The Ultimate Guide to Essay Writing

Here are some tips for students who want to improve their essay writing skills:

Write early.

To ensure that the students will not submit a haphazardly written essay, they need to start working on their paper as early as possible. The moment that the teacher assigns this as a requirement, students should make it a point to consider the time they will spend working on their essay. Factor in the time it needs to conduct research, plan the essay, write the paper, revise and proofread. If students will cram, they might miss one these crucial steps in essay writing.


Organization plays a significant role in essay writing as this ensures that the paper is thought provoking and well written. One of the key strategies in making sure that the essay is well organized is to compose an outline. By taking time out to draft an outline, students can easily come up with the basic structure of their paper. More importantly, the outline makes it easier for students to flesh out their essays. It also enables them to spot loopholes in their arguments easily.


In essay writing, students should choose one main argument and focus on this and this alone. What makes some essays confusing is the fact that the students discuss several topics on their paper. Even though they might have great ideas, they cannot impart all of them on one essay. Hence, it would be better to choose the best one among the students’ list of ideas and explore this subject matter.

By choosing one fundamental argument, students can have a more in-depth analysis of the topic and they can devote more time composing supporting arguments that will reinforce their main idea. This way, their teacher can better appreciate the clarity of thought and the effort that went into exploring the topic as extensively as they could.


The paper does not end in presenting arguments alone. Students must substantiate their arguments by facts and hard evidence. Citing statistics or quoting experts is a good way to add credence to the paper. However, in doing so, students should be careful in choosing their sources. Cite only the reliable sources – books, newspaper articles, or government statistics. Information garnered from general encyclopedias as well as opinions on blogs are not credible sources of information.


Essay writing does not end with the first composition. This is just a draft meant to be revised. The reason behind this is that the students engaged in free writing when writing the first version. As the term implies, students will write as freely as possible, with no regard for grammar or typographical errors. This way, they get to express their opinion without stifling guidelines.

After the first draft, it is time to let the paper sit for a while and then get back to it after a couple of days. This way, students will bring in a new perspective when revising their paper. If possible, show the paper to peers as they might also provide useful input that can be included in the revision.

Finally, before submitting the essay, make it a point to proofread.