what is a good academic essay

Academic Essay: From Basics to Practical Tips

Has it ever occurred to you that over the span of a solitary academic term, a typical university student can produce sufficient words to compose an entire 500-page novel? To provide context, this equates to approximately 125,000 to 150,000 words, encompassing essays, research papers, and various written tasks. This content volume is truly remarkable, emphasizing the importance of honing the skill of crafting scholarly essays. Whether you're a seasoned academic or embarking on the initial stages of your educational expedition, grasping the nuances of constructing a meticulously organized and thoroughly researched essay is paramount.

Welcome to our guide on writing an academic essay! Whether you're a seasoned student or just starting your academic journey, the prospect of written homework can be exciting and overwhelming. In this guide, we'll break down the process step by step, offering tips, strategies, and examples to help you navigate the complexities of scholarly writing. By the end, you'll have the tools and confidence to tackle any essay assignment with ease. Let's dive in!

Types of Academic Writing

The process of writing an essay usually encompasses various types of papers, each serving distinct purposes and adhering to specific conventions. Here are some common types of academic writing:

• Essays: Essays are versatile expressions of ideas. Descriptive essays vividly portray subjects, narratives share personal stories, expository essays convey information, and persuasive essays aim to influence opinions.
• Research Papers: Research papers are analytical powerhouses. Analytical papers dissect data or topics, while argumentative papers assert a stance backed by evidence and logical reasoning.
• Reports: Reports serve as narratives in specialized fields. Technical reports document scientific or technical research, while business reports distill complex information into actionable insights for organizational decision-making.
• Reviews: Literature reviews provide comprehensive summaries and evaluations of existing research, while critical analyses delve into the intricacies of books or movies, dissecting themes and artistic elements.
• Dissertations and Theses: Dissertations represent extensive research endeavors, often at the doctoral level, exploring profound subjects. Theses, common in master's programs, showcase mastery over specific topics within defined scopes.
• Summaries and Abstracts: Summaries and abstracts condense larger works. Abstracts provide concise overviews, offering glimpses into key points and findings.
• Case Studies: Case studies immerse readers in detailed analyses of specific instances, bridging theoretical concepts with practical applications in real-world scenarios.
• Reflective Journals: Reflective journals serve as personal platforms for articulating thoughts and insights based on one's academic journey, fostering self-expression and intellectual growth.
• Academic Articles: Scholarly articles, published in academic journals, constitute the backbone of disseminating original research, contributing to the collective knowledge within specific fields.
• Literary Analyses: Literary analyses unravel the complexities of written works, decoding themes, linguistic nuances, and artistic elements, fostering a deeper appreciation for literature.

Our essay writer service can cater to all types of academic writings that you might encounter on your educational path. Use it to gain the upper hand in school or college and save precious free time.

Essay Writing Process Explained

The process of how to write an academic essay involves a series of important steps. To start, you'll want to do some pre-writing, where you brainstorm essay topics , gather information, and get a good grasp of your topic. This lays the groundwork for your essay.

Once you have a clear understanding, it's time to draft your essay. Begin with an introduction that grabs the reader's attention, gives some context, and states your main argument or thesis. The body of your essay follows, where each paragraph focuses on a specific point supported by examples or evidence. Make sure your ideas flow smoothly from one paragraph to the next, creating a coherent and engaging narrative.

After the drafting phase, take time to revise and refine your essay. Check for clarity, coherence, and consistency. Ensure your ideas are well-organized and that your writing effectively communicates your message. Finally, wrap up your essay with a strong conclusion that summarizes your main points and leaves a lasting impression on the reader.

How to Prepare for Essay Writing 

Before you start writing an academic essay, there are a few things to sort out. First, make sure you totally get what the assignment is asking for. Break down the instructions and note any specific rules from your teacher. This sets the groundwork.

Then, do some good research. Check out books, articles, or trustworthy websites to gather solid info about your topic. Knowing your stuff makes your essay way stronger. Take a bit of time to brainstorm ideas and sketch out an outline. It helps you organize your thoughts and plan how your essay will flow. Think about the main points you want to get across.

Lastly, be super clear about your main argument or thesis. This is like the main point of your essay, so make it strong. Considering who's going to read your essay is also smart. Use language and tone that suits your academic audience. By ticking off these steps, you'll be in great shape to tackle your essay with confidence.

Academic Essay Example

In academic essays, examples act like guiding stars, showing the way to excellence. Let's check out some good examples to help you on your journey to doing well in your studies.

Academic Essay Format

The academic essay format typically follows a structured approach to convey ideas and arguments effectively. Here's an academic essay format example with a breakdown of the key elements:

Introduction

• Hook: Begin with an attention-grabbing opening to engage the reader.
• Background/Context: Provide the necessary background information to set the stage.
• Thesis Statement: Clearly state the main argument or purpose of the essay.

Body Paragraphs

• Topic Sentence: Start each paragraph with a clear topic sentence that relates to the thesis.
• Supporting Evidence: Include evidence, examples, or data to back up your points.
• Analysis: Analyze and interpret the evidence, explaining its significance in relation to your argument.
• Transition Sentences: Use these to guide the reader smoothly from one point to the next.

Counterargument (if applicable)

• Address Counterpoints: Acknowledge opposing views or potential objections.
• Rebuttal: Refute counterarguments and reinforce your position.

Conclusion:

• Restate Thesis: Summarize the main argument without introducing new points.
• Summary of Key Points: Recap the main supporting points made in the body.
• Closing Statement: End with a strong concluding thought or call to action.

References/Bibliography

• Cite Sources: Include proper citations for all external information used in the essay.
• Follow Citation Style: Use the required citation style (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.) specified by your instructor.
• Font and Size: Use a standard font (e.g., Times New Roman, Arial) and size (12-point).
• Margins and Spacing: Follow specified margin and spacing guidelines.
• Page Numbers: Include page numbers if required.

Adhering to this structure helps create a well-organized and coherent academic essay that effectively communicates your ideas and arguments.

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How to Write an Academic Essay Step by Step

Start with an introduction.

The introduction of an essay serves as the reader's initial encounter with the topic, setting the tone for the entire piece. It aims to capture attention, generate interest, and establish a clear pathway for the reader to follow. A well-crafted introduction provides a brief overview of the subject matter, hinting at the forthcoming discussion, and compels the reader to delve further into the essay. Consult our detailed guide on how to write an essay introduction for extra details.

Captivate Your Reader

Engaging the reader within the introduction is crucial for sustaining interest throughout the essay. This involves incorporating an engaging hook, such as a thought-provoking question, a compelling anecdote, or a relevant quote. By presenting an intriguing opening, the writer can entice the reader to continue exploring the essay, fostering a sense of curiosity and investment in the upcoming content. To learn more about how to write a hook for an essay , please consult our guide,

Provide Context for a Chosen Topic

In essay writing, providing context for the chosen topic is essential to ensure that readers, regardless of their prior knowledge, can comprehend the subject matter. This involves offering background information, defining key terms, and establishing the broader context within which the essay unfolds. Contextualization sets the stage, enabling readers to grasp the significance of the topic and its relevance within a particular framework. If you buy a dissertation or essay, or any other type of academic writing, our writers will produce an introduction that follows all the mentioned quality criteria.

Make a Thesis Statement

The thesis statement is the central anchor of the essay, encapsulating its main argument or purpose. It typically appears towards the end of the introduction, providing a concise and clear declaration of the writer's stance on the chosen topic. A strong thesis guides the reader on what to expect, serving as a roadmap for the essay's subsequent development.

Outline the Structure of Your Essay

Clearly outlining the structure of the essay in the introduction provides readers with a roadmap for navigating the content. This involves briefly highlighting the main points or arguments that will be explored in the body paragraphs. By offering a structural overview, the writer enhances the essay's coherence, making it easier for the reader to follow the logical progression of ideas and supporting evidence throughout the text.

Continue with the Main Body

The main body is the most important aspect of how to write an academic essay where the in-depth exploration and development of the chosen topic occur. Each paragraph within this section should focus on a specific aspect of the argument or present supporting evidence. It is essential to maintain a logical flow between paragraphs, using clear transitions to guide the reader seamlessly from one point to the next. The main body is an opportunity to delve into the nuances of the topic, providing thorough analysis and interpretation to substantiate the thesis statement.

Choose the Right Length

Determining the appropriate length for an essay is a critical aspect of effective communication. The length should align with the depth and complexity of the chosen topic, ensuring that the essay adequately explores key points without unnecessary repetition or omission of essential information. Striking a balance is key – a well-developed essay neither overextends nor underrepresents the subject matter. Adhering to any specified word count or page limit set by the assignment guidelines is crucial to meet academic requirements while maintaining clarity and coherence.

Write Compelling Paragraphs

In academic essay writing, thought-provoking paragraphs form the backbone of the main body, each contributing to the overall argument or analysis. Each paragraph should begin with a clear topic sentence that encapsulates the main point, followed by supporting evidence or examples. Thoroughly analyzing the evidence and providing insightful commentary demonstrates the depth of understanding and contributes to the overall persuasiveness of the essay. Cohesion between paragraphs is crucial, achieved through effective transitions that ensure a smooth and logical progression of ideas, enhancing the overall readability and impact of the essay.

Finish by Writing a Conclusion

The conclusion serves as the essay's final impression, providing closure and reinforcing the key insights. It involves restating the thesis without introducing new information, summarizing the main points addressed in the body, and offering a compelling closing thought. The goal is to leave a lasting impact on the reader, emphasizing the significance of the discussed topic and the validity of the thesis statement. A well-crafted conclusion brings the essay full circle, leaving the reader with a sense of resolution and understanding. Have you already seen our collection of new persuasive essay topics ? If not, we suggest you do it right after finishing this article to boost your creativity!

Proofread and Edit the Document

After completing the essay, a critical step is meticulous proofreading and editing. This process involves reviewing the document for grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and punctuation issues. Additionally, assess the overall coherence and flow of ideas, ensuring that each paragraph contributes effectively to the essay's purpose. Consider the clarity of expression, the appropriateness of language, and the overall organization of the content. Taking the time to proofread and edit enhances the overall quality of the essay, presenting a polished and professional piece of writing. It is advisable to seek feedback from peers or instructors to gain additional perspectives on the essay's strengths and areas for improvement. For more insightful tips, feel free to check out our guide on how to write a descriptive essay .

Alright, let's wrap it up. Knowing how to write academic essays is a big deal. It's not just about passing assignments – it's a skill that sets you up for effective communication and deep thinking. These essays teach us to explain our ideas clearly, build strong arguments, and be part of important conversations, both in school and out in the real world. Whether you're studying or working, being able to put your thoughts into words is super valuable. So, take the time to master this skill – it's a game-changer!

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What Is An Academic Essay?

How to write an academic essay, how to write a good academic essay.

Daniel Parker

is a seasoned educational writer focusing on scholarship guidance, research papers, and various forms of academic essays including reflective and narrative essays. His expertise also extends to detailed case studies. A scholar with a background in English Literature and Education, Daniel’s work on EssayPro blog aims to support students in achieving academic excellence and securing scholarships. His hobbies include reading classic literature and participating in academic forums.

is an expert in nursing and healthcare, with a strong background in history, law, and literature. Holding advanced degrees in nursing and public health, his analytical approach and comprehensive knowledge help students navigate complex topics. On EssayPro blog, Adam provides insightful articles on everything from historical analysis to the intricacies of healthcare policies. In his downtime, he enjoys historical documentaries and volunteering at local clinics.

• Academic Skills
• Reading, writing and referencing

Writing a great essay

This resource covers key considerations when writing an essay.

While reading a student’s essay, markers will ask themselves questions such as:

• Does this essay directly address the set task?
• Does it present a strong, supported position?
• Does it use relevant sources appropriately?
• Is the expression clear, and the style appropriate?
• Is the essay organised coherently? Is there a clear introduction, body and conclusion?

You can use these questions to reflect on your own writing. Here are six top tips to help you address these criteria.

1. Analyse the question

Student essays are responses to specific questions. As an essay must address the question directly, your first step should be to analyse the question. Make sure you know exactly what is being asked of you.

Generally, essay questions contain three component parts:

• Content terms: Key concepts that are specific to the task
• Limiting terms: The scope that the topic focuses on
• Directive terms: What you need to do in relation to the content, e.g. discuss, analyse, define, compare, evaluate.

Look at the following essay question:

Discuss the importance of light in Gothic architecture.

• Content terms: Gothic architecture
• Limiting terms: the importance of light. If you discussed some other feature of Gothic architecture, for example spires or arches, you would be deviating from what is required. This essay question is limited to a discussion of light. Likewise, it asks you to write about the importance of light – not, for example, to discuss how light enters Gothic churches.
• Directive term: discuss. This term asks you to take a broad approach to the variety of ways in which light may be important for Gothic architecture. You should introduce and consider different ideas and opinions that you have met in academic literature on this topic, citing them appropriately .

For a more complex question, you can highlight the key words and break it down into a series of sub-questions to make sure you answer all parts of the task. Consider the following question (from Arts):

To what extent can the American Revolution be understood as a revolution ‘from below’? Why did working people become involved and with what aims in mind?

The key words here are American Revolution and revolution ‘from below’. This is a view that you would need to respond to in this essay. This response must focus on the aims and motivations of working people in the revolution, as stated in the second question.

2. Define your argument

As you plan and prepare to write the essay, you must consider what your argument is going to be. This means taking an informed position or point of view on the topic presented in the question, then defining and presenting a specific argument.

Consider these two argument statements:

The architectural use of light in Gothic cathedrals physically embodied the significance of light in medieval theology.

In the Gothic cathedral of Cologne, light served to accentuate the authority and ritual centrality of the priest.

Statements like these define an essay’s argument. They give coherence by providing an overarching theme and position towards which the entire essay is directed.

3. Use evidence, reasoning and scholarship

To convince your audience of your argument, you must use evidence and reasoning, which involves referring to and evaluating relevant scholarship.

• Evidence provides concrete information to support your claim. It typically consists of specific examples, facts, quotations, statistics and illustrations.
• Reasoning connects the evidence to your argument. Rather than citing evidence like a shopping list, you need to evaluate the evidence and show how it supports your argument.
• Scholarship is used to show how your argument relates to what has been written on the topic (citing specific works). Scholarship can be used as part of your evidence and reasoning to support your argument.

4. Organise a coherent essay

An essay has three basic components - introduction, body and conclusion.

The purpose of an introduction is to introduce your essay. It typically presents information in the following order:

• A general statement about the topic that provides context for your argument
• A thesis statement showing your argument. You can use explicit lead-ins, such as ‘This essay argues that...’
• A ‘road map’ of the essay, telling the reader how it is going to present and develop your argument.

Example introduction

"To what extent can the American Revolution be understood as a revolution ‘from below’? Why did working people become involved and with what aims in mind?"

Introduction*

Historians generally concentrate on the twenty-year period between 1763 and 1783 as the period which constitutes the American Revolution [This sentence sets the general context of the period] . However, when considering the involvement of working people, or people from below, in the revolution it is important to make a distinction between the pre-revolutionary period 1763-1774 and the revolutionary period 1774-1788, marked by the establishment of the continental Congress(1) [This sentence defines the key term from below and gives more context to the argument that follows] . This paper will argue that the nature and aims of the actions of working people are difficult to assess as it changed according to each phase [This is the thesis statement] . The pre-revolutionary period was characterised by opposition to Britain’s authority. During this period the aims and actions of the working people were more conservative as they responded to grievances related to taxes and scarce land, issues which directly affected them. However, examination of activities such as the organisation of crowd action and town meetings, pamphlet writing, formal communications to Britain of American grievances and physical action in the streets, demonstrates that their aims and actions became more revolutionary after 1775 [These sentences give the ‘road map’ or overview of the content of the essay] .

The body of the essay develops and elaborates your argument. It does this by presenting a reasoned case supported by evidence from relevant scholarship. Its shape corresponds to the overview that you provided in your introduction.

The body of your essay should be written in paragraphs. Each body paragraph should develop one main idea that supports your argument. To learn how to structure a paragraph, look at the page developing clarity and focus in academic writing .

Your conclusion should not offer any new material. Your evidence and argumentation should have been made clear to the reader in the body of the essay.

Use the conclusion to briefly restate the main argumentative position and provide a short summary of the themes discussed. In addition, also consider telling your reader:

• What the significance of your findings, or the implications of your conclusion, might be
• Whether there are other factors which need to be looked at, but which were outside the scope of the essay
• How your topic links to the wider context (‘bigger picture’) in your discipline.

Do not simply repeat yourself in this section. A conclusion which merely summarises is repetitive and reduces the impact of your paper.

Example conclusion

Conclusion*.

Although, to a large extent, the working class were mainly those in the forefront of crowd action and they also led the revolts against wealthy plantation farmers, the American Revolution was not a class struggle [This is a statement of the concluding position of the essay]. Working people participated because the issues directly affected them – the threat posed by powerful landowners and the tyranny Britain represented. Whereas the aims and actions of the working classes were more concerned with resistance to British rule during the pre-revolutionary period, they became more revolutionary in nature after 1775 when the tension with Britain escalated [These sentences restate the key argument]. With this shift, a change in ideas occurred. In terms of considering the Revolution as a whole range of activities such as organising riots, communicating to Britain, attendance at town hall meetings and pamphlet writing, a difficulty emerges in that all classes were involved. Therefore, it is impossible to assess the extent to which a single group such as working people contributed to the American Revolution [These sentences give final thoughts on the topic].

5. Write clearly

An essay that makes good, evidence-supported points will only receive a high grade if it is written clearly. Clarity is produced through careful revision and editing, which can turn a good essay into an excellent one.

When you edit your essay, try to view it with fresh eyes – almost as if someone else had written it.

Ask yourself the following questions:

Overall structure

• Have you clearly stated your argument in your introduction?
• Does the actual structure correspond to the ‘road map’ set out in your introduction?
• Have you clearly indicated how your main points support your argument?
• Have you clearly signposted the transitions between each of your main points for your reader?
• Does each paragraph introduce one main idea?
• Does every sentence in the paragraph support that main idea?
• Does each paragraph display relevant evidence and reasoning?
• Does each paragraph logically follow on from the one before it?
• Is each sentence grammatically complete?
• Is the spelling correct?
• Is the link between sentences clear to your readers?
• Have you avoided redundancy and repetition?

See more about editing on our  editing your writing page.

6. Cite sources and evidence

Finally, check your citations to make sure that they are accurate and complete. Some faculties require you to use a specific citation style (e.g. APA) while others may allow you to choose a preferred one. Whatever style you use, you must follow its guidelines correctly and consistently. You can use Recite, the University of Melbourne style guide, to check your citations.

Further resources

• Germov, J. (2011). Get great marks for your essays, reports and presentations (3rd ed.). NSW: Allen and Unwin.
• Using English for Academic Purposes: A guide for students in Higher Education [online]. Retrieved January 2020 from http://www.uefap.com
• Williams, J.M. & Colomb, G. G. (2010) Style: Lessons in clarity and grace. 10th ed. New York: Longman.

* Example introduction and conclusion adapted from a student paper.

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How to Write an Academic Essay in 6 Simple Steps

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Written by  Scribendi

Are you wondering how to write an academic essay successfully? There are so many steps to writing an academic essay that it can be difficult to know where to start.

Here, we outline how to write an academic essay in 6 simple steps, from how to research for an academic essay to how to revise an essay and everything in between. 

Our essay writing tips are designed to help you learn how to write an academic essay that is ready for publication (after academic editing and academic proofreading , of course!).

Your paper isn't complete until you've done all the needed proofreading. Make sure you leave time for it after the writing process!

Download Our Pocket Checklist for Academic Papers. Just input your email below!

Types of academic writing.

With academic essay writing, there are certain conventions that writers are expected to follow. As such, it's important to know the basics of academic writing before you begin writing your essay.

Read More: What Is Academic Writing?

Before you begin writing your essay, you need to know what type of essay you are writing. This will help you follow the correct structure, which will make academic paper editing a faster and simpler process. 

Will you be writing a descriptive essay, an analytical essay, a persuasive essay, or a critical essay?

Read More: How to Master the 4 Types of Academic Writing

You can learn how to write academic essays by first mastering the four types of academic writing and then applying the correct rules to the appropriate type of essay writing.

Regardless of the type of essay you will be writing, all essays will include:

An introduction

At least three body paragraphs

A conclusion

A bibliography/reference list

To strengthen your essay writing skills, it can also help to learn how to research for an academic essay.

Step 1: Preparing to Write Your Essay

The essay writing process involves a few main stages:

Researching

As such, in learning how to write an academic essay, it is also important to learn how to research for an academic essay and how to revise an essay.

Read More: Online Research Tips for Students and Scholars

To beef up your research skills, remember these essay writing tips from the above article: 

Learn how to identify reliable sources.

Understand the nuances of open access.

Discover free academic journals and research databases.

Manage your references. 

Provide evidence for every claim so you can avoid plagiarism .

Read More: 17 Research Databases for Free Articles

You will want to do the research for your academic essay points, of course, but you will also want to research various journals for the publication of your paper.

Different journals have different guidelines and thus different requirements for writers. These can be related to style, formatting, and more. 

Knowing these before you begin writing can save you a lot of time if you also want to learn how to revise an essay. If you ensure your paper meets the guidelines of the journal you want to publish in, you will not have to revise it again later for this purpose. 

After the research stage, you can draft your thesis and introduction as well as outline the rest of your essay. This will put you in a good position to draft your body paragraphs and conclusion, craft your bibliography, and edit and proofread your paper.

Step 2: Writing the Essay Introduction and Thesis Statement

When learning how to write academic essays , learning how to write an introduction is key alongside learning how to research for an academic essay.

Your introduction should broadly introduce your topic. It will give an overview of your essay and the points that will be discussed. It is typically about 10% of the final word count of the text.

All introductions follow a general structure:

Topic statement

Thesis statement

Read More: How to Write an Introduction

Your topic statement should hook your reader, making them curious about your topic. They should want to learn more after reading this statement. To best hook your reader in academic essay writing, consider providing a fact, a bold statement, or an intriguing question. 

The discussion about your topic in the middle of your introduction should include some background information about your topic in the academic sphere. Your scope should be limited enough that you can address the topic within the length of your paper but broad enough that the content is understood by the reader.

Your thesis statement should be incredibly specific and only one to two sentences long. Here is another essay writing tip: if you are able to locate an effective thesis early on, it will save you time during the academic editing process.

Read More: How to Write a Great Thesis Statement

Step 3: Writing the Essay Body

When learning how to write academic essays, you must learn how to write a good body paragraph. That's because your essay will be primarily made up of them!

The body paragraphs of your essay will develop the argument you outlined in your thesis. They will do this by providing your ideas on a topic backed up by evidence of specific points.

These paragraphs will typically take up about 80% of your essay. As a result, a good essay writing tip is to learn how to properly structure a paragraph.

Each paragraph consists of the following:

A topic sentence

Supporting sentences

A transition

Read More: How to Write a Paragraph

In learning how to revise an essay, you should keep in mind the organization of your paragraphs.

Your first paragraph should contain your strongest argument.

The secondary paragraphs should contain supporting arguments.

The last paragraph should contain your second-strongest argument. 

Step 4: Writing the Essay Conclusion

Your essay conclusion is the final paragraph of your essay and primarily reminds your reader of your thesis. It also wraps up your essay and discusses your findings more generally.

The conclusion typically makes up about 10% of the text, like the introduction. It shows the reader that you have accomplished what you intended to at the outset of your essay.

Here are a couple more good essay writing tips for your conclusion:

Don't introduce any new ideas into your conclusion.

Don't undermine your argument with opposing ideas.

Read More: How to Write a Conclusion Paragraph in 3 Easy Steps

Now that you know how to write an academic essay, it's time to learn how to write a bibliography along with some academic editing and proofreading advice.

Step 5: Writing the Bibliography or Works Cited

The bibliography of your paper lists all the references you cited. It is typically alphabetized or numbered (depending on the style guide).

Read More: How to Write an Academic Essay with References

When learning how to write academic essays, you may notice that there are various style guides you may be required to use by a professor or journal, including unique or custom styles. 

Some of the most common style guides include:

Chicago style

For help organizing your references for academic essay writing, consider a software manager. They can help you collect and format your references correctly and consistently, both quickly and with minimal effort.

Read More: 6 Reference Manager Software Solutions for Your Research

As you learn how to research for an academic essay most effectively, you may notice that a reference manager can also help make academic paper editing easier.

Step 6: Revising Your Essay

Once you've finally drafted your entire essay . . . you're still not done! 

That's because editing and proofreading are the essential final steps of any writing process . 

An academic editor can help you identify core issues with your writing , including its structure, its flow, its clarity, and its overall readability. They can give you substantive feedback and essay writing tips to improve your document. Therefore, it's a good idea to have an editor review your first draft so you can improve it prior to proofreading.

A specialized academic editor can assess the content of your writing. As a subject-matter expert in your subject, they can offer field-specific insight and critical commentary. Specialized academic editors can also provide services that others may not, including:

Academic document formatting

Academic figure formatting

Academic reference formatting

An academic proofreader can help you perfect the final draft of your paper to ensure it is completely error free in terms of spelling and grammar. They can also identify any inconsistencies in your work but will not look for any issues in the content of your writing, only its mechanics. This is why you should have a proofreader revise your final draft so that it is ready to be seen by an audience. 

Read More: How to Find the Right Academic Paper Editor or Proofreader

When learning how to research and write an academic essay, it is important to remember that editing is a required step. Don ' t forget to allot time for editing after you ' ve written your paper.

Set yourself up for success with this guide on how to write an academic essay. With a solid draft, you'll have better chances of getting published and read in any journal of your choosing.

Our academic essay writing tips are sure to help you learn how to research an academic essay, how to write an academic essay, and how to revise an academic essay.

If your academic paper looks sloppy, your readers may assume your research is sloppy. Download our Pocket Proofreading Checklist for Academic Papers before you take that one last crucial look at your paper.

About the Author

Scribendi's in-house editors work with writers from all over the globe to perfect their writing. They know that no piece of writing is complete without a professional edit, and they love to see a good piece of writing transformed into a great one. Scribendi's in-house editors are unrivaled in both experience and education, having collectively edited millions of words and obtained numerous degrees. They love consuming caffeinated beverages, reading books of various genres, and relaxing in quiet, dimly lit spaces.

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Essay and dissertation writing skills

Planning your essay

Writing your introduction

Structuring your essay

• Writing essays in science subjects
• Brief video guides to support essay planning and writing
• Writing extended essays and dissertations
• Planning your dissertation writing time

Structuring your dissertation

• Top tips for writing longer pieces of work

Advice on planning and writing essays and dissertations

University essays differ from school essays in that they are less concerned with what you know and more concerned with how you construct an argument to answer the question. This means that the starting point for writing a strong essay is to first unpick the question and to then use this to plan your essay before you start putting pen to paper (or finger to keyboard).

A really good starting point for you are these short, downloadable Tips for Successful Essay Writing and Answering the Question resources. Both resources will help you to plan your essay, as well as giving you guidance on how to distinguish between different sorts of essay questions. 

You may find it helpful to watch this seven-minute video on six tips for essay writing which outlines how to interpret essay questions, as well as giving advice on planning and structuring your writing:

Different disciplines will have different expectations for essay structure and you should always refer to your Faculty or Department student handbook or course Canvas site for more specific guidance.

However, broadly speaking, all essays share the following features:

Essays need an introduction to establish and focus the parameters of the discussion that will follow. You may find it helpful to divide the introduction into areas to demonstrate your breadth and engagement with the essay question. You might define specific terms in the introduction to show your engagement with the essay question; for example, ‘This is a large topic which has been variously discussed by many scientists and commentators. The principal tension is between the views of X and Y who define the main issues as…’ Breadth might be demonstrated by showing the range of viewpoints from which the essay question could be considered; for example, ‘A variety of factors including economic, social and political, influence A and B. This essay will focus on the social and economic aspects, with particular emphasis on…..’

Watch this two-minute video to learn more about how to plan and structure an introduction:

The main body of the essay should elaborate on the issues raised in the introduction and develop an argument(s) that answers the question. It should consist of a number of self-contained paragraphs each of which makes a specific point and provides some form of evidence to support the argument being made. Remember that a clear argument requires that each paragraph explicitly relates back to the essay question or the developing argument.

• Conclusion: An essay should end with a conclusion that reiterates the argument in light of the evidence you have provided; you shouldn’t use the conclusion to introduce new information.
• References: You need to include references to the materials you’ve used to write your essay. These might be in the form of footnotes, in-text citations, or a bibliography at the end. Different systems exist for citing references and different disciplines will use various approaches to citation. Ask your tutor which method(s) you should be using for your essay and also consult your Department or Faculty webpages for specific guidance in your discipline. 

Essay writing in science subjects

If you are writing an essay for a science subject you may need to consider additional areas, such as how to present data or diagrams. This five-minute video gives you some advice on how to approach your reading list, planning which information to include in your answer and how to write for your scientific audience – the video is available here:

A PDF providing further guidance on writing science essays for tutorials is available to download.

Short videos to support your essay writing skills

There are many other resources at Oxford that can help support your essay writing skills and if you are short on time, the Oxford Study Skills Centre has produced a number of short (2-minute) videos covering different aspects of essay writing, including:

• Approaching different types of essay questions  
• Structuring your essay  
• Writing an introduction  
• Making use of evidence in your essay writing  
• Writing your conclusion

Extended essays and dissertations

Longer pieces of writing like extended essays and dissertations may seem like quite a challenge from your regular essay writing. The important point is to start with a plan and to focus on what the question is asking. A PDF providing further guidance on planning Humanities and Social Science dissertations is available to download.

Planning your time effectively

Try not to leave the writing until close to your deadline, instead start as soon as you have some ideas to put down onto paper. Your early drafts may never end up in the final work, but the work of committing your ideas to paper helps to formulate not only your ideas, but the method of structuring your writing to read well and conclude firmly.

Although many students and tutors will say that the introduction is often written last, it is a good idea to begin to think about what will go into it early on. For example, the first draft of your introduction should set out your argument, the information you have, and your methods, and it should give a structure to the chapters and sections you will write. Your introduction will probably change as time goes on but it will stand as a guide to your entire extended essay or dissertation and it will help you to keep focused.

The structure of  extended essays or dissertations will vary depending on the question and discipline, but may include some or all of the following:

• The background information to - and context for - your research. This often takes the form of a literature review.
• Explanation of the focus of your work.
• Explanation of the value of this work to scholarship on the topic.
• List of the aims and objectives of the work and also the issues which will not be covered because they are outside its scope.

The main body of your extended essay or dissertation will probably include your methodology, the results of research, and your argument(s) based on your findings.

The conclusion is to summarise the value your research has added to the topic, and any further lines of research you would undertake given more time or resources. 

Tips on writing longer pieces of work

Approaching each chapter of a dissertation as a shorter essay can make the task of writing a dissertation seem less overwhelming. Each chapter will have an introduction, a main body where the argument is developed and substantiated with evidence, and a conclusion to tie things together. Unlike in a regular essay, chapter conclusions may also introduce the chapter that will follow, indicating how the chapters are connected to one another and how the argument will develop through your dissertation.

For further guidance, watch this two-minute video on writing longer pieces of work . 

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The Basics of Essay Writing

What does a good essay need.

An academic essay aims to persuade readers of an idea based on evidence .

• An academic essay should answer a question or task .
• It should have a thesis statement (answer to the question) and an argument .
• It should try to present or discuss something: develop a thesis via a set of closely related points by reasoning and evidence.
• An academic essay should include relevant examples , supporting evidence and information from academic texts or credible sources.

Basic steps in writing an essay

Although there are some basic steps to writing an assignment, essay writing is not a linear process. You might work through the different stages a number of times in the course of writing an essay. For example, you may go back to the reading and notetaking stage if you find another useful text, or perhaps to reread to locate specific information.

Possible steps (In no strict order)

  See next: Getting Started

Essay and assignment writing guide.

• Getting started
• Research the topic
• Organise your ideas
• Write your essay
• Reference your essay
• Edit your essay
• Hand in your essay
• Essay and assignment planning
• Answering assignment questions
• Editing checklist
• Writing a critical review
• Annotated bibliography
• Reflective writing
• ^ More support

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“What Is an Academic Essay?”

Overview (a.k.a. TLDR)

• Different professors define the academic essay differently.
• Thesis (main point)
• Supporting evidence (properly cited)
• Counterarguments
• Your academic essay is knowledge that you create for the learning community of which you’re a member (a.k.a. the academy).

As a student in Core classes, especially in COR 102, you can expect that at least some of the major work in the course will entail writing academic essays. That term, academic essay , might sound as if it’s referring to a specific writing genre. That’s because it is. An academic essay is not a short story, an electronic game design document, a lesson plan, or a scientific lab report. It’s something else. What exactly is it, though? That depends, to some extent, on how the professor who has asked you to write an academic essay has chosen to define it. As Kathy Duffin posits in an essay written for the Writing Center at Harvard University, while an academic essay may “vary in expression from discipline to discipline,” it “should show us a mind developing a thesis, supporting that thesis with evidence, deftly anticipating objections or counterarguments, and maintaining the momentum of discovery.”

Even though Duffin’s essay is more than 20 years old, I still find her description interesting for a few reasons, one of which being the way that she has sandwiched, so to speak, some established content requirements of academic essays in between two broad intellectual functions of the academic essay. Here’s what I see:

When Duffin writes that an academic essay “should show us a mind,” she is identifying an important quality in many essay forms, not just academic essays: a sense of a mind at work. This is an important consideration, as it frames an academic essay as an attempt to understand something and to share that understanding. Essay is, in fact, also a verb; to essay is to try or attempt.

The established content requirements are as follows:

• a thesis (which Duffin describes also as a “purpose” and “motive”)
• evidence in support of the thesis, and
• an anticipation of objections or counterarguments

Duffin caps this all off with something about “maintaining the momentum of discovery.” Honestly, I’m not positive that I know what this means, but my guess is that it means an academic essay will construct and advance a new way of knowing the essay topic, a way that makes this process seem worth the writer’s and the reader’s time.

Again, your professor may or may not define academic essays as Duffin does. The only thing I would add to the above is a reminder that the academic essays you write in COR 102 and other courses represent knowledge that you’re creating within and for the academy —another word for Champlain College, an academic institution. You’re creating knowledge for a community of learners, a community of which you, your professor, and your peers are members. Keeping this conceptualization of your academic essay in mind may help you appreciate such other common elements of academic essays as voice , citations , and essay format.

Duffin, Kathy. “Overview of the Academic Essay.” Harvard College Writing Center, Harvard U., 1998, https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/overview-academic-essay Accessed 29 July 2020.

Quick tip about citing sources in MLA style

What’s a thesis, sample mla essays.

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• November 30, 2022
• Academic Advice

How To Write an Academic Essay: A Beginner’s Guide

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During college, you must participate in many writing assessments, one of the most important being academic essays. Unfortunately, only a few are well-informed about the process of academic writing. 

If you’re reading this, you probably want to learn how to write an academic essay. Follow our guide! Here we’ll introduce the concept of the academic essay, the five components of an academic essay, the format of an academic essay, and more.

Ready to master your academic essay writing? Let’s go!

What Is an Academic Essay?

An academic essay is writing created to initiate debate, defend an idea, or present a new point of view by supporting it with evidence. 

One of the most important components that differentiate it from typical essays you have written in high school is supporting ideas with evidence. If you claim that, for example, “divorces have a negative impact on young children,” you need to find sources that support your argument to make it more convincing.

Interpreting facts is another essential element of a successful academic piece of writing. Academic essays should be written in a formal tone, with a set structure, and have a critical, based, and objective viewpoint. You should be able to understand and transmit different points of view to your readers in a simple but formal manner. 

Are you still trying to figure out what steps you should take to start writing? Keep scrolling!  

How To Write an Academic Essay

Writing an academic essay can initially seem intimidating, especially if you are unfamiliar with the rules and requirements. 

The time and effort spent on the writing task might differ depending on the topic, word limit, deadline, and other factors. However, the key steps, including preparing for the writing, creating a thesis statement, introduction, conclusion, and editing process, must be included in every academic writing style. 

By following the detailed list of actions below, you can start and finish your essay in no time.

Prepare to write your essay

Before going into the technical part of the writing process, one piece of advice you should keep in mind is planning. Planning is as important as the writing process. If you plan correctly, you will have sufficient time to perform every step successfully. Failure to plan will lead to a messy essay and, worst-case scenario, an unfinished writing piece. 

Understand your assignment

First and foremost, before you take any action regarding writing your essay, you must ensure you have clearly understood every tiny detail that your instructor has provided you—this step will determine your academic essay’s effectiveness. But why is that? Understanding the assignment in detail will leave no space for any irrelevant information that would lead to wasted time and, ultimately, a lower grade. 

Develop your essay topic

If your instructor doesn’t give you a specific topic, you should spend some time finding a topic that fits the requirements. Finding a topic sounds easy, but finding the right one requires more than just a simple google search.

So, ensure you develop an original topic, as it adds more value to your academic writing. However, ensure that there is enough evidence from other sources to help you back up your arguments. You can do this by researching similar topics from trusted sources.

Do your research and take notes

Once you determine the topic, go on and do some research. This part takes a lot of effort since there are countless sources online, and obviously, you have to choose some of the best. 

Depending on your topic, there might be cases where online sources are not available, and you’ll also have to visit local libraries. Whatever the case, you need to take notes and highlight the components you want to include in your essay. 

A quick tip: Go back to your topic often to avoid getting swayed or influenced by other less relevant ideas. 

Come up with a clear thesis statement

An excellent academic essay contains a strong thesis statement. A strong thesis statement successfully narrows your topic into a specific area of investigation. It should also intrigue your readers and initiate debate. 

A good thesis statement is:

• NOT a question  
• NOT a personal opinion

Create a structure

After gathering all the necessary information, you can begin outlining your main ideas. The primary academic essay structure is classified into the following 

• Introduction

Failure to maintain these three components in your academic essay will result in a poorly written assignment. Luckily, you can easily avoid that by following our guide.

Writing the introduction

Your essay will be divided into paragraphs of equal importance, but the introductory part should always stand out. You must make your introduction as presentable as possible and get the reader’s attention. Work on it as if you were to get graded only by the evaluation of that first paragraph. 

The purpose of the introduction is to demonstrate that your thoughts and ideas are logical and coherent. Also, depending on the word limit, you can use more than one paragraph.  

Hook the reader

All forms of writing benefit from an attractive hook. If you have no idea of how to hook the reader, you can go the safe way and choose a recent fact or statistic. Statistics will give your essay credibility, surprise the readers, and make them want to keep reading.  

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Give background on the topic

Now that you have the reader’s attention, you should strive to expand the essay’s key points but to a limit since the introduction is only one part of the whole essay. You should generally explain what gaps from previous sources you will cover and what others have covered so far. 

Present your thesis statement

When introducing your thesis statement, you can present it as a statement of fact or controversial. If you decide to give a statement fact, it will be challenging to keep your audience engaged since facts can be easily proven. But presenting it more controversially will keep your audience awake and can even result in a better grade overall.

Writing the body of your essay

The body part of your essay is where you’ll expand all of your ideas presented in the introduction. It’s essential to stay consistent and not include irrelevant information. Since it is the longest part of your essay, you can easily get lost, and to prevent that, it would be best to map an internal outline specific to each paragraph. This way, you know what to include and where. 

Paragraph structure

Each paragraph should follow a specific structure. It should begin with an introductory sentence that tells the reader the main ideas you will discuss in the paragraph. It’s advisable to point back to your thesis statement to identify the relationship between it and the existing idea. Also, ensure that each paragraph demonstrates new ideas.  

Length of the body paragraphs

Depending on the topic and the arguments you’ve gathered, it’s advisable not to exceed 200 words per paragraph in academic writing. If your paragraphs are too long and contain unnecessary wording, it will become difficult for the reader to follow your point. So keep them clear and concise.

Writing the conclusion

Congratulation, now you’ve made it to the last paragraph of your essay. The conclusion’s primary purpose is to summarize the ideas presented throughout your essay. Writing a good conclusion should take little time since you know what the essay contains. However, be aware of what points you should or shouldn’t include.

What to include in your conclusion 

A strong conclusion needs to have an introductory sentence. In some cases, if your instructor approves, it can include other areas that need to be investigated in the future. But at its core, it should only remind the reader about the main arguments discussed.

What not to include in your conclusion 

You should at all times refrain from including new ideas. Since the essay ends with the conclusion, don’t go into details or support new points. Doing that will confuse the reader and result in a poor grade. 

Editing your essay

Without a doubt, editing is just as important as writing. No matter how careful you are during writing, there’s a high possibility that there will be some slip-ups. These can range from spelling mistakes to grammar, punctuation, and so on. We suggest you spend time doing other things and return to the essay again. This will help you notice errors that you otherwise wouldn’t. 

Tips for Writing a Great College Essay

Now that you have a clear idea of the process of writing an academic essay, we have a few more tips: 

• Always cite your sources
• Gather enough sources to support your thesis statement
• Keep your sentences short and comprehensive
• Start the research as early as possible 
• Do not skip revising 

The Bottom Line

Writing an academic essay is a complex task. But with the right tools, guidance, and willingness to learn from your mistakes, you will master academic writing in no time. Make sure to follow each of the abovementioned steps and practice as much as possible. And don’t forget to edit!

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How to write an academic essay

Since 2006, oxbridge essays has been the uk’s leading paid essay-writing and dissertation service.

We have helped 10,000s of undergraduate, Masters and PhD students to maximise their grades in essays, dissertations, model-exam answers, applications and other materials. If you would like a free chat about your project with one of our UK staff, then please just reach out on one of the methods below.

Every student, of every discipline, in every institution, will at some point write an essay. Those who major in English will likely write more than a hundred of them throughout their undergraduate degree, alone.

Here's what we'll go over in this guide to writing academic essays:

What is an essay?

How is an essay structured, before you start writing.

• Using the internet for your research
• Reading your research

What to do with your research

• Building your argument

Perfecting your introduction

• The main body of your essay

Using Academic English in your essay

Since the 16th century, we have been borrowing the word essay from French, where it meant ‘to test, trial, or weigh’, which is a very useful insight. I have written thousands of essays in my life, and assessed tens of thousands more as an educator – and whilst only a handful of those look much like any other, they are all united by that idea of trialling ideas. Essays are missions of exploration.

The American novelist and essayist, Flannery O’Connor, once remarked: "I write to discover what I know".

Conceiving of them as a process like this, more than a product , is the easiest way to demystify essays.

That said, through tradition (more than definition), the essay has come to represent something quite specific and measurable. In an academic essay, our product is the presentation of extensive, logical and well-researched arguments about our given topic. The process, however, remains the same, five hundred years later: exploring ideas on the page.

You may present a robust, apparently authoritative piece as your final draft, but you will get there by investigating your knowledge and trialling your arguments.

All essays will look different (depending on the purpose and your subject), but most essays contain the following five key parts:

1. An introduction: an overview of the essay’s purpose and key contents. 2. A (fully referenced) review of the key topic of the essay: its history and debates. 3. A discussion of the development of the topic and its debates to a resolution. 4. A conclusion, if necessary. 5. A reference list.

The first stage of any academic endeavour is understanding. Most essays prescribed to you will come with a title, often in the form of a question. Your first and most important task is to understand what it is asking of you.

Do not fall at the first hurdle; spend some time dissecting the question and extracting its essence. Find the question within the question,

A useful approach to take to your title is what I call the STOP method.

Essay briefs usually specify these four things, directly or indirectly, and if you STOP to identify them, it will help you to focus your research.

The system is as follows: SOURCES. Where should the knowledge come from? Is a primary source given? Is a reading list provided?

TOPIC. What is the focus of the essay? Is it general or specific? Is it already well-known or brand new?

ORIENTATION. What angle should be taken? Should it be one-sided? Should one remain detached?

PURPOSE. Is this an argument? Should it persuade? Is it evaluative or just declarative?

Here is an example of the STOP approach in action, for an example academic essay in Linguistics:

Question: Using your knowledge of psycholinguistics, account for the non-standard English evident in the transcript: Annabelle (2½ years) playing with her toys.

The STOP approach: Sources: own knowledge of psycholinguistics (secondary), provided transcript (primary) Topic: non-standard English in children’s language acquisition Orientation: focus on non-standard utterances only Purpose: analyse, theorise, explain

And there you have it: the question within the question. Now you have direction.

BUT, if any of the features of STOP are omitted from the question, then try the following:

Try to see whether any of it is implied but not stated directly. For example, a question is likely to have links to a certain module.

Peruse any attached material. You may find a reading list or a mark scheme.

ASK someone. Starting is very difficult without knowing exactly what is asked of you, so do not hesitate to seek clarification from the person or organisation who set the question.

Now you are clear about what the question is asking of you, you may be ready to write your academic essay. If the essay requires nothing more than your own existing knowledge (usually the case in exams), then you’re good to go – or at least to plan!

However, in the vast majority of cases, you will be expected to research your topic heavily before beginning the composition process. In fact, most university-level essays will not even be marked if they are not brimming with evident research.

When I first look at an undergraduate essay, indeed, the first thing I read is the references list at the end. It might sound dismissive, but I can predict the quality of an essay with about 99% accuracy by doing this.

If you are lucky, you will be provided with primary sources (texts) and direction for secondary sources (reading lists). If you are less lucky, then you’ll need to get stuck into some background research of your own.

Can I use the Internet to research my academic essay?

I hate to say it, because it is an amazing resource, but if you quote from Wikipedia, or reference it in your bibliography, you’ll be laughed out of the building.

Mostly because academics are snobs, but also for some more legitimate reasons, secondary sources exist in a hierarchy of prestige. In other words, some sources are considered more worthy and ‘serious’ than others.

The hierarchy looks like this:

Most prestigious: Peer-reviewed, published journal articles.

Generally acceptable: Books and chapters from books (especially those with multiple authors and at least one editor).

Occasionally permissible: Academic video content, personal communications, newspapers, and lecture notes.

Usually unacceptable: Blog posts, public-access websites (like Wikipedia), and unpublished material like conversation.

Did you spot the pattern? There are two things that make a source more prestigious: the academic status of the writer, and the number of academics involved in the writing.

Peer-reviewed, published journal articles come from very academic sources and are severely and repeatedly scrutinised by multiple academics before they can get published. Blog posts, at the other end of the spectrum, can be written and spread by anyone, and face no greater scrutiny than the fire in a comments section!

However (and it’s a big ‘however’), whilst the hierarchy undeniably applies to your references, there is nothing to say that you cannot read those lower down on the hierarchy. Indeed, online encyclopedia entries are incredibly useful for orienting you and providing background for your chosen area.

It is from these pages that you can identify the ‘big names’ in the area – a job that prestigious journal searches won’t do for you.

For example, if you are a student of Literature and you type ‘Literary Theory’ into Wikipedia, the resultant page points you towards names like Leavis, Derrida, Foucault and Fish – some of the most significant names in the area. On the other hand, if you started your search on Google Scholar, you’d be pointed towards Carroll, Ronen, Barry and Scholes – all relatively new and less influential contributors to the field.

So don’t knock Wikipedia. Just acknowledge what it is, and don’t cite it directly! It is a general overview that can serve as a springboard to other reading. (TOP TIP: use the reference list at the bottom of the Wikipedia page to find more prestigious sources.)

How do I read my research?

This is a common concern. Most beginner essayists are stunned when faced with the apparently impossible: a thirty-item reading list and a two-week deadline for three thousand words. Obviously, writing three thousand words in two weeks doesn’t seem beyond the realms of possibility – it’s the insane task of reading thirty books and papers in that time as well that stumps people.

Fortunately, there is an unwritten rule about reading lists that I’m going to make a written rule:

You don't have to read it all.

That may sound like blasphemy, but it is a truth universally acknowledged by academics.

Read the primary material in its entirety, of course – twice, even. But the secondary material, think about being more picky.

The way I see it, there are three different types of secondary source with different approaches to take to reading them:

"Fortunately, there is an unwritten rule about reading lists that I’m going to make a written rule:

You don't have to read it all. "

• Overview texts- Read the whole entry (they’re never extensive, by definition), making note of recurring or salient names and ideas.
• Journal articles- Read the abstract first, to see if it’s worth your time; then, read the conclusion, for the gist of it; then, if it seems like gold, then read some more from the middle, to get some quotable material.
• Books- Like with journals, read the contents first, to find a chapter heading that sounds relevant to you; read the first page of that chapter, to confirm that it’s relevant; then read the last paragraph for an executive summary; finally, if it seems worth it, then sift through the chapter for soundbites.

This way, you can get ten times more reference material than if you’d been comprehensive. It may sound dismissive, but when the deadline is tight, then efficiency is everything.

I learnt this during my undergraduate degree at the University of Oxford when I was tasked with writing about seven thousand words a week in academic essays.

Don’t sacrifice sleep for the sake of a more thorough read.

This question, that logically follows from the question of how to read, is simple to answer… as simple as ABC:

For each text you read, you want to be able to lift out an abstract (a bullet-point summary of the gist, including controversies), several bites (direct quotations lifted from the text, with page numbers), and a citation (the full reference for the text you’re reading).

If you don’t keep a record of all three of those as you go, then your reading was for nothing. Do not make the rookie mistake of ‘doing references at the end’. It always takes longer than it should, probably pushing you past the deadline – and you will almost certainly lose one of your best references forever. It happens every time. (I will return to referencing later.)

At this point, it is worth remembering: you have a question to answer. It is easy to get dragged away on tangents and down rabbit holes – especially when the topic is complex and fascinating – but you have a job to do. Every record you make of the texts you are reading needs to feed into an answer to your question.

If I’m compiling my notes on the computer, I embolden the bits that are most relevant to my argument; if I’m note-taking by hand, I use a highlighter. I also draw lines between evidently linked ideas.

The final stage of planning: building your argument

The preliminary stages of writing an academic essay are extensive, I know. You’re nearly ready to write, though. There’s just one final stage of planning necessary: building an argument.

From your primary and secondary material, you should now be forming an argument. Usually, the argument emerges naturally as a result of the good quality practices explained above. Occasionally, though, you need to disentangle your box of snakes and extract a coherent argument.

A useful approach to discursive essays is what I call the Narrative Approach. This approach ends up looking like a diary of all your preliminary work. As I said at the start, an essay is a trial of ideas, and it is here that you trial them. The Narrative Approach lays out the essay’s main body as follows:

• The origin of the issue and any controversy inherent to it.
• The prominent ideas and people involved in the controversy.
• The debates and development of the issue over time and the nuances involved.
• The current state of the issue in present context.
• The position that you take on the issue.

The Narrative Approach not only allows you to find a logical order for all of your content (your academic essay structure), but also ensures that you take a critical perspective at all times – a higher order thinking skill that is fundamental to success in essays according to all major academic institutions.

If you can organise your ideas into this logical structure, you should be able to answer the question posed to you.

Now, to ensure that your argument is logical, an extremely useful thing to do is to explain it aloud to somebody else. This process is always enlightening, and allows for any holes in the argument to become glaringly obvious; open engagement with challenges to the content; and you to practice having your ideas exposed to scrutiny.

All of this takes place in a safe space and allows for revisions to be made before the essay is ever seen by anyone else.

There’s also something incredibly powerful about verbal discussion that helps to crystallise ideas and make them stick.

It’s finally time to start writing your academic essay. But, irritatingly enough, the first thing that appears on a page is the most difficult part to get right: the introduction.

Unpopular opinion: if your essay is less than a thousand words long, then you don’t need an introduction; you need to answer the question!

Stating that you are going to answer the question above, using the words from the question above, whilst ensuring that you are going to make many points that refer to the question above, and then conclude something about the question above, is an exercise in futility.

All you’re saying is that you’re going to write an essay.

It’s the equivalent to starting a phone call with, “I’m calling you on the phone because I’d like to speak to you and we both have phones.”

The same goes for conclusions in short essays.

Introductions and conclusions for longer essays, on the other hand, are fundamentally important. Instead of generic statements of purpose, these paragraphs should instead function as condensed forms of your overall argument.

Bookending the main body, these sections ensure that the argument is clear. If they don’t sound good, the problem isn’t with the introduction format – it’s with the argument itself. If it sounds flimsy here, it won’t sound much better in the main body. That makes it a useful litmus test.

That said, it is always worth redrafting the introduction last, once everything else is clear in your mind.

The main body of your academic essay

The meat and potatoes of your academic essay comes next. You already have all of your content and you have it all arranged as an argument. Most would call this next part the writing, but it would be just as accurate to call it the formatting. You are adding nothing new, just making it all sound good. That’s why we spend so long on the preliminary stages!

Now, let’s address paragraph structure.

A good paragraph in an academic essay should, of course, contain a coherent point which is soundly evidenced and evaluated .

Additionally, though, it is good to include:

• A topic sentence- A sentence which establishes the point, at the start of the paragraph.
• Signpost language- Adverbs like “similarly” and “conversely” to orient the reader to your purpose and direction.
• Deixis- Repeated reference to the key idea from the topic sentence, often simplified: “this theme” replaces the earlier “The theme of perpetual upgrade culture in Apple products”.
• Progress- The paragraph should move through an argument and its final sentence should pave the way for the next paragraph.

But there’s more to academic writing than content and structure. Style is the missing part of this equation.

English for Academic Purposes (EAP) is a discipline that exists for the sole purpose of achieving that style.

For many students, it is like learning a foreign language; for others, it is like unearthing a treasure chest that lay at their feet all their lives. Whatever the case, it is not like the language we use every day.

"Academic English is something that you refine throughout an academic career, as you read more academic pieces, receive more feedback, and get more practice."

Academic English is a vast, irreducible field, which cannot be given due consideration here. However, the following five areas are a useful starting point as they are all things you can do straight away:

1. Technical vocabulary. You are writing as an expert in your field, for other experts in that field. Use the specific jargon of that field. Students of nutrition should refer to “macronutrients” not ‘food groups’, for example.

2. Nominalisation of forms. For whatever reason, we don’t use many verbs in academic prose. So we refer to a “debate” instead of ‘debating’; we speak of an “analysis” rather than ‘analysing’; and instead of ‘challenging’ things, we pose “challenges”.

3. Formality and detachedness. Formal English is characterised by the professional tone, which means that colloquialisms like ‘isn’t’, ‘stuff’ and ‘crappy’ are replaced by “is not”, “features” and “ineffective”, respectively. The grammar is also more complex, with longer sentences and embedded clauses being common.

4. Hedges and tentativeness. You are not yet a world-renowned academic. Sorry. Until that day comes, your language should include regular ‘hedges’ – showing that you don’t think your points are undeniable and immutable truth. Use phrases like “seem to suggest” and “might be perceived” in place of the declarative ‘is’.

5. Clarity and accuracy. Academic writing should avoid flouting Standard English expression. Proofreading will be crucial, in all cases. Equally, attempts to sound too clever inevitably end up sounding convoluted and confusing; “using clear English” is clearer than ‘eschewing grandiose phraseology in the interest of comprehension’. Right?

Academic English is something that you refine throughout an academic career, as you read more academic pieces, receive more feedback, and get more practice.

Do not expect to hit the nail on the head on your first try; just do your best to emulate the academic discourse you read in your subject area. One day, it’ll be second nature to you!

How to reference correctly in your essay

Referencing. The word still jars with me, even after all these years. I don’t quite break out in a cold sweat, but there’s certainly a bit of repressed trauma in there.

It sounds daunting, but can be made simple. Most elegantly put, referencing refers to the synthesis of other voices in your work. All the theorists whose ideas you’ve engaged with; every critical voice you’ve quoted; each book you’ve paraphrased: these constitute your references.

But in their current form, they are not references. In their current form, they are just ideas that you have stolen and put across as your own ideas. The process of referencing is one of acknowledgement.

In the real world, where, if you steal something, you are branded a criminal. In the world of academia, you can steal ideas and are encouraged to do so – as long as you acknowledge where it came from.

It’s like stealing Sarah’s car and then pleading innocence in court because you told everybody it belonged to Sarah. That would pass in the court of academia. If you failed to acknowledge Sarah’s ownership, you’d be found guilty… of plagiarism.

Plagiarism (the failure to acknowledge the source of ideas in an academic setting) is a serious charge, one whose maximum sentence includes blanket disqualification from all examination boards and academic institutions, for life.

So, let’s avoid that.

To ensure you don’t fall foul of accidental plagiarism, use my method to EQUIP yourself:

Breaking them down, we EQUIP ourselves as follows:

ENDNOTE. EndNote is a piece of software that tracks your academic essay’s references and is amazing, but when I say endnote more generally, I’m referring to the references list at the end of your piece. Writing them out in full, as per the academic conventions of your institution and faculty, is crucial, and should be done during your note-taking process.

A reference in a final references list, formatted to the common APA standard, might look like this: Voss, J. F., & Wiley, J. (1997). Developing understanding while writing essays in history. International Journal of Educational Research, 27(3), 255-265.

It includes, as standard for most referencing formats, the authors’ names, the date of publication, the title of the article, the name of the journal it’s from, the issue and number of that journal, and the page range. Other referencing styles differ slightly, so check which one you’re expected to use before you start.

QUOTE. If you wish to use specific language from a source, then you need to put it in “quotation marks” and provide an in-text citation (see below: In-text), including the page or paragraph number. These quotations should be embedded into your paragraphs.

E.g. Critics James Voss and Jennifer Wiley claim that referencing is a “fundamental aspect of essay success” (Voss & Wiley, 1997, p. 264).

EXCEPTION: if your quotation exceeds four lines, it gets granted its own isolated paragraph and doesn’t usually need quotation marks.

UNCHANGED LANGUAGE. Unchanged language is crucial. If you are quoting from the source directly, it must of course remain unchanged, or it’s no longer a quotation (with the exception being anything within [square brackets] inside a quotation).

Do not fall into the trap of just changing a few words from the original source so that it becomes ‘your own work’ – this will be spotted by sophisticated plagiarism-detection software (like Turnitin) and be perceived as deliberate attempts to plagiarise the work of others. If you aren’t quoting directly, then you need to paraphrase (see below), rather than just emending slightly.

IN-TEXT. Your in-text citation is how you signal to your reader that the specific thing you’re writing at this time comes from an extraneous source. Harvard referencing would require a bracketed in-text reference after the quoted or paraphrased section, such as “(Voss & Wiley, 1997)” and a relevant page number; whereas the Chicago referencing style would call for a footnote: a superscript number above your quoted or paraphrased section that corresponds with a reference at the foot of your page.

Always check the referencing guidelines of your given piece, as mentioned above. All academic institutions and faculties have dedicated guidelines for referencing that are almost always provided online. As maddening as it can be, some examiners are obsessed with ‘correct referencing’ and will deduct marks for inappropriate referencing procedures – so play by the rules as closely as possible.

It might not be a plagiarism issue, but it’s still a pain!

PARAPHRASE. If you wish to refer to the whole argument of a text, or a section too long for quoting, or just think that you can express the argument more coherently and concisely than the original, then paraphrasing is useful. Once you have put the idea into your own words, ensure you bookend it with an allusion to the author (at the start) and an in-text reference (at the end, sometimes including a page number) for what you’ve referred to.

For example: Critics James Voss and Jennifer Wiley insist on correct referencing procedures (Voss & Wiley, 1997, p. 264).

If you can do all of the above, then you have protected yourself against accidental plagiarism.

Still, nobody likes to be caught out, it’s worth running your entire essay through an online plagiarism checker – for your own peace of mind.

When it comes to plagiarism, my philosophy is the same as my old Maths teacher’s: “Show your working”. As brilliant as you may be, as a young academic who’s brimming with ideas, you should not be reluctant to reference. Nine times out of ten, how erudite and well-referenced an essay is predicts how good it is.

Oh, and as a final note on plagiarism, please be aware that it is possible to self-plagiarise… so don’t recycle content from old essays that were submitted for grading!

Is that everything?

So, we’ve covered how to STOP and EQUIP ourselves for planning and referencing, respectively; we’ve learned the ABCs of note-taking and the Narrative Approach to academic essay structure ; and much more. Is that everything there is to know about writing an excellent academic essay?

Not quite, but it’s a good place to start.

Academic essay-writing is an artform, pure and simple. Just like any other artform, it is refined through diligence and practice until it is excellent.

But, even an excellent essayist can fail to impress a moderator, and that’s because there’s no such thing as a perfect essay . Redrafting will almost always be necessary, because we are subject to both the whims and tastes of our moderators, and the specific success criteria of our institutions and faculties.

To that end, my final piece of advice to you, essay writers, is to play the game.

At school, you have teachers. At university, it’s tutors. At postgraduate level, supervisors. Even when you’re a professor publishing your own research, you’ve got peer-reviewers. At every step of the way, you are playing to the tastes and demands of different individuals and criteria, so play their game. Tick their boxes. Figure out how to modulate.

Listen to feedback. Amend your style. Take the advice, even if it seems wrong. Do not be disheartened, because all of this game-playing constitutes growth. The more you do it, appealing to different individuals and different criteria, the better an essayist you become.

Because, at the end of the day, a good essayist is a versatile essayist.

Essay exams: how to answer ‘To what extent…’

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What a Thesis Paper is and How to Write One

From choosing a topic and conducting research to crafting a strong argument, writing a thesis paper can be a rewarding experience.

It can also be a challenging experience. If you've never written a thesis paper before, you may not know where to start. You may not even be sure exactly what a thesis paper is. But don't worry; the right support and resources can help you navigate this writing process.

What is a Thesis Paper?

A thesis paper is a type of academic essay that you might write as a graduation requirement for certain bachelor's, master's or honors programs. Thesis papers present your own original research or analysis on a specific topic related to your field.

“In some ways, a thesis paper can look a lot like a novella,” said Shana Chartier , director of information literacy at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU). “It’s too short to be a full-length novel, but with the standard size of 40-60 pages (for a bachelor’s) and 60-100 pages (for a master’s), it is a robust exploration of a topic, explaining one’s understanding of a topic based on personal research.”

Chartier has worked in academia for over 13 years and at SNHU for nearly eight. In her role as an instructor and director, Chartier has helped to guide students through the writing process, like editing and providing resources.

Chartier has written and published academic papers such as "Augmented Reality Gamifies the Library: A Ride Through the Technological Frontier" and "Going Beyond the One-Shot: Spiraling Information Literacy Across Four Years." Both of these academic papers required Chartier to have hands-on experience with the subject matter. Like a thesis paper, they also involved hypothesizing and doing original research to come to a conclusion.

“When writing a thesis paper, the importance of staying organized cannot be overstated,” said Chartier. “Mapping out each step of the way, making firm and soft deadlines... and having other pairs of eyes on your work to ensure academic accuracy and clean editing are crucial to writing a successful paper.”

How Do I Choose a Topic For My Thesis Paper?

What your thesis paper is for will determine some of the specific requirements and steps you might take, but the first step is usually the same: Choosing a topic.

“Choosing a topic can be daunting," said Rochelle Attari , a peer tutor at SNHU. "But if (you) stick with a subject (you're) interested in... choosing a topic is much more manageable.”

Similar to a thesis, Attari recently finished the capstone  for her bachelor’s in psychology . Her bachelor’s concentration is in forensics, and her capstone focused on the topic of using a combined therapy model for inmates who experience substance abuse issues to reduce recidivism.

“The hardest part was deciding what I wanted to focus on,” Attari said. “But once I nailed down my topic, each milestone was more straightforward.”

In her own writing experience, Attari said brainstorming was an important step when choosing her topic. She recommends writing down different ideas on a piece of paper and doing some preliminary research on what’s already been written on your topic.

By doing this exercise, you can narrow or broaden your ideas until you’ve found a topic you’re excited about. " Brainstorming is essential when writing a paper and is not a last-minute activity,” Attari said.

How Do I Structure My Thesis Paper?

Thesis papers tend to have a standard format with common sections as the building blocks.

While the structure Attari describes below will work for many theses, it’s important to double-check with your program to see if there are any specific requirements. Writing a thesis for a Master of Fine Arts, for example, might actually look more like a fiction novel.

According to Attari, a thesis paper is often structured with the following major sections:

Introduction

• Literature review
• Methods, results

Now, let’s take a closer look at what each different section should include.

Your introduction is your opportunity to present the topic of your thesis paper. In this section, you can explain why that topic is important. The introduction is also the place to include your thesis statement, which shows your stance in the paper.

Attari said that writing an introduction can be tricky, especially when you're trying to capture your reader’s attention and state your argument.

“I have found that starting with a statement of truth about a topic that pertains to an issue I am writing about typically does the trick,” Attari said. She demonstrated this advice in an example introduction she wrote for a paper on the effects of daylight in Alaska:

In the continental United States, we can always count on the sun rising and setting around the same time each day, but in Alaska, during certain times of the year, the sun rises and does not set for weeks. Research has shown that the sun provides vitamin D and is an essential part of our health, but little is known about how daylight twenty-four hours a day affects the circadian rhythm and sleep.

In the example Attari wrote, she introduces the topic and informs the reader what the paper will cover. Somewhere in her intro, she said she would also include her thesis statement, which might be:

Twenty-four hours of daylight over an extended period does not affect sleep patterns in humans and is not the cause of daytime fatigue in northern Alaska .

Literature Review

In the literature review, you'll look at what information is already out there about your topic. “This is where scholarly articles  about your topic are essential,” said Attari. “These articles will help you find the gap in research that you have identified and will also support your thesis statement."

Telling your reader what research has already been done will help them see how your research fits into the larger conversation. Most university libraries offer databases of scholarly/peer-reviewed articles that can be helpful in your search.

In the methods section of your thesis paper, you get to explain how you learned what you learned. This might include what experiment you conducted as a part of your independent research.

“For instance,” Attari said, “if you are a psychology major and have identified a gap in research on which therapies are effective for anxiety, your methods section would consist of the number of participants, the type of experiment and any other particulars you would use for that experiment.”

In this section, you'll explain the results of your study. For example, building on the psychology example Attari outlined, you might share self-reported anxiety levels for participants trying different kinds of therapies. To help you communicate your results clearly, you might include data, charts, tables or other visualizations.

The discussion section of your thesis paper is where you will analyze and interpret the results you presented in the previous section. This is where you can discuss what your findings really mean or compare them to the research you found in your literature review.

The discussion section is your chance to show why the data you collected matters and how it fits into bigger conversations in your field.

The conclusion of your thesis paper is your opportunity to sum up your argument and leave your reader thinking about why your research matters.

Attari breaks the conclusion down into simple parts. “You restate the original issue and thesis statement, explain the experiment's results and discuss possible next steps for further research,” she said.

Find Your Program

Resources to help write your thesis paper.

While your thesis paper may be based on your independent research, writing it doesn’t have to be a solitary process. Asking for help and using the resources that are available to you can make the process easier.

If you're writing a thesis paper, some resources Chartier encourages you to use are:

• Citation Handbooks: An online citation guide or handbook can help you ensure your citations are correct. APA , MLA and Chicago styles have all published their own guides.
• Citation Generators: There are many citation generator tools that help you to create citations. Some — like RefWorks — even let you directly import citations from library databases as you research.
• Your Library's Website: Many academic and public libraries allow patrons to access resources like databases or FAQs. Some FAQs at the SNHU library that might be helpful in your thesis writing process include “ How do I read a scholarly article? ” or “ What is a research question and how do I develop one? ”

It can also be helpful to check out what coaching or tutoring options are available through your school. At SNHU, for example, the Academic Support Center offers writing and grammar workshops , and students can access 24/7 tutoring and 1:1 sessions with peer tutors, like Attari.

"Students can even submit their papers and receive written feedback... like revisions and editing suggestions," she said.

If you are writing a thesis paper, there are many resources available to you. It's a long paper, but with the right mindset and support, you can successfully navigate the process.

“Pace yourself,” said Chartier. “This is a marathon, not a sprint. Setting smaller goals to get to the big finish line can make the process seem less daunting, and remember to be proud of yourself and celebrate your accomplishment once you’re done. Writing a thesis is no small task, and it’s important work for the scholarly community.”

A degree can change your life. Choose your program  from 200+ SNHU degrees that can take you where you want to go.

Meg Palmer ’18 is a writer and scholar by trade who loves reading, riding her bike and singing in a barbershop quartet. She earned her bachelor’s degree in English, language and literature at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) and her master’s degree in writing, rhetoric and discourse at DePaul University (’20). While attending SNHU, she served as the editor-in-chief of the campus student newspaper, The Penmen Press, where she deepened her passion for writing. Meg is an adjunct professor at Johnson and Wales University, where she teaches first year writing, honors composition, and public speaking. Connect with her on LinkedIn .

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About southern new hampshire university.

SNHU is a nonprofit, accredited university with a mission to make high-quality education more accessible and affordable for everyone.

Founded in 1932, and online since 1995, we’ve helped countless students reach their goals with flexible, career-focused programs . Our 300-acre campus in Manchester, NH is home to over 3,000 students, and we serve over 135,000 students online. Visit our about SNHU  page to learn more about our mission, accreditations, leadership team, national recognitions and awards.

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Tackling the Personal Essay: Tips from a Notre Dame Admissions Counselor

Published: August 30, 2024

Author: Zach Klonsinski

If you ask almost any admissions professional which part of reading applications is their favorite, it’s likely their answer will be a resounding, “The essays!” Essays are where we get to engage with students’ hopes, fears, dreams, life experiences (and more) in their authentic voice. We are humbled every year getting to “meet” all the incredible young people who are applying to Notre Dame through their essays!

Yet, writing an essay introducing yourself can be really hard. Maybe you’ve never done so before, or you haven’t for a really long time, and often it will seem really awkward. That’s OK!

It feels hard because it is–or at least it can be.

Don’t worry, though! I love sharing tips with applicants about the personal essay that will hopefully help you see it as an opportunity to learn more about yourself and then share that discernment with the colleges who will be fortunate enough to receive your application!

Getting started

The easiest way to get started is by simply brainstorming! I love using pen and paper (I’m anti-pencil, though I realize that may be a divisive opinion). The physical materials help me feel less constrained by technology, though you may find the technology comforting.

Use bulleted lists or short phrases to capture ideas, life experiences, values, and more. Every day, set aside five minutes to write about yourself or your college discernment process without stopping to think. Where does your mind lead you when you get out of your own way?

Ask your friends and family to help you identify values that are important to you or things that make you.. well… you! Often it’s easier to highlight and say nice things about someone else than it is ourselves, so lean on those who know you well!

Group these collective nuggets to see if any patterns or stories emerge. Do you see any prompts on your application that align with your brainstorming? The Common Application, for example, has seven to choose from, including a make your own prompt! Start writing on one that makes you pause, as that means you might have something to say! Don’t be afraid to go longer than your word count or to use an atypical form of writing.

While that specific level of chaos may not work for you, I always recommend staying away from sentences and avoiding constraining yourself while writing because…

Editing is more than spelling and grammar!

When we want to “edit” something, it can be tempting to start–and just as quickly end–with spell check. (Yes, your essay should have proper spelling and grammar, but please know we are not reading your essay with a red pen “grading” every single comma.)

What is far more important–though also far more intimidating–is your essay’s content.

What really improved my writing actually had nothing to do with me–rather, it was finding trusted editors to give me honest and constructive feedback. While it’s tempting to have your best friend or family member read your essay, I’ve found my best editors possess a strong rhetorical mind, ask thoughtful questions, and are not afraid to tell me when something isn’t working the way I think it is.

This may describe someone close to you, but maybe not. Maybe there’s a classmate or teacher who you have always admired, even if you don’t know them that well. Editing is an incredibly vulnerable process; don’t be afraid to lean into that vulnerability! I promise that a strong editor who works with your voice and style–rather than rewriting your essay how they would have–will help bring forth an authentic essay you didn’t even realize you could write!

Speaking of, authenticity will lead to your best essay

The best application essay is the one that helps us get to know you. Period. Full stop. Any topic can be a good topic, any topic can be a bad topic. At the end of the day, the topic you choose to write about is only a gateway to help us get to know you!

Let’s think of it another way. Say you printed out your essay at your school, without your name or other identifying information on it, and someone who knows you picked it up and read it. If they said, “I bet this is (your name)’s essay,” I can already tell you’re on the right track. There’s something truly you about it!

Where can I find more about writing application essays?

I’m so glad you asked! On our On-Demand Sessions webpage , you can find a number of helpful recorded sessions from our College Application Workshop series. One of them, co-presented by yours truly, is called “Crafting the Perfect College Essay”. My colleague Maria Finan and I present our own tips and tricks for about 20 minutes and then take questions from a virtual audience for the remainder of the 45 minute session. I invite you to check it out, as well as the other sessions we have recorded!

Ready to Write Your App Essays? Advice from an Admissions Counselor on the Notre Dame Supplement

Zach Klonsinski is a senior assistant director with the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

He is the regional counselor for Minnesota, Missouri (Kansas City), Wisconsin, Rwanda, Kenya, France, Portugal, Spain, Andorra, Monaco, and China - Beijing

• Read Zach's profile.

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Writing an essay seems less challenging once all relevant sources and ideas are in place. Several essay writing apps can help you generate an outline for essays. Moreover, you can use these apps to write your essay. In this article, we have listed the top ten essay writing tools that can help you improve your essay and get good grades.

When discussing essay writing apps, we mean essay writing and editing tools that improve your work, not apps that provide readymade essays. Many of the free essay writing tools available online are powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI). We do not encourage copying essays as that can bring about unsavory results. 

So, none of the tools that have made it to our list of top ten essay writing tools will help you cheat. They will, of course, help improve your essay to make it your best work. So, if you’re looking for a list of the best essay-writing tools, read on for detailed information.

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Top ten essay writing tools

Our top ten essay writing tools are a diverse list. They help you in various essay writing tasks such as planning your essay, writing it, improving it, and getting feedback when it’s complete. Here are the top 10 essay writing tools in 2024, including the best AI essay writing tools:

1. MyEssayWriter.ai

This is an AI-powered essay writing assistant designed for students. It provides personalized essays tailored to students’ specific topics and needs. As part of free services, the tool offers artificial intelligence-based essay outliners and writers. 

If you want a custom essay, you can place an order, and an expert will draft your essay for a fee. The rates depend on the academic level, urgency, and word count a student requires.

A high-school-level essay of 300 words returned within 7 days costs around $22. 

2. EssayService.ai

This is a user-friendly platform that offers various tools to improve essay quality. It includes real-time grammar and structure feedback and tone and style adjustments. It gives multiple essay generation options, with a free essay grader for students to have their essays checked.

The platform also offers a paid essay writing service, where you can calculate the charges by inputting information like essay type, number of words, and deadline, among others. 

A high-school-level essay of 300 words returned within 7 days costs around $22.

This is an AI writing tool offering various content formats, including essays. It allows users to choose topics, outlines, and writing styles for AI-generated essays. You can also brainstorm ideas and generate essay outlines. 

This tool helps you overcome writer’s block in the early stages of essay writing. All you need to do is create an account on the platform and start writing. 

The free version allows you to generate up to 10,000 words, while you can generate unlimited content for $7.5 per month as part of the “Unlimited” plan.

4. Writesonic

This is a content-creation tool, but it offers essay-writing features as well. It can generate essay outlines, introductions, and body paragraphs based on your input. The platform states that it provides plagiarism-free content. 

Writesonic can speed up the initial essay writing process and offer a basic structure for your essays. If you use this college essay writing tool judiciously, you can generate excellent essays that can get you the score you want. 

Chatsonic, which costs $12 per month if billed annually, offers a chat option with features similar to ChatGPT. 

5. Grammarly  

Grammarly is one of the best essay editing tools, offering users a choice between American and British English. Its AI helps you fix problems with spelling, punctuation, grammar, and style, enabling you to write better essays.

The free version highlights basic grammar mistakes while the paid version optimizes your use of language. This means that it flags things like repetitive phrases, vague wording, and excessive use of words.

Grammarly is available as both a download for MS Word and as a Chrome extension for Google Docs or other online formats.

Grammarly Premium costs $12 per month when billed annually. 

A powerful AI language model, ChatGPT can help you draft essays with a few clicks. It can generate essays based on prompts and instructions for various topics. ChatGPT can also help you create essay outlines and arguments.

This is an ideal tool for brainstorming and exploring different writing styles. However, it is crucial to verify the content it generates to ensure factual inaccuracies do not go unnoticed.

ChatGPT Plus costs $20 per month with access to multiple versions of the platform.

7. Jasper.ai  

Jasper.ai is an AI writing assistant with features for creating various content formats, including essays. The copywriting tool allows users to write essays of all types, tailoring them to suit varied target audiences and writing tones. 

Since it offers long-form content generation with plagiarism checks , you can generate content of a certain depth. However, we recommend essay checking and editing to ensure quality.

Jasper’s “Creator” plan costs $39 per month for one-person access.

8. CollegeEssay.org

CollegeEssay.org offers an AI-powered essay writing tool designed to simplify the essay writing process for students. This tool uses advanced AI algorithms to generate free essays. It also offers grammar and plagiarism checks, in addition to a content paraphrasing tool . 

The platform also gives you the choice to order custom essays as part of paid essay writing services. However, free AI essay writing tools should do the job well if you are a student. 

A high-school-level essay of 300 words (considered one page) costs $11.

9. MyPerfectWords

This is an essay writing service with grammar and plagiarism checks, where you need to key in the topic and the relevant prompt. The essay writer then refers to multiple resources to write an essay using AI. 

Its citation tool can seamlessly integrate references relevant to your essay to ensure zero attribution issues.

It’s certainly a great tool for any essay writer!

Merlin brings users a comprehensive suite of writing tools, including essay writing. The tool asks you to specify the word count and academic level of the topic at hand, along with the essay-writing approach you wish to take. 

You can also review the generated content and modify the prompt/s to get different results. The platform shares pointers with users on how to ensure the integrity and accuracy of their content. 

Merlin’s free plan is quite beneficial for students since they allow 102 queries per day, and this limit resets every 24 hours. If you are interested in a paid plan, they offer the “Pro (Unlimited)” at a discounted price of $19 per month. The standard price without discount is $29.

Can writing tools help improve your essay?

Well, the short answer is that these tools certainly help. However, automated software might not always understand writing like human beings do. Hence, a human editor overseeing the job AI tools do can introduce more reliability to the essay writing process. This is because there’s no replacement for thorough research, critical thinking, and effective essay editing.

While you can use free AI tools to write your essay, seek essay editing and proofreading services offered by a company like PaperTrue. Once you’re done with your essay, just send it over to us for feedback before your submission deadline.

Want to keep reading? Here are the newest articles we’ve worked on:

• How to Write an Essay Outline
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Frequently Asked Questions

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What Is Academic Writing? | Dos and Don’ts for Students

Academic writing is a formal style of writing used in universities and scholarly publications. You’ll encounter it in journal articles and books on academic topics, and you’ll be expected to write your essays , research papers , and dissertation in academic style.

Academic writing follows the same writing process as other types of texts, but it has specific conventions in terms of content, structure and style.

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Table of contents

Types of academic writing, academic writing is…, academic writing is not…, useful tools for academic writing, academic writing checklist.

Academics mostly write texts intended for publication, such as journal articles, reports, books, and chapters in edited collections. For students, the most common types of academic writing assignments are listed below.

Different fields of study have different priorities in terms of the writing they produce. For example, in scientific writing it’s crucial to clearly and accurately report methods and results; in the humanities, the focus is on constructing convincing arguments through the use of textual evidence. However, most academic writing shares certain key principles intended to help convey information as effectively as possible.

Whether your goal is to pass your degree, apply to graduate school , or build an academic career, effective writing is an essential skill.

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Formal and unbiased

Academic writing aims to convey information in an impartial way. The goal is to base arguments on the evidence under consideration, not the author’s preconceptions. All claims should be supported with relevant evidence, not just asserted.

To avoid bias, it’s important to represent the work of other researchers and the results of your own research fairly and accurately. This means clearly outlining your methodology  and being honest about the limitations of your research.

The formal style used in academic writing ensures that research is presented consistently across different texts, so that studies can be objectively assessed and compared with other research.

Because of this, it’s important to strike the right tone with your language choices. Avoid informal language , including slang, contractions , clichés, and conversational phrases:

• Also , a lot of the findings are a little unreliable.
• Moreover , many of the findings are somewhat unreliable.

Clear and precise

It’s important to use clear and precise language to ensure that your reader knows exactly what you mean. This means being as specific as possible and avoiding vague language :

• People have been interested in this thing for a long time .
• Researchers have been interested in this phenomenon for at least 10 years .

Avoid hedging your claims with words like “perhaps,” as this can give the impression that you lack confidence in your arguments. Reflect on your word choice to ensure it accurately and directly conveys your meaning:

• This could perhaps suggest that…
• This suggests that…

Specialist language or jargon is common and often necessary in academic writing, which generally targets an audience of other academics in related fields.

However, jargon should be used to make your writing more concise and accurate, not to make it more complicated. A specialist term should be used when:

• It conveys information more precisely than a comparable non-specialist term.
• Your reader is likely to be familiar with the term.
• The term is commonly used by other researchers in your field.

The best way to familiarize yourself with the kind of jargon used in your field is to read papers by other researchers and pay attention to their language.

Focused and well structured

An academic text is not just a collection of ideas about a topic—it needs to have a clear purpose. Start with a relevant research question or thesis statement , and use it to develop a focused argument. Only include information that is relevant to your overall purpose.

A coherent structure is crucial to organize your ideas. Pay attention to structure at three levels: the structure of the whole text, paragraph structure, and sentence structure.

Well sourced

Academic writing uses sources to support its claims. Sources are other texts (or media objects like photographs or films) that the author analyzes or uses as evidence. Many of your sources will be written by other academics; academic writing is collaborative and builds on previous research.

It’s important to consider which sources are credible and appropriate to use in academic writing. For example, citing Wikipedia is typically discouraged. Don’t rely on websites for information; instead, use academic databases and your university library to find credible sources.

You must always cite your sources in academic writing. This means acknowledging whenever you quote or paraphrase someone else’s work by including a citation in the text and a reference list at the end.

There are many different citation styles with different rules. The most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago . Make sure to consistently follow whatever style your institution requires. If you don’t cite correctly, you may get in trouble for plagiarism . A good plagiarism checker can help you catch any issues before it’s too late.

You can easily create accurate citations in APA or MLA style using our Citation Generators.

APA Citation Generator MLA Citation Generator

Correct and consistent

As well as following the rules of grammar, punctuation, and citation, it’s important to consistently apply stylistic conventions regarding:

• How to write numbers
• Introducing abbreviations
• Using verb tenses in different sections
• Capitalization of terms and headings
• Spelling and punctuation differences between UK and US English

In some cases there are several acceptable approaches that you can choose between—the most important thing is to apply the same rules consistently and to carefully proofread your text before you submit. If you don’t feel confident in your own proofreading abilities, you can get help from Scribbr’s professional proofreading services or Grammar Checker .

Academic writing generally tries to avoid being too personal. Information about the author may come in at some points—for example in the acknowledgements or in a personal reflection—but for the most part the text should focus on the research itself.

Always avoid addressing the reader directly with the second-person pronoun “you.” Use the impersonal pronoun “one” or an alternate phrasing instead for generalizations:

• As a teacher, you must treat your students fairly.
• As a teacher, one must treat one’s students fairly.
• Teachers must treat their students fairly.

The use of the first-person pronoun “I” used to be similarly discouraged in academic writing, but it is increasingly accepted in many fields. If you’re unsure whether to use the first person, pay attention to conventions in your field or ask your instructor.

When you refer to yourself, it should be for good reason. You can position yourself and describe what you did during the research, but avoid arbitrarily inserting your personal thoughts and feelings:

• In my opinion…
• I think that…
• I like/dislike…
• I conducted interviews with…
• I argue that…
• I hope to achieve…

Long-winded

Many students think their writing isn’t academic unless it’s over-complicated and long-winded. This isn’t a good approach—instead, aim to be as concise and direct as possible.

If a term can be cut or replaced with a more straightforward one without affecting your meaning, it should be. Avoid redundant phrasings in your text, and try replacing phrasal verbs with their one-word equivalents where possible:

• Interest in this phenomenon carried on in the year 2018 .
• Interest in this phenomenon continued in 2018 .

Repetition is a part of academic writing—for example, summarizing earlier information in the conclusion—but it’s important to avoid unnecessary repetition. Make sure that none of your sentences are repeating a point you’ve already made in different words.

Emotive and grandiose

An academic text is not the same thing as a literary, journalistic, or marketing text. Though you’re still trying to be persuasive, a lot of techniques from these styles are not appropriate in an academic context. Specifically, you should avoid appeals to emotion and inflated claims.

Though you may be writing about a topic that’s sensitive or important to you, the point of academic writing is to clearly communicate ideas, information, and arguments, not to inspire an emotional response. Avoid using emotive or subjective language :

• This horrible tragedy was obviously one of the worst catastrophes in construction history.
• The injury and mortality rates of this accident were among the highest in construction history.

Students are sometimes tempted to make the case for their topic with exaggerated , unsupported claims and flowery language. Stick to specific, grounded arguments that you can support with evidence, and don’t overstate your point:

• Charles Dickens is the greatest writer of the Victorian period, and his influence on all subsequent literature is enormous.
• Charles Dickens is one of the best-known writers of the Victorian period and has had a significant influence on the development of the English novel.

There are a a lot of writing tools that will make your writing process faster and easier. We’ll highlight three of them below.

Paraphrasing tool

AI writing tools like ChatGPT and a paraphrasing tool can help you rewrite text so that your ideas are clearer, you don’t repeat yourself, and your writing has a consistent tone.

They can also help you write more clearly about sources without having to quote them directly. Be warned, though: it’s still crucial to give credit to all sources in the right way to prevent plagiarism .

Grammar checker

Writing tools that scan your text for punctuation, spelling, and grammar mistakes. When it detects a mistake the grammar checke r will give instant feedback and suggest corrections. Helping you write clearly and avoid common mistakes .

You can use a summarizer if you want to condense text into its most important and useful ideas. With a summarizer tool, you can make it easier to understand complicated sources. You can also use the tool to make your research question clearer and summarize your main argument.

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Use the checklist below to assess whether you have followed the rules of effective academic writing.

• Checklist: Academic writing

I avoid informal terms and contractions .

I avoid second-person pronouns (“you”).

I avoid emotive or exaggerated language.

I avoid redundant words and phrases.

I avoid unnecessary jargon and define terms where needed.

I present information as precisely and accurately as possible.

I use appropriate transitions to show the connections between my ideas.

My text is logically organized using paragraphs .

Each paragraph is focused on a single idea, expressed in a clear topic sentence .

Every part of the text relates to my central thesis or research question .

I support my claims with evidence.

I use the appropriate verb tenses in each section.

I consistently use either UK or US English .

I format numbers consistently.

I cite my sources using a consistent citation style .

Your text follows the most important rules of academic style. Make sure it's perfect with the help of a Scribbr editor!

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D.E.I. Is Not Working on College Campuses. We Need a New Approach.

By Paul Brest and Emily J. Levine

Mr. Brest is a former dean and a professor emeritus at Stanford Law School. Dr. Levine is an associate professor of education and history at Stanford.

With colleges and universities beginning a new academic year, we can expect more contentious debate over programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion. Progressives are doubling down on programs that teach students that they are either oppressed peoples or oppressors, while red states are closing campus D.E.I. programs altogether.

For all of the complaints, some of these programs most likely serve the important goal of ensuring that all students are valued and engaged participants in their academic communities. But we fear that many other programs are too ideological, exacerbate the very problems they intend to solve and are incompatible with higher education’s longstanding mission of cultivating critical thinking. We propose an alternative: a pluralist-based approach to D.E.I. that would provide students with the self-confidence, mind-sets and skills to engage with challenging social and political issues.

Like many other universities, our university, Stanford, experienced a rise in antisemitic incidents after the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and Israel’s response. We were appointed to the university’s subcommittee on antisemitism and anti-Israeli bias, which was charged with assessing the nature and scope of the problem and making recommendations. The upshot of hearing from over 300 people in 50 listening sessions is that many Jews and Israelis have experienced bias and feel insecure on our campus.

A parallel committee formed to address anti-Muslim, Arab and Palestinian bias reached similar conclusions for those groups.

These findings are discouraging, given that institutions of higher learning have spent several decades and vast sums of money establishing institutional infrastructures to promote diversity, equity and inclusion. Discouraging, but not surprising — because our inquiries revealed how exclusionary and counterproductive some of these programs can be.

Our committee was pressed by many of those we interviewed to recommend adding Jews and Israelis to the identities currently recognized by Stanford’s D.E.I. programs so their harms would be treated with the same concern as those of people of color and L.G.B.T.Q.+ people, who are regarded as historically oppressed. This move would be required of many California colleges and universities under a measure moving through the California Legislature. But subsuming new groups into the traditional D.E.I. regime would only reinforce a flawed system.

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