Many people think that writing an essay is a complex task that only experienced writers and good students can do. However, it is not hard to produce a quality essay if you follow an organized outline. This does not limit your creativity. It allows you to express your ideas clearly and logically, and those are the distinguishing characteristics of a good paper.
Instructions
Write a Basic Essay
1. Decide on a topic and a writing style for the essay. Informational essays are good when you're first learning to write, because so many resources are available for research. Other common styles are persuasive, argumentative and demonstrative essays. Topics should be specific. For example, if you write about cats, narrow the topic to "How Cats Hunt Their Prey" or "Personalities of Cats".
2. Organize your paper. An essay consists of three main parts: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. The introduction is typically a short paragraph with a thesis (topic) sentence that tells the reader what the following paragraphs will explain. In a basic essay, the body will usually be three paragraphs. Each paragraph should describe or explain one main point about the topic. The conclusion is a short paragraph that summarizes the topic. It is similar to the thesis, but does not restate it.
3. After you have written the essay, read it over. First, read for clarification. Do your sentences relate directly to the topic and support it? Do ideas flow in a logical order, or are they random and out of context? Get someone else to read your paper. If he doesn't understand something, ask why. Then make revisions if needed. Next, check your essay for grammatical errors. Do all sentences express a complete thought and have proper punctuation? Are there any run-ons or fragments? Do not rely solely on the spelling and grammar check in most software programs to alert you to mistakes. Check for these errors yourself.
4. If you are handwriting your essay, write a final draft that includes the corrections and changes made in the previous step. If you are typing your paper, edit and revise as you go. However, check the final copy, as well. It is easy to overlook last-minute mistakes.
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