Writing essays is a frequent exercise for students in colleges and universities. Typically, essays differ from research reports and dissertations in many ways. While reports and dissertations involve in-depth research and detailed writing, essays are short and concise. Understanding how to write an excellent essay is imperative for students because professors gauge one’s grasp using submitted content. In this article, you will learn how to write an excellent essay by understanding the steps of writing a good essay, the common mistakes that students make when writing essays, the qualities of a good essay, and credible sources in writing an essay.

The Important Steps to Writing a Good Essay

A good essay should always start in your mind. In other words, you should envision your essay even before you type it on your computer. To write a good essay that will result in a high grade, follow the following steps:

• Identify your Topic: A topic gives you a guide for your essay. While some professors indicate a topic for you to follow, some expect you to do that yourself. In that case, all you have to do is come up with an interesting topic. The choice of your topic should depend on the discipline that you are undertaking. For example, “Effects of Global Warming on Healthcare” is a good topic if you are asked to writing an essay on global warming.
• Create an Outline: An outline acts as a map for you to know where to provide particular information. A good outline should indicate the items you are going to build on in your essay.
• Develop a Thesis Statement: A thesis statement is critical in an essay because it helps you adopt a particular position and defend it throughout your paper. This statement appears as the last line of the introductory paragraph. It should be definite, concise, and argumentative. Assuming you are asked to write on whether you support gun control, the following can be your thesis statement if you choose to oppose the proposal to control access to firearms: “The government should not be involved in restricting access to firearms because such actions would violate the Second Amendment and deprive Americans of their right and ability to defend themselves.” Such a thesis is strong because it reveals your position and remains argumentative.
• Topic Sentences: A good essay should involve focusing on one idea in every paragraph. Often, students mix ideas in one paragraph and make it hard for readers to comprehend their arguments. Using the case of our thesis as an example, the first paragraph after the introduction can focus on how controlling guns violates the Second Amendment.
• A Concluding Paragraph. A good essay should have a concluding paragraph that summarizes and synthesizes all the major points in the paper. An average conclusion simply summarizes, but an excellent one involves a synthesis. In short, an excellent conclusion should connect all the ideas discussed in the preceding paragraphs.

The Common Mistakes When Writing Essays

Students make various mistakes when writing college essays. While some errors are inconsequential, others will cost you a good grade. Some of the mistakes that learners make and should strive to avoid include:

• Failure to Grasp the Type of Essay: There are many types of essays, including narrative essays, argumentative essays, persuasive essays, expository essays, and descriptive essays. Each of the essays takes a different approach.
• Poor Paraphrasing: Many students struggle with plagiarism because they do not understand the proper strategies of paraphrasing. To avoid the hefty point-deduction penalty that comes with plagiarism, always read information, interpret it in your words, then write it down, and cite the relevant sources.
• Grammatical Mistakes: Students fail to edit and proofread their work before submission. While correcting your assignments may seem unimportant, it could lead to low grades because your professor interprets the mistakes as acts of negligence.

Qualities of a Good Essay

If you keenly follow the steps of writing a good essay provided earlier and avoid the errors discussed in the preceding section, then your essay will have specific attributes. A good essay should have the following qualities:

• A Strong Thesis Statement: Readers will understand your position.
• Flowing Sentences: Topical paragraphs make an essay easy to read.
• Convincing Evidence: Using credible sources strengthens your essay.

The Types and How to Identify Credible Sources When Writing an Essay

The sources that you use in writing your essay are very important. When writing an essay, most students do not understand that some information on the internet should not be cited in an academic paper. Distinguishing between scholarly and non-scholarly articles is imperative. Scholarly articles comprise books, journals, and government websites. Reputable news sites, such as the New York Times, Washington Post, and CNN, are also regarded as credible sources. In contrast, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, blogs, and personal websites are not scholarly because they are not subject to review by external parties.

Conclusion

A good essay will guarantee a high mark. Writing an excellent essay should not be hard if you comprehend and apply all the recommendations provided herein. Remember that you must always start by imagining your essay even before you sit down to research. This exercise will result in creating a relevant topic, practical outline, enticing thesis statement, and flowing paragraphs. In all this, ensure that your work does not have grammatical issues because they might deny you good grades. Take time to proofread your work before submitting it to your teacher. Finally, emphasize scholarly articles over blogs and other unreliable information. Nothing will stop you from getting an A-grade if you follow these steps in writing your essay.