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How to Edit an Essay

stmresource — Sat, 08 Oct 2016 15:14:31 +0000

Editing your essay before you submit it could mean the difference between a good grade and a great one, so don’t shortchange yourself by rushing through it. Here are some tips for making the editing phase as efficient and valuable as possible:

Delete excess verbiage.

Ideally, every word and phrase in your essay will serve a very specific purpose and none of them will be included just to take up space. A certain amount of experimentation and exploration is inevitable (and valuable!)- while writing the first draft, but now is the time to make sure that every sentence is sharp, concise, and full of intent. Try not to use three sentences when you can use one or to use a dozen words when you can use half that.

“Try not to use three sentences when you can use one…”

Use a thesaurus, but don’t overuse it.

When you are trying to find the perfect words to say what you mean, a thesaurus can be extremely helpful. But, proceed with caution. Never choose a word you don’t fully understand. Trouble lies that way, especially when trying to craft a convincing argument in essay form.

Vary your sentence structure.

Review your sentences to make sure you are not overusing a single style or pattern. If all your sentences sound the same, few, if any, will be able to make much of an impact. Try to start sentences in a variety of ways. Mix long ones with short ones and simple sentences with complex ones.

Don’t repeat yourself.

Watch out for any spots in your essay where you might repeat an idea or bit of information that you have already included. If you find two of the same thing, pick the best one and the delete the other.

Similarly, keep an eye out for any instances where you might be unnecessarily extending a point that you have already successfully made. Not only will that make it look like you are padding your word count, but it will tend to undercut the very point you are trying to make.

Keep your commas in check.

Commas can be tricky. If you use too many, you can end up with a sentence that sounds stilted and broken. If you use too few, your reader may get confused and have to read a given sentence more than once just to figure out what you’re trying to say. Remember to put commas in where you would naturally pause when speaking aloud. The best way to do that is…

Read your essay aloud.

It is all too easy to cobble together a sentence that tries to do too much and ends up just being unfocused or confusing. Reading your essay out loud is a great way to get a fresh perspective on what you’ve written and a better sense of the overall flow of it. Your ear will often detect problems that your eyes might miss.

Attribute any quotations.

Quotations from authors or academic writers should be properly attributed. As you read through your essay, keep a look out for any quotations you’ve included and make sure you have given proper credit to their original sources.

Check your formatting.

Looks matter, and the editing phase is the right time to check that your formatting is consistent. That means being aware of your use of fonts, italics, and underlining, if any. If your formatting is all over the place – with inconsistent line spacing, say – then all of your hard work is going to be unnecessarily undercut and look messy.

How to Revise an Essay

stmresource — Sat, 08 Oct 2016 15:09:25 +0000

The revision process is about confirming that your essay works on the highest level. It’s about stepping back to consider whether you have enough material, or too much. It can involve rearranging paragraphs, adding paragraphs, or cutting paragraphs altogether.

Revisions take time and effort, but can turn a weak essay into a solid one and a solid essay into an excellent one.

What Successful Revisions Do

Aim to strengthen and clarify your arguments.

Sometimes, the thesis you come up with originally isn’t the best you can do. A good essay may evolve during the process of writing a first draft. There’s nothing wrong with that. The key is to be open to that growth process and make the most of it. If the aim of your essay has shifted since you started writing, simply write down your new thesis and read through your essay to see how – and if – your first draft material works. Remove anything that is now extraneous and adjust what remains.

Make sure your essay is solidly structured.

Take a fresh look at the overarching shape of the argument you have developed during the course of your essay. Examine each paragraph and its goals to ensure that each of them helps your essay to build towards a logical conclusion. Did you write them in the order that they occurred to you, or that you found the research that supports them? That might not be the best order in which to present them, and now is the time to rearrange them so that each one builds from the previous one and leads to the next one.

Word processors make it easy to cut and paste your paragraphs into a new order, but if you do rearrange them, make sure to then reread the whole thing and double-check your transitions so that everything still makes sense and flows smoothly.

Elevate the best and get rid of the rest.

Be willing to cut weak material. Save only the good pieces and make each as good as you possibly can. If anything sticks out, delete it, even if that means you have to write something new in order to maintain your targeted word count. Don’t hold on to something just because you’ve written it. Sometimes mediocre material can serve as a stepping stone to great material.

Tips & Techniques

Print out a hard copy and do a speedy re-read.

Print out the first draft, and read through the whole thing quickly, concentrating on the overall flow of the piece. Circle any typos or mistakes that jump out at you, but focus on the big picture. There will be time later for catching typos and such. For now, concentrate on overall flow and look for gaps of logic. Try to put yourself in the shoes of your readers. Will they understand what you are saying? Will they be convinced by your argument or moved by your narrative? If not, brainstorm ways to address the issues you have spotted. Sometimes all it takes is a few new well-chosen words or sentences to punch things up.

Get feedback.

Since you already know what you’re trying to say, you aren’t always the best judge of where the draft is clear or unclear. Let another reader tell you. Then, discuss aloud what you were trying to achieve. In articulating what you mean to someone else, you may end up clarifying ideas for yourself and come up with a whole new perspective on your work.

Keep it on track.

With a first draft complete, it’s a good idea to re-visit your first paragraph. You might find that the supporting paragraphs are strong, but they don’t address the exact focus of your thesis as stated in the beginning. You may wish to re-write your thesis sentence to fit your body paragraphs or vice-versa.

Also, watch out for “paragraph sprawl,” which can result from a loss of focus and the introduction of extraneous detail.

How to Outline and Structure an Essay

stmresource — Sat, 08 Oct 2016 15:07:38 +0000

The best essays are driven by a clear sense of direction, with a handful of ideas presented with a sense of purpose, logic, and drive. Each idea builds on the one before it and leads smoothly into the one presented after it.

As such, pre-planning is essential. You can’t just wing it, dash off a single a draft, and end up with a successful essay. Outlining it vital, and the only way to craft a coherent progression of ideas that leads the reader from the introduction, through the body paragraphs, and onto a strong conclusion.

“Outlining is vital, and the only way to craft a coherent progression of ideas…”

It can take some time to create a solid outline, but this is time very well spent. Your outline not only helps keep you on track during the writing process, it can help immensely during the revision phase, giving you a reference point that can help you evaluate your ideas and put them together in a way that the reader will be able to navigate without getting lost of confused.

Rewrite the assignment

Many an essay has gone off track before it even gets started because the writer was a little fuzzy about their assignment or failed to really zero in on the meaning of their writing prompt. One way to make sure you are clear is to rewrite the assignment in your own words. Any confusion will reveal itself in the process, allowing you to think it through, take a closer look or, if necessary, ask for clarification.

Collect your thoughts and research

With your objective clearly in mind, take some time to brainstorm possible approaches to the topic. Collect research, conduct interviews, and take copious detailed notes, always being sure to capture all necessary detail about your sources for easier citation later.

Sort and arrange your ideas.

Once you begin to have a sense of the argument you will make in your essay can begin to bring some logical order to the ideas, notes, and research material you have collected. At this point, your notes are probably listed in the chronological order in which you collected them or in which they occurred to you. Your goal now is to rearrange them to suit the argument you plan to make.

To do this, you will group your notes into subject categories based on the information they contain and how that information relates to you argument. Then you will arrange your notes by these categories and arrange the categories themselves in a logical order.

Note Structure Tips

1. Organize notes by subject

2. Combine when possible

3. Discard what doesn’t fit

4. Support thesis with notes

As you organize your notes, do your best to reuse categories whenever possible. Your goal is to find the key patterns or themes that unify the information, making it more than just data you have collected, but evidence that forms an argument. Combine those categories whenever possible, and group similar categories together.

“Don’t include anything simply because you took the time to collect it. Not everything belongs.”

At the same time, look for any that don’t seem to fit. It’s entirely likely that you will have collected some research which does not fit the argument you are going to make. You can and should discard it. Don’t include anything simply because you took the time to collect it. Not everything belongs.

With your notes now grouped into logical categories, consider the thesis of your essay. Try to sum up each category into a sentence that clearly supports your thesis.

Map it out.

Begin to create an outline – which may be as simple as a list – showing the information you plan to present in each paragraph of your essay. Try out a few different sequences for the information, but make sure to put your strongest supporting idea first.

How To Write a Persuasive Essay

stmresource — Thu, 06 Oct 2016 23:48:58 +0000

In persuasive or argumentative writing, we try to convince others to agree with our facts, accept our argument and conclusions, and adopt our way of thinking. Take the time to know your subject well enough to form an argument you can support. This is a tough medium to bluff in. Aim for a confident tone which asserts ideas and beliefs in an intelligent and informed way, but without ever being strident or badgering.

A persuasive essay uses reason to demonstrate that certain ideas are more valid than others. The purpose of such an essay is to encourage readers to accept a particular viewpoint or act in a particular way. A persuasive essay must be based on sound logic and must contain factual evidence to support the argument.

Guiding Principles for the Persuasive Essay or Position Paper

Thoroughly research your topic.

Hard, compelling facts are the name of the game here, so gather as many as you can find. They may come from your personal experiences, the experiences of others you know (or interview), or from research.

Make sure to collect your research in a methodical, organized, and carefully documented manner.

Depending on the assignment, you may need to be prepared to cite your sources. Statistics can be particularly useful in this kind of essay, as can direct quotes from experts, and specific examples which support your argument. While doing any reading or research to prepare your argument, make sure to keep the questions posed in the assignment at the top of your mind. You may need to collect more research than you end up using in the your essay, but you don’t want to waste time collecting information which is only tangentially related to your topic.

Plan ahead.

With your research collected, the next step is to decide which information best supports the case you are making. Resist the urge to throw in everything. Just because you collected some research does not mean that it deserves to be included. Look for a logical sequence in which to present your information. You are constructing an argument, not recounting the research process. The chronological sequence of the information you have collected (or of the order in which you collected it) is not important. All that matters is the point you are trying to make.

“Vague is forgettable. Detail makes the sale.”

Organize your essay.

Most expository essays are comprised of five paragraphs. See our guide on How To Write the Five Paragraph Essay for insight into how best use that format to construct your essay.

Provide Solid Evidence.

Your essay will be making a case for something, which is similar to selling something. And just about every town has experts at selling. Just find the local car dealership. How do they do it? A good Honda salesperson can rattle off dozens of reasons why you should buy a Civic, but can also provide just as many reasons why you shouldn’t buy from a competitor. And all of those reasons, positive and negative, will be specific. You won’t hear “Hondas are safe.” You’ll hear “Side-impact air bags are standard in all Honda models.” See the difference? Vague is forgettable. Detail makes the sale.

Be Assertive.

Don’t second guess the case you are making or hedge your bets by using weak or apologetic language. Avoid phrases like “I think that …” or “I feel that …” or “I believe that …” or “In my opinion…” or the like. It is understood that your are making an argument with your essay, and weak language only serves to undercut your authority.

Example Persuasive Essays

Now that you’ve learned how to write an effective essay, check out our Sample Essays so you can see how they are done in practice.

How to Write a Five Paragraph Essay

stmresource — Tue, 27 Sep 2016 22:09:48 +0000

The five paragraph essay is often used to get a sense of your writing skills. It’s quite straightforward: An intro paragraph, three supporting paragraphs in the middle, and a conclusion paragraph. This is also the typical format for timed writing exercises.

For example, you might be given a writing prompt like this:

“You have a song that means a lot to you. It could be a song you discovered yourself or which was first played for you by someone else. It could make you feel happy, excited, amused, contemplative, nostalgic, or some other emotion. Write about the song and why it means something to you. Include what you like about it, how you first found it, how you it makes you feel.”

The introductory paragraph contains the thesis or main idea which is stated clearly and forcefully. The next three paragraphs, or body of the essay, provide details in support of the thesis. The concluding paragraph restates the main idea and ties together the major points of essay.

Although english and literature teachers use them on a regular basis, essay writing activities can pop up in many classes as an assignment or even a testing tool. A mastery of this basic form can be invaluable, especially for timed essays.

Understanding the five paragraphs

The five paragraph essay has the following standardized structure. Let’s take a closer look at each part:

Paragraph 1: The Introduction

The primary purpose of the introduction is to present your position on a given topic. You will clearly state that idea – also known as the “thesis” or “argument” – by the end of the introduction paragraph. But before getting to that sentence, your thesis statement, it can extremely effective to provide some kind of hook that will grab the interest of the reader and compel them to keep reading and learn more.

For your hook, you might play off a quotation (“Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream. So do I…”) or note an interesting statistic (“Only one out of five dentists believes…”).

“The thesis is a straightforward, single-sentence explanation of your position.”

With your hook in place, you can move on to your thesis, which is a straightforward, single-sentence explanation of your position. It should be clear, but simply stated, leaving no room for confusion as to where you stand on a given topic. (“John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ is the saddest song in the world.”) With that established, you should provide a broad overview of the kinds of supporting information you will provide in the rest of your essay. This is like a little preview, giving the reader a sense of what is to come and expanding their understanding of what your essay is about. This sentence also provides a nice transition, setting up the next three paragraphs to come. You may only need three or four sentences to create an effective introduction. If so, you are in good shape and can move forward.

Paragraph 2, 3, 4: The Body Paragraphs

The body of the essay will include three paragraphs (if this is a five-paragraph essay), each limited to one main idea that supports your thesis. You should state your idea, then back it up with two or three sentences of evidence or examples. The middle paragraphs of the essay are collectively known as the body paragraphs and, as alluded to above, the main purpose of a body paragraph is to spell out in detail the examples that support your thesis. As you add supporting details or examples, make sure you are not just filling up space, but are directly addressing the supporting argument for each supporting paragraph.

“You should state your idea, then back it up with two or three sentences of evidence or examples.”

Paragraph 5: The Conclusion

The fifth and final paragraph of your five-paragraph essay will confidently restate the claim made in your thesis sentence. You have made your case now, and want to end on a strong, assertive note. Don’t just rephrase your opening in different words. It should also reference the points made in your supporting paragraphs, but should not repeat specific examples.

Effective conclusions open with a concluding transition (“in conclusion,” “in the end,” etc.) and an allusion to the “hook” used in the introductory paragraph. After that you should immediately provide a restatement of your thesis statement. This may be the fourth or fifth time you have repeated some version of your thesis. In the body paragraphs, you will want to make sure you vary your language to avoid becoming repetitious, but in this instance, since it’s the last time, you have leeway to use language similar to, or even the same, you did in your initial thesis statement back in the first paragraph.

Example Five Paragraph Essays

Now that you’ve learned how to write an effective essay, check out our Sample Essays so you can see how they are done in practice.