The basics of effective essay writing

Essays have been an effective tool in expressing one’s ideas especially in the educational system. Right from our school days as we progressed, we were always asked to write one form of essay or the other. Some found it very exciting while others saw it as a hectic and stressful ordeal. Knowing the basics of an effective essay is one of the essay writing help one would earnestly desire for.

An essay can simply be defined as a composition in which you express a specific idea, these ideas expressed have to be supported with explanations, facts, statistics and analysis. The general essay is usually termed a five paragraph essay which contains five paragraphs although an essay can have as many paragraphs as possible. An essay also comprises three sections which are: introduction, body and conclusion.

The basics of an effective essay mean the components that make up an essay. Also the features to be connected and those things you should not ignore when writing an essay.

They include:

1. A topic selection

Initially at the beginning of your essay experience in your early school days. Topics are usually assigned to you. Sometimes a range of topics is being given to you to choose from. As you progress in your grade level in school, you would be given the opportunity to choose a topic for your essays. Consideration on what type of essay you intend writing directly influences your topic selection i.e. a general topic will go with a general overview while specific details/analysis means that you would be working on something specific.

Also, it is important to know that the type of essay to be written is directly proportional to your purpose of writing. Essay papers are basically categorized into i) Analytical essays ii) Expository essays iii) Argumentative essays.

• • Analytical essays: From the name, analytical essays simply break down a topic into subcomponents for clarification to the reader.

• Expository essays: Expository essays tend to provide an extensive explanation and meanings into a topic idea.
• Argumentative essays: Otherwise known as persuasive essays, these kinds of essays make a specific claim about a topic and then provide evidence and arguments to support the claim. The sole purpose of an argumentative essay is to convince a reader that a claim is valid.

2. Idea organization (outlining)

Instead of trying to have all your ideas and thoughts organized in your head, why don’t you put them down on a piece of paper before you start organization. You can make use of a rough paper to state your ideas and constructively arrange them in order.

3. A thesis statement is important

A thesis statement should not sound big or scare you, it means to state or outline the point you intend to prove in your essay. It should be precise, clear and have a definite position where it stands. After developing a thesis statement you can now make an introduction.

4. Introduction

If your introduction does not captivate and attract your reader’s attention, then you definitely need an essay writing help. The purpose of introduction is to tell readers the idea of your essay and areas it will address. Then also ensure you conclude your introductory paragraph with your thesis statement.

5. Body of work

The body of work is where you describe, give clear explanation and argue the topic you have chosen. Every main idea stated in your outline will each take a paragraph in your body of work. Meaning four main ideas will occupy four paragraphs, each containing an idea. Also if it is an argumentative essay you argue your points with stated facts in each paragraph.

6. Conclusion

Introduction and conclusion is very important for every written essay. Online tools provide essay writing help which tells you how to go about your conclusion. A conclusion should restate your thesis statement using a different approach other than the introduction. It should also summarize the arguments presented in the body of the essay and your concluding paragraph should tell your readers convincingly that your claim is valid and you have proven the idea as set forth in your thesis statement.