I'm done with essays for the year, and according to my marks, I've done a good job mastering it. Today, I'd like to give you a few suggestions as to what to do with your essay to make sure it is professional. Consider doing an outline,a draft, and then the final copy, but here's what you have to follow:
1. Follow Structure
If you are given rubric, make sure you follow the structure of an essay the way your teacher wants it. Is it very strict on structure, or more/less free-flow? How many pages the teacher wants? What portion of an essay or criteria is graded the highest?
Also, know your professor: learn if he/she wants you to have indents in the beginning of each paragraph, and learn if there's anything specific he/she likes/dislikes seeing in an essay.
2. Quote as a Hook
The first sentence of an essay is called the hook. Its job is to intrigue the reader with the purpose of your essay. Even if your essay must be very formal, a very good idea would be to include a short, general quote outlining what your essay is about.
3. Formal, Persuasive Language with Proper Grammar
Obviously, no nouns in the formal essay. The persuasive language should exist though, clearly outlining your opinion.When using persuasion, avoid words like "might, most likely, probably etc". These words are used if a person is unsure about his/her argument.You must be very confident when you are trying to convince the reader, as well as grammatically correct. Make sure you're not including any short forms, such as "there's" or "it's".
If you like the transition words, such as "ultimately; additionally; similarly, etc", go ahead and use them. Don't overuse through, since they must not seem like the best thing in your essay!
4. Short, but Thorough Sentences
If you are writing an essay, you have to imagine that you are trying to explain something to somebody. It has to be very clear. Each sentence you write has to be short, but thorough. Thus, it has to contain the answers to what, how and why.
Especially if you're writing a thesis, your sentence will be longer than usual, but it can't be run on. In thesis you start from a general idea and end with specific one outlining your arguments in a certain order. Your thesis also should contain the name of an author and the title of the book (most likely in italics) if you are working with some sort of creative piece.
5. Quotes
You, obviously must try to tie a certain quote with your argument, but keep in mind that you can totally manipulate your quotes. You can either paraphrase them, or you could insert quote fragments into your point in order to explain your point better and to show that you actually know the text.
6. Refer to Thesis and Explain in Analysis
When you're analysing your examples or quotes, you must refer them back to your thesis statement. This is done in order to show that the quote/example you chose actually represents what you're saying.
Using the quote fragments, analyse your quote very thoroughly. Potentially, think off some theories or just general life principles that fit the example to explain it better. If in class, for instance, you've learned a theory recently, try to see if the example somehow fits into its description.
Analysis should fundamentally answer questions such as what, how and why very thoroughly.
6. Creative or Formal Title
Depending on the essay, make sure you satisfy the same format in your title. Your title shouldn't be long, although it must still contain the information on what you're writing about.
6. Works Cited and MLA formatting
The formatting, I figured, is huge in an essay. But, looking at it from a different perspective - it is easy marks. As long as you follow the MLA format and make a legitimate works cited page, you will keep a lot of those easy marks.
7. Reread and Edit
There's a lot to focus on while you're rereading. Not only you must check your formal writing techniques (no short forms, no nouns etc.), you also must go through the rubric and make sure you have everything it's asking for. Obviously, check spelling and grammar.
If your professor or a tutor is willing to edit your essay, never lose that chance. You will learn a lot, as well as you will be pointed at your mistakes, what will make it easier to correct them.
If it is not an option, I recommend waiting a day or two after you're done with your essay, and then going back and editing it. It will give you a fresh and objective look at your work!
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