A short piece of writing on a specific subject or topic is known as an essay. Formal Essays and Informal Essays are the two types of essays that can be written. Formal essays are compositions that are primarily academic in nature. An informal essay, on the other hand, is one that is produced for the enjoyment of both the writer and the reader. Every student must be able to write an essay because Essay Writing is used in a variety of selection tests for further education and even jobs. Candidates will be evaluated and shortlisted depending on the essay they compose, whether it is for an essay competition or school admission.

This article will help you understand how to draft an essay step by step. Continue reading to learn tips and check examples on how to write an essay like a professional!

How To Write an Essay

Before knowing the format for how to write an essay, let’s take a look at types of essays:

S.No	Types Of Essay Writing
1	Narrative Essays
2	Descriptive Essays
3	Expository Essays
4	Persuasive Essays

• Narrative Essays: In narrative essays, the writer will narrate an incident or story. Narrative essay is much more like a simple 5 paragraph essay. The entire essay revolves around a particular incident.
• Descriptive Essays: In descriptive essays, the writer will describe a place, object, emotion or even a person. Here the writer will use his/her five senses of touch, taste, smell, hearing, and sight to explain the topic in more detail.
• Expository Essays:  In expository essays, the writer will tend to explain, illustrate, clarify, or explicate about a particular topic. The expository essay can be an inquiry, evaluation, or even argumentation regarding an idea for clarification.
• Persuasive Essays: In Persuasive essays, the writer will convince the readers to believe the writer’s point of view. Here the purpose of the essay is to get the reader to your side of the argument. Basically here the author will present a situation and writes supporting it or opposing it.

How To Write An Essay Format

Students must follow 7 steps to write an essay like an expert and here is a format for how to write an essay step by step guide which is listed below:

How To Write An Essay – Step 1: Choose a Topic

Before writing an essay, the writer must choose a topic on which he/she should write an essay. Once you have selected a topic, sit calmly and start thinking about the topic. Jot down all the ideas and decide what kind of essay to write based on the topic you have picked up.

How To Write An Essay –  Step 2: Create an Outline

Now based on the ideas you have in mind, create an outline this way you can organize your thoughts. You can also use diagrams to describe your ideas. Once you created an outline for an essay, you will know how to connect the ideas or points which will further result in the proper flow.

How To Write An Essay – Step 3: Write a Thesis Statement 

The thesis is an important sentence of an essay as this sentence states or describes what the essay is about. Put your thesis statement in the first paragraph and then make sure you refer to it several times within the essay then restate it in your conclusion.

How To Write An Essay – Step 4: Body of an Essay

This is the part of the essay where you need to explain everything about the topic. Begin each and every statement with an attention grabber. For example, start with a dialogue, story or even a small summary. But remember each statement whichever you are writing should tie-up with the thesis statement.

How To Write An Essay – Step 5: Write an Introduction

Once you have finished your thesis and the overall body of your essay, you must start writing an introduction. The introduction statement should engage the reader’s attention.

How To Write An Essay – Step 6: Conclusion

Now start writing a conclusion. Your conclusion should sum up the overall important points of an essay. Also, the conclusion must include at least 3 to 5 strong sentences.

How To Write An Essay – Step 7: Finishing Touches

Once you concluded an essay, check the order of paragraphs. Make sure all the statements and paragraphs you mentioned in the essay makes sense. Check for grammatical errors. Then re-read the entire article from the user point of view and check for ease of readability.

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How To Write a Good Essay – checklist

• My essay has been organized strictly as per the assignment (topic and length).
• My introduction grabs the reader’s interest and delivers any necessary background information on the topic.
• My introduction contains a thesis statement containing the central point of the essay.
• The essay has been well structured in paragraphs.
• Don’t forget to use topic sentences to introduce each paragraph.
• Each paragraph has been dedicated to a single thesis statement.
• I make clear transitions between paragraphs and ideas.
• The conclusion of the essay does not just repeat the points already explained in the main body, but draws connections between arguments.
• Do not introduce new arguments or evidence in the conclusion.
• Must provide an in-text citation for every quote or piece of information taken from another source.
• Make sure to include a reference page at the end of my essay, listing full details of all my sources.
• Citations and references are correctly formatted.
• My essay has an interesting and informative title.
• All formatting guidelines have been followed successfully (e.g. font, page numbers, line spacing).

FAQs

Given here are a few frequently asked questions on how to write an essay:

Q1: What is an essay?
Ans: The word ‘essay’ is derived from the French infinitive essayer which means “to try” or “to attempt”. An essay can be defined in a variety of ways. One can define an Essay as a focused piece of writing that explains, argues, describes or narrates. Essays have traditionally been sub-classified as formal and informal.

Q2: What is Essay Writing Format?
Ans: The Essay Writing Format represents a set of rules and guidelines which decide how an Essay should be constructed in the correct manner. It includes several rules for the title page, basic essay structure, essay outline, conclusion, citations, etc.

Q3: What goes in an essay introduction?
Ans: The Introduction of an essay must include the following things and in this order:
1. An opening hook to grab the reader’s attention.
2. Relevant background information that the reader needs to know.
3. A thesis statement that presents your main point or argument.
4. The length of each part depends on the length and complexity of your essay.

Q4: What are the basic steps to writing an essay?
Ans: How To Write A Good Essay in five Easy Steps:
1. Pick a topic – If possible, choose something that interests you.
2. Brainstorm – Write down any idea that comes to your head about things you’d like to include, including key points, examples, and illustrations.
3. Organize
4. Write
5. Revise

Q5: What are the 5 parts of an essay?
Ans: According to the ideal Essay Writing Format, it must contain the following 5 parts:
1. The introduction
2. Writer’s arguments
3. Counter arguments
4. Refutation
5. Conclusion

Q6: What is a thesis statement?
Ans: A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay. Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.

Q7: How many paragraphs is an essay?
Ans: In its simplest form, an essay can consist of three paragraphs, with one paragraph dedicated to each section. Proponents of a five-paragraph essay say that the main text should consist of three paragraphs, but in reality, it’s okay to write more or fewer paragraphs in this section.

Q8: Why do I need a thesis statement?
Ans: The thesis statement is essential in any academic essay or research paper for two main reasons:
1. It gives your writing direction and focus.
2. It gives the reader a concise summary of your main point.
Without a clear thesis, an essay can end up rambling and unfocused, leaving your reader unsure of exactly what you want to say.

Q9: What is a topic sentence?
Ans: A topic sentence is a sentence that expresses the main point of a paragraph. Everything else in the paragraph should relate to the topic sentence.

Q10: When do I need to cite sources in an essay?
Ans: How To Write A Good Essay suggest that you need to cite sources in your essay whenever you use someone else’s words or ideas to answer a question, write a paper or presentation, post on a discussion board, or anything else.
At the school/college level, you must properly cite your sources in all essays, research papers, and other academic texts (except exams and in-class exercises).

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