3 simple methods on how to write an essay on any topic

During your time at school and college, you will encounter many, many different subjects, and will be expected to write essays on most of them. This is fine if it is an essay on a subject which you either enjoy, or are good at, or both. Sometimes, though, or even most of the time, you will be set essays that do not really engage you. So, how do you go about writing an essay on any topic, even ones that do not really interest you? Here are three possible methods, three tips.

  1. Find an Aspect that Interests You
  2. In every subject, even subjects that we do not enjoy, it is possible to find an area of interest, something that actually does engage and interest us. If you can do this, when you have an essay on any given topic, then the work of researching and writing will be much, much easier. Take some time to explore your options before you fix on a specific approach.

  3. Find Very Clear Argument
  4. An essay is an argument, and one that demonstrates your ability to produce an evidenced defence of a thesis. So, if you can find a very clear, very simple, but very specific argument within your topic, your essay will be sure to accomplish its function. So, try to find an argument of the simplest form: ‘I will demonstrate that X and Y are connected’.

  5. Find 3 Sources for and 3 Against
  6. Now that you have a topic that interests you, and a way to engage in an argument with that topic, you need to demonstrate an awareness of your field. You need to discover whether your argument has been made before, as this will stop you simply repeating, and will also allow you to refine your argument. What you must also do, at this point, is to find three sources that agree with the argument that you are making, and three that disagree or say the opposite. It is around these that you structure a few simple, clearly written paragraphs that will be your essay.

So, by following these simple tips, you will find that writing an essay on any given topic, can be not only easy, but even a pleasure!
