Often, the hardest part of writing an essay is choosing your topic, and the angle you are going to take on it.  Not only do you have to choose a subject, but you need to decide which side of an argument to take, or whether to stay unbiased.  You may also need to offer a new, fresh perspective on a subject which may have been covered hundreds of times before.

Once you have figured out the basics on how to write your essay you will then need to look at the structure of your essay.

The structure of an essay is incredibly important when you are learning how to write an essay.  The people who mark an essay will have to read hundreds of essays, so you have to make yours not only interesting, but easy to read, and mark!

Always write a thesis statement for your essay, attach this to the front of your work.  The thesis statement should give an overview of the subject, your angle (For, against, unbiased), and any other information a reader may find useful before reading your essay.  The thesis statement is the perfect way to inform the reader or examiner about the enclosed essay.

Write an essay outline.  This does not need to be included with your essay, although a cut down version as an index may not hurt.  You should always do this before you begin writing.

Your essay outline should show you how you will structure your essay, show you what you will need to research, and will make it easier to alter the structure of your essay.  When you create your outline first do a thematic outline then detail it with a structural outline.

The thematic outline gives you the general order of your essay.  The structural outline will help you organise your paragraphs and research notes.  By organising your writing here, it could save you hours of rewriting later on.

The essay outline is a great way to organise both your page structure and your research to help you write your essay and successfully build a readable, fact filled, interesting document.

While it is easy to lump research in to the essay outline, it is important to emphasise just how important this is.  Your research should not just be note taking, but a learning experience.  By learning the facts on your chosen subject you will write more smoothly, fluently, and interestingly on your subject.  A well researched article is a confident article, and that will shine through when it is read by others.

How to Write an Essay

When you start your essay you should always include a detailed introduction to your essay. This may be similar to your thesis statement, but where your thesis statement told the examiner exactly what you tried to achieve, your introduction should introduce the topic from your own viewpoint.  The essay could be a paragraph or a page, either way, it should give the tone, angle, and overall objective of your essay.

When you are looking to write the introduction to your essay you must spend some time ensuring it gives a good solid grounding for what the essay will be about.  You need to give a quick overview of the subject and how you perceive it.  Be careful not to ramble in the introduction, as it will quickly put off anyone who has to read it!

Once you have completed the introduction you must build the body of your essay, this varies greatly depending on the subject and how you portray it.  Some may include an argument and counter argument, others may need to structure a single argument in to several well built sections, each with their own reasoning and evidence.  When you build the body remember to keep it well structured (Your essay outline should be useful here), factual, and interesting.

The biggest problem with essays are rambling sentences.  Keep your mind on the subject when writing, and most importantly read through every paragraph to ensure that each sentence you write has a clear concise point to it.  If you write an essay filled with pointless sentences or even paragraphs you will lose your reader, or examiners interest.

The conclusion to your essay should generally be short and sweet. You have already covered your topics and probably your results, so here you just need to summarize.  While repetition is bad, a general overview of what you have covered does not hurt here.  Be careful to include not just your findings, but what they mean and how they affect your view on the subject.  The few paragraphs that make up your conclusion should not just summarize your research, but prove how it supports your essay’s viewpoint.

Follow these simple guidelines and you should find yourself with a well written, well structured, and most importantly, well received essay.  Keep your mind focused, avoid repetition and rambling. But most importantly research the subject well to ensure it’s accuracy and validity!