Tips for Creating an Essay Draft
In this article, we are going to briefly discuss the topic of creating an essay draft. Let us imagine that you have already finished the research in an organized manner. Besides, there is a final draft of the essay plan, an outline. In this case, a lot of decisions regarding your essay have already been considered. Here are some of them.
- You know the answer to the essay question
- You are well aware of the points that will be discussed to support your argument
- You have considered the order of discussion of the main points
- You understand how long to discuss each main point
- You know what info should be included in each paragraph (what information to use when discussing the main points)
- You have got the references to support the argument
When preparing carefully, it is much easier for students to write an essay. Nevertheless, sometimes paper writing can be quite a challenging task, so that you should pursue writing and improving the text. You can consult with the teacher, too. Remember to clarify all the requirements to a particular academic assignment, as they can vary depending on the educational level, the disciplines as well as other aspects. Follow all the requirements, stick to the writing conventions, check every single point in detail.
While creating the first draft utilizing the essay plan as a guide as well as including all the info organized in the research document, the students ought to draw attention to the next points:
- Ensure that you choose the most suitable examples from the research to use.
- Check whether the essay flows coherently, be sure whether you utilize the appropriate topic sentences to link each new topic back to the question.
- Make sure that your text complies with all the rules and requirements of formal academic style.
- Strictly follow the necessary format of the essay, correctly apply all the formatting requirements regarding your specific course (including the line spacing, page margins, font, etc.).
- Ensure that you add your in-text references, footnotes when writing; you should pay attention and do not postpone doing this. As you use the info from the research document that provides you with the references, usually it should not cause difficulties. Anyway, you may clarify all the unclear points if necessary.
- Etc.
Basic Guidelines for Academic Writing
Sometimes the students may not distinctly understand how to apply academic writing style, what they should do, and what rules to follow. With no doubts, all the students should study all the necessary guidelines for creating an academic paper correctly. Of course, you need to practice a lot. The more academic sources you study, the more distinct it will be to you what academic writing is and how the essays ought to sound. While practicing and mastering the writing process, the student is developing his/ her writing style, i.e., “voice” over time.
There are a lot of academic conventions that should be taken into account and learned in detail. The students ought to ensure that the academic style is used properly, and the tone of the essay is appropriate. You should check all the information by asking your teacher, as various disciplines and courses can have different expectations as well as approaches.
Formality of Academic Writing
The essay should be written following all the academic standards so that you ought to follow particular rules. An academic paper should be concise, clear, professional, impersonal, formal.
Evidence to Support the Arguments
Academic writing significantly differs from non-academic writing. In particular, academic papers present the arguments as well as ideas that are supported by the evidence (often with the help of citing other studies or research). In this way, the students ought to learn how to reference properly, as it is a significant part of writing.
When writing an academic essay, you should provide the assertions or claims and always support them with the evidence. There are various referencing styles, so you should carefully check all the requirements for your particular academic assignment and study this topic further in detail. You ought to learn credible information on how to cite correctly as well as observe several examples of referencing in different styles.
Usage of the First Person
Academic writing should be impersonal and formal. So, generally, “I” is not used in the essays; academic papers are generally not written in the first person. Nevertheless, there are exceptions, so that every student should check all the requirements according to a particular academic assignment.
Avoiding the personal “I” may help the sentences sound more direct as well as clearer, more academic, and more concise; thus, we can directly state the point.
Moreover, the use of the first person can often be unnecessary (redundant). It is supposed that the readers know that the statement reflects what the writer believes. Furthermore, the sentence that is not written in the first person seems to be more convincing, straight to the point, and direct.
Punctuation, Spelling, Grammar
Remember that your paper should contain no mistakes of any kind. So, you should check your essay attentively to create a highly polished and accurate essay. Correct spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc. are extremely important in academic writing. The students ought to write formally as well as following the high academic standards. Your writing should be as accurate as it is possible so that there are not any unclear points for the teacher. An accurately written and proofread essay can significantly improve the grades.
Be sure to review the paper, proofread, and edit as many times as it is necessary. Keep in mind that the spell-check or grammar-check on Microsoft Word, for example, cannot detect all the mistakes as well as such grammar-checking often offers incorrect suggestions. This is basically because the computer programs can`t understand the real context and what the writer is trying to say. Of course, they are useful tools, but they can`t replace a professional essay editor. So that if you need any help with editing, you may seek professional help and have your paper checked by an experienced essay editor.
Conclusion
So, you should study this topic further in detail, as this is a brief guide that is only for general understanding. You ought to clarify all the requirements by asking your professor and follow them. Check every single point at each step of writing, carefully review and proofread the academic paper according to the high academic standards. There are multiple rules to stick to while writing various types of academic assignments, essays, dissertations, theses, etc. The requirements for the style, format as well as a lot of other aspects can significantly vary, so that be sure to check everything meticulously. Start practicing and creating a quality academic paper.
If you need any assistance with your paper, please, feel free to contact us. Good luck to you!
