What Is An Academic Essay?
An academic essay is a well-structured type of writing that students experience during their educational years. The most common goals of such writing are to either give new information or convey specific thoughts using existing facts and knowledge. It helps students show their knowledge and creativity while also encouraging them to write down the latest ideas in their heads.
The professor sometimes assigns an academic essay’s topic, and sometimes it is up to you. If you are not required to write on a particular topic, you can easily write on the subject of your choice; in this way, you have the freedom to express your ideas about the subject. You can also take help from example academic essays.
Getting Ready To Write An Academic Essay
Before you begin writing, be sure about what you will say and how you will write it. Here is what one should prepare before writing an academic essay; here it is.
Recognize your essay
What is the main idea of this topic? Its word count and deadline? Is there anything you need to discuss with your professor?
Find a topic
If you have the option of choosing the topic of your choice, consider an issue about which you already have some knowledge and which will keep your attention. Also, ask yourself if the problem you will write on will benefit society in any way.
Do your homework
For helping you to figure out your perspective and angle on the topic, read; it is your choice if you read about it through books or the internet; the important thing is to take notes. You will use these to back up your claims.
Make a thesis statement
The thesis is the main point or argument you want to make in your paper. Therefore, a clear thesis is necessary for a focused essay, and you will refer to it constantly while writing the essay.
Make a rough outline
In an outline, sketch out the general design of your essay. It makes it easy to get started and helps you stay on your topic as you write. You’re ready to start writing once you’ve decided what you want to talk about, how you want to discuss it, and what references you’ll use in your essay. You can find how to add example academic essay’s authorities on the internet.
How Can We Write An Academic Essay
Writing academic essays can be difficult for some people and easy for others. It solely depends upon your knowledge of the topic. But, we can never ignore the importance of academic essay format, as it creates a flow of the essay. So, what is the academic essay structure? Well, here it is;
Introduction
The academic essay structure we’ll be discussing is very easy. For years, it has been frequently used to develop high-quality essay samples. The main reason students continue to use it is that it is a good way of writing. A student should begin writing any academic writing assignment by crafting a strong introduction.
For example, you can look up academic essays to get an idea of writing a good introduction. Looking at good examples can assist you in getting started. Because a reader’s attention is at its peak when they first begin reading a paper, your introduction paragraph will essentially establish the tone for the entire academic essay.
- First of all, the first line of the “introduction” paragraph must be engaging and attention-catching, as it is the main goal to grab the reader’s attention and convince them to continue reading. Therefore, here are some of the finest strategies for writing the first line of the intro that helps you to get you started in a better way; you can insert a quote that aligns with your topic, or a fact that is common and known or lastly, a question can be asked to the user.
Starting From the Beginning
When you’ve come up with a strong line at the beginning, it’s time to give your readers a taste of the essay’s major topic. Because the paper’s main theme may not be obvious at this stage, you’ll need to divert your paper’s focus by providing some useful contextual background information. The background facts should be given to help readers comprehend how the issue will develop throughout the document. Finally, after you’ve created the context, it’s time to craft your thesis statement.
In summary, the thesis is your essay’s main concept or idea. In other words, it is a single sentence that summarizes the entire message you are going to deliver.
- Now, moving on to the “body” of the essay, your readers will get their knowledge from the body paragraphs of your article. The main body of mostly a five-paragraph essay is always the largest and most important section.
It answers any issues that may have arisen in the reader’s mind following the introduction. Every new point in your essay should bring the audience closer to understanding the overall topic you’ve presented. Your ultimate goal should be to bring them up to the same level of expertise on the subject that you have. It’s time to move on to the conclusion of the academic essay now.
- You must start strong and finish even stronger in whatever task you write. Then, in the end, your reader can forget what you wrote in the opening paragraph.
So, it would help if you reminded them.
In general, a good essay conclusion will include a shortened version of the thesis’s and sub points’ material.
RULES OF WRITING AN ACADEMIC ESSAY
For writing academic essays, you should follow these rules;
- The first rule is to write in well-structured sentences.
- The second is; in a sentence, the subjects and verbs must agree.
- The third rule is to correct punctuation; if required.
- Rule number four is; you must use appropriate terminologies.
- And lastly, the apostrophe must be used correctly and with care.
The Types Of Academic Essays
Here are the types of academic essays.
Descriptive writing
The basic form of academic writing. It is used to convey information or facts. A summary of an article or a report on the findings of an experiment is its examples.
Analytical writing
An academic text that is solely descriptive is not common. The majority of academic writing is likewise analytical. Analytical essay involves reorganizing the facts and information you describe into categories, groups, components, types, or relationships, as well as descriptive writing.
These categories or relationships may already be present in the discipline, or you may have to establish them specifically for your work. For example, if you’re comparing two theories, you might divide your analysis into multiple sections, such as how each approach addresses social context, language development etc.
Persuasive writing
Most academic writing assignments demand you to go one step beyond analytical writing – that is – persuasive writing. It combines all of the characteristics of analytical writing (that is, knowledge plus reorganization) with your point of view. In most essays, at least the discussion and conclusion of a research piece contain a persuasive element.
Critical writing
For research, professional, and advanced undergraduate writing, critical writing is common. It has all of the characteristics of a persuasive essay, plus at least one additional point of view. While it requires having your point of view on the topic, critical writing requires considering at least two points of view, one of which must be your own.
You could, for example, clarify a researcher’s interpretation or argument before evaluating its merits or offering your alternate perspective.
The Academic Essay Structure
The academic essay structure is very simple; it is categorized into three main parts;
Introduction; it has a teaser of your topic
Body; it consists of paragraphs that describe the topic briefly along with supporting arguments.
Conclusion; This paragraph of the academic essay sums up the topic.
Suggested Academic Essay Topics
Now we are completely done with the academic essay definition; our next main focus must be the topic of the essay. Here are a few examples of academic essay topics;
- Which country will you travel to if you get a chance to travel to your favourite country once in a lifetime?
- Why must art be taught in schools?
- How technology has helped the educational system
- The effects of covid-19 on education
Some Tips For Academic Essay Writing
Here are some tips for writing an excellent academic essay;
- The writer should always avoid contractions, that is, aren’t, can’t etc. They are not good for formal academic papers.
- Avoid the informal words and phrases; the essay must be written formally.
- The essay must contain academic words rather than normal words.
- Clearly state your argument to the readers.
- Always use the right point of view; essays can be written in the first or third person. However, you can never write it in the second person.
- Always use reliable references for your argument.
- Properly format your document.
Common Mistakes To Avoid When Writing Academic Essays
Here are a few common mistakes that students do while writing academic essays.
Too many arguments – Your professor will never like a document full of opinions; it’s good to support your claim using ideas, but you should never bombard the paper with it.
Plagiarism – each source you utilize in an essay should be quoted correctly.
Biased language and stereotypes — be on the lookout for discriminatory language and stereotypes.
Informality – In your writing, use formal, academic terminologies and avoid informal language.
Avoid padding words – avoid them to keep your writing compact.
The proofreading process is important — even little errors might affect your grades, so have your academic writing professionally proofread.
The Academic Essay Conclusion
The academic essay conclusion is that; we have briefly elaborated the definition of the academic essay; we hope this information has helped you get a jump start on being an experienced academic essay writer. Remember that the goal of an academic essay is to develop your thoughts to communicate a message. You can express your perspective and write more confidently due to improving your academic essay writing skills; we have tried our best to help you write an academic essay professionally. If you are still conscious about their writing skills, you should visit the British Assignment Writers‘ website for more assistance.