Whenever students see the word “essay”, the immediately freak out and begin to assume the worst. They start to forget their structure and misunderstand their question.
But never fear – there is a key!
Essay writing is one of those topics that seems to either be poorly taught in schools or too difficult for students to understand in a classroom. It is one of the biggest pain points of students in their English study. There are many students who, because they have fallen behind, have lost all of their confidence in their essay writing ability. This can lead to problems down the track when they attempt their exams in Year 11 and 12. If you or someone you know struggles with writing an English essay have a read of these top tips for writing an English essay, collected over more than eight years in the game.
- Ensure your thesis is strong
- Always link back to your thesis
- Unpack the question prior to writing
- Don’t bluff through your conclusion
- Make sure you spend your time editing
1) Ensure your thesis is strong
When it comes down to it, your thesis is the main crux of your question. It holds all the keys to your successes. A good thesis will address every point in your essay question and neatly lay out the three body paragraphs that are to follow. An ok thesis will read like a shopping list of techniques utilised in a text. A great thesis will analyse the question and address the core of what the question is asking.
2) Always link back to your thesis
When reading essays, it is clear which students understand the question and which ones don’t based on the final sentences of each of their body paragraphs. If a student does not understand what they are talking about, they will have an unclear thesis and will fail to be able to link their arguments back to the question. To ensure you are on track, at the end of your body paragraphs, go back, read your question and ensure you link your example back to your question. This will avoid any marks off your essy for “failing to engage with the question.
3) Unpack the question prior to writing
It is unbelieable how many student begin to write essays before actually addressing the question at all in a plan.You must unpack the question first and then you will know how to address every single part of the essay question.
For example, if the question is, “Explore how authors use voice in order to raise questions about the society in which their text inhibit”. The key parts here is a) voice and b) raise questions about society. Therefore, this text is about how the voice of a text explores issues in a society.
4) Don’t bluff through your conclusion
Even the best of essays can be brought down in the final moments of writing. The conclusion is often an afterthought for most students as they don’t think of its importance as highly significant. However, the conclusion is still of vital importance to the essay, as it is where you summarise all of your points. Ensure that you make time for your conclusion and summarise each of your key points. The final sentence of your essay should be a though-provoking statement about the overarching message of the text and what it teaches us about the world.
5) Make sure you spend your time editing
If there’s one final message to impart about how to write the best English essay, it is this: Edit your essay! It is amazing how many tiny mistake students let slip through as they fail to read over their essay in an attempt to write more and more. This is not wise and will often lead to a serious loss of marks. Ensure that you’ve used your time effectively and allocate five minutes to edit out any silly mistakes.
For more information on how to write the perfect essay, reach out and contact us today! We can teach you step by step how to write the perfect English essay.
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