5 steps to help you create an essay
Creating an essay does not have to be the challenging task many students think. There are five basic steps that need to be considered when you begin to tackle that new writing assignment.
- Plan and Outline
- Research
- Write and Rewrite
- Edit
- Wait and Learn
Many students immediately begin writing the paper as soon as they are given the assignment. While it is true that you need to make the best use of the time you have, you need to take the time to plan out your paper and make an outline. This will help you stay organized and will ensure you hit all of the important points you need to discuss in your paper.
Perhaps the most important part of the paper, aside from the writing itself, you need to do good research. Unless you are writing a pure opinion piece you will need to do research. And even if your instructor has asked for your own opinion you can make your paper better by adding outside sources to strengthen your points.
Even the best writers will need some time to write a good paper and hardly anyone can write a perfect paper the first time around. Especially with big research papers, you will need to plan for time to do several drafts of your paper before it is finished and ready to turn in. You may need to reorder your points, add in more research points, or take out something that does not quite work for your topic. Giving yourself the time to do at least 2 drafts of your paper is a good pay to prepare and will help you write a great final paper.
Once the paper is done and you are happy with the way it is laid out and what you have included, you then are ready for the last active stage and that is editing. Read over your paper to check for spelling, grammar, typos, punctuation, and other issues. If possible it is best to put the paper away and not look at it or work on it for at least a day before you edit it- this gives you a break and makes it easier to catch the errors and mistakes.
Once the paper is turned in you have to wait to hear what your grade is and what the instructor thought of your work. While there is not much you can do during this time, once you do know the results you can be proactive. Learn from any mistakes, take the instructors comments to heart, and work on making the next paper even better!