Writing a great essay requires that the writer be in possession of high-caliber writing skills that would render their composed work a unique piece of art. In this context, it should be admitted that some writers are gifted, hence they could easily write an essay that observes quality, par excellence. Notwithstanding, those who are not gifted still have the possibility to acquire the basics of neat and effective essay writing so that they hone their skills accordingly. The following hacks from Essay Kitchen are at your disposal to sharpen your essay writing abilities:
Start writing early
It is advisable that you save yourself from the pressure of tight deadlines through starting your writing task as early as possible for the sake of guaranteeing that you finish early; therefore, you would be able to revise and apply the final touch. Early writing gives you a chance to experiment with the essay, as it gives you the possibility to fully understand the nitty-gritty of the topic. It is a beneficial tip on the account that if you encounter some ambiguities, you still have time to do internet search and explore the topic further.
Keep the essay question in mind
It is so easy to drift away from the central matter of the essay. Therefore, you should never forget about the essay main question because it will guide you through the ideas. When the main argument of the essay is salient in your mind, chances are you would manage to link the ideas perfectly in a way that holds sway over the reader who would be less likely to lose the thread connecting the ideas. Another advantage of this tip is the high chance that you will not fall in the trap of repetition. As such, you know that you always have to add a piece of information that is relevant to the main question. The point of reference should always be the central question. Missing the question might lead to irrelevance and vagueness, which, in turn, could result in the failure to meet the requirements of the essay.
Put the essay aside for a few days
Not only does this hack help you reflect on what you have written and whether or not it will be appreciated by your advisor, it would also help you look anew at your essay with a fresh pair of eyes. Try it, and you will notice that your perception of what you have written migh have changed to some degree. You might notice that some ideas are just funny and irrelevant to the core of the issue in question. This technique is also used in applied linguistics to fortify the reliability of annotation. Once the annotation of the corpus is done, the researcher puts it aside for some days so that they will be able to reach “stability”, which is the stable view towards the performed work.
Be yourself
You are highly recommended that you be yourself, especially when you are writing a descriptive, argumentative, reflective, or rhetorical essay. The reason why you should do so lies in the influence that you will be creating, the message that you will be transmitting, and the action that you will be calling to. How could you not become yourself when you are asked to write about your family in a reflective essay, for instance? In fact, it could be possible, but it is not a really useful strategy. Through being yourself, you could persuade well and make the appeals intended so that you create a particular effect on your reader. Not being yourself while writing seems to be a no through road.
Write short sentences
You might think that the more your complicate linguistic constructions, the more influential your essay might turn out to be. Unless you know very well how to structure long sentences in a contextually-relevant and plausible fashion, you should avoid them. Additionally, as long as there are short and informative sentences at your disposal, why not use them ? They would inevitably transfer the meaning in a simple and smooth way that does not confuse your reader. Generally, short sentences are always favored over long ones when it comes to essay writing, which also helps you be more in control of your mistakes. You are likely to make more mistakes in long sentences than in short ones.
Be specific
Among the best writing advices, you could make use of the be-specific writing tip. Sometimes we are so knowledgeable about a subject matter that we tend to write all of the ideas that we have in mind. Unfortunately, that might backfire, it might produce an undesired effect on your reader simply because you are not focussing on the main issue. Being too general and superficial might distract your reader right from the beginning. When you are specific about your topic, you would be able to elaborate on your ideas accordingly and effectively. Illustrative examples could be used to explain your particular arguments, as they would clarify your main point. In short, the reader should not get the feeling that you are jumping from one idea to another, otherwise your essay may turn out to be ambiguous. Yet, in the introduction you have the possibility of being relevantly general until you reach the thesis statement.
Personal voice
Essays, especially reflective and argumentative ones, require that you have a voice, whether directly or indirectly. Use the first person and the active voice to show that it is you who is responsible for what you are writing. Unlike the passive voice which distances you from the content, a direct voice that uncovers the identity of the writer in an essay is more likely to influence the readers’ perception towards the topic. Be careful not to overuse the “I”, otherwise you might run the risk of being criticized for having too much ego in your essay.
To sum up, the above-mentioned writing tips are useful once considered seriously by writers. They are effective as essay writing tips. It should be noted that the mere use of such tips may not be sufficient as writers should pay attention to grammatical errors, format, consistency of ideas, and congruity of the whole content as well.
