Are Your Written Essays under Control?

ESSAYS—literary analyses, political proposals, well-read debates, everyday life observations or reminiscences of writers—should only be short. Or else, they are already deemed as out of control.

It’s of the essence to say that sentence length is rudimentary when it comes to writing essays. Why express something in 30 words, when it can be written in just 10 words? Good essay writers actually have the flair to squeeze the essays they scribble to just a few number of words—and that’s already a mixture of short and long sentences.

Not yet convinced of keeping essays under control? Think about these essay writing truths:

• An essay that comprises of lengthy sentences can wear out the eyes.
• If every sentence of an essay has more than 25 words, the reader’s brain might not get the breather he needs to sort out new information.
• A writer who cannot stay away from writing kilometric essays should vary the length of his sentences so his work won’t appear uninteresting.
• Main ideas for essays can be summed up to just one sentence.
• Some readers tend to absorb every detail in an essay into smaller chunks to fully understand it.
• By the time a reader reads the conclusion of any lengthy essay, he might have forgotten already its introduction.
• Further words in an essay mean harder comprehension.
• A long sentence can be divided into two shorter sentences.

In shorter, err, other words, newbie writers should learn how to keep their essays under control by limiting a sentence’s number of words from 15 to 20. It will help them come up with lucid yet very readable pieces of writing.

Easy Essay Writing Tips

ESSAY writing tips thrive not only in books but also over the Internet.

Sadly, many students take for granted all these copious gifts: They deem writing essays as “problematical,” period.

But an essay is the easiest kind of literary work to write. Because apart from being short, it has a format or structure that is so easy to follow, namely: the introduction, which begins with a sentence that should rouse the interest of readers; the body, where the ideas in the first part are expanded; and the conclusion, which summarizes the gist or main thought.

Here are three hints students have to keep in mind when tasked to write essays by their teachers:

Fix thoughts first. Essay writers not only experience partial loss of ability to go on writing—or the so-called writer’s block—they also go through “writer’s excitement”—their minds overflow with concepts. Hence, their ideas, when written, become distorted. They should write on a piece of paper each and every idea that comes out of their mind first then sieve the useful from the futile ones prior to writing the first draft. Students must have a general idea of their work so they will know where they are really heading to.

Be free from eyesores. These eye irritants include typographical and grammatical errors. Writing blunders make essays less credible. Students have no reason to commit lots of typos in their works anymore, what with the presence of spelling and grammar checkers in computer programs that make writing tasks easier done than said. On the other hand, essay writing wouldn’t be a problem if students have a full grasp of sentence structures as well as singularity and plurality of nouns—but that is if they listened to their teachers attentively from the time when they attended school and have read a lot of books since time immemorial. Grammar expertise cannot be acquired overnight: It’s a continual process that should have started at a tender age.

Keep in mind that more is valuable. Although essays need to be kept short but sweet, long essays—with about four to five sentences in every paragraph—are also within acceptable limits, as long as they give further details and enlighten readers about a particular topic.

Essay writing may be a daunting activity, but students have nothing to lose if they master this skill. Believe it or not, but those who write well eventually become successful in their chosen careers. Getting accustomed to writing essays is one and the same with opting for a brighter future!

Kids Praise Grandparents through Essays

WHAT a better way for the children of North Dakota, in the United States, to show love for their grandparents, than to write essays!

At North Dakota's State Fair held last July 18 to 26, a lot of children were invited to write an essay about their favorite seniors, their grandparents.

Many fourth and fifth graders from around North Dakota took part in the competition: All of them submitted essays answering the question-cum-essay writing contest theme, "Why are your grandparents the best?"

Fair official Shannon Pearson said paying respect to hundreds of grandparents was something they really wanted to do for this year's North Dakota State Fair. They decided to come up with a competition for writing essays about grandparents "because clearly everyone thinks that their grandma and grandpa is the best," she said.

All the winners read their winning essay entries at the North Dakota State Fair's "Senior Day Festival" held at the Upper Atrium of the State Fair Center last July 24. It also honored the senior citizens' contributions for the local community and the state of North Dakota.

Second placer Kelsey Neameyer, a fifth grader from St. John's Elementary School, said she wrote an essay about her Grandma Ivy "because she tells me how good of a singer I am." She and the other winners received a family trip to Medora, North Dakota's most famous family resort, as well as a fun weekend treat in Bismarck, the state's capital.

Apart from the awarding of essay writing contest winners who proudly read and dedicated their essays to their grandparents, vendor booths, an ice cream social and great entertainment also added fun to the festivity.

Argumentative Essay Papers Made Easy

STRESSING out a point in essay papers by defending it is another form of writing that scares a lot of students. They are scared of writing an argumentative essay paper because they may not be able to defend their written essays so well. Add also the fear of seeing and hearing people disagree with them, as the logic in their essay appears to be true.

Although the art of writing argumentative essay papers cannot be learned overnight, students have to remember the two main purposes of writing this kind of essay paper: To win it as well as to convince the readers to accept their standpoint. Any newbie essay writer like you can do this by:

Writing essay papers where you can be an expert: You can become an authoritarian by choosing argumentative topics for essay that interests you the most so you can easily win it. Stay away from topics for essays that are impossible to defend. There are readers of essay papers who only read only the angle or side that they believe in.

Choosing a subject or issue that sparks controversy: What a better way to start a debate than to choose an essay paper topic that is timely, can interest or affect certain number of people, and above all, arguable. But you have to be skilled enough of writing argumentative essays so that your readers will also have an in-depth knowledge about your topic.

Taking a clear stand in your essay papers. Fight and write for what you believe in. But don't write an argumentative essay paper in the first person, because it will only weaken your point. Write in the third person instead.

Presenting a believable argument. Don't emphasize an opinion in your essays just for the sake of introducing a debate. Back up your line of reasoning with facts, figures that are powerful enough to influence readers and make them think that all your essay papers have truthful basis.

Having a logical tone. The tone of your essay paper should be realistic, proficient and reliable. Always have this mindset that whatever essay you will write, everyone will disagree and be cynical with you.

Read aloud your essay papers when you are done. If they don't sound convincing, then have them revised. You must be able to integrate the idea of your thesis to the concluding part of your essay so that it will become the lasting notion or impression of your readers.

Easy Essay Writing Tips

ALDOUS Huxley, an English novelist and critic, one said that an essay is a “literary device for saying almost everything about almost anything.”

If this is the case, then why allow the thought of putting pen to paper frighten you? Why some people find it hard to write essays?

In writing let’s say a custom essay—an essay type that’s descriptive in nature and deals with a specific topic—there are no definite steps, but following some tips might be useful, and here are some of them:

Add spice. Worn-out topics for essays or custom essays seem to be boring, but you can add flavor to them by having a creative approach, or make it sound interesting—you’re on your way to becoming a very good writer!

Be yourself. Write from your heart, from your soul and from your past experiences in life—if you get to do this, your essays would simply stand out.

Prefer the simple over the complex. Most people think of highfalutin words to produce well-written essays or custom essays. Why use “edifice” when you can say “building?” Why say “conflagration” when you can use the word “fire?” Use simple words so that your readers could easily get your point.

Start with a bang. Whether it’s an essay or a custom essay that you will be writing about, bear in mind that the intro of your essay should immediately capture the interest of your readers, so allot more time in making a very strong introduction.

The body must speak about your introduction. The succeeding paragraphs of your essays or custom essays must say something about your opening sentence.

Make use of transition. To maintain the logical flow of your essays, you may use shifting phrases such as “meanwhile, hence, since, etc.”

End with an explosion. The concluding part of your essays is crucial as it’s your final chance to influence or convey something to the readers. Relate your conclusion to your introduction to build a sense of balance by re-stating some of your opening phrases.

Writing is re-writing. Revise everything in your essays that needs further improvement. Be patient, as correcting your work may require a lot of time. You also have the option of having your essays or custom essays edited “professionally” by seeking the help of a grammarian (a teacher) or technical writers to perk up your style, choice of words, tone, etc., and guarantee that your piece of writing will be remarkable.