Essays are a huge part of education. They are present at any level and need to be mastered by students of all ages. The problem with them is that they are usually really challenging. This is especially the case when teachers do not take the time needed to actually teach their students how to write better academic essays.
The very good news is there are always ways in which you can improve your academic essays. Some of the best suggestions to take into account are presented below so you can take your essay writing to the next level.
Read Essays Written By Others
When you read a book, you subconsciously change your personal writing style. The exact same thing happens when you read essays written by others. As a result, it should be a huge part of your daily routine to read essays.
Read different essays, including those that are written by academics and colleagues. Also, read some that cover other subjects than those you are preparing from. At the same time, be critical while you read. Think about what you like, what you do not like, and what you should pick up on. Be proactive with your analysis.
Work On Building Your Vocabulary
The big difference between an academic essay and a random article you find online is the language used. This is why it is very important to have a very good vocabulary if you want to write anything at an academic level.
The best essays out there use the least number of words possible to present the most complex topics. This is practically impossible to do when you cannot use the language properly.
A big part of being a very good essay writer is learning vocabulary. This is not something that you can do fast since memorization does not help. You can only really pick up the vocabulary by actively writing and reading academic materials.
Elevator Pitching
Before you start writing, you need to know what argument you want to make. After you get the argument, you can start writing so you will gradually build up to a good conclusion.
The elevator pitch is very effective in academic essay writing. It is practically a summary of everything you want to write about, together with the reasons why readers would care about it. The technique is often used by people in sales and in various forms of marketing. It is even popular in some types of journalism.
Quote Opinions
Most students do not consider this but it is an idea to take into account. Quoting opinions about the topic you want to cover is a very effective way to create engagement and build credibility.
Try to find contrasting views about the topics you want to discuss. This is a great way to make your academic essay more engaging. However, make sure that you do not quote too much and that you mix your citations. If you do this, it might seem as if you try to hide behind what others say and you do not have a personal opinion. Academic essays also need to showcase the opinions of the writer.