Introduction
Essay writing is a process that requires research, planning and construction of content for a given subject. A writer or a student is expected to write an essay that is persuasive and interesting to a reader. As a result, it is necessary to have proper knowledge of how to write a well-researched essay that meets the word limit. At the same time, the essay needs to address important information about a topic. The first process after selection of a subject matter to research on in essay writing is planning. Planning requires one to come up with a structure that they will use in writing the essay. One needs to understand the research question and divide it into sub-questions with the aim of understanding the requirements of the problem. The second step is to research on the subject of study. This involves identifying reliable and valid sources that one will use in collecting information. The information collected and the sources used should be noted down to make it easier to remember the points when writing the essay. The final process is to construct the essay which consists of the introduction, the main body, and the conclusion (Finch & Fafinski, 2013 p. 249). The language used should be formal, clear, and precise. This report will explore stages of the 'planning, research, and construction of an essay.’
Planning of an Essay
Planning of an essay is important as this enables one to end up with a logical argument that will be presented when writing. The planning process allows an individual to come up with a rational structure regarding where to start a discussion and where to end the case (Shields, 2010). Arranging information logically ensures that the researcher sticks to the point of argument because the writer will not be struggling to think while at the same time trying to figure out the right words to express ideas (Finch & Fafinski, 2013, p 205). The planning process enables the writer to decide on what they will include in the three different sections of an essay.
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A student needs to understand whether the question that is used to write an essay is open-ended or closed. This helps the student to narrow down the problem and to decide on the introduction of the essay. The first step is to underline the keywords in a question and to make sure that one understands all the terms that are used (Shields, 2010). The writer identifies vital information in the issue and goes ahead to clarify the question’s requirements. The student then needs to re-read the question a few more times to be sure of what the question is asking. The next step is to try and break down the question into subsections to know the important points or issues that make up the overall issue (Redman & Maples, 2017). Breaking down the question into sub-questions enables the writer to focus on their reading and to start giving the essay a structure. Having too many sub-questions is, however, not good; as this makes the writer follow up minor issues and ignore the most important points.
As the writer progresses with writing an essay, they may realize that the plan that they had come up with will change from time to time as new ideas develop. Consequently, the writer should be flexible when it comes to making changes to the initial plan (Redman & Maples, 2017). Usually, there is a word limit for an essay that students are expected to write in class. This provides the student with an idea of the crucial information that they are expected to present in their essay.
Researching on an Essay
Researching an essay requires a writer to use relevant sources. A writer should collect all the necessary resources that they will require to conduct their research on a given subject of study. Before conducting any research, a student should consider writing down their initial thoughts about a topic. The sources that will be used for research should be reliable and valid. All materials that are used for research should also be tested for relevance (Joyner, Rouse & Glatthorn, 2018). It is crucial to understand the research topic and to ensure that one is responding to what tasks. The points that one plans to include in the essay need to be evaluated, and the resources used should match with the subject being researched. The sources used should also address the question at hand in a manner that is easy to understand. The writer needs not to struggle to comprehend a topic of study in the materials.
The first step in researching an essay is to find background information on the subject at hand. After defining the topic of writing, one uses references to find background information on the subject. A student does a preliminary reading of the general reference material or other reference sources (Joyner, Rouse & Glatthorn, 2018). The second step is to plan and search for information about the essay topic. There are different sources of information that the student should consider. These include books or government documents, periodicals or the internet. The student will be required to do extensive reading of materials they come across to collect as much information as they can. One needs to evaluate the information that they have gathered because the quality of an essay depends on one’s ability to differentiate between reliable and insignificant information (Shields, 2010). It is important to ensure that the resources used are reliable and valid. Finally, the students need to identify the most clear and convincing evidence that they should include in their writing. It is crucial to note down the sources of all quotes that they will use in the essay as they are still exploring the information.
After reading about the topic or subject of study, it is important to summarize findings in a page. The student needs to note down all their findings (Finch & Fafinski, 2013 p. 201). This process involves bringing together all the key points that the student gathered from reading or through research. Summarizing the key findings enables one to find a pathway through all the ideas and issues that the student has come across (Finch & Fafinski, 2013 p. 201). It may be helpful to include brief details of authors and page numbers of crucial information as this will act as a guide to finding evidence that will be used later to support the main points.
Construction of an Essay
The final process of writing an essay is to construct the essay. This involves putting down all the points that have been gathered through research. When writing an essay, it is essential to aim at developing a concise writing style. An excellent essay is one in which words are used correctly to capture the specific meaning of the law (Finch & Fafinski, 2013). A writer should use simple language that can easily be understood. Complexity in essay writing should be avoided at all costs as the language used should be easier to understand. “Good writing is about more than just words on paper: the words need to be arranged in such a way that they make proper sense to the reader” (Finch & Fafinski, 2013 pp. 221) A writer should also be formal and avoid colloquial language.
There are three parts of an essay namely: the introduction, the main body, and the conclusion. The introduction is the first part that a student should write as this will be the first part that a reader sees. The introduction should be brief, clear, and straight to the point. The introduction defines the research problem that the student is studying. The introduction further states the thesis and provides justifications that the student intends to examine to show that the thesis is valid (Finch & Fafinski, 2013). The second part of an essay is the main body of the paper. This part presents all the arguments supporting the thesis and provides relevant data to prove that the thesis is valid. Arguments should flow well and must be arranged logically to convince the reader. Furthermore, paragraphs should have unity and be well-linked together and should contain in-text citations to show that the student conducted thorough research. It is essential to adhere to the purpose of the paper and follow the plan that is outlined in the introduction (Joyner, Rouse & Glatthorn, 2018). The final part of an essay is the conclusion, and this provides a summary of findings of the student or writer. In this area, now new information should be introduced, but rather a summary of all information collected should be made.
A writer needs to present precise information to the reader, therefore they should conduct thorough research to come up with correct information and facts (Joyner, Rouse & Glatthorn, 2018). In the process of presenting precise information, a writer should maintain objectivity and avoid being subjective. It is essential to focus on information that is collected instead of focusing on oneself. Accurate vocabulary should also be used, but this also means that the writer should use language cautiously in demonstrating their position or view on a subject. Academic honesty is also important when writing an essay. The sources that are used in writing an essay need to be provided and, all sources cited in each paragraph. It is almost impossible for an individual not to use other sources in writing an essay.
The writer should aim at avoiding too much detail as this would make the essay monotonous and boring. A well-written essay is one that combines the description and analysis of the subject matter. A writer should only pay attention to the relevant information and specifics (Finch & Fafinski, 2013). When writing a law-related essay, it is easier to describe the law instead of analyzing it. This tends to make students write a lot of information in their essays and avoid analyzing it. Additionally, the student may fill the first sentences with unnecessary information that should be omitted, and this makes a reader to lose interest in reading the essay. Finally, it is important to proofread the essay to determine whether there are any grammatical, punctuations or spelling errors (Finch & Fafinski, 2013 p. 245). The student should also ensure that they adhere to the word limit.
Conclusion
In conclusion, writing an essay iss a process that involves planning, researching and finally constructing the essay. Planning of an essay requires one to provide an outline that they will use to write the essay. The second step involves researching to collect the necessary information that will be used to write the essay. A student identifies credible, valid, and reliable sources that they will use in collecting information about the subject matter. The final stage is the construction of the article, and this involves writing down the essay gathered research. The arguments should be rational, flowing, and interesting to the reader. If a student follows all these steps keenly, they will be able to write a compelling piece. Finally, the students need to adhere to the main points and avoid giving too much unnecessary information that only fills up the essay.
References
Finch, E., & Fafinski, S. (2013). Legal skills . Oxford University Press.
Joyner, R. L., Rouse, W. A., & Glatthorn, A. A. (2018). Writing the winning thesis or dissertation: A step-by-step guide . Corwin Press.
Redman, P., & Maples, W. (2017). Good essay writing: a social sciences guide . Sage.
Shields, M. (2010). Essay writing: a student's guide . Sage.
