Essay writing introduction – basic concept

People generally think that essay writing is quiet difficult and monotonous kind of a task, but by keeping in mind the basic concept of essay writing this task can be made simpler and more interesting. An essay can be five paragraphs to twenty or more pages long, covering any topic, whether general or specific. The word "essay" has been derived from the French infinitive essayer, meaning "to try" or "to attempt". An Essay is basically an attempt to explain your point of view, trying or attempting is one thing that is common in all the essays.

BASIC STEPS IN ESSAY WRITING:

1. Defining the context. If an essay is assigned to you, certain guidelines/parameters will usually be defined .Like the word limit or length of the essay, format of the title page, and the target audience who is going to read the essay. One can be very liberal while writing an essay but remember to stick to the parameters given.
2. Choosing a topic. Generally this will be decided for you, but if not, try to choose a topic of your interest ,something you know very well ,you are confident about and you want to share it with others. This will make the essay interesting and easier to write. Decide upon your thesis statement. Thesis statement is what your essay is attempting to explain/prove.
3. Gathering information. Make sure to gather the relevant and to the point information because excess information will lead to confusion. Whether it's personal observations or scientific facts, you'll need evidence to back up your thesis statement. Keep detailed track of all the sources from which facts are being collected.
4. Planning your essay. Planning is the most important step because until and unless we don’t plan we will not be able to get desired results. Decide which point you want to talk about first, what all points you want to highlight and how much time you are going to spend on writing the essay.
5. Writing the body of your essay. In this stage the rough information/facts collected gets converted into actual shape. Now you can actually explain and argue the topic under discussion. The message that you want to convey can be explained through main points or through sub points.
6. Avoid using statements like “I think” or”according to me” until and unless your personal opinion is asked for.
7. Concluding your Essay. Conclusion sums up your point or provides a final perspective on your topic. Conclusion can be drawn by using few strong sentences without using any set formula. Go through the main points and express your thoughts regarding them. Usage of an anecdote can be made to conclude the essay.
8. Adding finishing touches. We all know that the current market requires good packaging so adding finishing touches to the essay makes your hard work look more impressive and appealing.

Make sure that:

• You have followed the guidelines / instructions given to you while writing essay
• Ensure that the paragraphs are properly ordered
• If you are writing it on paper check your handwriting
• Also use the vocabulary that can be easily understood by your target audience
• Read through your essay. At this stage your focus should be to ensure correct flow of your essay. Any spelling or grammatical mistake can be dealt with later. Each and every statement being used should have some relation with the previous one. Go step by step to ensure that your essay flows smoothly. Do not rush and take sufficient time to check each and every sentence/statement. Remember “Slow and steady wins the race”, after all it’s about your presentation, your thoughts.
• Revising and Proofreading your Essay. Sometimes the paper you write is not the essay you originally planned. It is difficult to accomplish all that one set out to in a paper, and sometimes you may find that your ideas about your subject have changed as you've been writing. So to avoid this mantra is “Revising”. Now check for spelling and/or grammatical errors. After this you can be sure that whatever you have written will be liked and admired by the reader(s).