Emma! Do you have any tips for writing essays? I’m writing my final paper and I feel a Lil bit lost in it. I’ve got time it’s not due till next week but half way in and realizing it’s just notttt working. Normally I’d be like aaa fuck it but it’s most of my grade so I want it to be at least b worthy. Any suggestions for essay damage control ?
Hey! This is copied from a question I answered a couple of weeks ago but probably applies quite well - it was asking about how to be persuasive!
This was something I definitely struggled with and didn’t really grasp for my first six months of my HSC. I found seeing other examples (e.g. past paper answers by other students) incredibly helpful for learning how to formulate my essays in a way that did actually answer the question. Our school always did this thing called ALARM, which broke down paragraphs into a series of questions. Unsurprisingly, I assume the idea was stolen from this dude who writes about it. It is quite an easy way to see what areas you need to cover depending on the question and making sure you’re covering things that would be considered as persuasive, rather than just describing it.
When you’re trying to be persuasive definitely consider things like:
Are you backing up your claims?
How are you proving your point? E.g. historical evidence, quotes from reliable sources, etc.
Are your sentences strong in structure?
Do you perhaps offer arguments for points against your theories?
I think a key thing to remember is to avoid describing - you need to provide evidence to show why your point of view is right/more logical/etc.
I have an essay which, to me, is really strong and to the point. I don’t narrate or describe anything, it is just fact after fact. I’d say it is one of the best essays I wrote in my senior year. If you want a copy, I would be happy to send it to you. Obviously, it might not be helpful in terms of content but the idea/structure might help!
Here are some additional links though!
how to write a 5 paragraph essay
how to reduce waffle in an essay
how to critically analyse in an essay
essay planner and writing guide printable pack
student reading journal log printable pack
I hope that helps! Good luck :D
