Many students are faced with the mammoth task of creating essay after essay, but many people are still unsure of how to write an essay, where to start and even how to finish. How to write an essay depends on the type of paper that you have been asked to write. Essay writing is a skill that develops over time but there are tips on how to write an essay and get it right, first time. When you first sit down to write an essay, make you read the question. That may sound ridiculously obvious but in my time as an academic and a teacher, when it comes to students writing an essay, believe it or not, this often lets them down. How do you write an essay if you do not fully understand the question? Compare, contract, analyse, discuss, critically compare, critically analyse, discuss, appraise, evaluate… the list goes on. So, what can you do to help you write an essay?
As I said, read the question. Firstly, when you sit down to write an essay; underline the most important parts of the essay. For example;
Compare and contrast the biological elements indicated in schizophrenia.
This essay title will require you to write an essay that both compare the biological elements which are contributory to schizophrenia and also contrasts them. So, you need to describe them initially, compare them (find what is similar with them) and then contrast them (what is different) and talk about their relationship to schizophrenia. A fairly prepared student will also be set to evaluate and discuss research and findings which relate to those biological elements.
When you write an essay, you also need to make sure that your essay has a clear introduction, body and conclusion. This is another element of writing that often lets students down. My advice is to always write the body of your essay first (this is often easier), conclude your findings and then write the introduction last, when you are able to discuss what you are going to write about. By this point, you will of course know as you have already written in your essay. So, next time you sit down to write an essay and find yourself chewing pencils, biting your fingernails or engaging in the classic procrastination technique of students, cleaning (I know, crazy huh?), make sure that you set out to do what you started; to write an essay that is clear, concise and most of all, answers the question!
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