Want to know how to write a first class essay? No matter what kind of degree you are taking in college, the one thing that no student is able to escape from is the need to be able to write a really good essay. Good quality essays are essentially the cornerstone of any college class and are arguably the one thing that you absolutely cannot negotiate around when it comes to working toward your final grades and marks. Whilst some people find essay writing effortlessly easy, others struggle to master the format and structure that is required to elevate a piece of writing from average to academic. If you are in a position in college in which you need to sharpen up your writing skills in order to succeed, then here's how to write a first class essay.
It is important that you take the time to finish every single assignment that you are set in class, even if it is an optional or in class one. Getting the practise of being able to conclude things appropriately will get you in the swing of being able to put a literal and metaphorical period on all of your work, something that is really important when it comes to writing an effective essay conclusion. And that's one of the best tips for how to write a first class essay.
It’s as simple as this - you absolutely cannot write a convincing essay if you haven’t attended your classes and really learned about the subject matter. An instructor will always be able to tell when you are writing about something you have no deep knowledge on, so fix this by attending every class and reading every suggested book.
Don’t be afraid to add your own personality into your writing. A marker will be able to tell if your own signature style is being added to the essay, and you will get extra credit because if your voice is coming through, it means you are truly comfortable with the subject matter. If all you know is the basic facts, then your essay is just going to sound like a low level, regurgitated textbook that isn’t confident of its writing.
Don’t assume that just because your attendance has been perfect, that you are prepared to write a first class essay. You need to go above and beyond and add in personal study sessions in the library and online. Try to find ways to make your essay stand out from the crowd. You have all been learning the same facts and quotes in class, so make your writing stand out by finding sources elsewhere that only you will be able to include.
The worst thing you can do is play it safe. Do you know how many students turn in essays about Victorian literature that only focus on Charles Dickens? Try to think outside the box and research people and things that nobody else will be talking about. When it comes to making yourself stand out and getting that first class mark, it is always worth an educated gamble.
You need to make sure that you hit the brief bang on because going off on tangents or being vague is not the way to get top marks. Read through the specifics of the assignment that you have been set, and before you settle on your final draft, make sure that you have covered every single thing that was required of you.
Whenever you make a point of opinion on your argument, you need to make sure that you always have a source to support it and back it up. Being able to interact with secondary academic sources in order to strengthen your own argument is what takes an average essay and turns it into a first class essay.
You absolutely cannot get away with not including a bibliography at the end of your essay. This is a technical academic requirement, and you need to appropriately cite every source that you use or mention in your argument, including primary texts and secondary texts.
Your conclusion needs to be a confident summary of the argument that you have clearly laid out in the previous paragraphs. You should not be adding anything new to the mix at this point, but rather bringing together all of your strongest points in order to show that the opinion you have expressed throughout the essay is the only logical conclusion that could have been reached.
It always pays off to take a look at your college’s requirements when it comes to the structure and format of your essay. What kind of citing and bibliography system do they use? Do you need to include footnotes? All of these things are important when reaching for first class marks!