10 Tips To Make Your Essay Shine
All students, during their academic journey, are required to craft essays on specific topics. However, making your essay grab attention isn't easy, especially when competing with hundreds of students. If you want to make your essay stand out and rise above the rest, you're at the right place. This article provides proven tips to make your essay shine academically or professionally.
10 Essential Tips To Make Your Essay Stand Out
Here are the ten tips that you can follow to make your essay writing stand out:
Tip 1: Start With A Strong Hook
The main quality of a standout essay is that it immediately grabs the reader's attention. It means that it has a strong hook. A hook is something that causes readers to decide to keep reading rather than to skim through the essay mindlessly. You can add a surprising fact, statistic, a thought-provoking question, an anecdote, a quotation, or a bold statement as your hook. For example, "Did you know that the average attention span is now shorter than that of a goldfish?"
Tip 2: Write A Clear Thesis Statement
After the hook is done, the next thing that you're required to write is a clear thesis statement. It tells readers what your essay is about and why it matters. So, make sure that you write a well-defined thesis statement, as it will make your argument more persuasive. Don't write: "This essay is about climate change." Choose to write, "Climate change is accelerating due to industrial pollution, and without immediate policy changes, we risk irreversible damage to ecosystems."
Tip 3: Add Original And Engaging Text
When writing your essay, make sure that you add original and fresh data and information, as common and generic details won't make your essay stand out. Try to offer a fresh perspective on your essay topic. Also, include personal experiences if you can. However, if you're adding claims, back them with credible sources.
Tip 4: Ensure Clarity And Style
Writing quality is something that greatly impacts the chances of an essay standing out. Sometimes, students have the best ideas, but poor writing costs them top grades. So, ensure high-quality in your writing. Avoid unnecessary words, vary sentence structure, and use the active voice.
Tip 5: Structure Your Essay Properly
The structure of your essay can also make it competitive in a crowd of other essays. A well-structured essay provides an excellent appearance, making it easy to follow. Here is the basic structure of an essay:
- Introduction
- Body paragraphs
- Conclusion
Tip 6: Edit And Proofread
Having multiple grammatical mistakes, errors, and typos can impact your essay's credibility and restrict it from becoming high-scoring. So, try to review your written essay before submission. Detect all issues and eliminate them so that your instructor does not notice them. You can also seek feedback from a teacher or a friend. Along with pointing out mistakes, they can provide you with suggestions to enhance your whole essay.
Tip 7: Ensure Clear Formatting
Formatting is a crucial part of the essay writing process. It can either make or break an essay. Subtle formatting can make your essay more appealing. Most formatting guidelines are provided prior to when the essay is assigned. However, you must be careful of headings, subheadings, bullet points, spacing, and font size in formatting your essay.
Tip 8: Be Authentic And Passionate
Another important thing that makes an essay stand out is the authenticity and passion of the writer. When readers read an essay, they can genuinely understand whether the writer loved the chosen topic or not. There are certain phrases and terms that indicate that the writer was really invested. Whether you want to add witty, serious, or heartfelt remarks in the essay, ensure that it's your voice, making the essay more engaging and compelling.
Tip 9: Avoid Common Mistakes
There are some mistakes or errors students make that make their essays disappear in the crowd. Plagiarism is the main mistake that students make. One is urged to write original text or cite credible sources if inspired by them. Sometimes, the statements in an essay are very generic and overly used. There is a notion that complicated language makes an essay professional, but this is wrong. The more an essay is easy to understand and simple, the more it is likely to stand out.
Tip 10: Seek Help
No matter what one can do to make their essay noticeable, there are still times when they can require an extra pair of eyes. For instance, if the topic is very complicated or beyond the writer's expertise, or if there is little to no time to complete the essay. In these cases, don't hesitate to seek help, as another person's input can help to brainstorm ideas, improve structure and flow, and ensure that your essay is completed before the deadline.
Final Thoughts
In this article, we have offered the top ten tips that students can follow to make their essays stand out in the sea of submissions. Whether you're writing your essay for a classroom presentation, applying for a scholarship, or entering a writing contest, understand these tips thoroughly and ensure that you secure your desired grades, scholarship, and prize.