How to succeed with different types of academic essays


Academic essays come in many forms. From persuasive and informative to narrative and expository, there are plenty of ways to write an essay. It may seem like they are functionally different since some explain and inform while others tell a story or persuade a reader; but in actuality, the essence of every type of essay is persuasive. Every essay is designed to convince the reader to agree with you in some way, even the essays that have the purpose of telling stories or explaining a concept. Remembering that every essay is persuasive makes it much easier to manage all of the different types of essays so you can find success.

These are a few tips to create success with your essays:

Write a compelling introduction: Your introduction is the only time you get to make a first impression with the reader. Your introduction is like the movie trailer. If you cannot draw the reader in at the beginning, then you are already setting yourself up for failure.

Make your position statement clear and arguable:If your reader does not know what you are trying to prove, then your reader will convinced throughout the entire essay. Put the position statement in the recognizable location at the end of the introduction paragraph.

Use solid evidence and explain it clearly: A convincing argument takes real evidence, so be sure that you are not making up evidence. If your evidence is not general knowledge, you should explain it so the reader understands why you are using it. You should also clearly show where you were able to find your evidence, too.

Make it personal: Readers want to be able to connect to the writer, so include your personality where you can. As you write, let your word choice and sentence structure show your unique style. In some places, like the conclusion, you might even be able to make some personal comments. If you do include personal comments, always avoid writing things like “I think” or “In my opinion” because the fact that you are writing, those statements are already understood by the reader.

End with strength: Too many essay writers neglect the end of their essays. When writers neglect the ending, they usually leave their readers hanging, hoping for something to happen. Essays need to be closed in order for writers to really make their points and for the readers to completely understand what the writer is trying to convey.

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