Essay writing forms a crucial part of various competitive exams. You need to adopt the right technique to ace the art of essay writing. This article intends to provide a step-by-step approach of writing a good essay.
Understanding an essay:
An essay is basically a piece of writing composed of a coherent set of ideas related to a particular topic. The purpose of writing an essay is to analyse a given subject and form an opinion on it. The examiners tend to evaluate your essay on the basis of its structure, grammar, clarity and development of ideas. An essay generally leads to one conclusion.
Boost your knowledge:
Keep yourself updated and informed on latest issues and topics of national importance. Having a sound knowledge of various issues will help you justify your ideas in an essay. You need to inculcate a habit of diverse reading in order to widen your knowledge base.
Drafting the essay:
The first step is to read the topic well and note down the ideas that come to your mind. The next step is to brainstorm and generate ideas for the given topic. The best way is to jot down the main points and short keywords. Evaluate the topic on the basis of following aspects:
- What, when, why, how, where, who etc.
- Cause and consequences
- Social, cultural, political, economical etc.
- Instances, examples, illustrations, analogies etc.
- Quotes, proverbs, sayings.
Keeping these essentials in mind will help you write the essay in a rational and precise manner.
Essay framework:
After the brainstorming as explained above, review the points you have noted down. Number those points in a logical sequence and analyse them well.
An effective title:
The title of the essay should reflect the essence and content of the essay. You can also use a quote or phrase to name your essay. It should not be more than 7-8 words. In case you are unable to think of a suitable title, do it after writing the essay.
GDPI Essay Preparation Links:
Introduction of the essay:
The first paragraph of the essay holds great significance. You need to pay special attention to the introductory paragraph of your essay.
- The first line of the paragraph should be able to capture the attention of the examiner in the first reading.
- It is always a good idea to start your essay with a quote or anecdote. Also, make sure that it is relevant to the topic.
- The basic goal of an introductory paragraph is to clarify the purpose of essay to the reader.
- State the central idea of the topic in a concise way.
Body of the essay:
This part consists of multiple paragraphs that connect in a logical order. Body paragraphs aim to justify your stance in the essay. Special care should be taken to assure that one paragraph follows the other in a proper order.
- Organize and develop the various aspects and points of the essay in a logical sequence.
- State the most valuable and impactful point just after the introductory paragraph.
- You can make use of appropriate illustrations and facts to support your ideas and opinion.
- Try to form paragraphs of same length.
- Make sure that you do not deviate from the central idea and theme of the topic.
Concluding paragraph:
The conclusion is the sum-up of all the points that you elaborate in the main body of the essay. It is not just a summary of your ideas but also reflects your final perspective on the given topic.
- Try to conclude the main points in a different way than stated in the body of the essay.
- You can give suggestions, state limitations and scope of your approach in the concluding paragraph.
- A solution-oriented conclusion always makes a good impression.
- It is recommended that you end your essay on a positive note.
Finally, check your essay for any spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, relevancy or other editing. Examine your essay from a reader’s perspective and make changes accordingly.
