What makes a interesting essay? Teachers and professors will probably not even address this issue, because they is no specific mark scheme for ‘interesting’ and other things are supposedly more important. If you check with any official essay rubric, you will see that you can get the highest marks for being clear and logical, for going smoothly from one point to the next, for presenting good knowledge of the course material, for making good use of sources etc. etc., but there is little mention of making your writing interesting.
Should Your Academic Essay be Interesting?
But this does not mean you should not try to make your writing interesting, and in-fact, interesting writing can still be very important even though there is no formal way to mark for it. Why is this? Because while the rubric is rigid and formal, the person marking your essay is a human being, and not only a human being, but a human being marking many other essays which will be very similar to yours. If after the 14th essay they come across yours and see that it is interesting, this gives you a positive bias. Ultimately, your essay does not have to be interesting to get good marks, but it can have a surprising effect on you overall mark if you take the time to make it interesting.
Tips for Making an Essay More Interesting
Every aspect of your writing can be adapted to make it more interesting, including the structure, the content, the background research, and the tone.
1. Think outside the Box
If you are permitted to, don’t rely on the normal writing conventions.
2. Let Your Personality Shine through
You probably won’t be able to give opinions or use colloquial language, but that does not mean you cannot inject energy into your writing by making it more personal
3. Make the Work Varied
Use a variety of sources, a variety of sentence structures, a variety of viewpoints...
4. Start with an Interesting Topic
If you have a choice between different topics for your essay, then a simple way to ensure your essay is interesting is to go for a topic that fits this description. If the topic is old and mundane, it won’t be easy to make something interesting out of it. On the other hand, an interesting topic precludes really interesting writing.
5. Edit Thoroughly
When you edit your work, ask yourself constantly whether you find it interesting, and whether it can be made interesting by adding new things or making modifications.
The Next Steps
Getting the help and advice of others is an effective way to make your writing dynamic, with such things as custom essay writing services and advice from tutors and academics.
Creativity and ideas are your friends when it comes to making interesting work, and the best way to get your creativity flowing is to do creative things and let ideas come to you naturally. You can always set up idea sessions with your peers to get the ideas flowing, though other people find it easier to do this on their own.
