Whatever way you view the matter, starting writing an essay could be an obstacle. There’s probably many ideas running throughout your head. Finding a way to put them into a coherent way and then record them as a well-written academic essay may not always happen easily!
One method to make writing essays easier is to prepare ahead. Planning is essential for your essay to be successful. Failing to plan is to be in the position of failing! Don’t put off your essay until the last minute; instead, make use of this post as a guide to essay writing to guide you on the road towards success.
There are two phases for essay writing. The first is to outline what your essay will contain. By defining the content of your essay prior to you begin writing it, you’ll make sure you don’t overlook any vital aspect, and you’ll also ensure you’ll give a fair amount of importance to all the arguments you make.
After you have mapped out your essay, you will create a plan for yourself, including the time you’ll work on each piece to ensure that you get the time you need to be. Breaking down your work into manageable chunks such as this means you’ll be able to get a bit of improvement each day instead of having to cram in the end of the day.
So, if you’re reading this in the process of thinking, “how do I plan an essay?” or, “what does an essay plan look like?” Then you’re at the right spot! We’ll be able to answer these concerns for you with this piece.
Step 1 of essay planning creating an outline
It can be tempting to sit and write, particularly when you’re under an extremely short deadline to complete your essay. However, before writing, you design at a minimum! An outline that defines the topics of your essay.
Perhaps, you already are able to formulate an a point you’d consider pursuing. Now, you must determine how many body paragraphs are required to present your argument (and to satisfy the word limit requirements).
When preparing your essay’s structure You must ensure that each paragraph has a primary focus (we refer to this as”the subject sentence). A typical paragraph will be between 6 and 10 sentences which means it’s likely to comprise between 200 and 250 words (or at the very least, this is an ideal place to begin).
So , how do you decide the number of body paragraphs your essay will have? The primary goal is to split your essay into paragraphs. Let’s suppose you must compose 1500 words. There would be 150 words to introduce your essay and 150 words to conclude. That leaves you with 1200 words. This means you’ll require between 5 and 6 body paragraphs that are in the middle.
The next step is to think of 5-6 ideas, one idea for each paragraph (we will explain this in greater detail in the second part of this blog post).
The segmentation of the essay this way aid in achieving your word count , it also makes the essay simpler to manage. The idea that you have to write 1500 words could be a bit overwhelming initially. However, break it up into smaller sections and you’ll need only 200-250 words per. It’s much easier! When you go from section to section you’ll soon notice your essay begin to develop.
Step 2 in essay planning Step 2: Brainstorming or freewriting
When you’ve determined the number of ideas you require then the next step is to record what you’ve learned (and what you’d like to discover).
There are a variety of ways you can achieve this. You can create a mindmap, or simply write down all of your thoughts on paper. When you write this down make sure you be aware of any concerns you may have and what you’ll have to research.
If you’re unable to think of five or six ideas, you should start looking over your notes from your lecture, lecture slides, and then read some books to see if you are able to discern the primary concepts. In this stage your essay may look very messy (and it’s okay!). This messiness will assist you when you begin to create your outline.
Step 3 of essay planning 3. Constructing an outline
Once you’ve finished your brainstorming, it’s time to sort through the chaos and organize it into more neat structure. If you’ve done the idea on scrap paper, you must begin writing your outline on a computer. What begins as an outline will eventually change into your final essay.
It is considered a live document, meaning that once you get started with it you could require changes (and it’s okay!). Every time you change something ensure that you’re keeping the of the prompt in mind. If you write a fantastic essay, but it is no connection to the subject chosen by your instructor then you’re not likely to succeed.
Here’s how we recommend you make a thorough outline for your essay:
1. Create your intro (or the thesis)
As you begin to consider your essay, you’re likely to require an general argument or argument. This is often referred to as the thesis statement. Although you don’t have to include a specific thesis for your essay but having a general idea of the place you’d like to begin is always beneficial.
A strong thesis statement contains the argument or the position that is followed up by a plan (like the road map) which defines how this is done. Be aware that even though it’s an argumentative thesis, it could include more than one paragraph (and could be two or 3 sentences).).
2. Write topical sentences for every paragraph
Each paragraph you write must be linked the thesis you have stated (and the thesis should be responding to the question asked by your instructor). Topic sentences are the first sentence of the body of your paragraph. It gives a brief overview of what’s going to take place within the paragraph. It is possible to consider it as mini-thesis providing the arguments for a specific paragraph.
3. Include evidence
After you have crafted an enunciated topic sentence, you need to determine what proof you are planning to include at the beginning of each paragraph in order to make sure you’re making your point clear. This is the time to consider using your books (your textbook or library materials, as well as Google) for help decide what you should include in your. When you are drafting your outline you may want to list all the sources you plan to be using or write some notes on what each paragraph could contain.
4. Conclusion
In this moment you do not need to decide what the conclusion should say or contain the details, as you haven’t yet composed your essay and have yet to come up with your conclusion. Just make sure the section that will provide your main takeaway to the reader , and will highlight your answer to the essay questions.
An essay plan example
An essay’s plan is generally linear. Take a look at the sample below to discover the way an essay plan could become a reality. In this instance we’re writing a 1500-word piece of writing, and we’re trying to answer the following question: What role can citizens diplomacy play in reducing the tensions between states?
Introduction (150 words)
Statement of thesis
This paper argues that although dialogic diplomacy between citizens is a good idea however, this particular Peace Research Institute in the Middle East (PRIME) has been confronted with numerous obstacles which have limited its impact on reducing complicated interstate relationships.
Section 1 Theoretical (400)
1 Body Paragraph
While a number of initiatives have been made by the governments to settle the Israeli and Palestinian conflict There has been no sustainability between the two countries in the past.
Paragraph 2 of the Body
Although the Israel conflict between Israel and Palestine conflict has lasted for decades, the function that diplomacy from citizens can play in large-scale negotiations is nil (Kaye 2001).).
Part 2: Application and Example (800)
Paragraph 3 of the Body
The Peace Research Institute in the Middle East (PRIME) is an non-governmental organization (NGO) which was founded in Frankfurt in 1998 by Palestinian and Israeli academics who sought to promote peace through collaboration in research in outreach and research (Yaniv 2013, 2013).
Body Paragraph 4.
Because the academics at PRIME are focused on enhancing civil societies both in Israel and Palestine PRIME has published numerous papers since their inception.
Body Paragraph 5.
In bringing the concepts of citizen diplomacy in PRIME, it is essential to determine the effect of the strategy that is being implemented.
Body Paragraph 6.
The development of the Shared History Project was completed and implemented in schools at the beginning of 2000s.
Conclusion (150 words)
Give my most important takeaway message to the reader. Also, I will highlight how I’ve answered the instructor’s question.
Sources I could employ
Course content:
Kaye, D.D., 2001. Track Two Diplomacy and security of the region throughout the Middle East. International Negotiation, 6(1), pp.49-77.
Extra reading
Yaniv, L., 2013. People-to-People Peacemaking The Role of Citizen Diplomacy in the Israeli-Palestinian War. CPD The Best Student Paper Prize in Public Diplomacy, University of Southern California Center on Public Diplomacy.
Note: A 1500-word research paper could have six to twelve sources total on the reference list once it’s completed.
Final thoughts
After you’ve written your essay outline, you are able to begin to write everybody paragraph in the appropriate sections. When you begin writing it may be easier to begin with the paragraphs that you believe will be the easiest to write and then move on to the more challenging ones later.
You can leave the introduction and concluding paragraph until the close of your essay. If you leave these sections to the last minute, you will ensure that the thesis you wrote in your essay plan remains relevant to your essay. It is also important to ensure that your conclusion and introduction convey the same message, in order to create coherence and flow.
Keep in mind that there are a lot of people available to assist you in writing the writing process, therefore make use of the assistance of your writing center at university and the faculty at Study Crumb. Although writing an essay isn’t easy writing an essay, making a strategy can certainly help you get started!
