Writing is easy when you know how. But when you have zero clue on how to write an essay, it’s a task you’d rather not see in your lifetime. Of course, you can always find guides on writing one. But all you need to do is to continue reading and see the basics of essay writing.
Table of Contents
So How do Write an Essay That Captivating?
Why does an essay need to be interesting? The first thing you need to know is an essay is primarily an opinion piece. You are sharing your thoughts with your readers.
A captivating essay has a thought-provoking title. It follows the structure and stays in line to persuade the reader to agree with the writer’s opinion. Or at the very least, the reader forms a new opinion on the subject.
The Essay Structure
Like many writing forms, an essay has a fixed structure of introduction, body, and conclusion. In the introduction, you tell the reader of the thesis or the general idea. Then explain your opinion of the matter on the body. And conclude the opinion at the end.
Following this structure means you can have a well-written essay to persuade the readers. Here is the breakdown of each section in an essay.
1. Essay Introduction
At the start of an essay is the introduction of the topic. You need to tell the broad context of what the piece is all about. You can include several references or the reason why what the readers can expect from reading the essay.
Depending on the essay’s length, a good introduction is between one or two paragraphs. However, it varies on how big the idea is. The bigger the idea, you may need to write more on the introduction to attract the readers. You need to draw the line before you get too far. Remember that you should avoid beating around the bush to introduce the topic.
Just like a good title, the introduction must be interesting. You may lose or keep a reader from the first paragraph. If you present the idea well, the reader will continue reading until the conclusion.
2. Stating Your Opinion
Most essays are opinions on the initial thesis. Of course, you need to be ready with references to back up your claim. There is no exact rule on how long your opinion must be, followed with the supporting references.
But if it’s your first time writing an essay, you can try this trick. Write an opinion sentence, then the supporting sentence. For example, “I dislike having an ice cream on a hot day. Research from X University found that eating a cold meal can affect the brain.”
Always remember to have valid reasoning to support your opinion. If you like or dislike something, you must explain why you think that it is.
The essay body is the crucial part that carries the whole issue. You must present your ideas concisely. Don’t jump around topics or present the wrong supporting references to your opinion. If you have several points you want to discuss, use bullet points to organize your thoughts. This way, you will avoid repeating the same point.
3. Conclusion and Ending paragraph
Your conclusion must back up your claim and supporting references. Most people reiterate the general idea to conclude their essays. Don’t forget that the concluding paragraph must have the answer for the essay.
This is where you explain how your explanation leads to the answer and stand by it. The concluding paragraph of an essay needs to be short and push the readers to form a new opinion.
Popular Questions on How to Write an Essay
Most essays are in an academic setting. However, it’s also common in various social media platforms. You also can find an essay on your Sunday paper.
The only way you can learn how to write an essay is by reading more essays. Anyhow, here are some of the most common questions on writing an essay.
1. How Long The Essay Body Should Be
Most essays follow the five-paragraph essay structure. This will break down the piece into one introduction paragraph, three opinion paragraphs, and one concluding paragraph.
While there is no limit on the length, an essay in general is between 500-2000 words to have an impact. Anything shorter will not be informative enough for the readers. And longer pieces may dwindle and confuse the readers.
Following the five-paragraph structure, the body has to be at least 60% of the whole essay. Remember that the body is where you state your opinion and present evidence. Anyhow, don’t let your references or quotes overwhelm the body. This will confuse the reader when they want to separate your opinion from the evidence.
4. How to End an Essay
Most people write “As a conclusion” to mark the concluding paragraph. While this is a good pointer, not all situation calls for the word “conclusion.”
You can be creative and choose to emphasize your idea and choose the strongest support to end the essay. Another thing you can do is to reiterate the question and have the answer ready. You also can end your essay with a provoking question to make the readers more aware of the issue.
5. Should I Use Headings?
Unlike a research paper, an essay doesn’t require you to have headings to separate your thoughts or sections. However, you can have mental headings where you separate the introduction, body, and end of the essay.
If that’s still difficult, you can add a space or line to separate the sections. Of course, you need to remove them before submitting the essay.
Most people have issues organizing their opinions in essay form. Using numbered points to replace the headings also can help, especially when you have several opinions.
Understanding how to write an essay can help you on managing your thoughts. When you write an essay often, you can compose your thoughts and can always back up your claim. In the long run, it will help you to see multiple perspectives of an argument.
