The Ultimate Guide to Essay Writing

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Essay writing can be extremely intimidating, especially if you aren’t entirely confident in your skills.  You might have this idea of an intense process that’s nearly impossible to complete.  This vision is reinforced by the portrayal in the media.  You see anxious students stressed out by 5000-word essays due in 24 hours.  Students are depicted panicking as angry teachers shout out vague instructions.

The truth is that reality is rarely like this.  An essay of that size is usually assigned weeks or months ahead of time.  Check your syllabus at the beginning of the year, often it will list all major assignments so you will be ready for them ahead of time.

Teachers and professors want you to succeed.  Essays are an excellent indicator of where you are on your academic journey. 

Writing an essay gives your instructor a snapshot of how effectively you communicate, your ability to interpret and synthesize information, and even how your thoughts flow.  They can use this roadmap to better guide you to conquer any weaknesses in your learning techniques.

If you aspire to write a fantastic essay, all you need is a systematic workflow.  That is why I wrote this guide.  There is no reason to be stressed out or overwhelmed. We are going to break it down into simple pieces for you to accomplish step-by-step.

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However, if you forgot a due date and now you’re in a rush. Check out this guide on how to write an essay in an hour.

It can be really overwhelming when you are trying to get started. It’s easy to lose motivation and not even want to start. We have a great article about how to get motivated to work when you don’t want to. Check it out to learn some small suggestions of how to get started when you are completely unmotivated to do so.

The suggestions in this article are mainly about studying however, they can easily be adapted to research strategies. Try watching a documentary to prime yourself on some ideas you can write about in your essay. You can even try reading books and hope for inspiration.

Start by taking tiny steps in the direction you need to go. As you start making progress, the motivation will follow. See if you can find some creative ways to adapt these suggestions to your assignment.

How to Study When You Don’t Want To

10 Reasons You're Procrastinating and How to Stop

If these small steps fail you may need to bring in even more motivational reinforcements. Perhaps you need to make a more holistic approach to psyching yourself up to get things done.

I live an extremely busy life. Not only do I run Absolutely Studying and provide academic coaching services but I also run a healthcare company and do quite a bit of business consulting! Balancing all of these positions along with taking care of myself, can be challenging. Learn my secrets to stay motivated every day!

How to Stay Motivated for School When you Don't Want to Do Anything

Table of Contents

1. What is an essay, and why does it matter?

2. Why is essay writing important in education?

3. The History of Essays

4. Terms to know

5. The pros and cons of essay writing

6. Types of essays

7. The structure and organization of an essay

8. Researching your essay

9. How to organize your research

10. How to write the body paragraphs

11. How to write the conclusion paragraph

12. How to write the introduction paragraph

13. How to write the thesis statement

14. Editing your essay

15. Visual aids

16. Analyzing an effective essay

17. Things to check before you submit your essay

18. Resources for essay writing

An essay is a structured piece of formal writing meant to convey an idea, opinion, or argument.  Through this composition, the writer will present data and examples to either prove or persuade.

Essays can be anywhere from 500 to 5000 words and can be based on nearly any subject.  The longer the essay, the more in-depth the topic should be explored.  Regardless of their length, all essays retain the same basic structure and purpose: communicating the authors’ position on an issue and informing the reader.

Essays are important because they:

1. Demonstrate your understanding of a subject.

2. Reflect on your ability to communicate your thoughts.

3. Prove your skill in creating a piece of writing.

4. Reveal the level at which you can effectively communicate.

5. Show your ability to reflect on data and analyze evidence.

Essays allow tutors and instructors to quickly assess what level you are at in your ability to write a cohesive, logical report.  It also demonstrates how you communicate, analyze, and synthesize information. 

To create an effective essay, you must research a topic and gather information from several sources to support your argument.  This requires skill to determine which information is relevant and how several independent pieces fit together to prove and support the thesis statement.

Through research on the topic, you will come to deepen your understanding of the subject.  This is a handy tool to ensure you have studied the issue and test your knowledge.  You have enough exams to study for already. Assigning an essay is another tool that instructors have for you to prove your proficiency in a concept.

Writing essays can also help you with your written and verbal communication skills. To communicate effectively in an essay, you have to clarify and organize your thoughts.  Through the writing and editing process, you have the opportunity to share and refine your message.  Repetition of these skills will sharpen how you communicate in future academic works and in professional settings.

Essay writing allows you to develop and utilize research skills.  These skills are essential for everything from excelling in higher education to making large purchases.  To effectively argue a topic, you will need to be well informed.  A solid foundation of research data is crucial to a good essay.  Essay writing is one way for you to exercise this muscle when you are in a discipline that is not research-heavy.

The first recorded instance of an essay was written by Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) in 1572.  Michel de Montaigne was a French Philosopher and author.  He “attempted” to put his thoughts in writing and called these pieces “essays.”  He published three volumes of his book entitles Essais, which are widely viewed as the predecessor to the modern essay.

A thesis statement is an opinion or argument that the author is going to prove.  It should clearly identify the topic of the essay.

Primary sources are based on first-hand information.  This would be the person who experiences or observes the event in question, writing about what happened.  Some examples might be an experiment or lab report published in a scientific journal, a case study, transcripts, etc.  Government websites can also be taken as primary sources.

Secondary sources are based on second-hand information.  Your textbook is an example of a secondary source.  This means that the author did not complete the experiment or observation themselves.  Instead, they researched and compiled data from one or multiple sources, put it together, and published it. 

A shocking number of students report anxiety and fear of writing essays. I totally understand this because I’ve experienced it too.

It’s hard not to beat yourself up when this happens. I know I often fall into critical thoughts of myself and my ability to get anything accomplished. This is a dangerous practice.. Negative self-talk can really hurt both your self-esteem and your potential to reach your goals. Learn more about negative self-talk and how to break the cycle.

Negative Self-Talk and How it Affects Your Grades

These are often massive assignments worth a substantial proportion of your mark. It is not uncommon to lose a letter grade due to a bad mark on this assignment. I have an entire essay on strategies to combat essay anxiety. If you find that you start feeling these crippling fears, try giving it a read.

How to Overcome Anxiety and Fear of Writing Essays

There are four basic types of essays.  These catchall groups can be broken down into more subspecialized niches that we will also touch on.  Despite the distinct tone of each of these essays, the essential components and process remain the same. 

Basic Essay Types:

1. Narrative essays

2. Descriptive essays

3. Expository essays

4. Persuasive essays

Narrative Essays

Narrative essays tell a story.  You can treat writing a narrative essay as if you are telling a tale.  This is one of the few instances when the author can describe things from their own point of view.  Keep your narrative essay to a simple storyline and create drama and excitement by using the extra space to dive deeper into the details of the world you design for your audience. 

Descriptive Essays

Descriptive essays paint a picture with words.  These essays often illustrate the in-depth detail of the subject.  They can be about nearly anything from a person or place to an object or idea. This is another creative type of essay, and you can use many stylistic elements to evoke emotions in the reader.  You want them to be engrossed in the imagery you are creating for them.  So, they can get lost in the experience and fully visualize what you are trying to communicate.

Expository Essays

Expository essays state facts to explain something.  These are some of the most popular types of essays.  These essays are often entirely dependent on research to be able to communicate and prove your thesis.

Persuasive Essays

Persuasive essays coax the reader to agree with you.  In a persuasive essay, you want to assume that the reader is opposed to whatever your opinion is. It is your job to convince them to come over to your side.  So, if their favourite fruit is grapes, you want to convince them that apples are much better.  You can do this with the tone and style of your wording. 

Learn more about The Different Types of Essays You Will Write for College and University

Other Types of Essays

Other Essay Types:

1. Personal essays

2. Informal essays

3. Critical essays

4. Definition essays

5. Argumentative essays

6. Compare and contrast essays

Personal Essays

A Personal essay is like a narrative essay.  These essays are generally meant to convey a personal experience and can be quite intimate and informal.  These essays can be conversational and do not follow the strict language rules you will see in the other essays.  However, instead of the flexibility to choose between fiction and non-fiction, these essays are based on your own experiences.

Informal Essays

Informal essays can also loosely fall under the narrative category.  These essays are intended to be personal reflections on a topic, so their tone will vary with the writer. 

Critical Essays

Critical essays present both strong and weak points about a topic to critique.  You might recognize this type from a movie or video game review.  The author will offer their opinion on what they enjoyed and what they hated about the topic at hand.  This type of essay is very much reliant on the author’s experience and knowledge of the subject.  In the end, it will be dependent just as much on opinion as it does on evidence and facts.

Definition Essays

Definition essays are almost exactly as they sound.  When looking up the definition for a word, you usually look to the dictionary, right?  A definition essay is essentially just an extension of this.  You are simply meant to define and explain your topic using the structure and organization of the essay. 

Argumentative Essays

Argumentative essays prove a theory is correct through brute force and facts.  This, at first, might seem like an overlap of the persuasive essay, but there are distinct differences.  While persuasive essays coax a reader to change their opinion of something, argumentative essays prove that an idea is correct by an abundance of evidence.  These essays are much more technical and less emotional.  Through this essay type, you want to prove that all other opinions, except the one you present, are false.  By the end, the reader should have no other option but to believe your truth.

Compare and Contrast Essays

Compare and contrast essays evaluate two objects, events, etc. and explain how they are the same and how they differ.  The reader should walk away with a clear and thorough understanding of these two distinct concepts.

There are many more types of essays, but they all follow the same basic structure and organization, as you can see.  Once you master how to write one kind of essay, you can translate what you have learned to write almost anything.

Regardless of what type of essay you are writing, they all have the same basic structure and organization:

1. Introductory paragraph

2. Body paragraph 1

3. Body paragraph 2

4. Body paragraph 3

5. Conclusion paragraph

Depending on how long your essay is, you may end up with more paragraphs than the basic 5 paragraph structure, but it will still follow this basic format.

Both the introduction and conclusion are basically an overview of your supporting arguments. In each of these arguments, you will briefly describe each of the supporting arguments, and state the thesis. You may also add some buffer sentences so that they can flow more cohesively.

In the conclusion, you also want to be sure you add at least one or two sentences that analyze how the thesis statement has been proven by the supporting arguments.

Each body paragraph should break down and explain a single supporting argument. It is important to go into detail and dissect each argument rather than just filling them with facts. When done right, one argument should flow logically into the next.

Learn more about Basic Essay Structure and Organization

Research is critical to a good essay.  If you do this step correctly, much of the writing will fall into place easily.  This can be a daunting task.  Many are not sure how to tackle it or which way to approach it.

Steps to an excellent research strategy:

1. Set up a schedule for work and rest.  Try the Pomodoro technique.

2. Use the skimming and scanning method to determine if a source is relevant.

3. Keep track of where you found a source and when you accessed it.

4. Write the information down in your own words.

5. Write down the information you want to use to support your thesis statement.

6. Indicate why this information is relevant and how you want to use it.

7. If you find several supporting facts in a single article, write them each down separately.

Try to find about 3 main supporting arguments that prove your position.  Next, collect about 3 to 5 pieces of data to back each of your supporting arguments.  This should give you enough to work with once you start drafting your paragraphs. 

Make sure that you have rephrased all the information in your own words.  We do not want to have any problems with plagiarism later.

Reading comprehension is an important part of thorough research. The better you understand your sources the easier it will be for you to interpret and communicate the supporting facts to your arguments. This can really help your grade.

The ability to describe and analyze the information you gather is critical for a good grade on your essay. Especially with Argumentative, and Expository essays. Improving your reading comprehension can help with that. If you add reading comprehension strategies to your study sessions, you can boost the efficiency of each study session as well.

How to Improve Reading Comprehension Skills

The next part of the essay writing process is getting organized! This is a great time to break up your essay into pieces that you can tackle independently. Breaking up a big assignment like this helps with essay anxiety and can also help to improve your grade.

This divides and conquer approach will also help you from getting overwhelmed because there is always a logical next step. For added benefits, you can even assign a timeframe to each task so that you won’t fall into a rabbit hole and spend too much time on one part of your assignment while ignoring others.

How to Easily Break Up a Big Project or Assignment

At this point, we should have about 25 entries on your investigation log.  Hopefully, you filled it out thoroughly, so this step will be super simple.  You are now going to organize the information.

As you go through each piece of data, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Which piece of information can I use this data to support?

2. Does this piece of data stand on its own?

3. Did I find many other sources of evidence to support this one?

Compile Your Data:

1. On separate sheets of paper, write out the main supporting arguments you have found that prove your thesis statement.

2. On each of these sheets, start listing all the facts that reinforce these arguments.

3. Add notes on how you want to use the data to prove your point.

4. Be sure to use your own wording.

5. Add the reference source information so that you can refer to it when you are writing.

Repeat this process for each of your supporting arguments.  You don’t have to worry about making anything sound good, but you do have to put things in your own words.  Try your best not to copy any of the source material.  With every step that we complete, this point becomes more critical. 

Once you have all your research points listed out for each supporting argument, go over them one more time and make sure it all makes sense. 

• Are there any weak arguments that you put aside that fit neatly into one of these categories? 

• Do any points stick out and don’t belong? 

• Does the evidence flow in a logical order?

Now is the time to tweak any issues and arrange them to be under the appropriate heading.

Staying on task is the key to being productive at this step. Check out these tips on how to stay productive!

How to Increase Productivity While You Study

The 10-Point How to be Productive Checklist

Starting your paragraphs is going to be as simple and systematic as gathering and organizing your research.  Start by choosing the three strongest arguments.  In any order, you will take each of these point-form lists and turn them into paragraphs.

Create your draft paragraphs:

1. Arrange your research, in point form, in a logical order.

2. If any of the data points require more explanation, elaborate on them.

3. Clarify what it is you are trying to communicate to the reader and why the information is relevant.

4. Add transition sentences to make a list flow into a paragraph.

This is often when students start to report writers’ block. Don’t worry too much about the wording or the flow.  At this point, you are still capturing ideas.  During the draft, you just want to get a general sense of everything you want to say.  During the editing process, you will focus on the wording and flow of each paragraph.

How to Overcome Writer's Block

For a more detailed and focused description of how to create your draft or edit out an essay, check out our book.

The conclusion paragraph can be drafted as a simple summary of the body paragraphs.  You want to summarize and analyze what the reader has just experienced and then restate your position.  You can create a simple outline for your conclusion paragraph with the following 5 sentence outline:

1. Analyze how the information presented has proven your thesis.

2. Restate each of your three supporting arguments.

3. Rephrase your thesis statement.

You don’t want to use the exact same wording you have at any point before.  You want to keep the reader interested. Restating the information using fresh words is a great way to emphasize your point without boring the reader.

It may seem counterintuitive to end with the first paragraph, but this is really the best time to start your introduction.  All the information you want to relay to the reader has already been laid out, so now you know precisely what you are introducing.

1. Start with a bold, catchy opening statement that will grab the reader’s attention.

2. Introduce your three supporting arguments.

3. Add a transition sentence to set up your thesis (optional).

4. Add your thesis statement.

This simple 6 sentence paragraph sets the tone for the rest of the essay, so you want it to be bold and attention-grabbing.

The thesis statement is often the most intimidating part of the essay to write.  Your entire work rests on this one sentence.  Many times, you will have part of your mark dependent on this statement.  A lot is riding on it. 

Tips for a great thesis statement:

1. Your thesis statement should be an opinion you can prove or debate. 

2. Be specific when asserting what you are going to prove.

3. Answer a question. 

Don’t leave any room for questions or doubts when crafting your thesis statement. Stand firm in your position.

Editing your essay is not a one-sitting event.  It is best to break up your editing into several tasks and review each independently.  Not only will you have to look for obvious errors but also flow and phrasing.  Some of these will be caught easiest with a fresh set of eyes. 

It is good practice to rest between editing sessions and complete them over a series of days.  This is when you will be able to have the most creativity to give to your project.

Some things to look for as you are editing:

1. Spelling and grammar mistakes.

2. Repetition of a word.

3. Tone and formality.

4. Mistakes you make often.

5. The consistency of using contractions.

6. A demonstration of knowledge or authority on the subject.

Make sure to devote a sitting just to looking for errors that you know you make often. 

The more you review and edit your work, the better it will become.  It does not matter what quality your first draft is. Any piece of writing can be elevated from trash to extraordinary in the editing process.

If you use the outline method that we have been describing, writer’s block shouldn’t be too much of a problem. But if you find yourself struggling, check out our thorough walkthrough for the cure to writer’s block.

How to Overcome Writer's Block

Visual aids are a powerful tool.  They can be used for many reasons like:

• Communicate your thoughts.

• Lengthen a piece of writing that is too short.

• Shorten a piece of writing that is too long.

• Include data that does not easily fit into the subject matter, but is essential for context.

You might think: “wait, how can it both shorten and lengthen my writing?” Well, that’s easy.  If you find that your essay is too short, create a chart, graph or other visual aid and then describe what is happening with the data.

Alternatively, suppose you are spending too many words describing a concept. In that case, you can create a visual aid and simply reference it.  In this way, visual aids can both lengthen and shorten your essay.  They can also make the information more digestible and the essay more attractive as a whole.

Even the best essay writers will often fall victim to basic mistakes in their writing.  Although you may have already completed these steps in the writing or editing process, before you hand your essay in, make sure to double-check for these common problems:

1. Spelling and grammar mistakes.

2. Word mistakes, like correctly spelling the wrong word in place of a similar word (think won vs own, or ton vs tone).

3. Read the essay out loud to yourself so you can hear the flow and tone.

4. Have Word or an eReader read your essay out to you.

5. Do your arguments flow logically, or is there information out of place?

6. Is there unnecessary information crowding out the important points?

Only you know what mistakes you are most prone to. This is actually a strength. If you know where your areas of weakness are, you can better look out for them in the editing process. Make a list of all the errors you make all the time then, go through and look for each of these errors. You may be surprised what you might find.

Sometimes it is easy to overlook the errors that you make all the time. If you use Grammarly they analyze your writing and send you regular reports on which errors you make so you can be more aware of them. I often leave the apostrophes off conjunctions. This is always something I look for when I need to submit a paper. I wouldn’t want to accidentally write “its” instead of “it’s”!

10 Areas of Weakness That You Should Identify

It may seem like you have so much work piled on that checking for these simple things might be redundant but it is so important. These things can fall through the cracks, especially when you are overworked or exhausted. It is so important to stay vigilant right until the end.

Creating a timeline can often help with this. It can help you to effectively budget your time which will help you to get everything done. You will be less likely to forget things or end up rushing at the last minute.

Learn how to make a timeline to prepare for your deadline

Compelling essays do more than just present evidence to prove their point. 

1. Don’t just report on the supporting arguments, analyze them and how they endorse or prove the thesis statement. 

2. Answer what, why, and how. 

3. Include arguments against your thesis statement, then disprove them. 

4. Do not use first-person pronouns for technical writing pieces.

5. Compare your essay to your rubric.

If you are determined to get the best grade possible, it’s best to implement a strategy fright from the start. You can get an A+, but it is a lot of work right from day one. It takes planning, preparation, and a solid relationship with your rubric.

Find out how you can get an A+ on any assignment

I have a guide on how you can create a framework to manifest the grades you want. Once you have learned how you can get an A+, definitely check out this guide. It will help you to create a plan to succeed in your mission to get that grade.

How To Get an A+ on an Assignment or Term Project

• FREE Essay Writing Checklist

• Grammarly

• Read Write Think

• Time 4 Writing

• Bib Me

• Mendeley

• The Easiest Essay

Essay writing is an ongoing learning process.  Every time you write an essay, you will get better at it.  It is essential to deconstruct this massive feat into a step-by-step plan that you can tackle in pieces. 

Start early, work on it often, and edit fully.  Spend twice as much time editing and refining your essay as you do create your draft.  Too often, we expect to produce a perfect piece on our first attempt, but that just does not happen.  Writing is a process, and the more you put into it, the more you get out in the end.

It’s important to stay mindful and not overwork yourself. Try to set SMART goals that will set you up for success and not push you down or overwhelm you.

How To Set Realistic Goals To Save Your Sanity

If you need help creating a plan to break up a big assignment, check out this article for a start.