While most students agree with the statement that writing an essay is a boring task, in fact, it can be very interesting. Whenever you write an essay, either for class, for a project, or for a scholarship, do your best. Also, our college essay service can provide you with some practical advice on writing in general.
And now check the expert guide about how to write a college essay and use these tips to complete your writing tasks well.
Basic College Essay Writing Hints
There are basic recommendations which probably will not look new for you if you are a school or college student. Professors mostly will not give you the highest possible grade if you just copy and paste the text from other academic research papers, reports, or regular internet pages. The last option is the guaranteed fail. Just don’t do that ever.
Additionally, it is important for you not to forget to state your viewpoint on the topic and provide the reference base for your text. It is good to use lecture materials too.
Our guide offers you all the most important recommendations for how to write a college paper well. No matter when and for what essays you will use these tips, they definitely can help you stand out of the crowd and become the best student of your class.
Choose a College Essay Topic
First of all, you need to decide which topic interests you the most or find the one that is definitely your cup of tea. It can be difficult for students to write essays about things they know nothing about.
Still, your teacher or professor may assign a certain topic. In this case, you should find out more about the issue before starting to write. Do not forget that your teacher may also decide to ask you some questions about the topic. So, it is critical to know the deal.
If you receive a certain topic, try to determine the type of essay you should complete. If the leading motive of your paper is a general review, it is enough to complete a simple college essay with numerous interesting details.
This type of academic writing assignments allows to analyze different viewpoints on the issue. Still, if it is required to write an analytical paper, then you should try to research into more aspects and, maybe, even other fields, interpret them and make a good conclusion.
Monitor College Essay Ideas
Write down all ideas you can generate to introduce the topic so you don’t miss any details. Additionally, this will help you organize these ideas in a better way, simplifying the process of finding connections between different aspects of the topic. To visualize these connections, you can create graphs.
Such graphs, outlines, or lists can represent the hierarchy and dependence between the ideas. Place the main idea in the middle of the page and then place all supporting aspects nearby, depending on the level of importance they have in comparison to it. If you want to write a college essay really well, it is best to compose a draft outline first.
Write a College Essay Introduction (Thesis Statement)
A thesis statement is the short intro of ideas. It should not be one-paragraph long. It is a short sentence, representing the leading thought of your college essay with no additional details.
As soon as the intro is written, review all the categories and viewpoints you want to describe. A college essay usually contains a thesis statements in the introductory part, but if this essay is a part of a term paper or dissertation, then the thesis should be mentioned in the first part of the text.
The intro itself does not have to take too much space and length. Two to four short, laconic sentences are perfect here. The intro is the part of text that briefly describes the issues, discussed in the college essay body below. You need to interest readers in this part, to make them want to go on reading.
So, the most critical thing (both in the intro and all over the text): do not be boring. Avoid concentrating on obvious and common things, try to write truly original content.
How to Write a College Essay Body
The body is the main part of the essay. The structure is pretty much the same for all types of essays. It is recommended to write the main paragraph before the intro and conclusion. The main body usually contains all the main ideas, while the introduction and conclusion only state the topic and the author’s viewpoint.
The main body is the territory of your argumentation, imagination, fantasy, philosophy and anything that could fit the topic of your essay. The positioning of words depends on the type of your essay and your personal vision of writing.
Yes, when writing a persuasive essay, for instance, it is possible to use the “for and against” argumentation. Try to come up with as many different arguments proving your viewpoint as you can, and then add more significant details to each of them.
After that, it is a good idea to provide a few counter-arguments that your opponents are likely to use. Try to respond to their “cons” beforehand, but make sure you don’t speak personally. Your goal is to fight arguments but not people. Impoliteness does not play good games with minds of your readers.
How to Write a College Essay Conclusion
Conclusion is the last part of an essay, but it should not be neglected. That’s a totally wrong approach.
Remember, your conclusion should have visible connections with the main body. But at the same time, it should not repeat the information which was stated there already. Summarizing viewpoints does not mean retelling the content of the essay. Finish it with certain serious and strong phrases. Providing the argument which you find the strongest is also a good idea.
Additional Tips: How to Format a College Essay
Well, if we are talking about other tips for students from professional authors, here is the most critical one.
Write your college essay clearly.
First, do not beat around the bush, avoid using general phrases and pointless sentences just to meet the wordcount limit. Every single word you use in your text should tell readers something precise.
Second, write your actual thoughts. If your opinion on the topic is different from that other people have, you still shouldn’t hide it.
Third, always watch your spelling. Do your best to avoid grammar, punctuation or syntax mistakes and typos. This is the measure of your authority.
College MLA Format Essay
The Modern Language Association (MLA) defines how to format a college essay:
- Page margins: 1 inch.
- Paragraphs: double-space.
- The writer’s name and the number of the page are 1.5 inch from the top side of every page.
- First page of the paper contains the author’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, the date of the paper.
- A separate last page dedicated to cited works.
All these hints will guide you through the process and help you write a college essay excellently.