Tips For Writing A Successful First College Essay
With fall rapidly approaching, you may be preparing for your first semester at college. With those new college classes will come requirements like college essays. If you're new to writing at this level, it's easy to feel intimidated and potentially have a hard time getting started. Before you put it off till the last minute and then rush together something that isn't your best work, consider putting an action plan in place. Here are some tips to help you produce a college-worthy essay for your assignment.
Think Before You Write
Don't just sit down and start free-writing your essay, because that's how you end up with a piece that lacks organization and cohesion. Start by thinking about the question itself. Make sure that you not only understand the question, but also your position on it. If you're not sure of your position, now's the time to research so you can decide which approach to take.
While you're in the thinking stage, you also need to make sure that you clearly understand the target audience you're writing for. Did the professor say that you need to write a persuasive essay? If so, your target audience would be readers who have a different opinion from yours. You need to know who you're writing to in order to match your tone and your detail to the expectations of that general audience. For example, citing complex medical statistics might be too much for an essay aimed at parents of young kids, but certainly wouldn't be for doctors looking to expand their practice.
Build Your Main Idea
The introduction for your essay should present the main idea of the piece. That idea is presented in the form of a thesis statement, which tells the reader your position on the subject. It tells the reader what to expect from the paper. Your thesis statement should directly address a question that could be raised by your essay topic and promise to answer it.
Support Your Position
Once you've definitively said where you stand, it's time to support your argument. Use credible data and verifiable evidence that will support your thesis statement. Don't just rely on the most recent information, either. Look into past data and statistics, then present that information in a way that can tie it back to your main idea as well.
Review And Organize
Once you've created your essay, it's time to review your argument and make sure that the entire essay focuses on your single point. Then, make sure the paragraphs flow well together. The structure should be continuous and encourage people to keep reading.
If you struggle with the mechanics of the essay or grammatical issues, consider working with a college essay editing service for your first semester until you get the hang of it. For more information, contact companies like Crimson and Ivy.