How to write an essay
Writing an Essay
As much as Baseball Santa Claus likes to give away free tickets to baseball games, he likes to see writing that follows certain guidelines. Luckily, those guidelines aren’t hard to meet, and with a little practice, you’ll be surprised at the improved quality of your writing.
Many people don’t like to write essays. Plain and simple, writing essays can seem like a tedious endeavor. But, we’ve broken down the process to a few simple steps. Heck, you don’t have to use these just to get the free tickets (they’re also quite handy in school and other academic-type situations).
First and foremost, you need to understand the structure of an essay. Most essays have 4-5 paragraphs. Each paragraph is 5-7 sentences. A good essay always has an introduction, 2-3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion. It helps to think of an essay as a hamburger. You have a top bun (introduction), the meat (body paragraphs), and another bun (conclusion). Below, we’ve detailed what goes in each paragraph.
The introduction tells the reader what your essay is about. The most important part of the introduction is the thesis statement. The thesis statement is a sentence that tells the reader the main point of your essay. Without a thesis statement, your essay will wander aimlessly and probably confuse the reader. After you write a thesis statement, you should briefly explain (but not go into great detail) the ideas that support your thesis.
Next, you should include 2-3 body paragraphs in your essay. The body paragraphs flow naturally from the thesis statement in your introduction. Do you remember the reasons you briefly explained? Well, now is your chance to go into greater detail and really convince the reader that what you are saying is true. Each body paragraph should provide details that support your main point. Again, aim for 5-7 sentences in each body paragraph.
Last, you should include a conclusion in your essay. The conclusion is very similar to your introduction. You’re not going to copy your introduction word for word, but you are going to restate your major points to leave the reader with one last memory of why what you say is true.
That’s it. Follow the above structure and you are well on your way to having a coherent essay and greatly improved writing.