In Need for Essay Tips?
Saturday, May 1st, 2010There is always one more essay tip to learn
Every student is requested to write an essay every once in a while. And most of them could use some valuable essay tips. Ok, so maybe you already know that every essay should be planned, that you should begin with an introduction and finish with a conclusion, that you should never hand in an essay before correcting the spelling and grammar. But there is always one more essay tip you can learn. Here we provide you a few simple ideas you can start implementing right now.
Vary your sentence length and structure
Improve your essay style by varying your sentence extension. That is: mixing long and short sentences. Remember that an essay full of short sentences will seem written by a young child but, on the other hand, an essay full of very long sentences will be quite difficult to read. The best essay tip is to alternate between long and short sentences. For the same reason, varying the sentence structure is also helpful. Use exclamatory and interrogative sentences, even if the questions are only rhetorical. Alternating between passive and active voice is also highly recommended.
Use paratexts
Paratext is a concept used for designating all the elements that provide a framework for the written text. The concept includes elements typically added during the distribution process by editors, printers, and publishers, but also by the authors themselves: the title, the subtitles and the index, for example, are paratexts. Paratexts make your essays easily readable and clearer. For example, adding maps to your geography essay, or graphics and charts if you need to illustrate some numbers and figures. So here is your next tip: paratexts will certainly get you some extra credit.
Quotations and essay word count
It is always a good idea to quote authorities in your essays. Any list of essay tips would be incomplete without mentioning that. But keep in mind that the amount and the extension of each quote depends on how long is your essay supposed to be. Of course, long essays allow you more and more extended quotations. And this is great, since you may write many words without actually having to think them! If you are writing a short essay instead, remember to limit the quotes. Even when quoting is very important in any written assignment, when writing a short essay you should keep literal quotes to a minimum.
Use plenty of examples
Finally, remember you can make any essay more appealing to the readers by including examples which they may be familiarized. For example, when writing an essay about environmental issues, do no focus only on big numbers of CO2 particles, but mention also the local factory and the horrible smoke it produces daily. Or, when writing an essay about language acquisition, provide some lovely baby anecdotes which will certainly make the readers smile and leave on them the wish to know more and, of course, keep reading your work. Keep this in mind: examples are not only a word count filler. They provide useful information as well.
Related Posts
Tags: essay advice, essay tips, essay writing tips
