Guide to write a well-done essay

Regardless of the subject that you schedule or if it is a free topic, it is essential that you know the structure you must follow to make your writing satisfactorily and thus, get a good grade with a quality work.

The question that arises immediately is: How is an essay made? Good, we will give you some guidelines to write an essay in a brief and concise way.

What is an essay? According to the Royal Academy of the Spanish Language (RAE), an essay is a writing in which an author develops his ideas on a given topic with personal character and style.

That is, the essay must have your stamp, your style and a basic form that we detail below.

Table of Contents

Parts of a essay

Introduction
Developing
Conclusion
Bibliography.

Introduction

It is usually very short and will be the preamble of the topic you want to deal with. You could say, if you like movies, that would be the trailer of the movie you want to see in which he explains what you can find throughout the film. The main function will be to introduce the reader to the topic you will be dealing with.

In addition, you will present the hypothesis. What is the hypothesis? It is the idea that you want to develop, clarify or sustain throughout the writing based on data that will start your research or argument.

Developing

It is the body of the essay and it is a large percentage of what the whole writing will be. In it, you must expose all the arguments, data, concepts and references, to support the hypothesis you wrote in the introduction. It is fundamental that in the development you build the solid bases that will take you to dictate a verdict or, in this case, to the conclusion.

Conclusion

It is where you will see the results of the research you did on the hypothesis. That is, you must give your point of view to answer the question you made in the introduction, based on the whole development. It is the resolution of the whole writing.

Bibliography

It is a fundamental part of the essay because it will be the sustenance of where you got all the information that you included in the development. Although it will be cited in their respective footnotes, it is the compendium of all the writings or sources that you used to give more weight to your essay.

Characteristics of an essay

Now that we know the parts that should have this type of writing, it is important that we look at the characteristics of it to know how to make a trial.

You must define a topic to be treated in order to develop the parts of the essay . It is very important that, for the choice of topic, you look at how current the topic is and also to whom the writing is directed to choose an approach.
Many times we try to cover many things about a topic. Well, we recommend that on the chosen topic, you focus on a specific field to develop it. For example: A general issue is environmental pollution but a specific focus is how old vehicles affect pollution in the city.
The essay must have, in its development, a dialogical character. That is, you must prepare the writing, in its development, from counter arguments to discuss certain theses or perspectives. You must show all sides of the coin to be able to make some decision with arguments. You must arrive at the subjectivity, in the conclusion, from the objectivity in the development.
To give more seriousness to the study, it is advisable to always use an academic language in the development and also write the essay in the third person singular.
It is valid to resort to examples that go beyond the topic you are dealing with. If it is a question of consolidating an idea in the development, another type of topic can be handled that makes reference to the affirmation that one wants to argue. For example: if I talk about pollution in the United States, I can give some data or studies of pollution in Chile as an example.
The essay must have a defined position that, for the reader, at the end leaves a reflection that makes him change his mind on that topic or, in some cases, that ratifies the thought with new ideas and sustainings.

Well, you already have an idea of how to make an essay in terms of structure and shape. However, we want to help you even more and that is why we will give you a series of steps to start writing an essay correctly. Like everything in life, different points of view are important to help nourish your thoughts or ideas regarding a particular topic. Do not be afraid and look a little bit about other important researchers who have writings that still endure over time.

The opinion leaders in their respective topics will help you open your eyes to other fundamental aspects of the writing.

How to start an essay

When you have already defined the subject on which you are going to write, it is important that you make a thorough investigation about what you are going to write. Try to nourish yourself with information that serves as learning and that you other lights on the subject of the writing.

One of the most important tools today is the internet. However, you must be very careful of the sources you use, because, as everyone has access, the information may be wrong and without foundation.

What sources should I use for my essay?

Author : It is important that the author you choose as a source is recognized in the environment in which it operates. If he has more writings and if other important sources of information quote him as well.
Temporary : Depending on the topic you choose, you should check how current the writing is that you want to get information from. Generally medical or scientific issues must be current and with new theories.
Editions : the edition number will give you information about different updates. That is, the greater number of editions, the more current.
Where did that source come from? Many times you will find sources misquoted. That is, you must be aware of where you find the information of a certain source and if the website is reliable. Better if it’s some official site.

Do not stay with just the information that is on the internet. It is also good that you resort to physical documents because the truthfulness of your information will be much closer to scientific studies. As they say around there, everyone can write on the internet and very few write a book.

That is why we recommend using credible and weight sources. Sometimes the teachers or the audience to which the writing is directed, do not like certain type of source such as Wikipedia. Try to look for formal and not so informal sources.

You are not the only one who writes about it

Always keep in mind that you are not the first one to write about the topic you chose. Probably not only you will find a lot of information about the research you want to undertake but also other essays that can serve as a guide for the realization of yours.

Surely other people have also wondered how to make a trial? Well, take advantage of their experience and get the best out of the other writings they see so that you broaden your spectrum about the things you liked and did not (it does not mean that you copy and paste).

It will be useful to see them in the writing, examples, structures and when you read it ask yourself: what makes this essay good or bad? So you can see a guide on how to approach your topic.

As we know that you will resort, mostly to the internet, we give you some recommendations on the trials with which you can guide you.

Professionals : search for writings of people studied and recognized nationally or worldwide.
Examples : you can find essays on the same subject of yours. Take the opportunity to see the structure and perhaps, it will serve you some source of information of that essay (always verify the source).
Blogs : On the web you will find blogs by renowned scholars. Not always essays but if loose ideas that can be used for research.

Brainstorming

It is a method that is used in the professional field and in many companies. It is based on writing the thoughts that come to mind on the subject on paper, without needing to be organized or meaningful. That is, they can simply be single words.

Sit with the chosen theme and think about that. Write everything that comes to mind and from there you can come up with good ideas that you can then link and organize. One idea or word triggers in another. Put your brain to work.

Of course, this method does not work for everyone. However, the majority is useful because it also serves to discard.

Choice of the trial proposal

As in everything, you should have a base from which to start to tell the reader or the audience to which it is addressed, what is your essay and the point you want to reach.

For example: “The Internet has generated a digital dependency in today’s society that moves new generations away from libraries and physical writings”

Argumentation plan

With that main argument of what your essay will be, you can choose from 3 to 4 ideas that will sustain the writing and then begin to develop them.

“The Internet has generated a digital dependency in today’s society that moves new generations away from libraries and physical writings.”

There is greater ease in using the internet than going to a library. They are very few in the city.
Opinion leaders stopped writing books to write blogs. Cheaper and more massive.
On the internet you find more variety and visual and video resources on the same subject.
Mobile devices such as cell phones, computers or tablets, help the investigation no matter the place.

From those initial ideas to argue your essay, write the development. Of course, as you write, new and better ideas may emerge to rule out others you had.

Development of the trial

So that the essay, regardless of the subject, is not heavy on sight, try to write short paragraphs that have between 5 and 6 lines. Also, keep in mind the number of words you have been given to establish the ‘sections’ of the writing.

Always remember to develop each idea with some examples of reliable and primary sources. Always quote those sources because they will give value to your writing and solid foundations to later develop your conclusion.

It is recommended that it be divided as follows: Introduction 15%, development 70% and conclusion 15%.

Conclusion

It is one of the most important parts of the essay because here you will see the final verdict of everything you wrote. It must be very personal and based on the arguments that you exposed during the development.

In the conclusion you can confirm if the argument was correct and you can also include some other data that you captured in the development to remember and give more strength.

Bibliography

In this part of the essay, you should make a compendium of all the sources of information you used. They must include the author, name of the publication, edition, year and page number.

It is of vital importance because it will give weight to the research you did and the bases you used to draw conclusions.

Review the essay

Once you have finished writing, it is important that you review it in its entirety. Some well-known writers recommend that, after finishing it, you review it at least 24 hours later again. This way your mind will be rested from the subject and you will see it with greater freshness and objectivity. Another option is for someone else to help you review it.

Check that you do not have any spelling errors in the text. If you have doubts about a word, refer to the dictionary.
By reading the essay aloud, you will notice if you have an error in the writing. Make sure that the punctuation marks ratify the ideas that you want to express.
If you find a word that you repeat a lot, try to find a synonym so that it does not change the meaning of the idea.
If you find flaws in some argument or you think it deviates from the subject, change it to one that fits better.

This is how an essay is made: