How to Write an Essay

How to Write an Essay EP 57: How to Write an Essay EP 57: How to Write an Essay Do you hate writing essays? They can be tough, we know. But, with the right tools writing essays can become a very simple task. Many people would rather go into the sciences simply to avoid writing the essays that come along with most humanities courses. Writing an essay is a time-consuming process and challenging process, but can become much simpler with these nine tips. Join Cath Anne on Episode 57 as she discusses How to Write an Essay. Looking for study tips, help with essay writing, or advice on how to be a better student? Welcome to The Homework Help Show, a weekly show where we teach, assist, and offer valuable insights for student life. From study hacks to writing tips, discussions about student mental health to step-by-step guides on academic writing and how to write a resume, weve got you covered. Want your questions answered? Write them below or join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #askHHG TRANSCRIPT: Cath Anne: [00:00:00] Have you ever struggled with essays and been tempted to transfer programs to avoid writing essays? Well today on The Homework Help Show will give you the breaks out on how to write an essay affectively and hopefully help you to avoid transferring programs in the future. Cath Anne: [00:00:25] Hi guys and welcome back to our channel. My name is Cath Anne and this is episode 57 of the The Homework Help Show hosted by Homework Help Global. Here on the show we provide you with valuable content for your academic and student life. Cath Anne: [00:00:41] Many people would rather not go into the sciences which is much more test based or lab based than take a humanities course which requires heavy essay writing. Now although essay writing seems like a time consuming and challenging process. If you have the right tools it can actually be rather simple and thats what we wanted to share with you today on Episode 57 of The Homework Help Show. Lets jump in. Cath Anne: [00:01:10] So the first tip we wanted to give you is make sure that you analyze the essay prompt. Usually when you have an essay The professor will provide you with a question or a little paragraph describing what is required in the essay. Make sure that you take the time to go through the essay prompt and make certain that you have understood the question in full. There may be details that you might miss if you only skim over it briefly. I recommend taking a pen or pencil even a highlighter and making note of the key words in the prompt so that you can be sure to include them through your essay. Even the most well written essay can result in a bad grade if you dont answer the essay prompt. So make sure that you take some time to fully understand the essay prompt and know what the prophets are looking for two questions which might help to guide you through understanding the essay prompt are. What is the prompt directly asking and what is the prompt indirectly asking. Once you have answered these questions you can jump in and start writing your essay. Cath Anne: [00:02:23] Second make sure to create a thesis statement. So based on the essay prompt what are you going to argue throughout the basis of your essay your thesis statement should guide the bulk of your essay. And once you write your thesis statement and you begin writing your essay you can always revisit your thesis statement. So you can remember what your essay is about writing your thesis statement is an essential component to writing an effective essay. Cath Anne: [00:02:53] Third write an essay outline using your thesis statement as a guide research plot and plan the bulk of your essays. Use the outline as a guide to guide you through the process of essay writing. This will help your essay to flow and let you know what information to include. When you get into writing your essay it can be a little overwhelming and perhaps you have a lot of research that you want to include having an outline will allow your essay to flow and it will provide you with a guide to help you navigate the essay writing process. Cath Anne: [00:03:31] Number four this may seem a little backwards however begin writing your body of your essay first instead of the introduction. Many students struggle to write an introduction and they get bogged down with all of the ideas they want to incorporate into their essay. When you begin with the body first you will have the opportunity to flesh out some of that research and form some of your thoughts and the information that you want to include in your essay. Once you have written the body you can go back and write a fully formed introduction which includes all of your main points. Cath Anne: [00:04:08] Number five begins each paragraph with a topic sentence the topic sentence will identify what each paragraph will focus on. Use quotes and research to back up all information that you include in each paragraph using a topic sentence at the beginning of your paragraph will also give you a reference point to know what you will be discussing in each paragraph. It will also help your reader to understand what to expect throughout the body of your essay. Cath Anne: [00:04:37] Number six use quotes into contextual information to back up the bulk of your essay. Now when you are using quotations and research you want to make sure that they are coming from credible sources. Things like journals peer reviewed articles any databases that you may have access to through your university or college institution you can also rely on Google Scholar which is an excellent resource for reputable research things you want to avoid including in your essay are information from wikipedia or any other online encyclopedias blogs websites that arent as reputable professors are going to be looking for peer reviewed articles and evidence based research to back up the information that youre providing in your essay. Cath Anne: [00:05:31] Number 7, dont fake it. Teachers have gotten to their position and become professors for a reason. They are smart they will know when you are faking it to fill the space in your essay. So make sure that you are not just trying to bulk up your essay with information and sentences that dont really go along with the rest of your essay or make a valid point. Although there are some lengthy requirements when it comes to writing essays. Most professors would prefer a well written essay minus the fluff than a long essay that is bulked up with unnecessary jargon and information that isnt needed. Focus on providing reading focus on providing reputable information and once you have written your essay go through and proofread take out any sentences that are unnecessary. Cath Anne: [00:06:27] Number eight, conclude your essay. A good conclusion will sum up the entirety of your essay and make reference to your thesis statement. There are many ways to write an effective conclusion. However the best way is to sum up all of the information you have provided in your essay without introducing any new sentences or information and effective conclusion will sum up each body paragraph in a succinct way. And thoroughly prove your thesis statement or the argument that youve made throughout the body of your essay. Cath Anne: [00:07:04] Number nine proofread and then proofread again. Many professors will not even take a look at an essay if it is riddled with grammatical errors or spelling mistakes. Make sure to take the time after you have written your essay to proofread it before you pass it in. Cath Anne: [00:07:27] Here are a few ways that you can improve your academic writing and make sure that your essay is academically acceptable. First go through and remove any contractions. These are words like art dont. Didnt any contractions should not have a place in academic writing. Print out your paper and take a highlighter pen and go through it in a physical way. This will help errors pop out a little better than when you are just reading on your computer screen. Next get a second set of eyes. Have a friend or family member read over your essay to proofread it. They will pick up on things that you didnt even notice. Read your essay out loud when you read your essay aloud. It will indicate grammatical errors more readily than just reading it silently. If something doesnt sound correct it is most likely grammatically incorrect. Cath Anne: [00:08:28] Guys we dont disagree that essay writing can be challenging or overwhelming into these nine steps into your essay writing process and it should be smooth sailing. Cath Anne: [00:08:41] Okay guys. Thats it for me this week. I hope this video was a benefit. If you have any questions jumped into the comments section below we always love to hear from you and connect with you. If you want to connect with us on any social media platforms all the information is linked and listed in the description box below. If you found this video helpful and enjoyed it. Make sure to give it a like a thumbs up and subscribe to our channel so you dont miss out on any of our other content. Good luck writing those essays. Talk soon. Take care. How to Write an Essay EP 57: How to Write an Essay EP 57: How to Write an Essay Do you hate writing essays? They can be tough, we know. But, with the right tools writing essays can become a very simple task. Many people would rather go into the sciences simply to avoid writing the essays that come along with most humanities courses. Writing an essay is a time-consuming process and challenging process, but can become much simpler with these nine tips. Join Cath Anne on Episode 57 as she discusses How to Write an Essay. Looking for study tips, help with essay writing, or advice on how to be a better student? Welcome to The Homework Help Show, a weekly show where we teach, assist, and offer valuable insights for student life. From study hacks to writing tips, discussions about student mental health to step-by-step guides on academic writing and how to write a resume, weve got you covered. Want your questions answered? Write them below or join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #askHHG TRANSCRIPT: Cath Anne: [00:00:00] Have you ever struggled with essays and been tempted to transfer programs to avoid writing essays? Well today on The Homework Help Show will give you the breaks out on how to write an essay affectively and hopefully help you to avoid transferring programs in the future. Cath Anne: [00:00:25] Hi guys and welcome back to our channel. My name is Cath Anne and this is episode 57 of the The Homework Help Show hosted by Homework Help Global. Here on the show we provide you with valuable content for your academic and student life. Cath Anne: [00:00:41] Many people would rather not go into the sciences which is much more test based or lab based than take a humanities course which requires heavy essay writing. Now although essay writing seems like a time consuming and challenging process. If you have the right tools it can actually be rather simple and thats what we wanted to share with you today on Episode 57 of The Homework Help Show. Lets jump in. Cath Anne: [00:01:10] So the first tip we wanted to give you is make sure that you analyze the essay prompt. Usually when you have an essay The professor will provide you with a question or a little paragraph describing what is required in the essay. Make sure that you take the time to go through the essay prompt and make certain that you have understood the question in full. There may be details that you might miss if you only skim over it briefly. I recommend taking a pen or pencil even a highlighter and making note of the key words in the prompt so that you can be sure to include them through your essay. Even the most well written essay can result in a bad grade if you dont answer the essay prompt. So make sure that you take some time to fully understand the essay prompt and know what the prophets are looking for two questions which might help to guide you through understanding the essay prompt are. What is the prompt directly asking and what is the prompt indirectly asking. Once you have answered these questions you can jump in and start writing your essay. Cath Anne: [00:02:23] Second make sure to create a thesis statement. So based on the essay prompt what are you going to argue throughout the basis of your essay your thesis statement should guide the bulk of your essay. And once you write your thesis statement and you begin writing your essay you can always revisit your thesis statement. So you can remember what your essay is about writing your thesis statement is an essential component to writing an effective essay. Cath Anne: [00:02:53] Third write an essay outline using your thesis statement as a guide research plot and plan the bulk of your essays. Use the outline as a guide to guide you through the process of essay writing. This will help your essay to flow and let you know what information to include. When you get into writing your essay it can be a little overwhelming and perhaps you have a lot of research that you want to include having an outline will allow your essay to flow and it will provide you with a guide to help you navigate the essay writing process. Cath Anne: [00:03:31] Number four this may seem a little backwards however begin writing your body of your essay first instead of the introduction. Many students struggle to write an introduction and they get bogged down with all of the ideas they want to incorporate into their essay. When you begin with the body first you will have the opportunity to flesh out some of that research and form some of your thoughts and the information that you want to include in your essay. Once you have written the body you can go back and write a fully formed introduction which includes all of your main points. Cath Anne: [00:04:08] Number five begins each paragraph with a topic sentence the topic sentence will identify what each paragraph will focus on. Use quotes and research to back up all information that you include in each paragraph using a topic sentence at the beginning of your paragraph will also give you a reference point to know what you will be discussing in each paragraph. It will also help your reader to understand what to expect throughout the body of your essay. Cath Anne: [00:04:37] Number six use quotes into contextual information to back up the bulk of your essay. Now when you are using quotations and research you want to make sure that they are coming from credible sources. Things like journals peer reviewed articles any databases that you may have access to through your university or college institution you can also rely on Google Scholar which is an excellent resource for reputable research things you want to avoid including in your essay are information from wikipedia or any other online encyclopedias blogs websites that arent as reputable professors are going to be looking for peer reviewed articles and evidence based research to back up the information that youre providing in your essay. Cath Anne: [00:05:31] Number 7, dont fake it. Teachers have gotten to their position and become professors for a reason. They are smart they will know when you are faking it to fill the space in your essay. So make sure that you are not just trying to bulk up your essay with information and sentences that dont really go along with the rest of your essay or make a valid point. Although there are some lengthy requirements when it comes to writing essays. Most professors would prefer a well written essay minus the fluff than a long essay that is bulked up with unnecessary jargon and information that isnt needed. Focus on providing reading focus on providing reputable information and once you have written your essay go through and proofread take out any sentences that are unnecessary. Cath Anne: [00:06:27] Number eight, conclude your essay. A good conclusion will sum up the entirety of your essay and make reference to your thesis statement. There are many ways to write an effective conclusion. However the best way is to sum up all of the information you have provided in your essay without introducing any new sentences or information and effective conclusion will sum up each body paragraph in a succinct way. And thoroughly prove your thesis statement or the argument that youve made throughout the body of your essay. Cath Anne: [00:07:04] Number nine proofread and then proofread again. Many professors will not even take a look at an essay if it is riddled with grammatical errors or spelling mistakes. Make sure to take the time after you have written your essay to proofread it before you pass it in. Cath Anne: [00:07:27] Here are a few ways that you can improve your academic writing and make sure that your essay is academically acceptable. First go through and remove any contractions. These are words like art dont. Didnt any contractions should not have a place in academic writing. Print out your paper and take a highlighter pen and go through it in a physical way. This will help errors pop out a little better than when you are just reading on your computer screen. Next get a second set of eyes. Have a friend or family member read over your essay to proofread it. They will pick up on things that you didnt even notice. Read your essay out loud when you read your essay aloud. It will indicate grammatical errors more readily than just reading it silently. If something doesnt sound correct it is most likely grammatically incorrect. Cath Anne: [00:08:28] Guys we dont disagree that essay writing can be challenging or overwhelming into these nine steps into your essay writing process and it should be smooth sailing. Cath Anne: [00:08:41] Okay guys. Thats it for me this week. I hope this video was a benefit. If you have any questions jumped into the comments section below we always love to hear from you and connect with you. If you want to connect with us on any social media platforms all the information is linked and listed in the description box below. If you found this video helpful and enjoyed it. Make sure to give it a like a thumbs up and subscribe to our channel so you dont miss out on any of our other content. Good luck writing those essays. Talk soon. Take care.