Essay Writing 101: How to Write Good Academic Essays

Every essay is a short or medium piece of academic writing that conveys its author's viewpoints on a specific subject. Typically, they can range from a few hundred to a few thousand words. When penning one, you're bound to pass through well-established steps to write an essay of academic level. You must conduct research, draft, and finish your work by editing it, which can be daunting. In this article, we'll cover how to write an essay that gets you an A mark. We’ll inform you about how to research & write a proper paper and show you some helpful essay tips.

How to Prepare to Write an Exceptional Essay?

Every outstanding paper owes its success to an excellent essay structure that lays the groundwork and gains all readers' attention.

  1. Begin by selecting an engaging topic related to a popular theme or cause. Any paper's subject should not be too narrow or too broad, and it must cover a main issue with a few complementary ones. This way, you can explore and form solid arguments.
  2. Research thoughtfully, as you must gather relevant, up-to-date information that boosts your arguments. You'll need evidence from reputable sources, so collect data from academic papers, books, or reputable government sites. 
  3. Prepare for citations right after you've researched. You must note down all sources to cite easily and refer to them later.
  4. Lastly, look at the information and form a strong thesis statement around your main arguments. 

Tip: Every paper's thesis statement sets the course for most good academic essays, so write a strong one.

If, during this preparation stage, you think you lack the time/skills to deliver a quality paper, professional services may assist. One of the best ones is PapersOwl which aims to help Canadians avoid the daunting task of structuring, citing, and editing their papers. Instead, it’ll be done by an expert within deadlines and per your requirements, so you can focus on other tasks and still nail that high grade.

How to Write a Proper Essay Structure

Knowing how to structure an essay is crucial because a well-formed paper helps guide all readers through your ideas. This way, your point is presented in an easy-to-understand way, and your arguments are more persuasive. 

You must know how to write an essay outline if you want a good grade. Usually, we start by structuring as follows:

  • An introduction
  • Body Paragraphs
  • Conclusion

Each of these sections has to be carefully crafted, as they serve an important purpose. Any paper introduction brings in an issue around its central thesis. The body paragraphs showcase all evidence and arguments, and every conclusion leads the paper to its finale.

An Introduction

Successful academic essays begin with an introduction that sets the stage for your whole paper. It must be engaging & exciting, not too long but neither too short. An introduction must bring in and engage with every reader while informing them. Make it concise, and establish your argument backgrounds.

Hook Your Reader

Begin your introduction with a hook. Every paper's first sentence must be attention-grabbing and make an essay interesting. You may start with a statement, quote, or fact. It can even be a thought-provoking question. Anything that piques the audience's attention works. That encourages whoever is reading to continue and explore your paper further.

Present the Main Thesis Statement

Every paper statement must be a brief summary of its key arguments. It should be positioned toward the end of an introduction, as it has to lead through the rest of your university essay.

Author Tip: Aim to create an essay with a concise statement that can make your paper flow and lead to supporting evidence.

Essay Body Paragraphs

If you write a college essay, it's vital to focus on its body paragraphs, where the author provides details, explanations, examples, and evidence that support your thesis. Every section should be centred around some specific idea in this core part. That means every new idea needs a new paragraph. Doing this ensures a smooth transition between your points.

When you write an academic essay, mind the following points for effective body paragraphs:

  1. Begin with a topic sentence that outlines some main points you'll discuss. It must build your arguments and relate directly to your thesis.
  2. Follow it with supporting evidence from credible sources. You can include facts, various statistics, examples, or quotes. Show that you understand this paper topic. That will strengthen your arguments.
  3. Analyze, then explain why the evidence is crucial and how it supports your thesis. With this, you can show critical thinking. You'll make the reader understand the relevance of your key points.
  4. The final sentence must summarize your paragraph's main point and link it to the statement. 

The Conclusion

Every academic essay writing conclusion must wrap up the whole paper by briefly explaining your key points. It needs to reiterate your thesis and provide an answer or an open question that makes readers think about the case. Do not add new ideas, as your goal here is to give a sense of closure.

Best Proven Tips For Writing an Essay

Sometimes, knowing the essay structure basics and how the whole writing process goes is not enough for an outstanding paper. That's why we've prepared a few essay writing tips that can help you:

  • Before you begin your essay writing, make a plan. That will help you to organize your thoughts and create flow.
  • When writing any type of academic paper, maintaining a formal and objective tone is crucial. This is among the most helpful tips for writing essays because many people use slang, emotional language, and difficult-to-understand words that lead to poor texts.
  • Create a smooth and engaging experience by playing with the sentences. Write long followed by short ones and vice versa.
  • Cite all sources. Giving credit to the authors whose work you've used is vital. Otherwise, you may get accused of plagiarism.
  • Always edit, proofread, and review. Check your essay structure carefully. Look for grammatical or punctual mistakes in the text. Also, check the formatting and if it's in your education institution style. A proper essay format is crucial for its success. Otherwise, it may not meet the requirements.
  • Get feedback from professors, friends, etc. You may gain valuable insights that can improve your already good essay.
  • Schedule and manage your time. Writing is not an easy process and requires a lot of focus. That's why if you’re distracted, you may fail. On the other hand, if you do not split the time properly, you may not have time for researching, drafting, or editing your paper.

Yet, among all tips on writing an essay, the best one is practising. The more essays you write, the better you'll become. By continuously writing academic papers, you'll improve your skills and gain more confidence.