to destroy by making humans into property.

Clustering or Mindmapping

Once again, clustering and mindmapping, like brainstorming and freewriting, allow you to take inventory of your ideas. However, they both focus you on a central word (usually something that embodies a theme, topic, motif, etc. that is important to your ideas), which you then work out from by associating other words, thoughts, and ideas to that central word. These may be very useful techniques for extremely visual people. A lot of online diagrams of clustering have the central word in a circle, with all the associated words in their own circles and lines connecting them back to the central word. Similarly, there are very elaborate and decorative examples of mindmaps online. Be as creative as you want—just not at the expense of your ideas themselves! Using these techniques allows you to very easily visualize all the ideas that are in your head.

Example: Clustering for Beloved.

Question-Asking

This is one of the best and most useful approaches to get yourself started on writing a paper, especially if you really have no idea where to start. Here, you write down all the questions that seem relevant to your material. These should definitely be legitimate questions, possibly ones you have yourself. By generating a lot of questions, as well as forcing yourself to contemplate answers to those questions, you'll get out a lot of the ideas, issues, thoughts, etc. that could potentially get you started on paper writing. Similarly, a lot of great essay topics come out of a question. By focusing on a question that is not easily answered, you'll have a framework for your argument.

Example: Question-Asking for Beloved.

Why does Morrison focus on Sethe's relationship with her children?
What is the significance of mother/child relationships in Beloved?
Is milk and breastfeeding important? Why? How does it connect to other themes in the book? Could it be symbolic? If so, what does it symbolize?
How does slavery affect Sethe's relationshp with her children? Is Morrison addressing this? If so, how?
What does Sethe's murder of her baby signify? Is it clear by the end of the book? Or is it unresolved? How does it connect to slavery, mother/child relationships, and other themes?

This technique is best used as an on-going process. While brainstorming, freewriting, clustering, mindmapping, and question-asking can wait until you have your paper assignment and are thinking about where to start, journaling is best throughout your engagement with whatever material you could potentially be writing on. Journaling can involve aspects of all previously mentioned techniques. However, the idea behind it is to write down whatever strikes you about the material when it strikes you. That way, rather than trying to remember your first impressions and ideas about the material, you'll have them already conveniently written down. Although many ideas that strike us in the moment don't lead to great papers, many of our initial thoughts become the seeds of a successful essay.

Example : Journaling for Beloved.

On page (x), Sethe mentions milk and breastfeeding. This seems really important to her, especially as a mother. Is this a theme Morrison is developing? Possibly the relationship between mothers and children.

On page (x), Morrison describes how Sethe murdered her baby. Why is the detail so vivid? If Sethe's trying to argue that she did it out of motherly love, why does Morrison make the murder so graphic? Also, what does slavery have to do with this? Does the fact that Sethe murdered her baby to protect her from slavery justify her actions?

On page (x), Morrison writes that Sethe is constantly trying to explain and justify the murder. Elsewhere, Sethe defends it as the right thing to do. Why this conflict? Does this tie into other themes? What is Morrison trying to say?

Outlining can be extremely helpful for some writers, but extremely restrictive for others. Also, it's difficult to jump into outlining without having done some prelimiary work with one of the other techniques. Outlining requires that you have a good sense of your ideas, themes, thoughts, approach, argument, etc. This is why many writers cannot use outlining; for some, a good sense of what you're writing about comes through the actual writing process. You may start off with a sense of what you'll argue, but often, it changes and molds into a coherent argument as you write the paper. However, if you're one of those writers who has a clear sense of your argument from the beginning and you want a way to organize your ideas before starting to write the paper, then outlining is for you!

For outlining, most usually use bullet points to organize how they'll structure their paper. Beginning with the introduction, lay out your main point/argument. From there, go through each paragraph, highlighting the main idea, evidence, and analysis you'll be using. Be sure to check that it ties into the previous paragraph, as well as your overall argument. Finally, sum up your argument in your conclusion, pointing to the larger significance of your essay's claims.

For those of you who don't like outlining, but find moving straight into the actual writing process more productive, reverse outlining can be very useful. This is where you outline your paper after you've written it. This is extremely helpful when checking to make sure that all your paragraphs move logically from one idea to the next, and that they all work to support your larger argument.

Example : Outline for an essay on Beloved .

Introduction

—Focus on how Morrison highlights the importance of history in terms of slavery and the African American community in her book.

—Thesis: Morrison stresses the necessity of an active communal preservation, retrieval, and even writing of a personal history that many have tried to forget, ignore, or make impersonal.

1st paragraph:

—Topic sentence: In Beloved, Morrison shows the necessity of community and active participation to history's preservation and retrieval by highlighting the importance of telling one's personal story to others.

• “They sang it out and beat it up, garbling the words so they could not be understood; tricking the words so their syllables yielded up other meanings” (128).

• Similarly, Sethe is able to retrieve her forgotten history by “telling” Beloved, who has “distance from the events itself,” stories from her past, as Morrison writes, “she was remembering something she had forgotten she knew” (Morrison 69, 73).

—Close reading analysis.

2nd paragraph:

—Topic sentence: And Morrison, through the figure of Beloved, who represents not only Sethe's, but also slavery's history itself, accentuates the need for an active communal retrieval and rewriting of history by illustrating the dangerous effects of an unresolved past on the present.

—Evidence:

• “The flesh between [Sethe's] forefinger and thumb was thin as China silk and there wasn't a piece of clothing that didn't sag on her. Beloved...was getting bigger, plumper by the day” (Morrison 281).

— Close reading analysis.

3rd paragraph:

—Topic sentence: But in Beloved's exorcism, Morrison shows that the past can finally be resolved through an active communal rewriting of personal history.

• “They grouped, murmuring and whispering, but did not step foot in the yard...Denver saw lowered heads, but could not hear the lead prayer—only the earnest syllables of agreement that backed it: Yes, yes, yes, oh yea. Hear me. Hear me. Do it, Maker, do it. Yes” (304-305).

• “Then Denver, running too. Away from [Beloved] to the pile of people out there. They make a hill. A hill of black people, falling” (309).

— Close reading analysis.

Conclusion:

— Beloved shows that the past has bearing on the present. It is personal and cannot be forgotten. In terms of modern day readers, Morrison seems to be advocating a retrieval of the history of slavery that is often forgotten.

Helpful Resources

Brainstorming (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
Freewriting: A Way Around Writer's Block (University of Richmond Writing Center)
Prewriting: Clustering (University of Richmond Writing Center)

Allison Lahl

Student Learning Center, University of California, Berkeley

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Essay Writing for Beginners: 6-Step Guide with Examples

If you need to write an essay, whether for a college course or to pass a writing test, this guide will take you through the process step-by-step.

Even if you have never written an essay before, this guide will make the process simple and easy to follow.

It is divided into two parts.

First, I’ll show you the steps of writing an essay from scratch using a simple example.

And in the second part, we’ll go through the process together and write a complete sample essay.

Let’s dive right in.

Writing an essay is a 6-step process.

Step 1. Decide on your main point and write it down

You could be in one of the following situations:

Your teacher or professor gave you a prompt, and you have to follow it
You are allowed to make up your own essay topic
You must pass a writing test and are practicing

Whatever the case, let’s assume that you have some kind of a topic or an idea for an essay. Many essay prompts ask you to decide for or against an idea. You must agree or disagree.

And in your first step, you need to simply make that decision – whether you agree or disagree – and just write it down as a simple sentence.

This is a very simple example, but it shows you what a thesis essentially looks like. It is also your main point.

Try not to make your thesis sentence too complicated. Keep it simple so that the point is perfectly clear to both you and the reader.

In this case, our example thesis is:

And we’re ready for the next step.

Step 2. Come up with three supporting ideas

Whether you need to write 300 or 3,000 words, as a beginner you only need three supporting points to prove your main point.

This is why I teach the Power of Three.

So, why three? You see, you need to divide your topic into subtopics. If you don’t, the whole essay writing process will be harder than it has to be.

If you divide it into only two parts, that’s okay. But it doesn’t give you enough meat when you’ll be writing the body of the essay.

If you divide it into more than three, that is also a recipe for frustration. It’s just too many.

Three is a very comfortable number for the brain to deal with. Trust me. I’ve taught many, many people.

Let’s apply the Power of Three to our simple example.

Why do I love apples? I love them for three reasons. Not one, not two, not seven. Just three reasons.

I love apples because they are:

Nutritious

In this step, your job is to make sure that these three reasons are really different from one another. In this case, they are.

Here is a wrong way to do it:

In this case, apples being filling is too similar to being nutritious. This means that when you’re writing the body of the essay, you may run into writer’s block.

This happens because you realize that you’ve already said everything there is to say about the nutrition of apples, and now them being filling is too closely related. And you’re out of words to write.

Don’t let that happen. Just keep your supporting points really distinct from one another.

Step 3. Write out the complete thesis statement

Now you have everything you need to write a complete thesis statement. You have your main and supporting points.

Take them and write them out as complete sentences in one paragraph. Let’s do it very simplistically, using our apples example:

Again, this is overly simple, and I don’t expect you to write such short sentences one after another this way.

But it’s crystal clear. And the supporting points really sound like good evidence for the main point.

In other words, this thesis statement works.

Your Thesis Statement Is Also Your Outline

Students often ask how to write an essay outline. But once you have written your thesis statement the way I just showed you, you have yourself a nice outline.

In addition, you already have the first paragraph. It may not be complete. You may choose to add some words to it. You will also add an introduction in a later step.

But your first paragraph is, for the main, done. It exists, and it’s good to know that you just wrote a nice paragraph.

We are ready for the next step.

Step 4. Write the body of the essay

We already know that we have three sections in our little example. And you will also have three main sections if you apply the Power of Three to your essay.

Each of your sections will contain one or more paragraphs.

But as a beginner, just stick to one paragraph per section. Each of your sections will be a paragraph, and you need to write only three paragraphs in the body of the essay.

Body Paragraph Structure

You must begin each of your body paragraphs with a lead sentence (also known as a topic sentence). And then your job is to fill the rest of the paragraph with evidence to support what you just stated in the lead sentence.

You may have heard that in your essay you should proceed from more general to more specific ? That is exactly right.

The lead sentence (the first sentence in the paragraph) is the most general statement in that paragraph.

For example, in our essay about apples, the second section is about how nutritious apples are. So, you would begin your paragraph with something like this:

This is the most general statement. And now, your job would be to unpack that, to write a little more specifically.

As an explanation , you can write a sentence or two on what kinds of nutrients apples contain.

And as examples , you can write about what some of these nutrients do in the body that makes them nutritious.

Does this make sense? You are proceeding from general to specific. We’ll take a closer look at this process in the essay topic sample that is coming up.

Once you’ve written the body paragraphs, you’re ready for the next step.

Step 5. Write the introduction and the conclusion

Introductions.

The introduction is really just a sentence (two at most) that you add in the beginning of your first paragraph.

Introductions are not necessary. Many instructors will expect that you write them while others won’t. You can go straight to the point by starting your first paragraph with the thesis.

However, most instructors will expect an introduction, and you should know how to write one.

To write an introduction, just zoom out a bit and write a more general and less relevant sentence. For example, we can start our essay about apples with this sentence:

And then we proceed straight to the thesis: “I love apples.” And so on…

Conclusions

In your conclusion you can do one of several things. But I recommend that, as a beginner, you stick to the time-proven restatement .

Basically, you simply repeat what you stated in your thesis statement, using different words.

Yes, this is repetitious, but that is the nature of conclusions. Don’t worry.

You can literally copy your thesis statement, paste it at the end of your essay, and make sure you change the wording so that it reads like a new paragraph.

For example, this is how we can write our conclusion about apples:

Yes, your conclusion can be just one sentence. But it can also contain many sentences.

Step 6. Proofread

Our final step in writing an essay is to go back and proofread our draft.

We must look out for:

Any contradictions (to make sure we don’t contradict our own points)
Any irrelevant material (stuff that doesn’t belong in the essay at all)
Grammatical errors
Misspellings

One good, thorough round of proofreading can be enough to be ready to submit your essay for grading.

You can use a variety of tools sto spell-check your essay. Google docs is one great tool for that. But many others, such as Grammarly, are available as well.

Guess what! Now you know how to write an essay, even if you’re a beginner.

And now, let’s apply what we learned.

Let’s take a sample topic and follow the 6 steps to write a nice sample essay.

Let’s do this!

Sample Essay: “Parents are the best teachers.”

This essay topic came from one of my readers. Let’s develop it into an essay by following the steps we just learned.

Step 1. Decide on the main point and write it

Let’s say that we are given a choice – whether we agree or disagree that parents are the best teachers.

All we have to do is take a stand. We have to simply decide – yes or no.

Let’s decide that parents are indeed the best teachers.

We simply state this as the main point:

Step 2. Think up three supporting ideas

Why could parents be the best teachers?

This will take some thinking. But that’s what we need to do.

Let’s use the Power of Three . And here is what we came up with:

They are the first teachers, and that’s very important.
They have the child’s best interests in mind.
They spend more time with their child than anyone else.

We really want to make sure that these supporting points are different from one another. Are they?

If we read them over, we’ll see that each of them is indeed distinct. Great!

Step 3. Write out the thesis statement

We have our main point. We have our supporting points. And writing the full thesis statement is now easy.

Let’s do it:

We really just took the thesis and the supporting statements and wrote them all in a sequence as one paragraph.

As a result, we now have a nice, clear opening paragraph.

We also now have our outline:

We know exactly how many sections our essay will have.

We also know in which order we’ll be presenting our support. It’s all in the thesis statement, which is also our outline.

Now our job is to write three good supporting paragraphs, one at a time.

Let’s start with the first body paragraph.

The first sentence is always the lead sentence – the most general sentence in a body paragraph.

Writing the Lead Sentence

Let’s first copy and paste our first supporting point from our thesis statement:

I copied this because this is exactly what my paragraph is about. And this would be a perfect lead sentence if it were not repetitious.

To make sure it’s not simply repetitious, we’ll tweak and expand it a little:

We made sure that the subject is clear – that it is not “ They ” but “ Parents .”

And we expanded the sentence by adding an explanation: “…because what is imprinted early stays with the child forever.”

You don’t have to necessarily add an explanation in the lead sentence like this. But this is an option that you have.

All we really want to do in the lead sentence is just expand it slightly over the initial supporting point that it came from.

Writing the Rest of the Paragraph

Let’s review our body paragraph structure:

In our paragraph, we proceed from more general to more specific. Our lead sentence is the most general statement.

The next most general part of the paragraph is where you explain your point. You can provide a scientific explanation with data and research. You can explain it logically, using your own rationale.

But it is still a general part. Let’s write it.

Explanation

We are keeping it simple and not using any references to scientific studies. You can and should cite sources in your essay when necessary.

If you’re writing an essay in an exam or test, you won’t need any references. You can just make things up as you go along. And it works as long as your content is logical and supports the main point.

If you’re writing for a college course, you will likely need to cite sources, unless it’s English 101 where you write basic essays like this one.

But now, we have three explanatory sentences in our paragraph. Our next step is to add at least one example. You can add more, but one should do it for a beginner.

This example presents a phenomenon that is well known in psychology. It is an example because it describes one extreme kind of a phenomenon. It is also much more specific than our explanation.

Note that we can add more words by talking about a specific wild child from history. But let’s stop here and look at our full paragraph:

We have 113 words in this paragraph. And it’s a perfect body paragraph that supports the first part of our thesis statement.

Let’s write the next one.

Again, let’s copy the second supporting point and then tweak and expand it.

This sentence already starts with the subject, which is “ parents .” Now, all we need to do is to expand it slightly:

We added a short phrase just to make the lead sentence a little longer and more detailed. Now it doesn’t read like plain repetition.

Let’s write the next most general part of this paragraph – the explanation:

These three sentences explain why it makes sense that parents would have the child’s best interests in mind. She is the most precious thing to them in the world.

It’s time for an example. And I’ll use my personal experience:

It’s totally okay to use personal examples in an essay. You can use them even in advanced research papers. Your personal experience is valuable. Use it.

Let’s take a look at our second body paragraph in its entirety:

This paragraph contains 98 words of evidence to support the second point.

It’s time for the final body paragraph.

Again, you know what we’ll do. We’ll just copy our third supporting point and tweak and expand it a little:

Let’s make sure the reader knows what the real subject is in this sentence. And let’s also expand it just a bit:

Great! It’s time for the explanatory part:

Again, we won’t be citing any sources here and will keep it simple. This explanation works really well because it provides evidence for the third supporting point.

Let’s be even more specific and write at least one example.

Again, I’m using a personal example to show that whoever spends the most time with the child will have the most influence.

And let’s take a look at our third body paragraph as a whole:

We have here 116 words of great, general-to-specific content that supports our third point.

As a result, if we look back at what we’ve done, we’ll see that everything we wrote in the body paragraphs supports the main point that parents are the best teachers.

It’s time for the next step.

Introduction

Our introduction will be just one sentence, which is enough.

First, let’s revisit our complete thesis statement. We will write the introductory sentence based on it.

In this paragraph, we go straight to the point, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

However, as we know, most instructors will expect some kind of an introduction. So, we’ll add one sentence before we get to the main point.

This sentence must be more general. We are zooming out a little. Let’s do it:

And let’s take a look at the full paragraph together with the introduction:

Note that I took out the phrase “for three reasons.” It is unnecessary because it is clear that you are providing three supporting points. And the whole paragraph sounds better this way.

To write the conclusion, we’ll simply reword the thesis statement. We only need to make sure that we don’t sound like we’re just repeating things.

That was not too hard, was it?

It’s time for the final step.

In this step, we just need to go over our essay, making final edits and corrections. And that’s all.

I hope this tutorial really helps you in your essay writing.

Stay tuned and we’ll talk soon!

How to Write a 300 Word Essay – Simple Tutorial

How to expand an essay – 4 tips to increase the word count, 10 solid essay writing tips to help you improve quickly, 6 simple ways to improve sentence structure in your essays.

Tutor Phil is an e-learning professional who helps adult learners finish their degrees by teaching them academic writing skills.

You Might Also Like...

How to Paraphrase in an Essay - Tutorial with Examples

https://youtu.be/1cCD66urqwo Paraphrasing is expressing the contents of a passage in different words. It allows the student to use other people’s content without copying or...

How to Expand an Essay - 4 Tips to Increase the Word Count

Do you feel that you’ve written all you could in this essay, but it’s still short of the word count requirement? Maybe you need to add a few hundred or even a thousand words. If so, you’ve...

Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, getting college essay help: important do's and don’ts.

College Essays

If you grow up to be a professional writer, everything you write will first go through an editor before being published. This is because the process of writing is really a process of re-writing —of rethinking and reexamining your work, usually with the help of someone else. So what does this mean for your student writing? And in particular, what does it mean for very important, but nonprofessional writing like your college essay? Should you ask your parents to look at your essay? Pay for an essay service?

If you are wondering what kind of help you can, and should, get with your personal statement, you've come to the right place! In this article, I'll talk about what kind of writing help is useful, ethical, and even expected for your college admission essay . I'll also point out who would make a good editor, what the differences between editing and proofreading are, what to expect from a good editor, and how to spot and stay away from a bad one.

What Kind of Help for Your Essay Can You Get?

What's Good Editing?

What should an editor do for you, what kind of editing should you avoid, proofreading, what's good proofreading, what kind of proofreading should you avoid.

What Do Colleges Think Of You Getting Help With Your Essay?

Who Can/Should Help You?

Advice for editors.

Should You Pay Money For Essay Editing?

The Bottom Line

What's next, what kind of help with your essay can you get.

Rather than talking in general terms about "help," let's first clarify the two different ways that someone else can improve your writing . There is editing, which is the more intensive kind of assistance that you can use throughout the whole process. And then there's proofreading, which is the last step of really polishing your final product.

Let me go into some more detail about editing and proofreading, and then explain how good editors and proofreaders can help you."

Editing is helping the author (in this case, you) go from a rough draft to a finished work . Editing is the process of asking questions about what you're saying, how you're saying it, and how you're organizing your ideas. But not all editing is good editing . In fact, it's very easy for an editor to cross the line from supportive to overbearing and over-involved.

Ability to clarify assignments. A good editor is usually a good writer, and certainly has to be a good reader. For example, in this case, a good editor should make sure you understand the actual essay prompt you're supposed to be answering.

Open-endedness. Good editing is all about asking questions about your ideas and work, but without providing answers. It's about letting you stick to your story and message, and doesn't alter your point of view.

Think of an editor as a great travel guide. It can show you the many different places your trip could take you. It should explain any parts of the trip that could derail your trip or confuse the traveler. But it never dictates your path, never forces you to go somewhere you don't want to go, and never ignores your interests so that the trip no longer seems like it's your own. So what should good editors do?

Help Brainstorm Topics

Sometimes it's easier to bounce thoughts off of someone else. This doesn't mean that your editor gets to come up with ideas, but they can certainly respond to the various topic options you've come up with. This way, you're less likely to write about the most boring of your ideas, or to write about something that isn't actually important to you.

If you're wondering how to come up with options for your editor to consider, check out our guide to brainstorming topics for your college essay .

Help Revise Your Drafts

Here, your editor can't upset the delicate balance of not intervening too much or too little. It's tricky, but a great way to think about it is to remember: editing is about asking questions, not giving answers .

Revision questions should point out:

Places where more detail or more description would help the reader connect with your essay
Places where structure and logic don't flow, losing the reader's attention
Places where there aren't transitions between paragraphs, confusing the reader
Moments where your narrative or the arguments you're making are unclear

But pointing to potential problems is not the same as actually rewriting—editors let authors fix the problems themselves.

Want to write the perfect college application essay? We can help. Your dedicated PrepScholar Admissions counselor will help you craft your perfect college essay, from the ground up. We learn your background and interests, brainstorm essay topics, and walk you through the essay drafting process, step-by-step. At the end, you'll have a unique essay to proudly submit to colleges. Don't leave your college application to chance. Find out more about PrepScholar Admissions now:

Bad editing is usually very heavy-handed editing. Instead of helping you find your best voice and ideas, a bad editor changes your writing into their own vision.

You may be dealing with a bad editor if they:

Add material (examples, descriptions) that doesn't come from you
Use a thesaurus to make your college essay sound "more mature"
Add meaning or insight to the essay that doesn't come from you
Tell you what to say and how to say it
Write sentences, phrases, and paragraphs for you
Change your voice in the essay so it no longer sounds like it was written by a teenager

Colleges can tell the difference between a 17-year-old's writing and a 50-year-old's writing. Not only that, they have access to your SAT or ACT Writing section, so they can compare your essay to something else you wrote. Writing that's a little more polished is great and expected. But a totally different voice and style will raise questions.

Where's the Line Between Helpful Editing and Unethical Over-Editing?

Sometimes it's hard to tell whether your college essay editor is doing the right thing. Here are some guidelines for staying on the ethical side of the line.

An editor should say that the opening paragraph is kind of boring, and explain what exactly is making it drag. But it's overstepping for an editor to tell you exactly how to change it.
An editor should point out where your prose is unclear or vague. But it's completely inappropriate for the editor to rewrite that section of your essay.
An editor should let you know that a section is light on detail or description. But giving you similes and metaphors to beef up that description is a no-go.

Proofreading (also called copy-editing) is checking for errors in the last draft of a written work. It happens at the end of the process and is meant as the final polishing touch. Proofreading is meticulous and detail-oriented, focusing on small corrections. It sands off all the surface rough spots that could alienate the reader.

Because proofreading is usually concerned with making fixes on the word or sentence level, this is the only process where someone else can actually add to or take away things from your essay . This is because what they are adding or taking away tends to be one or two misplaced letters.

Laser focus. Proofreading is all about the tiny details, so the ability to really concentrate on finding small slip-ups is a must.

Excellent grammar and spelling skills. Proofreaders need to dot every "i" and cross every "t." Good proofreaders should correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar. They should put foreign words in italics and surround quotations with quotation marks. They should check that you used the correct college's name, and that you adhered to any formatting requirements (name and date at the top of the page, uniform font and size, uniform spacing).

Limited interference. A proofreader needs to make sure that you followed any word limits. But if cuts need to be made to shorten the essay, that's your job and not the proofreader's.

A bad proofreader either tries to turn into an editor, or just lacks the skills and knowledge necessary to do the job.

Some signs that you're working with a bad proofreader are:

If they suggest making major changes to the final draft of your essay. Proofreading happens when editing is already finished.
If they aren't particularly good at spelling, or don't know grammar, or aren't detail-oriented enough to find someone else's small mistakes.
If they start swapping out your words for fancier-sounding synonyms, or changing the voice and sound of your essay in other ways. A proofreader is there to check for errors, not to take the 17-year-old out of your writing.

What Do Colleges Think of Your Getting Help With Your Essay?

Admissions officers agree: light editing and proofreading are good—even required ! But they also want to make sure you're the one doing the work on your essay. They want essays with stories, voice, and themes that come from you. They want to see work that reflects your actual writing ability, and that focuses on what you find important.

On the Importance of Editing

Get feedback. Have a fresh pair of eyes give you some feedback. Don't allow someone else to rewrite your essay, but do take advantage of others' edits and opinions when they seem helpful. ( Bates College )

Read your essay aloud to someone. Reading the essay out loud offers a chance to hear how your essay sounds outside your head. This exercise reveals flaws in the essay's flow, highlights grammatical errors and helps you ensure that you are communicating the exact message you intended. ( Dickinson College )

On the Value of Proofreading

Share your essays with at least one or two people who know you well—such as a parent, teacher, counselor, or friend—and ask for feedback. Remember that you ultimately have control over your essays, and your essays should retain your own voice, but others may be able to catch mistakes that you missed and help suggest areas to cut if you are over the word limit. ( Yale University )

Proofread and then ask someone else to proofread for you. Although we want substance, we also want to be able to see that you can write a paper for our professors and avoid careless mistakes that would drive them crazy. ( Oberlin College )

On Watching Out for Too Much Outside Influence

Limit the number of people who review your essay. Too much input usually means your voice is lost in the writing style. ( Carleton College )

Ask for input (but not too much). Your parents, friends, guidance counselors, coaches, and teachers are great people to bounce ideas off of for your essay. They know how unique and spectacular you are, and they can help you decide how to articulate it. Keep in mind, however, that a 45-year-old lawyer writes quite differently from an 18-year-old student, so if your dad ends up writing the bulk of your essay, we're probably going to notice. ( Vanderbilt University )

Now let's talk about some potential people to approach for your college essay editing and proofreading needs. It's best to start close to home and slowly expand outward. Not only are your family and friends more invested in your success than strangers, but they also have a better handle on your interests and personality. This knowledge is key for judging whether your essay is expressing your true self.

Parents or Close Relatives

Your family may be full of potentially excellent editors! Parents are deeply committed to your well-being, and family members know you and your life well enough to offer details or incidents that can be included in your essay. On the other hand, the rewriting process necessarily involves criticism, which is sometimes hard to hear from someone very close to you.

A parent or close family member is a great choice for an editor if you can answer "yes" to the following questions. Is your parent or close relative a good writer or reader? Do you have a relationship where editing your essay won't create conflict? Are you able to constructively listen to criticism and suggestion from the parent?

One suggestion for defusing face-to-face discussions is to try working on the essay over email. Send your parent a draft, have them write you back some comments, and then you can pick which of their suggestions you want to use and which to discard.

Teachers or Tutors

A humanities teacher that you have a good relationship with is a great choice. I am purposefully saying humanities, and not just English, because teachers of Philosophy, History, Anthropology, and any other classes where you do a lot of writing, are all used to reviewing student work.

Moreover, any teacher or tutor that has been working with you for some time, knows you very well and can vet the essay to make sure it "sounds like you."

If your teacher or tutor has some experience with what college essays are supposed to be like, ask them to be your editor. If not, then ask whether they have time to proofread your final draft.

Guidance or College Counselor at Your School

The best thing about asking your counselor to edit your work is that this is their job. This means that they have a very good sense of what colleges are looking for in an application essay.

At the same time, school counselors tend to have relationships with admissions officers in many colleges, which again gives them insight into what works and which college is focused on what aspect of the application.

Unfortunately, in many schools the guidance counselor tends to be way overextended. If your ratio is 300 students to 1 college counselor, you're unlikely to get that person's undivided attention and focus. It is still useful to ask them for general advice about your potential topics, but don't expect them to be able to stay with your essay from first draft to final version.

Friends, Siblings, or Classmates

Although they most likely don't have much experience with what colleges are hoping to see, your peers are excellent sources for checking that your essay is you .

Friends and siblings are perfect for the read-aloud edit. Read your essay to them so they can listen for words and phrases that are stilted, pompous, or phrases that just don't sound like you.

You can even trade essays and give helpful advice on each other's work.

If your editor hasn't worked with college admissions essays very much, no worries! Any astute and attentive reader can still greatly help with your process. But, as in all things, beginners do better with some preparation.

First, your editor should read our advice about how to write a college essay introduction , how to spot and fix a bad college essay , and get a sense of what other students have written by going through some admissions essays that worked .

Then, as they read your essay, they can work through the following series of questions that will help them to guide you.

Introduction Questions

Is the first sentence a killer opening line? Why or why not?
Does the introduction hook the reader? Does it have a colorful, detailed, and interesting narrative? Or does it propose a compelling or surprising idea?
Can you feel the author's voice in the introduction, or is the tone dry, dull, or overly formal? Show the places where the voice comes through.

Essay Body Questions

Does the essay have a through-line? Is it built around a central argument, thought, idea, or focus? Can you put this idea into your own words?
How is the essay organized? By logical progression? Chronologically? Do you feel order when you read it, or are there moments where you are confused or lose the thread of the essay?
Does the essay have both narratives about the author's life and explanations and insight into what these stories reveal about the author's character, personality, goals, or dreams? If not, which is missing?
Does the essay flow? Are there smooth transitions/clever links between paragraphs? Between the narrative and moments of insight?

Reader Response Questions

Does the writer's personality come through? Do we know what the speaker cares about? Do we get a sense of "who he or she is"?
Where did you feel most connected to the essay? Which parts of the essay gave you a "you are there" sensation by invoking your senses? What moments could you picture in your head well?
Where are the details and examples vague and not specific enough?
Did you get an "a-ha!" feeling anywhere in the essay? Is there a moment of insight that connected all the dots for you? Is there a good reveal or "twist" anywhere in the essay?
What are the strengths of this essay? What needs the most improvement?

Should You Pay Money for Essay Editing?

One alternative to asking someone you know to help you with your college essay is the paid editor route. There are two different ways to pay for essay help: a private essay coach or a less personal editing service , like the many proliferating on the internet.

My advice is to think of these options as a last resort rather than your go-to first choice. I'll first go through the reasons why. Then, if you do decide to go with a paid editor, I'll help you decide between a coach and a service.

When to Consider a Paid Editor

In general, I think hiring someone to work on your essay makes a lot of sense if none of the people I discussed above are a possibility for you.

If you can't ask your parents. For example, if your parents aren't good writers, or if English isn't their first language. Or if you think getting your parents to help is going create unnecessary extra conflict in your relationship with them (applying to college is stressful as it is!)

If you can't ask your teacher or tutor. Maybe you don't have a trusted teacher or tutor that has time to look over your essay with focus. Or, for instance, your favorite humanities teacher has very limited experience with college essays and so won't know what admissions officers want to see.

If you can't ask your guidance counselor. This could be because your guidance counselor is way overwhelmed with other students.

If you can't share your essay with those who know you. It might be that your essay is on a very personal topic that you're unwilling to share with parents, teachers, or peers. Just make sure it doesn't fall into one of the bad-idea topics in our article on bad college essays .

If the cost isn't a consideration. Many of these services are quite expensive, and private coaches even more so. If you have finite resources, I'd say that hiring an SAT or ACT tutor (whether it's PrepScholar or someone else) is better way to spend your money . This is because there's no guarantee that a slightly better essay will sufficiently elevate the rest of your application, but a significantly higher SAT score will definitely raise your applicant profile much more.

Should You Hire an Essay Coach?

On the plus side, essay coaches have read dozens or even hundreds of college essays, so they have experience with the format. Also, because you'll be working closely with a specific person, it's more personal than sending your essay to a service, which will know even less about you.

But, on the minus side, you'll still be bouncing ideas off of someone who doesn't know that much about you . In general, if you can adequately get the help from someone you know, there is no advantage to paying someone to help you.

If you do decide to hire a coach, ask your school counselor, or older students that have used the service for recommendations. If you can't afford the coach's fees, ask whether they can work on a sliding scale —many do. And finally, beware those who guarantee admission to your school of choice—essay coaches don't have any special magic that can back up those promises.

Should You Send Your Essay to a Service?

On the plus side, essay editing services provide a similar product to essay coaches, and they cost significantly less . If you have some assurance that you'll be working with a good editor, the lack of face-to-face interaction won't prevent great results.

On the minus side, however, it can be difficult to gauge the quality of the service before working with them . If they are churning through many application essays without getting to know the students they are helping, you could end up with an over-edited essay that sounds just like everyone else's. In the worst case scenario, an unscrupulous service could send you back a plagiarized essay.

Getting recommendations from friends or a school counselor for reputable services is key to avoiding heavy-handed editing that writes essays for you or does too much to change your essay. Including a badly-edited essay like this in your application could cause problems if there are inconsistencies. For example, in interviews it might be clear you didn't write the essay, or the skill of the essay might not be reflected in your schoolwork and test scores.

Should You Buy an Essay Written by Someone Else?

Let me elaborate. There are super sketchy places on the internet where you can simply buy a pre-written essay. Don't do this!

For one thing, you'll be lying on an official, signed document. All college applications make you sign a statement saying something like this:

I certify that all information submitted in the admission process—including the application, the personal essay, any supplements, and any other supporting materials—is my own work, factually true, and honestly presented... I understand that I may be subject to a range of possible disciplinary actions, including admission revocation, expulsion, or revocation of course credit, grades, and degree, should the information I have certified be false. (From the Common Application )

For another thing, if your academic record doesn't match the essay's quality, the admissions officer will start thinking your whole application is riddled with lies.

Admission officers have full access to your writing portion of the SAT or ACT so that they can compare work that was done in proctored conditions with that done at home. They can tell if these were written by different people. Not only that, but there are now a number of search engines that faculty and admission officers can use to see if an essay contains strings of words that have appeared in other essays—you have no guarantee that the essay you bought wasn't also bought by 50 other students.

You should get college essay help with both editing and proofreading
A good editor will ask questions about your idea, logic, and structure, and will point out places where clarity is needed
A good editor will absolutely not answer these questions, give you their own ideas, or write the essay or parts of the essay for you
A good proofreader will find typos and check your formatting
All of them agree that getting light editing and proofreading is necessary
Parents, teachers, guidance or college counselor, and peers or siblings
If you can't ask any of those, you can pay for college essay help, but watch out for services or coaches who over-edit you work
Don't buy a pre-written essay! Colleges can tell, and it'll make your whole application sound false.

Ready to start working on your essay? Check out our explanation of the point of the personal essay and the role it plays on your applications and then explore our step-by-step guide to writing a great college essay .

Using the Common Application for your college applications? We have an excellent guide to the Common App essay prompts and useful advice on how to pick the Common App prompt that's right for you . Wondering how other people tackled these prompts? Then work through our roundup of over 130 real college essay examples published by colleges .

Stressed about whether to take the SAT again before submitting your application? Let us help you decide how many times to take this test . If you choose to go for it, we have the ultimate guide to studying for the SAT to give you the ins and outs of the best ways to study.

Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download them for free now:

Anna scored in the 99th percentile on her SATs in high school, and went on to major in English at Princeton and to get her doctorate in English Literature at Columbia. She is passionate about improving student access to higher education.

Ask a Question Below

Have any questions about this article or other topics? Ask below and we'll reply!

Improve With Our Famous Guides

For All Students

The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 160+ SAT Points

How to Get a Perfect 1600, by a Perfect Scorer

Series: How to Get 800 on Each SAT Section:

Score 800 on SAT Math

Score 800 on SAT Reading

Score 800 on SAT Writing

Series: How to Get to 600 on Each SAT Section:

Score 600 on SAT Math

Score 600 on SAT Reading

Score 600 on SAT Writing

Free Complete Official SAT Practice Tests

What SAT Target Score Should You Be Aiming For?

15 Strategies to Improve Your SAT Essay

The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 4+ ACT Points

How to Get a Perfect 36 ACT, by a Perfect Scorer

Series: How to Get 36 on Each ACT Section:

36 on ACT English

36 on ACT Math

36 on ACT Reading

36 on ACT Science

Series: How to Get to 24 on Each ACT Section:

24 on ACT English

24 on ACT Math

24 on ACT Reading

24 on ACT Science

What ACT target score should you be aiming for?

ACT Vocabulary You Must Know

ACT Writing: 15 Tips to Raise Your Essay Score

How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League

How to Get a Perfect 4.0 GPA

How to Write an Amazing College Essay

What Exactly Are Colleges Looking For?

Is the ACT easier than the SAT? A Comprehensive Guide

Should you retake your SAT or ACT?

When should you take the SAT or ACT?

Stay Informed

Get the latest articles and test prep tips!

Looking for Graduate School Test Prep?

Check out our top-rated graduate blogs here:

GRE Online Prep Blog

GMAT Online Prep Blog

TOEFL Online Prep Blog

Holly R. "I am absolutely overjoyed and cannot thank you enough for helping me!”

Places on our 2024 summer school are filling fast. Don’t miss out. Enrol now to avoid disappointment

How to Do Research for an Excellent Essay: The Complete Guide

One of the biggest secrets to writing a good essay is the Boy Scouts’ motto: ‘be prepared’. Preparing for an essay – by conducting effective research – lays the foundations for a brilliant piece of writing, and it’s every bit as important as the actual writing part. Many students skimp on this crucial stage, or sit in the library not really sure where to start; and it shows in the quality of their essays. This just makes it easier for you to get ahead of your peers, and we’re going to show you how. In this article, we take you through what you need to do in order to conduct effective research and use your research time to best effect.

Allow enough time

First and foremost, it’s vital to allow enough time for your research. For this reason, don’t leave your essay until the last minute . If you start writing without having done adequate research, it will almost certainly show in your essay’s lack of quality. The amount of research time needed will vary according to whether you’re at Sixth Form or university, and according to how well you know the topic and what teaching you’ve had on it, but make sure you factor in more time than you think you’ll need. You may come across a concept that takes you longer to understand than you’d expected, so it’s better to allow too much time than too little.

Read the essay question and thoroughly understand it

If you don’t have a thorough understanding of what the essay question is asking you to do, you put yourself at risk of going in the wrong direction with your research. So take the question, read it several times and pull out the key things it’s asking you to do. The instructions in the question are likely to have some bearing on the nature of your research. If the question says “Compare”, for example, this will set you up for a particular kind of research, during which you’ll be looking specifically for points of comparison; if the question asks you to “Discuss”, your research focus may be more on finding different points of view and formulating your own.

Begin with a brainstorm

Start your research time by brainstorming what you already know. Doing this means that you can be clear about exactly what you’re already aware of, and you can identify the gaps in your knowledge so that you don’t end up wasting time by reading books that will tell you what you already know. This gives your research more of a direction and allows you to be more specific in your efforts to find out certain things. It’s also a gentle way of introducing yourself to the task and putting yourself in the right frame of mind for learning about the topic at hand.

Achieve a basic understanding before delving deeper

If the topic is new to you and your brainstorm has yielded few ideas, you’ll need to acquire a basic understanding of the topic before you begin delving deeper into your research. If you don’t, and you start by your research by jumping straight in at the deep end, as it were, you’ll struggle to grasp the topic. This also means that you may end up being too swayed by a certain source, as you haven’t the knowledge to question it properly. You need sufficient background knowledge to be able to take a critical approach to each of the sources you read. So, start from the very beginning. It’s ok to use Wikipedia or other online resources to give you an introduction to a topic, though bear in mind that these can’t be wholly relied upon. If you’ve covered the topic in class already, re-read the notes you made so that you can refresh your mind before you start further investigation.

Working through your reading list

If you’ve been given a reading list to work from, be organised in how you work through each of the items on it. Try to get hold of as many of the books on it as you can before you start, so that you have them all easily to hand, and can refer back to things you’ve read and compare them with other perspectives. Plan the order in which you’re going to work through them and try to allocate a specific amount of time to each of them; this ensures that you allow enough time to do each of them justice and that focus yourself on making the most of your time with each one. It’s a good idea to go for the more general resources before honing in on the finer points mentioned in more specialised literature. Think of an upside-down pyramid and how it starts off wide at the top and becomes gradually narrower; this is the sort of framework you should apply to your research.

Ask a librarian

Library computer databases can be confusing things, and can add an extra layer of stress and complexity to your research if you’re not used to using them. The librarian is there for a reason, so don’t be afraid to go and ask if you’re not sure where to find a particular book on your reading list. If you’re in need of somewhere to start, they should be able to point you in the direction of the relevant section of the library so that you can also browse for books that may yield useful information.

Use the index

If you haven’t been given specific pages to read in the books on your reading list, make use of the index (and/or table of contents) of each book to help you find relevant material. It sounds obvious, but some students don’t think to do this and battle their way through heaps of irrelevant chapters before finding something that will be useful for their essay.

Taking notes

As you work through your reading, take notes as you go along rather than hoping you’ll remember everything you’ve read. Don’t indiscriminately write down everything – only the bits that will be useful in answering the essay question you’ve been set. If you write down too much, you risk writing an essay that’s full of irrelevant material and getting lower grades as a result. Be concise, and summarise arguments in your own words when you make notes (this helps you learn it better, too, because you actually have to think about how best to summarise it). You may want to make use of small index cards to force you to be brief with what you write about each point or topic. We’ve covered effective note-taking extensively in another article, which you can read here . Note-taking is a major part of the research process, so don’t neglect it. Your notes don’t just come in useful in the short-term, for completing your essay, but they should also be helpful when it comes to revision time, so try to keep them organised.

Research every side of the argument

Never rely too heavily on one resource without referring to other possible opinions; it’s bad academic practice. You need to be able to give a balanced argument in an essay, and that means researching a range of perspectives on whatever problem you’re tackling. Keep a note of the different arguments, along with the evidence in support of or against each one, ready to be deployed into an essay structure that works logically through each one. If you see a scholar’s name cropping up again and again in what you read, it’s worth investigating more about them even if you haven’t specifically been told to do so. Context is vital in academia at any level, so influential figures are always worth knowing about.

Keep a dictionary by your side

You could completely misunderstand a point you read if you don’t know what one important word in the sentence means. For that reason, it’s a good idea to keep a dictionary by your side at all times as you conduct your research. Not only does this help you fully understand what you’re reading, but you also learn new words that you might be able to use in your forthcoming essay or a future one . Growing your vocabulary is never a waste of time!

Start formulating your own opinion

As you work through reading these different points of view, think carefully about what you’ve read and note your own response to different opinions. Get into the habit of questioning sources and make sure you’re not just repeating someone else’s opinion without challenging it. Does an opinion make sense? Does it have plenty of evidence to back it up? What are the counter-arguments, and on balance, which sways you more? Demonstrating your own intelligent thinking will set your essay apart from those of your peers, so think about these things as you conduct your research.

Be careful with web-based research

Although, as we’ve said already, it’s fine to use Wikipedia and other online resources to give you a bit of an introduction to a topic you haven’t covered before, be very careful when using the internet for researching an essay. Don’t take Wikipedia as gospel; don’t forget, anybody can edit it! We wouldn’t advise using the internet as the basis of your essay research – it’s simply not academically rigorous enough, and you don’t know how out of date a particular resource might be. Even if your Sixth Form teachers may not question where you picked up an idea you’ve discussed in your essays, it’s still not a good habit to get into and you’re unlikely to get away with it at a good university. That said, there are still reliable academic resources available via the internet; these can be found in dedicated sites that are essentially online libraries, such as JSTOR. These are likely to be a little too advanced if you’re still in Sixth Form, but you’ll almost certainly come across them once you get to university.

Look out for footnotes

In an academic publication, whether that’s a book or a journal article, footnotes are a great place to look for further ideas for publications that might yield useful information. Plenty can be hidden away in footnotes, and if a writer is disparaging or supporting the ideas of another academic, you could look up the text in question so that you can include their opinion too, and whether or not you agree with them, for extra brownie points.

Don’t save doing all your own references until last

If you’re still in Sixth Form, you might not yet be required to include academic references in your essays, but for the sake of a thorough guide to essay research that will be useful to you in the future, we’re going to include this point anyway (it will definitely come in useful when you get to university, so you may as well start thinking about it now!). As you read through various books and find points you think you’re going to want to make in your essays, make sure you note down where you found these points as you go along (author’s first and last name, the publication title, publisher, publication date and page number). When you get to university you will be expected to identify your sources very precisely, so it’s a good habit to get into. Unfortunately, many students forget to do this and then have a difficult time of going back through their essay adding footnotes and trying to remember where they found a particular point. You’ll save yourself a great deal of time and effort if you simply note down your academic references as you go along. If you are including footnotes, don’t forget to add each publication to a main bibliography, to be included at the end of your essay, at the same time.

Putting in the background work required to write a good essay can seem an arduous task at times, but it’s a fundamental step that can’t simply be skipped. The more effort you put in at this stage, the better your essay will be and the easier it will be to write. Use the tips in this article and you’ll be well on your way to an essay that impresses!

To get even more prepared for essay writing you might also want to consider attending an Oxford Summer School .

Image credits: banner

English and Related Literature

University | A to Z | Departments

Department of English and Related Literature
Writing at York
Writing Resources
10 Things To Do Before You Submit Your Essay
Resources for schools
Writing Curriculum
Writer in Residence
Writing Community
Getting help with your writing
Active Silence
Writing Team
Equality and diversity
Current staff and students

10 things to do before you submit your essay

Final draft checklist.

You have finished your essay and you think it is ready for submission. Now go through the checklist below, as it should help you spot possible flaws in your essay before submitting it. You are also strongly advised to have the essay ready between 24 and 12 hours before the final submission deadline (ideally, if not earlier), as some of the “things” in this checklist require reading the essay a few times.

Read your essay for references

1. check you have referenced every idea that is not yours.

Your marker will look for your own individual voice and original ideas as well as engagement with secondary sources. You have to be particularly careful in differentiating what you have quoted or paraphrased from somewhere else, and what is actually your own opinion. It also has to appear clear to the marker whether you are paraphrasing a source or quoting directly from it.

2. Check your references are accurate and correct

Whether you choose to use MLA or Chicago (footnotes and bibliography), make sure you are following your referencing style closely. If you are in doubt, you should ask one of your tutors.

Is your bibliography in order?

3. Check you have referenced primary sources as well

This may appear obvious, but make sure you have referenced primary sources too, and the editions you are using. If you are quoting from a play, indicate where in play that particular line is from (eg Act I, Scene II, ll. 123-38); if from a novel, the page number will suffice.

It may be useful to divide your bibliography in “primary” and “secondary” sources, and have the primary sources listed first.

Read your essay for style

4. edit for grammar and spelling.

Look for mistakes in sentence construction, and typos.

5. Edit for syntax and punctuation

Do the sentences flow as you read them? Is the connection between sentences and also that between clauses clear? It may help to read your essay out loud, or only the sentences that look dubious. Your argument will appear much weaker if the logical links between sentences are not clear. If they are not clear to you, they will not be clear to your reader either.

Is a semi-colon really the punctuation mark you need to separate those two clauses?

6. Edit for style and vocabulary

Avoid vague words and broad, banal generalizations, ie ‘Sappho’s poetry is beautiful’, ‘ The Odyssey is the most famous book in the history of Western literature’, ‘No woman was free to act in Ancient Rome’. Consider whether the words you have picked at central moments in your argument are the best possible words you could use.

Is the register you have used similar to what you would see in scholarly essays? Check if you have used any colloquial words or phrases, as those are generally not appropriate for a university essay.

Read for argument and structure

7. edit for structure.

Is any paragraph in your essay longer than a page? If so, it may need cutting or re-formulating. Most of the times, long paragraphs read better when they are split into two shorter ones.

8. Check the flow of your argument

Does your argument flow naturally from one paragraph to the next? Is your argument clearly laid out from the beginning? Are you making it clear when you are disagreeing with a source or an interpretation?

9. Re-read your introduction

Your introduction should be neither too short nor too long; ideally, you would aim it to be around 300-500 words (NB: this will depend on the overall length of your essay). Make it sound interesting: your introduction is the first thing your marker will read and it will shape their judgement of your essay as they go on reading it. Of course, an academic essay is not a catchy blog post, but there are many ways in which you can make the first paragraph interesting, such as using a nice quotation from the primary source or one of the secondary sources you have read, or for example engaging actively with the essay question/title. The other thing that the introduction should do is give a sense of what is going to happen in the actual body of your essay: this should not be a summary of your arguments (you do not want to give too much away from the very beginning!), but it should give the marker a good grasp of your essay theme and argument.

10. Re-read your conclusion

Do not think of your conclusion as the moment when you submit your essay in sighs of relief (well, it may be that too!), but rather as the culmination of your argument, when the whole of your essay comes together. It is not enough to write “In conclusion” to conclude. Your conclusion is also not the same as your introduction, although you may want to draw on what you mentioned there and create connections. Similarly as with your introduction, your conclusion is ultimately the last thing your marker will read and you should want to impress them a little. Especially, you want them to feel you have reached a conclusion, rather than simply found one.

Department of English and Related Literature University of York , York , YO10 5DD , UK Tel: work +44 (0) 1904 323366 | [email protected]

9 Things To Remember When Writing A College Essay

Writing your college essay requires plenty of preparation, if you want to do it right. The best thing you can do is take pen and paper and start mapping out the main sections of your essay. This is like a draft that you will use as a main guide for writing your essay. Come up with a unique and catchy title and several subtitles for the body of the essay. Regardless of whether you need to submit an essay as part of an assignment for college or as part of your admission, it really takes quality time to write a brilliant essay. If you can freely choose the title, you can start brainstorming for ideas, or have a look online at the trending topics. Remember that a badly written essay is mainly the result of lack of planning and research. Just keep reading to find out a few more quality tips on things to remember when writing your college essay.

Always write about what you know best: In order to write well, you should write about something you are really good at or genuinely interested in. If you love History, then write about a subject/topic related to this niche. If your main hobby is cooking, you could conduct some research and come up with a unique essay title – such as “Food Wars: Quality vs. Quantity” or “Top Michelin Rated Restaurants of the World.” Both titles represent topics of high interest for the general population. The emotional level: When writing an essay, you should spend time and reflect upon the subject matter. Introduce to the reader important topics and subjects, but also ‘tell’ them how that respective experience changed you as a person. Talk to the reader through your essay by always maintaining those emotional levels high. You want to make people read your essay right to the last sentence, and you want them to gain useful knowledge and insight to the topic by reading your piece. Pay attention to the structure: Carefully plan your essay by keeping in mind the three important parts: introduction, body and conclusion. The introduction is made up of 2 to 4 short paragraphs, the body contains up to 5 paragraphs while the conclusion is one larger paragraph. Go from the general towards the specific in your essay, build up “tension” and then provide a valuable conclusion. Prewriting is important: Have a separate sheet of paper where you will write down all the gorgeous ideas you have, without paying attention to the order or other rules. This prewriting phase will help you get a mind map of your entire essay, and then you can get down to writing much easier. Check frequently your prewriting sheet, and just follow you creative instincts to write the perfect essay. Write a strong thesis statement: The main attraction of your essay is the Thesis statement. This is the paragraph where you will give away precious clues, and persuade readers that your essay is indeed of great quality. The statement will include hints and a general idea about the topic discussed in the essay. Think about the statement as the short book review you can read on the back cover of any bestseller. Now try to do the same for your essay. Be impersonal: When writing an essay, try to stay away from using “I” or “You.” Your essay talks to the general audience and it should be impersonal except when this is clearly stated in the directions. Pay attention to maintain the same writing tense all throughout the essay, don’t jump from past tense to future and then back to the present. Choose a tense that you feel most comfortable writing in, and maintain the same tense in your essay. If you jump between tenses, you risk making your entire essay read very awkward. Revise at least 2 times: So you are done writing. Now it is time to go once again through your essay and spot any grammar or stylistic mistakes. In other words you are now editing and proofreading your essay just like a pro. When you are done, start again reading your essay and check if it has a logical flow, good grammar, good punctuation, etc. Conclusion reflecting the introduction: If you want to write a nice and professional essay, your conclusion should somewhat reflect on the introduction. There should be a certain connection between your introduction and conclusion. Write your conclusion just like the definite answer or ‘final say’ to your introduction. Before writing this last part, make sure to read the beginning once again, so that you can provide a nice conclusion that rounds up the entire piece. Stay on topic: If the teacher gives you a certain topic to write about, just stay on that topic. Keep in mind that you do not have too much space to write your essay so it is important to stay focused. Your essay is about 500 words in length, which equals to one page in Word, double spaced and typed in 12pt Times New Roman. You really can’t afford to stay off topic, so think twice before starting to develop on the lead sentences. These are all creative and important tips that will help you write that perfect essay. Remember them each time you are getting down to write, and you should also research some more for extra tips. If you are given requirements such as writing a descriptive, expository or persuasive essay, look up online how to write such an essay. It is important to pay attention to the requirements when writing an essay. This way, you will be able to write an essay tailored exactly to these needs. When you disregard the instructions, your essay could be graded extremely low even if you provide quality knowledge. Spend enough time on reading and understanding all the instructions and you should do extremely well. Good luck with your next application or college essay!

About author

Kenneth Waldman is a freelance writer and content editor at essay writing service EssayMama which provides assignment help for students. Kenneth draws his inspiration out of the traveling and sport. Get in touch with him on Linkedin .

Skip to primary navigation
Skip to main content
Skip to primary sidebar
Skip to footer

NonCount.com

Tips, Motivation, Life Business and Inspiration

7 Things to Consider before Writing an Effective Essay

5:38 am by Hernan Edwards

Practice makes a man perfect. Yes, likewise, writing good content certainly doesn’t come by luck, as you need to practice and strategize accordingly. So, let’s take a look at the following post for ensuring effective essay writing.

As a result, you can better prepare yourself and can further cement your chances of writing , essay in an awesome manner as well. Before, moving further, it is important to know

What is an essay?

An essay is a written composition where your expressions are based on writing down facts, statements, analysis and explanations.

Let’s now take a look at the best 7 Things to consider before writing an effective essay:-

Schedule yourself.

You are about to write an essay which is going to test your capabilities, skills and patience. So naturally, your strategy towards planning for writing the essay matters the most. Yes, it includes your detailed research and also you need to allow ample time for writing the essay.

Here, it is also necessary to , leave one day gap between your first and second draft.

Be aware of what you are asked in the essay

Even though it may sound obvious, but knowing the exact requirement of what you are asked is highly important. Yes, along with the same lines, this is where your research and patience comes to play.

You should strategize towards allotting a time for yourself by knowing the exact nature of your question and the expected answer, you are supposed to give.

Here, it is important to know, many students jeopardize their chances, owing to the fact that their topic is either not clear to them, or it is too hard to be written. Hence, with such uncertainty, their chance to succeed diminishes with every passing second.

They lower their confidence. Students should consider the factor, because, their efforts and hard work should give a result. If they work on something, which gives them a hazy picture, then they are only themselves to be blamed. So, choosing a topic is something which they have to do wisely.

Prepare Thesis statement

Unlike the usual perception where the word “Thesis” creates in the minds of students, like that of fear, the thesis is actually quite easy.

As you start getting an idea about the relevant things to write in an essay, now your next move will be to develop the thesis statement. Yes, it should be proper and concise, to say the least, and it should give an overview to the reader, of what it is all about

Create sections and subsections

By creating sections and subsections, you will surely format your essay in a way which is easy to be read as you try to highlight points in an organized manner. Remember, there are three sections in a typical essay in the form of ‘introduction’, ‘body’ and ‘conclusion’.

Similarly, create subsections. Yes, they will work like supporting points for the main section. After all, this is quite an important characteristic of creating a well strategized and awesome essay, to say the least.

Create an outline of the list of ideas

For essay writing service , your thought process and creative thinking are important, because by doing so; you can connect different ideas by bringing a practical approach.

A strong basic characteristic like this will bring a practical implementation to your ideas in an organized manner. After all, you want the list of ideas to get a practical approach by being organized.

So, it becomes quite an important practice to organize ‘thoughts’ first before getting down to writing the essay.

Don’t forget to proofread

Now, that you have written an awesome , researched and informative essay, do you know that your essay requires to be proofread thoroughly? Yes, it does.

So make sure, for it to be referred to as a “good” essay, you need to revise it, again and again, to make it the perfect one, just like you want it to be.

Ensure that your essay is easy and simple

Remember, that your essay is not the place for you to use confusing or difficult sentences. Yes, you should avoid using content which may put your readers to uneasiness.

After all, don’t you want your essay to be simple and easy to read? Yes, so likewise prepare your essay not just in the best interest of yourself, but also for others.

Essay writing is an important part which signifies your extent of knowledge and likewise, it is an important journey of your academic life.

Well, it is not a big deal to write an essay, but, writing an “awesome essay” is indeed not everyone’s cup of tea.

You need learn things coming to your way and practice in the process to be a proud owner of a well written, systematic and informative essay.

Noncount is a collection of buying guides and user guides about various different products.

Browse Categories

Noncount.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

Share full article

Supported by

Letter of Recommendation

What I’ve Learned From My Students’ College Essays

The genre is often maligned for being formulaic and melodramatic, but it’s more important than you think.

An illustration of a high school student with blue hair, dreaming of what to write in their college essay.

By Nell Freudenberger

Most high school seniors approach the college essay with dread. Either their upbringing hasn’t supplied them with several hundred words of adversity, or worse, they’re afraid that packaging the genuine trauma they’ve experienced is the only way to secure their future. The college counselor at the Brooklyn high school where I’m a writing tutor advises against trauma porn. “Keep it brief , ” she says, “and show how you rose above it.”

I started volunteering in New York City schools in my 20s, before I had kids of my own. At the time, I liked hanging out with teenagers, whom I sometimes had more interesting conversations with than I did my peers. Often I worked with students who spoke English as a second language or who used slang in their writing, and at first I was hung up on grammar. Should I correct any deviation from “standard English” to appeal to some Wizard of Oz behind the curtains of a college admissions office? Or should I encourage students to write the way they speak, in pursuit of an authentic voice, that most elusive of literary qualities?

In fact, I was missing the point. One of many lessons the students have taught me is to let the story dictate the voice of the essay. A few years ago, I worked with a boy who claimed to have nothing to write about. His life had been ordinary, he said; nothing had happened to him. I asked if he wanted to try writing about a family member, his favorite school subject, a summer job? He glanced at his phone, his posture and expression suggesting that he’d rather be anywhere but in front of a computer with me. “Hobbies?” I suggested, without much hope. He gave me a shy glance. “I like to box,” he said.

I’ve had this experience with reluctant writers again and again — when a topic clicks with a student, an essay can unfurl spontaneously. Of course the primary goal of a college essay is to help its author get an education that leads to a career. Changes in testing policies and financial aid have made applying to college more confusing than ever, but essays have remained basically the same. I would argue that they’re much more than an onerous task or rote exercise, and that unlike standardized tests they are infinitely variable and sometimes beautiful. College essays also provide an opportunity to learn precision, clarity and the process of working toward the truth through multiple revisions.

When a topic clicks with a student, an essay can unfurl spontaneously.

Even if writing doesn’t end up being fundamental to their future professions, students learn to choose language carefully and to be suspicious of the first words that come to mind. Especially now, as college students shoulder so much of the country’s ethical responsibility for war with their protest movement, essay writing teaches prospective students an increasingly urgent lesson: that choosing their own words over ready-made phrases is the only reliable way to ensure they’re thinking for themselves.

Teenagers are ideal writers for several reasons. They’re usually free of preconceptions about writing, and they tend not to use self-consciously ‘‘literary’’ language. They’re allergic to hypocrisy and are generally unfiltered: They overshare, ask personal questions and call you out for microaggressions as well as less egregious (but still mortifying) verbal errors, such as referring to weed as ‘‘pot.’’ Most important, they have yet to put down their best stories in a finished form.

I can imagine an essay taking a risk and distinguishing itself formally — a poem or a one-act play — but most kids use a more straightforward model: a hook followed by a narrative built around “small moments” that lead to a concluding lesson or aspiration for the future. I never get tired of working with students on these essays because each one is different, and the short, rigid form sometimes makes an emotional story even more powerful. Before I read Javier Zamora’s wrenching “Solito,” I worked with a student who had been transported by a coyote into the U.S. and was reunited with his mother in the parking lot of a big-box store. I don’t remember whether this essay focused on specific skills or coping mechanisms that he gained from his ordeal. I remember only the bliss of the parent-and-child reunion in that uninspiring setting. If I were making a case to an admissions officer, I would suggest that simply being able to convey that experience demonstrates the kind of resilience that any college should admire.

The essays that have stayed with me over the years don’t follow a pattern. There are some narratives on very predictable topics — living up to the expectations of immigrant parents, or suffering from depression in 2020 — that are moving because of the attention with which the student describes the experience. One girl determined to become an engineer while watching her father build furniture from scraps after work; a boy, grieving for his mother during lockdown, began taking pictures of the sky.

If, as Lorrie Moore said, “a short story is a love affair; a novel is a marriage,” what is a college essay? Every once in a while I sit down next to a student and start reading, and I have to suppress my excitement, because there on the Google Doc in front of me is a real writer’s voice. One of the first students I ever worked with wrote about falling in love with another girl in dance class, the absolute magic of watching her move and the terror in the conflict between her feelings and the instruction of her religious middle school. She made me think that college essays are less like love than limerence: one-sided, obsessive, idiosyncratic but profound, the first draft of the most personal story their writers will ever tell.

Nell Freudenberger’s novel “The Limits” was published by Knopf last month. She volunteers through the PEN America Writers in the Schools program.

Tips On How to Write a Great Essay Quickly

Generally, a great essay will always need a lot of time, research, and attention to detail, as there are certain aspects that must be covered. Unfortunately, not everyone has that time to spare, especially when the essay has a tight deadline or when you have to write many essays.

This article examines notable essay writing tips that have been proven repeatedly to work for anyone who wants to write a great essay quickly. From grasping the essay questions well to drafting the final conclusion, as a ghostwriter , you will learn the strategies that can help you achieve a great piece without delay.

1. Read through the essay question to ensure you understand

The first step to writing a great essay quickly is to ensure you understand the essay question properly. Usually, the aim of the essay question is to provide a suitable argument based on your line of thought. If you want to save time when writing your essay, spend some time reading through and understanding the essay question.

With a proper understanding of the essay question, you can take the side you want to be on and find research materials that align with your decision. Failure to understand the research question well before you start ghostwriting will result in you returning to it every now and then, which means spending more time.

2. Create an outline of what you want to achieve

The next step after you have a great idea of what the essay question is about is to create an outline. By this, we are not just talking about the structure of the essay but every step involved in the essay writing process. To do this, you have to start by drafting an outline sketch for the essay, breaking it down into different sections.

Afterward, you can then create an outline of what needs to be done to get the essay completed, including how much time you have to spare for it. For example, if you have a four-section essay that you want completed in 4 hours, you can outline how many minutes will be spent on each section.

3. Maintain as much focus as possible

One of the many reasons why people spend a lot more time on essay writing topics than they should is because of the many distractions around them. If you are trying to write a great essay, then you must be willing to put your phones and other devices away for the time you have apportioned to the tasks.

However, if it is impossible to do away with a particular device like your laptop because you are working with it, there is a way around it. First, you can turn off your mobile connection for other apps so that you do not get notifications that are clickbait that draw your attention. Then, you can make use of the “do not disturb” feature or any other similar one available on your device.

4. Read from different materials on the subject

One cheat code many writers are unaware of when it comes to how to write an essay is that it is easier to write an essay faster when you are knowledgeable about the essay question. To do this, you will also need to set aside a good amount of time to read many materials on the subject. The trick is that the more you read on a particular topic from many sources, the better idea you have of it.

The time spent on reading through different materials before you start writing can be retrieved when writing because you’d be faster than someone who is reading, researching, and writing at the same time. Of the many essay writing tips available, reading from many authority sources on that subject before writing has proven to be one of the best.

5. You do not have to start with an introduction

There is no denying that many people spend a lot of time trying to get the perfect introduction and a great hook for it. But, instead of doing this as a ghostwriter, you can save the introduction for the end and get straight into the essay from the get-go to save time.

The trick here is that after completing the essay, you will get a better idea of the introduction and conclusion than you will before starting. From writing, you can find something interesting that will fit the introduction better.

6. Break the essay into word counts and proofread as you write

It is almost impossible to talk about essay writing tips that help to save time without mentioning the need to break your essay into word counts. Remember we talked about creating an outline for essay ghostwriting earlier? So, if you’ve divided your essay into sections, assign word counts to the section based on your goal.

Also, ensure to proofread each section as you finish them before proceeding to the next. Not only does proofreading as you write help you save time, but it also helps to keep your chain of thought in check. There are some mistakes that, if not identified, can have a ripple effect on the entire essay.

For ghostwriting services, knowing the appropriate essay writing tips to engage is key. Besides structuring the essay , it is best that you try to use fewer quotes and avoid copying and pasting. Also, through the process, you can take intermittent breaks that can be used for quick research.

How Does Writing Fit Into the ‘Science of Reading’?

In one sense, the national conversation about what it will take to make sure all children become strong readers has been wildly successful: States are passing legislation supporting evidence-based teaching approaches , and school districts are rushing to supply training. Publishers are under pressure to drop older materials . And for the first time in years, an instructional issue—reading—is headlining education media coverage.

In the middle of all that, though, the focus on the “science of reading” has elided its twin component in literacy instruction: writing.

Writing is intrinsically important for all students to learn—after all, it is the primary way beyond speech that humans communicate. But more than that, research suggests that teaching students to write in an integrated fashion with reading is not only efficient, it’s effective.

Yet writing is often underplayed in the elementary grades. Too often, it is separated from schools’ reading block. Writing is not assessed as frequently as reading, and principals, worried about reading-exam scores, direct teachers to focus on one often at the expense of the other. Finally, beyond the English/language arts block, kids often aren’t asked to do much writing in early grades.

“Sometimes, in an early-literacy classroom, you’ll hear a teacher say, ‘It’s time to pick up your pencils,’” said Wiley Blevins, an author and literacy consultant who provides training in schools. “But your pencils should be in your hand almost the entire morning.”

Strikingly, many of the critiques that reading researchers have made against the “balanced literacy” approach that has held sway in schools for decades could equally apply to writing instruction: Foundational writing skills—like phonics and language structure—have not generally been taught systematically or explicitly.

And like the “find the main idea” strategies commonly taught in reading comprehension, writing instruction has tended to focus on content-neutral tasks, rather than deepening students’ connections to the content they learn.

Education Week wants to bring more attention to these connections in the stories that make up this special collection . But first, we want to delve deeper into the case for including writing in every step of the elementary curriculum.

Why has writing been missing from the reading conversation?

Much like the body of knowledge on how children learn to read words, it is also settled science that reading and writing draw on shared knowledge, even though they have traditionally been segmented in instruction.

“The body of research is substantial in both number of studies and quality of studies. There’s no question that reading and writing share a lot of real estate, they depend on a lot of the same knowledge and skills,” said Timothy Shanahan, an emeritus professor of education at the University of Illinois Chicago. “Pick your spot: text structure, vocabulary, sound-symbol relationships, ‘world knowledge.’”

The reasons for the bifurcation in reading and writing are legion. One is that the two fields have typically been studied separately. (Researchers studying writing usually didn’t examine whether a writing intervention, for instance, also aided students’ reading abilities—and vice versa.)

Some scholars also finger the dominance of the federally commissioned National Reading Panel report, which in 2000 outlined key instructional components of learning to read. The review didn’t examine the connection of writing to reading.

Looking even further back yields insights, too. Penmanship and spelling were historically the only parts of writing that were taught, and when writing reappeared in the latter half of the 20th century, it tended to focus on “process writing,” emphasizing personal experience and story generation over other genres. Only when the Common Core State Standards appeared in 2010 did the emphasis shift to writing about nonfiction texts and across subjects—the idea that students should be writing about what they’ve learned.

And finally, teaching writing is hard. Few studies document what preparation teachers receive to teach writing, but in surveys, many teachers say they received little training in their college education courses. That’s probably why only a little over half of teachers, in one 2016 survey, said that they enjoyed teaching writing.

Writing should begin in the early grades

These factors all work against what is probably the most important conclusion from the research over the last few decades: Students in the early-elementary grades need lots of varied opportunities to write.

“Students need support in their writing,” said Dana Robertson, an associate professor of reading and literacy education at the school of education at Virginia Tech who also studies how instructional change takes root in schools. “They need to be taught explicitly the skills and strategies of writing and they need to see the connections of reading, writing, and knowledge development.”

While research supports some fundamental tenets of writing instruction—that it should be structured, for instance, and involve drafting and revising—it hasn’t yet pointed to a specific teaching recipe that works best.

One of the challenges, the researchers note, is that while reading curricula have improved over the years, they still don’t typically provide many supports for students—or teachers, for that matter—for writing. Teachers often have to supplement with additions that don’t always mesh well with their core, grade-level content instruction.

“We have a lot of activities in writing we know are good,” Shanahan said. “We don’t really have a yearlong elementary-school-level curriculum in writing. That just doesn’t exist the way it does in reading.”

Nevertheless, practitioners like Blevins work writing into every reading lesson, even in the earliest grades. And all the components that make up a solid reading program can be enhanced through writing activities.

4 Key Things to Know About How Reading and Writing Interlock

Want a quick summary of what research tells us about the instructional connections between reading and writing?

1. Reading and writing are intimately connected.

Research on the connections began in the early 1980s and has grown more robust with time.

Among the newest and most important additions are three research syntheses conducted by Steve Graham, a professor at the University of Arizona, and his research partners. One of them examined whether writing instruction also led to improvements in students’ reading ability; a second examined the inverse question. Both found significant positive effects for reading and writing.

A third meta-analysis gets one step closer to classroom instruction. Graham and partners examined 47 studies of instructional programs that balanced both reading and writing—no program could feature more than 60 percent of one or the other. The results showed generally positive effects on both reading and writing measures.

2. Writing matters even at the earliest grades, when students are learning to read.

Studies show that the prewriting students do in early education carries meaningful signals about their decoding, spelling, and reading comprehension later on. Reading experts say that students should be supported in writing almost as soon as they begin reading, and evidence suggests that both spelling and handwriting are connected to the ability to connect speech to print and to oral language development.

3. Like reading, writing must be taught explicitly.

Writing is a complex task that demands much of students’ cognitive resources. Researchers generally agree that writing must be explicitly taught—rather than left up to students to “figure out” the rules on their own.

There isn’t as much research about how precisely to do this. One 2019 review, in fact, found significant overlap among the dozen writing programs studied, and concluded that all showed signs of boosting learning. Debates abound about the amount of structure students need and in what sequence, such as whether they need to master sentence construction before moving onto paragraphs and lengthier texts.

But in general, students should be guided on how to construct sentences and paragraphs, and they should have access to models and exemplars, the research suggests. They also need to understand the iterative nature of writing, including how to draft and revise.

A number of different writing frameworks incorporating various degrees of structure and modeling are available, though most of them have not been studied empirically.

4. Writing can help students learn content—and make sense of it.

Much of reading comprehension depends on helping students absorb “world knowledge”—think arts, ancient cultures, literature, and science—so that they can make sense of increasingly sophisticated texts and ideas as their reading improves. Writing can enhance students’ content learning, too, and should be emphasized rather than taking a back seat to the more commonly taught stories and personal reflections.

Graham and colleagues conducted another meta-analysis of nearly 60 studies looking at this idea of “writing to learn” in mathematics, science, and social studies. The studies included a mix of higher-order assignments, like analyses and argumentative writing, and lower-level ones, like summarizing and explaining. The study found that across all three disciplines, writing about the content improved student learning.

If students are doing work on phonemic awareness—the ability to recognize sounds—they shouldn’t merely manipulate sounds orally; they can put them on the page using letters. If students are learning how to decode, they can also encode—record written letters and words while they say the sounds out loud.

And students can write as they begin learning about language structure. When Blevins’ students are mainly working with decodable texts with controlled vocabularies, writing can support their knowledge about how texts and narratives work: how sentences are put together and how they can be pulled apart and reconstructed. Teachers can prompt them in these tasks, asking them to rephrase a sentence as a question, split up two sentences, or combine them.

“Young kids are writing these mile-long sentences that become second nature. We set a higher bar, and they are fully capable of doing it. We can demystify a bit some of that complex text if we develop early on how to talk about sentences—how they’re created, how they’re joined,” Blevins said. “There are all these things you can do that are helpful to develop an understanding of how sentences work and to get lots of practice.”

As students progress through the elementary grades, this structured work grows more sophisticated. They need to be taught both sentence and paragraph structure , and they need to learn how different writing purposes and genres—narrative, persuasive, analytical—demand different approaches. Most of all, the research indicates, students need opportunities to write at length often.

Using writing to support students’ exploration of content

Reading is far more than foundational skills, of course. It means introducing students to rich content and the specialized vocabulary in each discipline and then ensuring that they read, discuss, analyze, and write about those ideas. The work to systematically build students’ knowledge begins in the early grades and progresses throughout their K-12 experience.

Here again, available evidence suggests that writing can be a useful tool to help students explore, deepen, and draw connections in this content. With the proper supports, writing can be a method for students to retell and analyze what they’ve learned in discussions of content and literature throughout the school day —in addition to their creative writing.

This “writing to learn” approach need not wait for students to master foundational skills. In the K-2 grades especially, much content is learned through teacher read-alouds and conversation that include more complex vocabulary and ideas than the texts students are capable of reading. But that should not preclude students from writing about this content, experts say.

“We do a read-aloud or a media piece and we write about what we learned. It’s just a part of how you’re responding, or sharing, what you’ve learned across texts; it’s not a separate thing from reading,” Blevins said. “If I am doing read-alouds on a concept—on animal habitats, for example—my decodable texts will be on animals. And students are able to include some of these more sophisticated ideas and language in their writing, because we’ve elevated the conversations around these texts.”

In this set of stories , Education Week examines the connections between elementary-level reading and writing in three areas— encoding , language and text structure , and content-area learning . But there are so many more examples.

Please write us to share yours when you’ve finished.

Want to read more about the research that informed this story? Here’s a bibliography to start you off.

Berninger V. W., Abbott, R. D., Abbott, S. P., Graham S., & Richards T. (2002). Writing and reading: Connections between language by hand and language by eye. J ournal of Learning Disabilities. Special Issue: The Language of Written Language, 35(1), 39–56 Berninger, Virginia, Robert D. Abbott, Janine Jones, Beverly J. Wolf, Laura Gould, Marci Anderson-Younstrom, Shirley Shimada, Kenn Apel. (2006) “Early development of language by hand: composing, reading, listening, and speaking connections; three letter-writing modes; and fast mapping in spelling.” Developmental Neuropsychology, 29(1), pp. 61-92 Cabell, Sonia Q, Laura S. Tortorelli, and Hope K. Gerde (2013). “How Do I Write…? Scaffolding Preschoolers’ Early Writing Skills.” The Reading Teacher, 66(8), pp. 650-659. Gerde, H.K., Bingham, G.E. & Wasik, B.A. (2012). “Writing in Early Childhood Classrooms: Guidance for Best Practices.” Early Childhood Education Journal 40, 351–359 (2012) Gilbert, Jennifer, and Steve Graham. (2010). “Teaching Writing to Elementary Students in Grades 4–6: A National Survey.” The Elementary School Journal 110(44) Graham, Steve, et al. (2017). “Effectiveness of Literacy Programs Balancing Reading and Writing Instruction: A Meta-Analysis.” Reading Research Quarterly, 53(3) pp. 279–304 Graham, Steve, and Michael Hebert. (2011). “Writing to Read: A Meta-Analysis of the Impact of Writing and Writing Instruction on Reading.” Harvard Educational Review (2011) 81(4): 710–744. Graham, Steve. (2020). “The Sciences of Reading and Writing Must Become More Fully Integrated.” Reading Research Quarterly, 55(S1) pp. S35–S44 Graham, Steve, Sharlene A. Kiuhara, and Meade MacKay. (2020).”The Effects of Writing on Learning in Science, Social Studies, and Mathematics: A Meta-Analysis.” Review of Educational Research April 2020, Vol 90, No. 2, pp. 179–226 Shanahan, Timothy. “History of Writing and Reading Connections.” in Shanahan, Timothy. (2016). “Relationships between reading and writing development.” In C. MacArthur, S. Graham, & J. Fitzgerald (Eds.), Handbook of writing research (2nd ed., pp. 194–207). New York, NY: Guilford. Slavin, Robert, Lake, C., Inns, A., Baye, A., Dachet, D., & Haslam, J. (2019). “A quantitative synthesis of research on writing approaches in grades 2 to 12.” London: Education Endowment Foundation. Troia, Gary. (2014). Evidence-based practices for writing instruction (Document No. IC-5). Retrieved from University of Florida, Collaboration for Effective Educator, Development, Accountability, and Reform Center website: http://ceedar.education.ufl.edu/tools/innovation-configuration/ Troia, Gary, and Steve Graham. (2016).“Common Core Writing and Language Standards and Aligned State Assessments: A National Survey of Teacher Beliefs and Attitudes.” Reading and Writing 29(9).

A version of this article appeared in the January 25, 2023 edition of Education Week as How Does Writing Fit Into the ‘Science of Reading’?

Young writer looking at a flash card showing a picture of a dog and writing various words that begin with a "D" like dog, donut, duck and door.

Sign Up for EdWeek Update

Edweek top school jobs.

Dr. Carey Wright, the interim state superintendent for Maryland, discusses improving literacy instruction and achievement with Stephen Sawchuk, an assistant managing editor for Education Week, during the 2024 Leadership Symposium in Arlington, Va. on Friday, May 3, 2024.

Sign Up & Sign In

IMAGES

How to Write an Essay in 9 Simple Steps • 7ESL
10 Tips to Write an Essay and Actually Enjoy It
Step-By-Step Guide to Essay Writing
How to Write an Essay
Tips to write an Essay! : r/Infographics
How to Write an Essay

VIDEO

"Everybody Gonna Write Non-Fiction": J Kwon "Tipsy" Parody
All You Need To Know BEFORE Writing PMP
5 Things to Know Before Writing Your First Book! Download it FREE!
The Prewriting Stage: What to do BEFORE starting a novel
4 Things you should know before Engineering!
Learn Lua Coding( Fundamental Basics)

COMMENTS

PDF Strategies for Essay Writing
Harvard College Writing Center 5 Asking Analytical Questions When you write an essay for a course you are taking, you are being asked not only to create a product (the essay) but, more importantly, to go through a process of thinking more deeply about a question or problem related to the course. By writing about a
The Beginner's Guide to Writing an Essay
Come up with a thesis. Create an essay outline. Write the introduction. Write the main body, organized into paragraphs. Write the conclusion. Evaluate the overall organization. Revise the content of each paragraph. Proofread your essay or use a Grammar Checker for language errors. Use a plagiarism checker.
The Writing Process
Table of contents. Step 1: Prewriting. Step 2: Planning and outlining. Step 3: Writing a first draft. Step 4: Redrafting and revising. Step 5: Editing and proofreading. Other interesting articles. Frequently asked questions about the writing process.
Essay Writing Tips: 10 Steps to Writing a Great Essay (And Have Fun
Body #1: Most students think writing an essay is tedious because they focus on external rewards. Body #2: Students should instead focus on internal fulfillment when writing an essay. Body #3: Not only will focusing on internal fulfillment allow students to have more fun, it will also result in better essays.
How to Write an Academic Essay in 6 Simple Steps
Step 4: Writing the Essay Conclusion. Your essay conclusion is the final paragraph of your essay and primarily reminds your reader of your thesis. It also wraps up your essay and discusses your findings more generally. The conclusion typically makes up about 10% of the text, like the introduction.
How to Structure an Essay
The basic structure of an essay always consists of an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. But for many students, the most difficult part of structuring an essay is deciding how to organize information within the body. This article provides useful templates and tips to help you outline your essay, make decisions about your structure, and ...
How to Write an Essay in 8 Simple Steps (Examples Included)
Here are the eight steps to write an essay: Stage 1: Planning. 1. Pick an appropriate research topic. In certain cases, your teacher or professor may assign you a topic. However, in many cases, students have the freedom to select a topic of their choice.
Essay Writing in English: Techniques and Tips for Crafting ...
An essay is a written composition that presents and supports a particular idea, argument, or point of view. It's a way to express your thoughts, share information, and persuade others to see things from your perspective. Essays come in various forms, such as argumentative, persuasive, expository, and descriptive, each serving a unique purpose.
Before You Start Writing That Paper...
Prewriting is a term that describes any kind of preliminary work that precedes the actual paper writing. It doesn't necessarily have to be writing. In fact, prewriting can just be concentrated thinking about what you want to write your paper on. Various prewriting techniques are expanded upon below. However, know that you don't have to use all ...
12 Useful Tips To Improve Your Essay Writing Skills
8. Write a strong conclusion. Ending your essay with a well-written, thoughtful concluding paragraph can improve your reader's opinion of your credibility and leave them with a good impression of your skills. In your conclusion, you might restate your thesis and major points.
Essay Writing for Beginners: 6-Step Guide with Examples
Writing an essay is a 6-step process. Step 1. Decide on your main point and write it down. You could be in one of the following situations: Your teacher or professor gave you a prompt, and you have to follow it. You are allowed to make up your own essay topic. You must pass a writing test and are practicing.
10 Important Essay Writing Skills You Need to Know
9. Self-Edit. Never EVER blow through a single draft of an essay and turn it in to your professor. One of the best essay writing skills you can develop is the ability to review and edit your essay for mistakes in grammar, typos, and logic. Here are some ways to go about the editing process.
How to Write an Introduction Paragraph in 3 Steps
Intro Paragraph Part 3: The Thesis. The final key part of how to write an intro paragraph is the thesis statement. The thesis statement is the backbone of your introduction: it conveys your argument or point of view on your topic in a clear, concise, and compelling way. The thesis is usually the last sentence of your intro paragraph.
Getting College Essay Help: Important Do's and Don'ts
Have a fresh pair of eyes give you some feedback. Don't allow someone else to rewrite your essay, but do take advantage of others' edits and opinions when they seem helpful. ( Bates College) Read your essay aloud to someone. Reading the essay out loud offers a chance to hear how your essay sounds outside your head.
How to Do Research for an Excellent Essay: The Complete Guide
Allow enough time. First and foremost, it's vital to allow enough time for your research. For this reason, don't leave your essay until the last minute. If you start writing without having done adequate research, it will almost certainly show in your essay's lack of quality. The amount of research time needed will vary according to ...
10 things to do before you submit your essay
Now go through the checklist below, as it should help you spot possible flaws in your essay before submitting it. You are also strongly advised to have the essay ready between 24 and 12 hours before the final submission deadline (ideally, if not earlier), as some of the "things" in this checklist require reading the essay a few times.
What to Do Before You Start Writing an Essay
Your job is to focus as clearly and specifically as possible on an area. 3. Get writing! No amount of sitting around thinking, planning, or reading is going to get your essay written. The only way it will get written is if you just start writing. Then you'll find out along the way whether you need more evidence, or have to change your approach ...
9 Things To Remember When Writing College Essay
The statement will include hints and a general idea about the topic discussed in the essay. Think about the statement as the short book review you can read on the back cover of any bestseller. Now try to do the same for your essay. Be impersonal: When writing an essay, try to stay away from using "I" or "You.".
7 Things to Consider before Writing an Effective Essay
Remember, there are three sections in a typical essay in the form of 'introduction', 'body' and 'conclusion'. Similarly, create subsections. Yes, they will work like supporting points for the main section. After all, this is quite an important characteristic of creating a well strategized and awesome essay, to say the least.
What I've Learned From My Students' College Essays
When a topic clicks with a student, an essay can unfurl spontaneously. Even if writing doesn't end up being fundamental to their future professions, students learn to choose language carefully ...
Effective Time-Saving Essay Writing Tips
The time spent on reading through different materials before you start writing can be retrieved when writing because you'd be faster than someone who is reading, researching, and writing at the same time. Of the many essay writing tips available, reading from many authority sources on that subject before writing has proven to be one of the ...
How Does Writing Fit Into the 'Science of Reading'?
"We have a lot of activities in writing we know are good," Shanahan said. "We don't really have a yearlong elementary-school-level curriculum in writing. That just doesn't exist the way ...