There are as many ways to write a good essay as there are people in the world - there is no one, right answer. Good essays do have some things in common, though. You might have been told at school that every good story needs a beginning, a middle and an end. Really, the same can be said for essays, too: they need an introduction, an argument and a conclusion. And, much like a story, it’s a good idea to know what your ending, your conclusion, will be before you start.
How to Plan Your Essay
If you’ve followed my previous advice, you’ll know what your conclusion will be from your thesis statement.
How to Plan Your Essay
If you’ve followed my previous advice, you’ll know what your conclusion will be from your thesis statement.
The introduction:
Outline the question, show why it’s interesting and how it fits into wider ideas, and show how you will answer it.
The argument:
Build your argument by putting your ideas into a logical order to persuade the reader. You should generally aim for one main point, with references, per paragraph. If you’re writing a longer essay, it can be a good idea to group similar paragraphs under sub-headings.
The conclusion:
Summarise what you have said, showing how it answers your original question. Sometimes, such as in a scientific research essay, it can be a good place to mention different things that could be investigated in the future.
The main paragraphs of the essay, the argument, is usually the area which requires the most planning. Like we’ve seen so many times before, different people find different ways that work best for them, but it’s so important to plan.
There are two main ways I’m going to outline here:
- a spider diagram
This often works well for people who prefer to visualise things. You put your main point in the middle of the page, and then write key words, phrases and ideas around it. You can also then cross off the smaller ideas as you include them, which can be fun!
- bullet points
These can sometimes be a quick outline of your essay, or other people prefer to make a detailed plan with sub-points and reference information (authors and book page numbers) included, too.
At this stage, I would often go back through my reading notes to see where the ideas I’d found could fit into each paragraph. The most important thing to remember is that when you mention something that someone else has said, you need to fit it into why you think it’s important. You don’t have to (and shouldn’t) say “I think this is important because” after every sentence, but you should comment on it, highlighting how it fits into your argument.
Don’t worry too much about it being perfect the first time around, though. The next couple of posts will focus on how to tweak your writing to really improve your style and presentation.
Remember:
Reading this and understanding it, and putting it into practice are entirely different things. It can make a huge difference to work with an essay writing mentor to discuss your feedback and the different strategies that you can use. Click to find out about our writing essay mentoring.
Remember:
Reading this and understanding it, and putting it into practice are entirely different things. It can make a huge difference to work with an essay writing mentor to discuss your feedback and the different strategies that you can use. Click to find out about our writing essay mentoring.
COMING NEXT WEEK:
Essays: Two Ways to Cut the Waffle and Make Your Essay Clearer
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