Essay Writing Guidelines For Your English Classes

Writing is the backbone of most English classes with reading coming up as a close second. The way you approach you writing assignments can therefore determine your success or failure in the course ultimately. Don’t let this frighten you, though. Here are some guidelines you can stick to for success.

Remember the essay format

Your essay should contain an introduction, a body an a conclusion. Plan your essay accordingly and arrange the parts so that they flow best. This may take a little while but it’s well worth it to have an essay that adheres to time honored traditions of academic writing. If you aren’t sure what each part of your essay should include, check the web for in-depth information.

Pick your topic carefully

Your skills may be disguised if the topic you choose is uninspiring. Pick a topic that a lively, well researched essay can be born out of. Your teachers may not always admit it but correcting essays can be rather dull. An interesting essay helps make the task less so. Be sure to avoid controversies that can lead to lower marks. You can write about them but it’s better to do so in your free time rather than to submit them for grades.

Proofread and edit

The last thing you should do before submitting an essay is proofread and edit carefully. This is just as important as planning. No matter how much you try to convince people that you can spell properly, careless mistakes in an essay will make you seem incompetent. Avoid this by using spell check and then reading over your work aloud. If you can get someone else to do this too, that’s even better. Two sets of eyes are more likely to catch the hidden errors.

Get a second opinion

If you already have someone to help you proofread and edit, you should ask for their opinion on your essay. This can give you a look at your writing through someone else’s eyes and may even inspire you to another round of editing or help you come up with a topic for your next essay.

English classes will be much easier with the right essay writing style. Read up on it from different sources and you will find writing becomes almost second nature to you.