How to Write a Letter - Essay Example

Essay Writing Submitted by: XXXXX XXXXXXXX Number: XXXXXXX of XXXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXDate of Submission: XX – XX – 2009 Essay writing can be a very difficult task for most students (Dernbach, 2006). This paper will deal with how to write an essay, and the steps that might help ease the process. Before starting to write an essay, it is essential to first decide the topic, imagining who the readers are and finally what the researcher want to convey to the readers. Writing an essay can be divided into some simple steps which allows for a clear and well thought out structure to be formed.

There are five main steps that can be used to complete a well structured essay. These include: a) Initial Tasks: The first and initial step that needs to be undertaken by the researcher is to list out the main ideas of the essay. This can be done in few simple words and should only contain the main crux of the essay. Once this is done, the researcher should write out a few ideas ‘for’ the topic, and a few ideas ‘against’ the topic. These terms should be what the researcher agrees and disagrees with respectively. b) Building an outline: Once the main ideas are out on paper, it is essential to draw out an outline for the essay (Wyrick, 2007).

This should include a few sentences that the researcher might want to include in the essay. An outline is normally built with the following sections: Introduction Body of essay Heading 1 Heading 2 Conclusions References This allows the researcher to organise the thoughts and to correctly place the ideas into the essay. c) Creating a Draft: This is one of the best steps that allow the researcher to complete the basics in the essay. Here the researcher can include all the details of the essay and support the ideas, include facts, figures and details (McClain & Roth, 1998).

It is here that the researcher needs to ensure that the introductory paragraph is a strong well decided one, as this plays a very important role in gaining the attention of the reader. d) Revising and reviewing the essay: Once the draft is ready, it is essential to move on to reading the essay and ensuring that the writer is happy with what has been presented. This stage of the essay writing process involves reading and re – reading the essay to ensure that it is clear and covers all the main ideas.

Also this is a chance for the researcher to correct any grammatical or spelling errors and to improve the over all essay (Newsweek Education Program, 2003). It is always advisable for the researcher to add or remove a few parts of the essay and try to improve it to the maximum. e) Proof reading the essay: This is the last step for the researcher before submitting the essay. Here it is always better to read the entire essay out loud slowly. This will provide a chance to find any errors, in terms of grammar, spelling, or even punctuations.

This step is to try and find all possible errors in the essay (Murphy, 2003). Once an essay is completed and proof read, it is ready for submission. Post these steps the essay is ready for printing out and submission. Bibliography CUNY, (2000), Stages of Writing, Accessed on 19th August 2009, Retrieved from http://writesite.cuny.edu/projects/stages/index.html Dernbach, J.C., (2006), Writing Essay Exams to Succeed (Not Just to Survive), 1st August 2006, 2nd edition, Aspen Publishers McClain, M.

, & Roth, J., (1998), Schaums Quick Guide to Writing Great Essays, 31st Augst 1998, 1st Edition, McGraw – Hill Publishers Murphy, B., (2003), 5 Steps to a 5 Writing the AP English Essay, 10th December 2003, 1st Edition, McGraw – Hill Publishers Newsweek Education Program, (2003), Essay Writing: Step-By-Step: A Newsweek Education Program Guide for Teens, 22nd July 2003, Kaplan Publishers Wyrick, J., (2007), Steps to Writing Well with Additional Readings, 7th Edition, 5th January 2007, Wadsworth Publishing