It only took me a year at college to be deeply concerned about the ability of my classmates to write an effective essay. College almost completely runs on writing essays, right up to senior year when you write your graduation thesis. As an English major this is something that I have no difficulty with. In hopes of aiding my peers, as well as others out there on the inter-webs, here are my tips on writing an effective essay.
1. A Solid Intro.
There are a lot of theories on how to write an effective introduction paragraph — really it all comes down to your personal choice. For most formal writing the best approach is to start vague, perhaps with a generic life lesson or shocking fact, and then narrow your idea down until you get to your thesis. Depending on the topic of the paper and who is going to be reading it, you could also go with a short story, true or fictional, that illustrates the topic you will be discussing in your paper.
The most important part of your introduction paragraph is your thesis. A thesis normally is at the end of your introduction paragraph and is essentially the main point you are arguing in your paper. All of your points should relate to this central idea. English professors push for a thesis to be only one sentence, but most others are okay with a thesis being two sentences. Really as long as you are specific and clear about what you are arguing in your paper, you should be fine.
2. Main Idea Sentences
A main idea sentence is the first sentence of each paragraph after your introduction. These sentences introduce what you will be saying in the paragraph. These sentences do not simply introduce what you will be talking about, but instead act like short introduction paragraphs for that individual paragraph. You want to make sure you encompass all you are going to argue in that paragraph in the first sentence. If it's too much to put in one sentence then maybe you need to consider breaking up your thoughts into two different paragraphs.
3. Relate Back to Your Thesis
Just like your thesis at the end of your introduction paragraph sums up your whole argument, each paragraph needs a sentence or two that describes why that one point that you discussed in that paragraph is important to mention for your argument. How does that point relate to the overall point you are trying to argue?
4. Transitions
As I mentioned before, all of your individual paragraphs should relate to your thesis, thus your paragraphs should also relate to one another. To connect all the points with transition sentences. These sentences come at the end of each paragraph and connect one thought to another, making sure your whole essay flows naturally. These sentences could show similarity between your points — with words such as also, likewise, and additionally. Or you could show one thing causes another — with words like because of, due to, or while. All depends how you want to connect your thoughts.
5. Integrate Quotes — And Explain Them Too!
One of the most important things to conquer in writing a formal essay is integrating quotes. There are many ways to integrate quotes, but I am going to only describe two ways which, in my opinion, make your writing seem more elite.
The first method is to use short quotations mixed into your own sentences. When using this method you punctuation your sentence just as you would normally and just put quotes (" ") around the small phrases which you are quoting. Example: Thoreau argues that people blindly accept "shams and delusions" as the "soundest truths," while regarding reality as "fabulous."
Another way to integrate quotes is to use a longer quotation, with the same technique of adding it at the end of your already existing sentence. In this method you either use "that" or "he/she says," right before you quote something. Example: Thoreau argues that "shams and delusions are esteemed for soundest truths, while reality is fabulous."
6. So What? Conclusion
Your conclusion is what wraps up your whole essay. You don't want to add anything new and yet you want to concisely wrap it all up in a way that makes a reader sit back saying, "Ah, yes indeed!" How do you make such a perfect ending? You write a bit of a "So What?" This is a bit of sparkle at the end of your essay that basically explains why someone should read it at all. Why is the issue you are arguing so important to talk about? Why should the reader listen to your point? What do you hope for the future of that issue? Like your introduction and thesis, this last bit allows you to sum up your whole argument for the reader and really stick them with your argument.
So there you go, all set to write an extremely effective essay. Doesn't seem so difficult after all now does it?
