Writing an essay can be challenging, and if it is not properly planned, you can find out in the middle of the essay that you have run out of ideas. Therefore, you must have a rough draft for essay before you start writing. Planning an essay before writing is essential to avoid getting stuck in the middle of the essay.
Learning how to draft an essay effectively
Before writing at all, there are steps that you need to take. These steps, if done properly, can make writing easier for you.
- Prewriting
The prewriting stage of an essay involves brainstorming. This could be done in a spider diagram format. The topic is in the middle, while all your ideas are around the circle. This guides you in outlining your ideas when it comes to essay planning.
- Outlining
After brainstorming, the next thing is to write an outline. At this point, you organize all your ideas in the order you want them to be. It would help if you also eliminated all repetitions and redundant ideas. Outlines should be done in topic sentences to help you remember what you want to write at a glance. You might still get stuck if the outline needs to be properly done.
- Drafting
After creating an outline, the next thing is to have a rough draft. The initial draft is usually less coordinated than the final draft. It might be filled with a lot of errors and a lot of disconnection in ideas.
Do not bother about this. Remember, this is like a skeleton for the major work, so do not spend too much time on it. It would help if you were more concerned about expressing your ideas as they come to mind.
- Revising/Rewriting
Since your first essay draft usually needs to be coordinated, you need to re-read what you have written and rewrite it. At this point in the writing, you must ensure that your ideas are coordinated and properly linked. Also, ensure that each paragraph contains at most one idea.
The best essay format is to write in paragraphs. A paragraph should express only one idea. At the point of the writing, ensure that you have not jumbled up all the points in a paragraph. You should also ensure that your paragraphs are chronologically arranged.
- Proofreading and editing
Once you are done with the writing and revising stage of your essay writing, the next thing is to re-read. Ensure that you note every punctuation, spelling, and grammar error. Also, ensure that the correct sentence constructions are used, and the right linking words are used.
Essay writing is only complete with proofreading and editing. You might submit a load of errors if you write your essay without proofreading. If you need professional help to proofread and edit your work, do not hesitate to seek one. You could also ask friends and colleagues to peer-review for you and edit where necessary.
What is the correct essay format?
Essays generally have a format they follow. You cannot write an essay anyhow. The format must be adhered to. The format of an essay is as follows:
- The introduction
Every essay must have an introduction. This is where you give all the background information necessary about the essay. This is not the essay’s main body, so it should be a manageable length.
- The body
After the introduction of the essay comes the body. This is the point where you explain all your ideas. The body of an essay should always be written in sentences. Whether you can list or not depends on the type of essay you are writing.
Generally, in essays, subtitles are not used. Everything you want to write should be written in a sentence format. There must also be a link of ideas in the essay’s body.
- The conclusion
This is the final part of the essay. The conclusion is not a repetition of what you said earlier. The conclusion is meant to reinforce what has been said and give a call to action.
There are many ways you could conclude your essay, depending on the type of essay writing. You could conclude by making a direct call to action. You could also conclude by highlighting important things that spur the reader to action.
Final words
The major problem with drafting an essay is getting stuck in the middle of the essay. Before you begin writing, ensure you have properly drafted the plan for your essay. Write out all the ideas as they come to mind.
Rushing through your essay will not allow you to follow the necessary steps to have a good essay. It would help if you never started your essay when it is almost time to submit it. Doing this will guarantee a lot of errors in your essay.