How to Write a Better Essay

Some tips for writing better essays:

• Tell the main point of your essay in the first sentence (don't beat around the bush).
  
• Focus on one idea or point per paragraph If each paragraph is devoted to one idea, then the writing will most likely flow better and be easier to read.
  
• Vary the length of sentences. Spice up your essay and make it more interesting to read by adding in some short sentences. Trim down long sentences where possible.
  
• Only use a word if you know how to use it properly in a sentence (otherwise you risk looking like a someone who is trying to sound smart)
• The shorter the essay is, the better it should be. If your essay is two pages double-spaced or less, every paragraph, and every sentence should contribute to the whole essay. Not that you shouldn't put time into your longer essays, but short essays need to always be to the point.
  
• Make sure your conclusion paragraph is well-written, clear, and concise. I wrote a few papers in college that had some good supporting ideas, but were not fantastic. I wrote strong, clear concluding sentences and never got less than a B+ on these papers. Many teachers with large classes will only read the first few paragraphs and the last few paragraphs of a paper. The beginning and ending paragraphs are the most important part of your essay.
  
• Read your essay aloud to catch grammar and structural mistakes! It's fast and easy to catch grammar mistakes by reading your paper aloud. Having a friend read your paper will make it easier for you to listen to him/her speaking and catch more errors.
  

• Double check for easy homophone mistakes including: there/their, you're/your and other words that the grammar check can miss. If you read your essay aloud, you'll almost certainly catch these mistakes.
• Break up long sentences with commas. Hear the sentence in your mind, as you would read it aloud. Then look and see where commas should be used to correct the grammar and flow of the sentence.

Have fun writing

• Give your essay a creative title. Make up a title that will hint at what your essay will be about. Think about magazine article titles-- they catch your attention.