Want to Improve Writing Skills for IELTS, TOEFL or GRE? 7 Tips to Make you a Prolific Writer
If you are planning to study in the US or UK, you will be required to take exams like TOEFL, IELTS and GRE, where your essay writing skills will be tested. Even if you are not taking these exams, the ability to convey your thoughts through a well crafted essay is essential in both professional and academic careers, specially as you go higher up the ladder.
Today we will discuss 7 tips that will take your essay writing skills to the next level.
Know The Structure Of An Essay
Just like talking, you need structure when you are writing. Essays have different topics and lengths, but most essays have a general format that will help make things more organized. This structure includes an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. An introduction introduces and gives background information on your topic. This is important because your audience may not be familiar with the subject. The next part is the body paragraphs. This is the most important part of the whole essay.
Body paragraphs are used to go into depth and fully discuss your subject or argument. The final part of an essay the conclusion. The purpose of the conclusion is to recap your main points and bring your essay to a close. Without a conclusion, the essay may end too abruptly and leave the reader feeling lost.
Have A Strong, Clear Thesis
A thesis is when you state the claim or argument you are going to discuss in the essay. An example would be: “Global warming has devastating effects on the environment.” Your thesis usually comes at the beginning of your essay, after introducing the topic. The thesis should be obvious and strongly worded so that the reader knows your point of view on the subject, and what you are going to discuss throughout the entirety of you essay.
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Support And Refer Back To Your Thesis
After stating your thesis, your job is to support it with evidence throughout the paper. This section of the essay would be considered the body paragraphs. If your thesis is “Global warming has devastating effects on the environment”, you need to make sure that the information you include in the body paragraphs supports the idea that global warming is bad. If your evidence is weak or contradicts your thesis, your essay will not be strong and your claim will fall apart.
Throughout your essay, you will also want to restate your thesis or refer back to it a couple times. If your essay is long or has a lot of information, the reader could forget your thesis halfway through your essay or get lost. Referring to your thesis will allow them to remember your claim, and help keep them on track. It will also make your essay writing and argument seem stronger.
Stay Organized
Being organized is essential for any essay writing project, whether you are writing for an academic purpose or for an exam like IELTS or TOEFL. The tips mentioned so far will help you stay organized: knowing the general structure of an essay and referring to your thesis throughout the essay. However, even if you follow these tips, it is still possible to ramble or go off on a tangent while writing.
To avoid this, try writing an outline and planning out what topics you are going to cover throughout your essay. Also, as you are writing, regularly go through and read what you have written so far. This will help you determine if you are staying on topic. Plus, fixing things as you go through the essay will save you from doing more work later.
Be Aware of Grammar and Punctuation
Having strong ideas and supporting evidence is usually considered more important to a writing teacher than grammar. However, knowing and using proper grammar is still very important when writing an essay. You may have creative or innovative ideas, but incorrect grammar can hinder your message, or your writing voice. Punctuation also has a large effect on how your writing comes across. Make sure to brush up on your grammar and proofread your work many times. If grammar is your weak point and you are a college student, most universities have a tutoring or writing center where a tutor can help you with grammar, or with your essay in general.
Be Familiar With Citations
In college, and sometimes in high school, you will be assigned many research papers or essays that require a lot of outside research. These papers will involve using and incorporating different sources into your essay writing. However, in order to do this, you will need to know how to cite the sources, so you can give the original authors credit for their writing.
In colleges, plagiarism (claiming someone else’s writing or ideas as your own) is taken very seriously. If you do not know how to cite sources correctly, you could be accused of plagiarism, even if you didn’t purposely do it. A college writing tutor can teach you the basics of citing, and there are many sources online they can help you as well, such as the Purdue Owl website.
Proofread, Proofread, Proofread!
It has already been mentioned a couple times throughout this article, but make sure to proofread and reread your essay multiple times. It is easy to make small or silly mistakes that can hurt the message or strength of your essay. Read the essay slowly and thoroughly to find any mistakes. Next, read it aloud to yourself. This will allow you to hear any parts that might sound funny or wordy, and can help you catch mistakes you may have missed when reading it in your head. Getting a second opinion of your essay and having someone else read it is a great way to find other improvements that can be made. Writing tutors can help with this and there are also some online services where you can submit your writing for review.
These tips will help you write a strong, cohesive, and organized essay. Keep all of them in mind the next time you are given some kind of writing assignment.
