Go online, head to the library or search an academic database. You may ask a reference librarian for help.
Know which sources are acceptable to your teacher.
Does your teacher want a certain number of primary sources and secondary sources?
Can you use Wikipedia? Wikipedia is often a good starting point for learning about a topic, but many teachers won't let you cite it because they want you to find more authoritative sources.
Take detailed notes, keeping track of which facts come from which sources. Write down your sources in the correct citation format so that you don't have to go back and look them up again later.
Never ignore facts and claims that seem to disprove your original idea or claim. A good essay writer either includes the contrary evidence and shows why such evidence is not valid or alters his or her point of view in light of the evidence.
2
Analyze some well-written essays. In your research, you'll probably come across some really well-written (and not so well-written) arguments about your topic. Do some analysis to see what makes them work.
What claims does the author make?
Why do they sound good? Is it the logic, the sources, the writing, the structure? Is it something else?
What evidence does the author present?
Why does the evidence sound credible? How does the author present facts, and what is his/her approach to telling a story with facts?
Is the logic sound or faulty, and why?
Why is the logic sound? Does the author back up his/her claims with examples that are easy to follow?
3
Brainstorm your own ideas. Sure, you can use the arguments of others to back up what you want to say. However, you need to come up with your original spin on the topic to make it uniquely yours.
Make lists of ideas. You can also try mind mapping.
Take your time. Walk in your neighborhood or local park and think about your topic. Be prepared for ideas to come to you when you least expect them.
4
Pick your thesis statement.
Look at the ideas that you generated. Choose one to three of your strongest ideas that support your topic. You should be able to support these ideas with evidence from your research.
Write a thesis statement that summarizes the ideas that you plan to present. Essentially, let the reader know where you're going and why.
A thesis statement should have a narrow focus include both your topic and what you plan to present. For example, "Although Eli Whitney's cotton gin ushered in a new era of American prosperity, it also widened the gap in suffering for African-American slaves, who would soon be more in demand, and more exploited, than ever."
A thesis statement should not ask a question, be written in first person ("I"), roam off-topic or be combative.
5
Plan your essay. Take the thoughts that you brainstormed and assemble them into an outline. Write a topic sentence for your main ideas. Then, underneath, make bullet points and list your supporting evidence. Generally, you want three arguments or pieces of evidence to support each main idea.
Topic sentence: "Eli Whitney's cotton gin made life harder on African American slaves."
Ex: "The success of cotton made it harder for slaves to purchase their own freedom."
Ex: "Many northern slaves were in danger of being kidnapped and brought down south to work in the cotton fields."
Ex: "In 1790, before the cotton gin, slaves in America totaled about 700,000. In 1810, after the cotton gin had been adopted, slaves totaled about 1.2 million, a 70% increase."
6
Write the body of your essay. You do want to think about length here; don't write pages and pages if your teacher wants 5 paragraphs. However, you should freewrite to let your thoughts reveal themselves. You can always make them more concise later.
Avoid sweeping generalizations. Statements such as "______ is the most important problem facing the world today," can cause your reader to dismiss your position out of hand if he/she disagrees with you. On the other hand, "______ is a significant
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fdgdfgdfgdfgdfgBelow are brief summaries of each of the ten steps to writing an essay. Select the links for more info on any particular step, or use the blue navigation bar on the left to proceed through the writing steps. How To Write an Essay can be viewed sequentially, as if going through ten sequential steps in an essay writing process, or can be explored by individual topic. Learning how to write an essay can be a maddening, exasperating process, but it doesn't have to be. If you know the…
How to write an essay 1. Pick a topic. You may have your topic assigned, or you may be given free reign to write on the subject of your choice. If you are given the topic, you should think about the type of paper that you want to produce. Should it be a general overview of the subject or a specific analysis? Narrow your focus if necessary. If you have not been assigned a topic, you have a little more work to do. However, this opportunity also gives you the advantage to choose a subject that…
Society and Culture Assessment 1 week 3 Sarah Sneesby Writing an essay for the social sciences can be daunting. There are many aspects one must consider in order to produce a successful social science essay. The aspects of academic language, structuring an essay and the importance of research will be explored throughout this essay. When writing an essay for the social sciences it is important to address the aspect of academic language and writing. Academic writing means to use formal language…
this os not an essay and i did this so i could look at other peoples essays... Brief guide[edit] Check to see if the topic of the essay has been covered by skimming through Wikipedia:Essays in a nutshell. Avoid writing redundant essays. Start the essay as a draft in the userspace. Be concise and to the point. Tag the essay with {{essay}}. Use {{nutshell}} to summarize the gist of the essay. Create a shortcut that redirects to the essay. Categorize the essay, and use any relevant navigational…
Allison Rinehimer Writing Center Mr. William Phillips 1 September 2012 How I Write When I approach a writing assignment, I often delay commencement because writing is most of the time a long drawn out struggle for me. Depending on the task, I might procrastinate or start as soon as possible to complete it on time. No matter the task assigned, I always approach it with the same tool, a computer. I am not particular when it comes to the style of computer or the brand of the computer, but…
So easy to write, just follow your mind and you can do it. Go for it. There are several techniques. First is to learn to write, second develop a strategy and then work on it. Look for the ways to improve your writing Take help from dictionary and use wise and simple words You can also take help from google and wikipedia ABC Construction and Leasing Company is interested in investing in the residential real estate market due to a relatively low interest rate environment. The Company…
Who would be the better role model, Marilyn Bell Di Lascio or Sharon Wood? These two passages tell stories of Marilyn Bell Di Lascio and Sharon Wood, and they are both really amazing people. They both accomplished a really hard task by overcoming difficult obstacles. However, if I had to choose one role model between them, I would choose Sharon Wood than Marilyn Bell Di Lascio. To begin with, while Sharon Wood was independent in overcoming obstacles, Marilyn needed help from others. If a person…
Question: Crossing boundaries involves overcoming challenges. Explain how this is evident in your set text and two other pieces of related material from your research. Introduction: - Use the first few sentences of your introduction to answer the question asked. You must explain how you will approach the question. (Thesis) - Go through Crossing Boundaries concepts that you will explore. Relate these concepts to your thesis. - Introduce your texts and the composer of those texts. - You may…
How to write a good essay. RESEARCH Read light to thorough resources, familiarize yourself with the basic issues; then move to more thorough research on the Academic Databases More academic sources Write down quotations, write down the source immediately Quote briefly from a wide range of sources – take a little from a lot. A lot of small quotations from numerous sources – seems well-read, knowledgeable and credible. Mix up your search words that have similar meanings ANALYSIS Scholars…