If you’re finding it difficult to write essays at school or university, don’t worry – you’re not alone. Many students find essay writing a challenging task. However, with a bit of practice and these tips, you can improve your skills and produce essays that are both well-written and insightful. Writing an essay requires careful planning, research and argumentation skills. It also requires a good understanding of grammar and punctuation, structure and tone.
An experienced tutor can provide assistance with essay writing skills. Our team of expert tutors can supply you with the best advice and resources to help you succeed in your essay writing assignments, from GCSE and A-level to University and beyond.
Our Top Tips For Improving Your Essay Writing
Here are 7 top tips to improve your essay writing skills.
1. Planning Is Key
Before you start writing your essay, it is essential that you create a plan of how you intend to structure and present your arguments. To do this, make sure you have a clear idea of the main points that you want to make throughout the essay.
When planning the order and structure of an essay, it is important to consider the argument being made. Make sure that each point logically follows the one before it, and that your arguments flow logically throughout. Analyzing the structure of a piece of writing can be very helpful in identifying what works well and what could be improved upon.
2. Research Thoroughly
Once you have a plan for your essay, research should be the next step. Make sure you are familiar with the topic and any relevant information or opinions that may influence your work. It is important to ensure you understand all perspectives on the issue, as this can help to make your arguments more credible.
Make sure you back up your claims with evidence – quotes, statistics and facts – to give your arguments credibility and validity. When researching, it is important to use reliable sources such as books, articles which have been peer reviewed and academic journals.
3. Give Yourself Enough Time
Writing an essay in one sitting can be difficult and overwhelming, especially if it is a longer assignment. To avoid being overwhelmed, it is important to give yourself enough time to complete the essay. This means dividing the work into manageable chunks that you can work through over a period of days or weeks.
By breaking down the essay into smaller sections, you will be able to focus on each part individually and complete it efficiently and accurately. This will help reduce stress levels when it comes to completing the entire essay and make sure it is of a higher quality.
Giving yourself enough time also allows you to go back and make any amendments that may need to be made, or add new evidence or additional research if necessary. It also gives you more time to proofread your work for any spelling or grammar mistakes, as well as double-check all sources of information are accurate and up-to-date.
4. Use Semantic Richness
One way of improving your essay writing skills is by using semantic richness – incorporating a variety of words with different meanings into your writing. Semantic richness involves using a range of descriptive language rather than settling for basic adjectives and nouns which lack detail.
This form of writing can help to add depth and meaning to an argument being made, as well as making it more interesting for the reader. By taking the time to research synonyms for words used in your essay, you can ensure that your writing flows better and has more impact on readers.
5. Proofread & Edit Your Work
Once you have completed your essay, always remember to proofread your work carefully before submitting it – this should be done in more than one sitting if possible so you can spot any mistakes that may have been missed previously. Pay particular attention to spelling mistakes, punctuation errors as well as grammatical issues like improper verb tenses or incorrect subject-verb agreement rules which could affect the overall quality of your paper significantly.
Proofreading is essential because any errors may cause confusion which could lead to lost marks from an examiner’s point of view. Therefore, it is always worth spending some extra time examining your finished document line-by-line before submission, just in case anything has been missed out or included by accident. Additionally, editing can improve the clarity and strength of arguments made within an essay as well as allowing readers to follow along more easily with what has been written.
Have family, friends or one of our tutors read through your work and make suggestions to improve your essay. Take advice on board but stay committed to making sure it accurately reflects your own opinion.
6. Practice Makes Perfect
Writing essays can take time and practice, so don’t expect yourself to write perfect pieces of work every time straight away. Instead, focus on improving each time you write an essay. To do this start by writing a rough draft before refining it into something which reads better or has a stronger argumentation structure.
Save a copy of each draft you produce so you can track your progress as the essay improves.
7. Use Resources Wisely
There are many different types of resources available which can help improve essay writing skills such as online tutorials or guidance from experienced tutors. Our tutors can provide further insight into improving your essay writing techniques, and assist in preparing for exams where specific essay structures are expected. For specific assignments, one of our specialist tutors can provide direct feedback on what works well within an argument while identifying areas of improvement too.
