The Ultimate Guide to Writing a Top Notch Essay (plus some study tips!)
Essay writing isn’t just something you’ll do in English. No matter which subjects you do, chances are that if you’re a high school student, you’ll be writing an essay. Or rather, essays. But what should you do if you want to write an effective essay? And more broadly, how are you supposed to study during the lead up to your essay writing?
By using the essay writing tips below and dedicating yourself to the art of the essay and studying in general, you’ll be on track to be an expert in no time. Or at least, know what you’re doing. So, let’s get started then.
How to write an essay
Step One – Break down the essay question
Whenever we worked on an essay as a class back in Year 12, the first thing my teacher did was write down the essay topic on the board. She circled the keywords and defined each one. Then, she wrote down a bunch of synonyms for them.
This provides you with some tools to build up a foundation, particularly for your topic sentence.
More often than not, a topic sentence is the essay prompt paraphrased, which is where you’ll use the synonyms. Understanding what the question is asking will springboard you into your first draft.
Step Two – Write up your essay structure
Now that you understand what the question is asking, it’s time to do some brainstorming. As I said before, breaking down the question leads to the topic sentence, but what about the other parts of the essay? Here’s how I usually structure my plan:
Topic Sentence
Body Paragraph 1
Body Paragraph 2
Body Paragraph 3
Body Paragraph 4 (Rebuttal)
Conclusion
Under the headings, you should summarise the main idea for each body paragraph. And under that, you should list down all the supporting evidence you’ll be using.
Remember that it should only be a couple of dot points for each section. This is just the first draft after all.
Step Three – Focus on your thesis statement
The thesis statement is the main point of your essay.
It should be noted that no matter where you fall on the scale, you should always think about the other perspective and mention it in your rebuttal paragraph.
Every piece of evidence, and every line of explanation should all relate to your thesis statement. Even your rebuttal should tie to your thesis in some way.
Step Four – Find your evidence
You may already have some evidence in mind and have written it down in your plan, but if you want to write a good essay, you’ve got to back up your claims with evidence.
That’s not to say you shouldn’t start the writing process if you’re confident in your ideas, but for the body paragraphs, you need an extensive list of potential evidence you could use.
For example:
If you’re writing your essay on a particular book, reading that book again, summarising your notes on each chapter and finding quotes is a given.
But finding out more information about the author’s life and the overall context surrounding the book could give you a broader understanding and thus, a better essay.
Step Five – Proofread!
Never underestimate how much proofreading your entire essay can improve it. Whether it be a minor change like fixing a spelling error or rewriting a sentence so it flows better, the smallest changes can make the biggest of differences.
Getting someone else to proofread it, preferably a teacher, was probably the most useful thing I did when I was learning to write essays.
Don’t be shy to ask them for their opinion. It’s good preparation for when you have to write essays under exam conditions, so start early, hone in on your writing skills, and practice, practice, practice!
Study Techniques – How to stay productive:
When students sit down to study, it’s not uncommon to be distracted, or frustrated that nothing is getting absorbed.
Here are some of the things I’ve done to keep me focused:
Variety is the spice of life
Variety is the key here to keep yourself interested. Most people start to lose focus when they stare at words for far too long.
But there’s a lot, and I mean a lot of different study skills you can use to your benefit. There’s flashcards, highlighting and note taking, quizzes, acrostic poems, acronyms, songs, and plenty more.
One of my favourites was that, whenever I was in a study group with my friend, we pretended to be on a TV quiz show where the questions related to the content we were studying. Silly, but very effective in my opinion.
You might find that some of these techniques don’t work out for you. I know I wasn’t a huge fan of summarising my notes, so I moved onto flashcards. I also find that general exposure to content was helpful in the long run.
I used to tape up posters of flow charts and definitions all around the house, and that worked out pretty well. All in all, try out a whole bunch of techniques, and you’ll figure out what the right approach is for you.
Browse The Ultimate Guide to Writing a Top Notch Essay (plus some study tips!) Results
Psychology & Mental Health Bundle
Step up your learning journey with The Career Academy Australia’s insightful Psychology and Counselling & Mental Health Bundle. Discover stress, its impact on your body, and practical management techniques. Understand how different environments sha...
Certificate in Zoology & Animal Science
Take your animal knowledge beyond everyday pets! This online exotic zoology course opens the door to a captivating world where your passion for wild animals can be realised. Upon completing this online Animal Health and Science course, you will gain a...
Certificate in Xero
Quickly Learn Xero Software At Beginner Level! There is no time like the present to start planning for a bright future. Take a Xero course to enhance your business management skills, streamline your own company accounts, or enhance your current skill t...
Certificate In Wildlife Conservation
Get a certificate in wildlife conservation! Start a wildlife conservation course and apply your knowledge in a research project focusing on an endangered species in your area. Study wildlife conservation to discover how conservationists identify and re...
Certificate in Wedding Planning
Turn your romantic streak into a winning streak! Take a wedding planning course that covers the process from planning through programme management, all the way to ensuring the venue is packed up correctly at the end of the big day. Learn how to manage...
Certificate in Travel and Tourism
Take a Certificate in Travel and Tourism towards a career in hotel management, tour operations, event management and other exciting businesses. Deal with correspondence, record keeping and client enquiries, and learn how to process financial transactio...
Certificate in Social Media Essentials
Master Social Media. This popular course bundle combines 4 social media courses. Save money and fast-track your skill development. Learn everything about social media strategy, Facebook marketing, Instagram and LinkedIn. After you’ve completed this cou...
Certificate in Project Management
Learn how to execute projects from end to end! Project management is important for all organisations, whether they’re small or large. Delays can waste time and money. A good project manager keeps businesses running smoothly, from the smallest start-ups...
Certificate in Photography
Are you ready to take your photography skills to the next level? Imagine picking any DSLR camera and capturing breathtaking, attention-grabbing photos. With our Photography Course Bundle, you’ll gain the expertise to create images that truly stand out....
Certificate in Personnel Management and Human Resources
Use Your Exceptional People Skills To Upgrade Your Life! People who know people are a special breed. If you are looking for personnel human resource management courses, The Career Academy offers a comprehensive 140-hour personnel and human resource man...
Certificate in Personal Training and Nutrition
Get work-fit! Are you considering pursuing a career in fitness, personal training or nutrition? We’ve created one of the best value course bundles in the market to help you realise your potential in this exciting industry. All lessons are designed by l...
Certificate in Personal Training
Learn how to become a Personal Trainer! Be your own boss and carve out your fitness enterprise with this Personal Training Micro-Credential. Help people reach their personal health and fitness goals and thrive as a Personal Trainer. This course will gi...
Certificate in Nutrition and Business
Start your journey with some brain food! Are you passionate about Nutrition? Do you believe in a healthy lifestyle and healthy eating? This course has been designed for starting a business or career in Nutrition coaching and for personal trainers looki...
Certificate in MYOB AccountRight
Use your head to get ahead! MYOB AccountRight offers full-service accounting features in a clever software package for your browser or desktop. An excellent way for business owners, managers and accounts staff to keep ahead of the game, our Certificate...
Certificate in Medical Terminology
Learn medical terminology the quick and easy way! With a medical terminology course, you will gain a fundamental understanding of some of the terms used in a medical environment, including basic anatomy and the names of procedures and medical instrumen...
Certificate in Health and Wellbeing
Empower your life and improve your wellbeing! Taking care of our health and happiness is very important, but often we forget to prioritise ourselves because we’re busy and have a lot to do. This course teaches you about the important parts of health an...
Certificate in Family Counselling
Learn the fundamentals of family Counselling. This course gives you the skills to understand how family counselling works, learn about different family setups, and the usual problems families face. You’ll study various ways to do family therapy and how...
Certificate in Crisis Counselling
Learn best practices in times of Crisis. The Crisis Counselling Certificate teaches you about different kinds of crises, what causes them, and how counsellors can help reduce their effects. You’ll learn about family emergencies, PTSD, drug abuse, and t...
Certificate in Counselling
Understand yourself better & help others to grow! Study counselling to understand what drives you. Learn ways your reactions may be connected to the broader psyche, and use your counselling skills and studies to explore the treatments and approache...
Certificate in Communications
Make yourself heard! Communication is key to how we talk to each other every day, at work or in our personal lives. Being good at both writing and speaking is important for achieving what we want. This certificate course is made to improve how you comm...