Expert Tips to Improve your Essay Writing Skills
Essay writing can be quite challenging if you have no one to answer your questions and share their experience with you. That’s why we decided to interview a professional writer to help you improve your essay writing skills and give you a head start.
Phil Collins, one of the best academic writers at essayservice.com, is going to answer some of the most popular questions he got from students to help you write your essays with no effort.
How to start writing an essay?
Phil Collins: “Before you start writing your essay, there is a lot of preparation work to be done. It is much better to work on your essay when you have already completed most of the needed research and know exactly what it is you want to prove in your essay. The research will help you make a paper draft and see if you are missing something. After that, you need to come up with a clear introduction, which usually takes 10% of your total word count. Each introduction has to end in a thesis statement. A powerful thesis statement is crucial if you want to get a good mark for your essay. In the thesis statement, you need to make an arguable claim. In the following passages of your essay, you will be expected to elaborate on your claim and provide arguments to support it. Professors are usually very demanding with thesis statements and deduct points if it is not good enough, so make sure to give your introduction enough attention and consideration.”
How to know what words to use in an essay?
Phil Collins: “The rules of academic writing are rather simple. Just imagine that you are answering a question your professor asked you, and you just need to speak out, tell them your opinion in the same way you would do it in class. The most important thing to remember is that you shouldn’t use contractions, so always write “have not” instead of “haven’t” and “is not” instead of “isn’t.” However, if your question here is not about the wording but rather about the whole approach to essays, just abandon your fear of failure and do your research. When you do the needed research, you will have plenty of ideas on what to write in your essay, and you will form a solid opinion on the subject. But even if you get something wrong or use the words that are not the very best fit for your essay, that’s not bad. Keep in mind that you are going through a learning process, a learning curve. Knowledge doesn’t come all at once. It takes time to build it up.”
How to write an argumentative essay and structure it?
Phil Collins: “Working on your paper structure first is a must, especially if it is an argumentative essay you are writing. Doing so will help you write a clear and concise paper that accurately communicates the main idea, and professors love that.
Your argumentative essay structure can be pretty basic. You should have an introduction paragraph, the same as in all other essays. Then you need to develop several strong arguments on why you believe that your position on the topic is the correct one. It usually takes a few paragraphs. Then goes rebuttal, the part many students miss when writing an argumentative essay. In the rebuttal, you need to try and predict the counterarguments someone could give you on your position and come up with a way to address them and prove them wrong. It is probably the most important part of such an essay, and you need to prove that you are ready to face opposing views. Finally, you need to finish with a strong conclusion to make your essay sound final and complete.”
How to improve essay writing skills?
Phil Collins: “Practice makes perfect. The more essays you write, and the more feedback you get, the better your skills will be. It is also important to do self-confrontation and ask yourself questions like, “What can I do better? What is not perfect about this essay”, etc. Be sure to keep your target audience (the professor) in mind and take all of their feedback into consideration when writing your next essay. Perfecting your essay writing skills on your own is a very long and tedious process. Plus, it is quite subjective as you do not always know what your mistakes are. That’s why getting a second opinion is life-saving here, especially if it comes from a knowledgeable source like your professor or tutor. They have lots of experience with essays and can give you valuable advice on what you need to improve. Even if you don’t really like their feedback or if it seems to be too skeptical to you, just keep in mind that they are most probably right and following their feedback is the best thing you can do to improve your essay writing skills.”
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