How To Write Outstanding Essays

Before we start, let's answer this simple question: Why do we write essays?

Some essays are meant to persuade. Some are meant to inform. Others just voice your own opinion. All essays, however, logically structure an argument, and view it from multiple perspectives. This should be your core purpose when writing an essay. To create a clear, yet elaborate argument on a topic, and to explore various opinions about it.

Structure, structure, structure

Repeat that word over and over in your mind until it's ingrained. This is the skeleton of the essay. Without a skeleton, any large body crumbles. Without structure, no one wants to read your essay.

Before you focus on the fine details, first make sure you divide your essays into paragraphs. No one wants to read one endless block of text, which can often turn into a rant or an endless train of thought. Instead, to keep your essays organised, I recommend that you follow the simple structure of an introduction, multiple body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

Before you even begin writing, write up a short bullet-point plan of what you want to include in each body paragraph. Try to limit yourself to one idea or topic per paragraph, I suggest you aim for around 5 - 6 sentences per paragraph. Now, when it comes to organising your body paragraphs, if you are writing a balanced argument, I suggest you alternate between points for and against the issue at hand, similar to a debate. If you are writing to persuade, I suggest you address the counter-arguments in the penultimate paragraph, and present your strongest argument in your final paragraph. This is because the final paragraph will be the clearest in the readers mind when they finish reading the essay.

Simple sentences

This is a simple sentence. This, on the other hand, is a complex sentence, packed with much more information, but also more difficult to read. Often, when you have many ideas, you try and pack them into as few sentences as possible. However, this can result in endless sentences that run on forever.

Instead, I suggest you try and start your paragraphs with a simple sentence. The first sentence of a paragraph introduces a new idea. It's not meant to already start explaining the topic. Then, as you enter the paragraph, switch between complex and simple sentences. As a simple rule of thumb, you could aim for around one simple sentence for every two complex sentences. That way, your writing style remains interesting and entertaining. Quality essays not only contain quality content, but are also written in a pleasant and attention-grabbing, yet intricate style.

Take your time for research

This should be quite an obvious point, however, I do want to include it, as it's arguably the most important. If you have nothing to write about, you can have perfect structure and articulation, and yet your essay will still be hollow and bland.

If you're writing an essay in exam, make sure you've studied sufficiently beforehand, and have enough information to fill your essay with. Looking for a way to memorise information quickly? Check out this post.

If you're not in an exam, then there's nothing stopping you from doing your research while you are writing. Create a general content plan, and then research and write the paragraphs one by one. I prefer this to doing all my research first and writing afterwards, because I remember more of the information if I've just researched it.

As a rule of thumb, you could aim for at least three facts per paragraph. Actual facts include dates, statistics, figures, and examples. These will increase the credibility and professionality of your essay.

The Introduction

Introductions are like book covers. You're quite likely to already judge the quality of the whole essay after reading the introduction. So, it's quite important that you write an engaging introduction.

One really quick way to make an introduction interesting is to keep it short. A quick, concise introduction is easy to read and doesn't waste the reader's time. Additionally, for introductions, I recommend that you don't start covering facts and ideas yet. That will turn the introduction into a body paragraph. Instead, I propose you focus on grabbing the reader's attention and give a quick overview of the essay.

Many people overemphasise the importance of the first sentence of an essay. Usually, if someone reads the first sentence, they'll at least read the whole introduction. So, instead of focusing on one really great starter sentence, I suggest you focus on a simple starter sentence. For example, you could start with "In this essay, I intend to cover... ", "Have you ever wondered why... ?", or "Opinions about ... are very varied. In this essay, I want to cover all perspectives and their accuracy". Try and avoid cliches or extreme statements such as "This is the greatest ... ever created", as they will often sound a bit unlikely and hard to believe.

Then, after that, I suggest you quickly go over the content of each body paragraph. This will give an overview of the essay structure and content. Don't worry about an ending to your introduction, just get started on your first paragraph. A concise introduction should be around 3 sentences long.

It's personal preference if you already include your own opinion in the introduction. If you have a very strong opinion about a topic, I do suggest you already include it. If you have a vague opinion, and you are planning to present a balanced argument with your own opinion in the conclusion, then I suggest you wait before voicing your own views. This is because, personally, I frequently change my opinion while I am writing an essay. It may not be a drastic change, but my opinion may become more nuanced or precise.

The Conclusion

Now that we've covered the introduction, we of course need to address the conclusion. This is where you tie all your points together, and funnel them into a neat personal perspective. For example, you could write "After considering the points above, I personally believe that ... " Especially in an exam setting, I recommend that you aim for a nuanced personal opinion. So, after stating your general opinion, include a sentence along the lines of "However, when it comes to ... , I disagree with ... ". This will make your opinion less extreme and one-sided, therefore making it appear more educated.

Of course, include your honest opinion. There are no wrong opinions, and so in an exam setting, no points should be deducted for an uncommon or new opinion, as long as you present it professionally and back it up with facts. One more thing: Do not include new facts in the conclusion. If there is an important piece of information, don't save it for the conclusion, but instead add it to one of the body paragraphs. The conclusion is not there to analyse and present new data, but instead to summarise the data presented in the body paragraphs.

Vocabulary and writing style

How can we write more interestingly?

To put it quickly, vary your sentence starters, use a wide range of vocabulary and persuasive techniques, and use an appropriate tone. Let's take the time to dive into each of these points in more detail.

Point one: Vary your sentence starters. It's quite common to start nearly every sentence with "The" or "I". Although nothing is inherently wrong with these two words, repeating them too often will make your sentences, well, repetitive. As an exercise, you could attempt to completely quit using these words as sentence starters for a while. At the beginning, this will be quite a struggle, and it will take some getting used to. Over time though, you'll get better, and once you've mastered this skill, you can re-incorporate some of the "The" and "I"s. Difference is, now you're no longer dependent on them.

Point two: Use a wide range of vocabulary. This is a more expanded version of varying your sentence starters. If you use a word frequently, look up some synonyms of that word on Google. Reading a dictionary cover to cover may help you gain a better vocabulary, but with a couple clicks you can develop a similar vocabulary with Google. Another way of developing an expansive mental word library is by reading a lot. Personally, reading a couple novels really added to my vocabulary. If there is a word in a book which you are unsure about, then I recommend that you look up the definition, as you'll only remember words that you understand.

Point three: Persuasive techniques. An acronym for common persuasive techniques is DAFOREST. This stands for:

Direct address

Alliteration

Facts

Opinions

Rhetorical questions

Emotive language

Statistics

Three points

Lets dive a bit deeper into each of these. Direct address means using the word "you". It makes it seem like you are directly talking to the reader, so it makes the essay more personal and makes the reader think more about the content of the essay, as it is addressed at them. Alliteration is using the same letter or sound at the start of neighbouring words, for example "professional printing". This puts emphasis on points, making them catchy and memorable.

Facts of course make your text credible, as I discussed earlier. Opinions not only include your own, but can also include the opinions of experts. Opinions of experts bridge the gap between fact and opinion, as they have a high level of credibility, so the reader is very likely to believe them. For example, you're probably more likely to buy a specific toothpaste if your dentist recommends it to you.

Rhetorical questions. Why wouldn't you include them? They act in a way similar to direct address, making the reader think about the content more. They're also great to grab the reader's attention, e.g. in the introduction, or to give the essay a bit more of a personal voice. Emotive language, as the term suggests, uses emotion to convince the reader. Inducing emotions such as anger, guilt, or suspense in a reader is a difficult skill, and can take a long time to acquire and perfect. Using strong verbs or describing a specific example, e.g. how someone was affected by something, can work great for this.

Statistics are similar to facts, but a bit more convincing in my opinion. Use percentages and averages to your advantage. Statistics can also easily be manipulated, by only using statistics that back up your point. This can be useful when writing a one-sided argument in an essay. And finally, the rule of three, which I stated as Three Points above, so that the acronym would work. There's something about using three facts or adjectives after each other that creates an interesting, convincing, and professional argument. Two adjectives aren't nearly as powerful, while four or more adjectives create a sentence that runs on forever.

And finally, after this endless third point, point four: Use the right tone. A text to a friend is the right place for abbreviations, simple words, and colloquial language. An essay is not. I suggest you write in a very formal style, with a polite, concise tone. Now, this is not a reason not to include some humour or personality in your writing. On the contrary, a unique voice is very refreshing. However, again, keep it professional, keep it neat.

Address counter-arguments

There are two main types of essay. Essays to inform/analyse, and essays to persuade. In the former, it should be clear that you should look at both sides of an argument.

In the latter, however, many essay-writers forget that they should also address the opposition. If you mention points against your line of argument, address them, and invalidate them, this will make your argument a lot more convincing. Else, readers may have a counter-argument to your points in mind. If you do not address this counter-argument, and give evidence why it is false or inaccurate, the reader may not be persuaded to change their mind. Now, another viable option to address counter-arguments is to accept them as valid, but say that the arguments in favour of the point outweigh the arguments against the point (the counter-arguments).

And finally, a brief note on ChatGPT

Why don't we write all our essays with ChatGPT?

There are few reasons against simply letting AI do all the work. However, one very important, yet frequently overlooked point is that essays improve how you think. If you are able to create a clear argument on paper, you will be able to create a clear argument in a conversation. And if you structure ideas on paper, they will become structured in your mind. Writing essays is a great exercise to become more articulate and knowledgeable on a topic. Even though ChatGPT can most likely deliver a better final essay, it will not be able to aid this mental development that comes from sifting through points and laying them out in order.