While essays differ based on their mode and purpose of writing, there are some general guidelines that students can follow.
Get to the point
Sometimes students begin by writing about writing the essay. Instead, get to the point and stay focused on that point.
Wrong: In this essay, I want to explain what happened to me when I was 17. You will find it hard to believe the things that happened to me. It was a terrible time. Most of what happened was my fault, but not all of it. . . .
Right:Being a teenager can be difficult. When I was a teenager, I so much wanted approval from my friends that I was willing to do anything to get it. I was shortstop for my high school baseball team, and on one of our out-of-town games, I tried marijuana for the first time. . . .
Writers must include an introduction that sets up a significant, important, relevant, or valuable (SIRV) reason for writing about the topic of the essay. The introduction provides a context for understanding the thesis. Writers must have a clear thesis statement that establishes the purpose for writing about the topic.
Guide the reader
Good writers include topic sentences that outline the particular focus of each paragraph. Students should ask themselves how each paragraph supports their main idea.
Students should use transitions appropriate to the topic and purpose of the essay. Be careful of overusing transitions or using simple additive transitions (for instance, repeatedly using "in addition").
Include sufficient supporting detail. If a writer had to appear before a judge, would he or she have sufficient and compelling evidence and witnesses recorded in their papers to convince the jury.
The essay should have a clear pattern of organization. Sometimes it is useful for students to write a scratch outline of their ideas.
Maintain an academic voice
Avoid conversational patterns such as slang expressions:
- the use of "well" or "like" as a transition (for instance, "Well, before long I understood . . ." or "Like the time my brother . . .");
- qualifiers like "kind of," "sort of," "type of";
- terms of familiarity like "mom," "dad," "guy";
- the misuse of demonstrative pronouns, using "this" as a qualifier of a noun, as in "this guy," "this house," "this place I used to know"
Maintain an academic appearance
Check each sentence carefully for errors in punctuation, grammar, and spelling. Writers should be familiar with the kinds of errors they are most likely to make, and search diligently for those errors. Watch out for careless mistakes.
Finally, is the essay readable? If the essay is poorly handwritten and can't be read, it can't be graded--at least not with a passing grade. Also, most instructors require that essays be typed, double spaces, in New Times Roman 12pt font, especially essays written out of class.