A lot of first-year students fail to complete all of their homework before the deadline. Some of them do not have enough experience when it comes to writing a good essay; some are bad at time management and, therefore, do not have enough time to complete each assignment when it’s due. As a result, many college freshmen have a hard time achieving desired grades and see no alternative but to seek help from professionals on resources like.

At any rate, polishing up your writing skills is key to better academic performance. While an essay seems like a relatively easy task, there are many ways you can enhance your essay-writing skills. Here are just some of them.

Carefully choose your topics

You may have your topic assigned to you personally, be given several premade ones to choose from or have complete liberty of choosing any topic to work on within the entire curriculum scope. This gives you a freeway to pick a subject that is fascinating to you. However, it also means that you have somewhat more work to do tailoring a concrete title.

However, even in case you have been assigned the topic rigidly, consider the kind of paper that you can create. Would it better for your essay to be a general review of the subject or an examination of its particular aspect? Which option will give you more creative freedom? Change focus if needed. In any case, follow your intrinsic motivation. If you are not interested in what you write about, no one will be interested in reading it, let alone giving it high marks.

Start from the thesis statement

Once you have picked a subject and arranged your thoughts, you should come up with the thesis statement. Your statement tells the reader the main intention of your essay. Your statement ideally consists of two parts. The first one introduces the theme, and the following one shows what you have to say/prove/disprove about it. In other words, the reason for this essay to exist.

First, you can come up with a rough working statement. It’s okay to tweak it later if you come to some unexpected conclusions in the process of writing.

Write the body

Each body paragraph will have a similar overall structure. Start by stating one of your main arguments and thoughts as the first sentence. Next, add your supporting thoughts, evidence, and quotes that back up this argument.

The body of your essay should be straight to the point. Although every idea from your outline will turn into a paragraph inside your essay, refrain from adding too many irrelevant details. It’s no use boosting word count by endless digressions. Your instructors have waded through enough of student meanderings to completely lose a taste for this trick.

Create the conclusion

The last paragraph brings your argument to its conclusion, summarizes your main ideas, and gives a final perspective on your subject.

Your conclusion should comprise of three to five sentences – preferably no longer. Give an overview of your argument and reinforce the main point of your essay.

Plan and structure your work

To organize your work and become more productive, you should consistently have time allotted for your assignments. Make an adaptable and sensible calendar. It must include all due dates for big projects and routine obligations you have weekly, like lectures, notes revisions, and essays to write and turn in.

Also, it is necessary to find some time to practice writing. For example, you may dedicate half an hour in the evenings to journaling to build up your skills.

Learn from good writers

It’s critical to gain insight from the work of successful essayists and writers with good style. Make use of online journals and books by writers you’d like to emulate. If they have a strong online presence, like Stephen King or Joan Rowling, you can contact them directly and ask for some guidance or simply scroll through their Twitter for quick tips on the writing process. Take notes and use them in your own essays and other kinds of academic papers that require eloquence and creativity.

Don’t worry, many famous writers started off by gaining their knowledge and techniques from imitating and then working on their own style and creative process.