How to Write an Effective Essay? Genres of an Essay

Essay writing is not a hard nut to crack. Hey, it’s you who can do it sensibly.  Every college student who knows basic English can try it. So if you are a high school or college student, you take the initiative of essay writing. Despite the fact that as a student you can write an essay on any topic extemporaneously, it is a challenging skill to master.

For this, you must have creativity and logical planning. Well! We can’t ignore the topic research, proper overall structure, paragraph setting, cohesiveness, and lastly, the language. Now the question of how to write an effective essay induces us to begin writing an essay, keep in mind some super important tips.

Before finding out how to write an effective essay, let’s have a look at the pre-writing strategies. In the pre-writing stage, you begin generating ideas on your topic without focusing too much on organization and correctness. It allows you to begin creatively and truly explore the scope and potential of your topic. Here is an essay writing guide for you.

Brainstorming

Brainstorming is something to create a number of ideas to help to solve a particular problem. Often times when you begin the process of writing a good essay, you can feel totally devoid of inspiration and simply do not know where to begin. But one of the best ways to help you get started is to brainstorming.

Listing

The second thing in pre-writing strategy in how to write an effective essay is listing. It is a pre-writing technique in which you write the topic at the top of a piece of paper and then quickly make a list of the words or phrases that come into your mind. It is a great first step in writing a good essay and can help you gain clarity. The key to listing is to refrain from self-censorship. Let your ideas flow.

Clustering

Get out a blank piece of paper for essay writing, pen down your paper topic in the middle, and draw an oval around it. Draw lines out from the centre and fill in new ovals with sub-topics. You could also write questions. Keep branching off these ovals as new ideas come to you.

Journalistic Questions

In how to write an effective essay, journalistic questions are a way that gives you tools essential to research your topic by using the questions often used in journalism. Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? Write each of these questions on a sheet of paper, leaving a few lines in between. Examine your topic critically and answer each of the questions thoroughly as possible. Once you are finished, review your answers.

Outlining

Outlining in writing a good essay consists of creating a heading and putting your ideas, evidence, or resources under those headings so that you have a true sense of your essay’s layout. Outlining is an amazing process to use. It involves research to allow you to see what order your ideas go in and when you can put your quotes, data, or paraphrases in your essay.

Drafting

Writing a draft is the next step to do by using your outlines as a guide. You should write a rough draft without stopping to think about grammar, spelling, or punctuation. Just get your ideas down on paper.

You may find a few errors in your first draft. This is absolutely usual and acceptable after all. This is just your first rough draft. After revising, editing, and proofreading your first draft, you can write the final complete draft.

It is my ambition to say in ten sentences what others say in a whole book (Friedrich Nietzsche)

Now let’s have a look at the main objective of writing an effective essay. The prime one is to demonstrate ideas and arguments that answer a particular question. Writing a good essay can be stressful or even intimidating. There is no magic formula that may make writing quick and easy. Here are super important parts of essay writing.

Parts of writing a good essay

If you are searching for the important parts of writing a good essay. You are at the right place. We have a list of the parts of essay writing. An essay has three main important parts: Introduction, body, and conclusion. Following the format will help you write and organize how to write an effective essay. Moreover, flexibility is important. For the basic essay format, let the topic and specific assignments guide the writing and organization.

Introduction

The introduction guides your reader into your essay by introducing the topic. It begins with an interesting line that catches the reader’s interest. The introduction takes its start with a quote, an analogy, a question, etc. After getting the reader’s attention, the introduction gives some background information on the topic.

The ideas within the introduction are generic for the reader to understand the main claim and gradually become more specific to lead into the essay statement. The introduction provides the reader with a plan of the main themes/concepts that you are going to examine in the essay.

The plan is actually the description but it also gives some analysis. Themes are presented in the same order that suits the introduction of an essay. It is worth looking back at your first draft introduction once you have finished the essay before editing to match the actual structure of the finished document.

The thesis statement is the main idea or argument of the essay that sets limits on the topic and can the organization of the essay. The thesis works as a roadmap for the entire essay, showing the readers what you have to say and which main points you will use to support your idea.

Body

Now here is the second important part of how to write an effective essay. The body of the essay is an important part that supports the main points in the thesis. Each point can have one or more paragraphs and there are supporting specific details.

These details are necessary that include support from research and experiences, depending on the assignment. In addition to this support, the author’s own analysis and discussion of the topic tie ideas together and draws conclusions that support the thesis.

Paragraph

Without including paragraphs, a structure of good writing is not possible. Each paragraph should develop a point or topic. A paragraph should have a topic sentence that tells the main idea of the paragraph. This topic sentence is the first sentence in the paragraph.

A topic sentence introduces the paragraph‘s main idea. In the rest of the paragraph, you elaborate and provide supporting evidence for the idea. If you have only indicated the issue that is to be addressed and can only draw the main point out after your discussion and samples, the topic sentence will be the last sentence of a paragraph.

The length of a paragraph determines its complexity that is significant to the overall argument. The logical conclusion tells information from the concluding sentence or paragraph. This links it to the next paragraph. Each paragraph should be the next logical step in the develop[ment of your argument. Now it’s up to keep in mind the best order for your ideas.

Transition

Transitions mean connecting paragraphs to each other and to the thesis. In this way, the essay flows from one topic to the next. These transitions can be one or two words ( first, next, in addition) or one or two sentences that bring the reader to the next main point. You enhance the ideas through the careful use of transitions.

Some useful linking words and phrases

Conclusion

The conclusion of an essay means bringing together all the main points. It takes us back to the thesis statement and readers reach a final thought and sense of closure by resolving any idea brought up in the essay. It may reflect the implications of the argument.

You can not include new topics or ideas in the conclusion. The ending is from generic to specific that restates the answer to the question. After that, it summarizes the main points and a final, strong statement.

A selection of the genres of an essay

While writing an effective essay, the genres of the essay are important to be illustrated. Here are four major categories of rhetorical modes: narrative, descriptive, expository, and persuasion.

The Narrative genre: The narrative essay tells a relevant story or relates to an event.

The Descriptive genre: The descriptive essay uses vivid, sensory, details to draw a picture in words.

The Expository genre: The writer’s purpose in expository writing is to explain or inform. Exposition is subdivided into five further modes: classification, process, definition, comparison/ contrast, and cause/ effect.

The Persuasive genre: In the persuasive essay, the writer’s purpose is to persuade or convince the reader by presenting one idea against another and clearly taking a stand on one side of the issue.

We often use several of these modes in every professional writing situation. The rhetorical modes as a set of tools allow writers greater flexibility and effectiveness in communicating with their audience and expressing their ideas. 

Narrative Type of essay writing

Narrative writing in other words is story writing. This piece of writing is helpful in how to write an effective essay. Here is a main character in a setting who encounters a problem or engages in an interesting, significant or entertaining activity or experience.

The main character’s series of actions s called the plot. The plot floors a beginning, middle, and end sequence. The middle of the story is the largest, super important part that we call the main event.

The main event presents a problem to be solved or a significant life experience. The purpose of the authors is to write narrative stories in order to entertain an audience. Narrative writing often has situations like disputes, conflicts, actions, motivational events, problems, and situations.

A narrative essay is an informal piece of writing in writing a good essay. It relates the story to real-life events experienced by the author. The experience serves as a vehicle for a specific point the author wants to make in his or her essay and includes the author’s commentary on the event.

A narrative essay has the same basic form as most other academic essays. It involves creativity and allows the writer to be a little more creative than academic essays usually do. Narrative writing has the following features.

• A Narrative is possibly factual or fictional
• The big distinction between factual and fictional narratives is determined by a writer’s purpose.
• Narrative writing tells a story that is based on real events. If you write a fictional story, it’s no longer a narrative essay.
• A narrative is not fiction. It’s an academic paper, non-fiction writing about an experience that actually happened. 
• The voice in narrative writing is conversational, personal, and involving. 
• Narrative writing leads the reader to discovery through the description.
• The elements include plot, setting, character, conflict, point of view, and theme.
• Most commonly, narratives are told from the first-person point of view.
• Most commonly, the narratives are told in chronological order.
• The narrative writings have powerful introductions and conclusions and contain lots of sensory impressions, smells, colours, lighting, and imagery
• The language of narrative writing is full of colourful verbs, and hyperbole, and is embellished with figurative language( metaphor, simile, personification, idioms).

The narrative type turns a story into information and influences the way how readers will perceive it. In other words, the narrative builds your story. A narrative essay is that type where you tell a story in a format and use all elements of storytelling.

The structure of a narrative essay in how to write an effective essay

Here are some points to remember while jotting down a narrative essay:

• In a narrative essay, you simply direct a reader to an essay writing guide and allow them to draw your own conclusion. 
• You don’t criticize anything and don’t try to persuade them with arguments or prove anything.
• Major narrative events are most often conveyed in chronological order, the order in which events unfold from the first sentence to the last one.
• When you start writing a narrative essay, start by asking yourself if you want to write a factual or fictional story.
•  Write about topics that are of general interest to you.

Transition words and phrases used in the narrative writing

We use these transitions and words when we write a narrative essay. After/afterwards, as soon as, at last, before, until, currently, during, eventually, meanwhile, when/whenever, next, now, since, soon, while, finally, later, still, then first, second, third, etc.

Example:

Learning how to ride a bike for the first time was a memorable experience of my life. I was about five years old when my sister informed me that I was too old to still be riding a bike with training wheels. That was the time I decided not to depend on them anymore. Even though I had some doubts, my sister and I went outside and started to take the little wheels off my bike.

After my bike went through the transformation, I was now ready for the big moment. I slowly got on the bike and with my shaky hands, I gripped the handles tightly. Meanwhile, my sister was holding on to me to help keep my balance…………….I will never forget the exhilarating moment and growing up stage of riding a bike without training wheels.

Descriptive Type of essay writing

Descriptive writing in how to write an effective is a style of writing that focuses on describing a character, an event, or a place in detail. In descriptive essay writing, the author visualizes to you what he sees, hears, tastes smells, and feels.

A descriptive essay gives a good platform for a writer to express his or her feelings on a subject. As the name suggests, the essay is a description of an object, location, or experience. Like other essay types, it also includes an introduction, body, and conclusion centred on a chosen theme.

The descriptive writing style is expressive and may include descriptions, opinions, comparisons, personal perceptions and sensory perceptions. The descriptive essay relates the unique qualities of the person, object, etc, vividly and comprehensively.

Here are the important features of descriptive writing.

• Good descriptive writing includes many vivid sensory details that paint a picture and appeals to all of the reader’s senses of sight, smell, hearing, touch, and taste when appropriate.
• Descriptive writing may also paint pictures of feelings the person, place, or thing that invokes in the writer’s mind.
• Good descriptive writing often makes use of figurative languages such as analogies, similes, and metaphors to help draw the picture in the reader’s mind.
• Good descriptive writing involves short and precise language. General adjectives, nouns, and passive verbs are not parts of good descriptive writing.
• It uses specific adjectives and nouns, and strong action verbs to give life to the picture, the writer is painting in the reader’s mind.
• Good descriptive writing is organized.

The structure of a descriptive essay

Now let’s see the important elements to give structure to a descriptive essay.

• In rhetorical modes, The structure of a descriptive essay is more flexible
• The introduction of a descriptive essay should set up the tone and focus of the essay.
• The thesis should convey the writer’s overall impression of the person, place, or object described in the body paragraph.
• The organization of the essay may best follow spatial order which means an arrangement of ideas according to the physical characteristics or appearance.
• Depending on what the writer describes, the organization could move from top to bottom left to right, near to far, warm to cold, frightening to inventing, and so on.
• The descriptive essay can vary, depending on what you are describing. This essay structure can help you describe most things, though, thoroughly and easily. 
• The descriptive essay doesn’t require as much research as others but you’ll still need to back up your points.
• The descriptive essay can be arranged in one of many organizational patterns. Introduce the topic you are describing and give a quick overview of what it is.
• The format of the descriptive essay is important in its organization and helps structure the content better.
• Lastly, there should be no difficulties writing the essay if all necessary information is presented effectively.

Example:

My eight-year-old son stands out in a crowd of children because of his distinctive appearance and gentle manner. The first thing I notice when I look at him is his size. He stands at shoulder height next to me; indeed, he is a head taller than other children his age and is definitely stronger.

His weight is a hefty 113 pounds; without a doubt, he weighs forty pounds more than other children in his grade level. Recently we signed him up for flag football. Also remarkable is his red hair; it is thick, coarse to the touch, and styled in an old-fashioned boy cut………….although he is only eight years old, he is big and strong while loving and gentle and that makes him stand out from other children at least in my eyes.

Expository type of essay writing

Expository writing in how to write an effective essay is a subject-oriented writing style in which the main focus of the author is to tell you about a given topic or subject and concludes the essay with an opinion. This is one of the most common types of essay writing styles which you always see in textbooks and How To articles.

Expository writing is used to convey factual information( as opposed to creative writing, such as fiction). It explains, informs, and describes. Expository writing is everywhere in everyday life, not just in an academic setting, as it is present anytime there is information to be conveyed.

An academic paper, newspaper articles, business reports and non-fiction are all instances of expository writing. The main features of expository writing include:

• Informative: Expository text is meant to deposit information
• Clarity: Using words that clearly show what the author is talking about.
• Organization of the text: A well-written exposition remains focused on its topic and lists events in chronological order.
• Impersonal: Second-person instructions with you. However, the use of first-person pronouns should be avoided.

Unbiased: Expository essays will not overly reveal the opinion of the writer.

The structure of an expository essay

• To begin with an expository essay, first, write down ideas on a blank piece of paper. Connect them with arrows and lines, or just make lists.
• Repeat the brainstorming exercise with ideas that you want to pursue on that topic and information you could put in.
• From this list, you will start to see a path emerge for your research or narrative to follow.
• Develop a thesis statement in which you can summarize the topic you are writing about. 
• Examine your thesis: is it clear? Does it contain opinion? If so, revise that. 
• For this type of essay, you stick to the facts and evidence. Find your data and sources to back up the areas you want to pursue to support your thesis statement.
• Look for sources written by experts, including organizations, and watch for bias. Possible sources include statistics, definitions, charts and graphs, expert quotes and anecdotes.
• Compile descriptive details and comparisons to make your topic clear to your reader, when applicable.
• The body of an expository essay could be considerably longer, depending on your topic and audience. 
• Each paragraph begins with a topic sentence where you state your case or objective. Each topic sentence supports your overall thesis statement.
• The final section of your expository essay should give the reader a concise overview of your thesis. The intent is not merely to summarize your argument but to use it as a means of proposing further action, offering a solution, or posing new questions to explore.
• Clear and logical transitions between the introduction, body, and conclusion are the mortar that holds the foundation of the essay together.
• Readers have a limited attention span, make your case succinctly in language that the average reader can understand.
• It needs to use concise, easy-to-read language. This type of writing will not contain overly descriptive language or advanced vocabulary.

Example:

Advances in science and technology have made the use of green energy possible. In places where climate conditions permit, people are able to use solar energy or wind energy for power. Solar energy is the use of sunlight for energy and power. Humans are able to harness the energy of the sun by installing solar panels in their homes or business. Both of these forms of green energy are being used more and more.

The persuasive writing

Persuasive writing, contrary to expository writing, comprises the opinions, biases, and justification of the author. Persuasive writing is a type of writing which makes someone believe in what the author believes in. In persuasive writing, the author takes a stand and asks you to believe their point of view.

Persuasive writing appears across media in many different forms, such as reviews and advertisements. A good persuasive argument uses a combination of thorough research and careful word choice in order to present the writer’s opinion strongly and gets the reader to agree.

Students can do persuasive writing a wonderful means of expressing their views about a subject. Engaging in persuasive writing also helps students improve skills such as different styles of writing, writing structure, doing research, and forming evidence-based logical conclusions, opinions, and arguments.

The structure of a persuasive essay

The structure of the persuasive essay contains some important elements:

Beginning

The persuasive essay starts with an engaging introduction that presents the general topic. The thesis typically appears somewhere in the introduction and states the writer’s point of view. Avoid forming a thesis based on a negative claim because it may cause you to lose your credibility before readers.

Body

Your essay’s body is the actual persuading content to convince people to believe in your thesis. You should have paragraphs containing evidence for your argument, and if you do not, it’s likely that your thesis isn’t strong enough. If that’s the case, take a step back, come up with ideas for a statement you feel strongly about and take your topic from there.

In defence of your thesis, each separate point should be contained in a body paragraph of its own, and any facts, examples, stats, or quotes backing up that point included in the same paragraph

The Use of I

Be mindful of the use I in the persuasive essay because it can make your argument sound overly biased. There are two primary reasons. First, excessive repetition of any word will eventually catch the readers’ attention and usually not in a good way. The use of I is no different. Second, putting I into a sentence alters not only the way a sentence might sound but also the composition of the sentence itself.

Persuasive essay conclusion

Once the conclusion comes, your audience should be at the point of agreeing with you. The conclusion reinforces what they have already been told and leave them with a call to action so that they will carry on with their day in a somewhat different frame of mind than they were when they started reading your essay.

Transition words and phrases

As you move between points on towards the inevitable conclusion, use transition words and phrases as sentence starters as they serve as cues for the audience that the argument is moving onward. Some examples of these words are: however, therefore, consequently, in fact, on the other hand, instead, thus and still.

Some more guidelines for writing a persuasive essay

• The introductory paragraph should have powerful content that grabs the reader’s attention. Begin with an unusual fact or statistic, a question or quotation, or an emphatic statement.
• The thesis statement should leave no doubts about the writer’s position. Each body paragraph should cover a separate point, and the sentence of each paragraph should offer strong evidence in the form of facts, statistics, and quotes.
• To convince your readers to believe and agree with you, know who you are talking to first. Keeping that in mind when writing to your targeted demographic.
• A persuasive writer should present their own opinion with a declarative statement that clearly expresses their point of view.
• Starting with a fact, research findings, or any other evidence that explicitly states information supportive of your thesis will clue the reader into what the essay is about.
• You should also acknowledge opposing ideas to your argument.
• An effective persuasion technique is the use of empathy. The reader is more inclined to believe you if they feel like you can relate to and understand their experience. Emotional appeal is important for persuasive writing. as it targets the audience’s sensitivities.
• The use of exaggeration in order to express urgency, exclusivity, or just to make a point is another useful persuasive technique.

Example

Laughter is one of the greatest healing devices known to man. Laughter is powerful and can help people in many different ways. It has the power to cure something as little as a bad day or to heal the wounds of a terminally ill person.

Laughing has helped in creating the smile which is the universal sign of well-being. Generally, individuals who do not laugh live miserably and have unhappy lives………Laughing brightens the spirit and heals the mind and bodies of people who allow it to overcome them. S try a smile and laugh on for size and live a longer happier life with loved ones.