Essay Writing Tips

You will find that there are certain skills that are absolutely essential to possess in order to succeed at a university and in your profession. One such skill is the ability to write well. At EssayLab.com we understand this only too well, so we have committed ourselves to providing a paper-writing service that can help our customers develop their writing skills to the best of their ability. As part of that commitment, we have also included some writing tips on this site to help guide you through the writing process. The tips you see below, while by no means exhaustive, can help you get started writing your paper and will provide you with general guidelines for what to include in your paper.

We begin our writing guide with a general discussion about writing. This is followed by an alphabetical list of some of the types of papers you might be required to write while attending college and basic information about each of these paper types. A brief discussion about common writing mistakes to avoid and the different citation styles concludes this guide.

It is our sincere hope that you find these writing tips useful and that you succeed in all of your academic endeavors. From the EssayLab.com writing staff, we wish you an educational and positive writing experience!

General Writing Tips

An Old Writing Adage

Tell them what you are going to tell them, then tell them, then tell them what you have told them

This old adage about writing is truly helpful to keep in mind when you begin writing your paper, as it describes the three essential parts of a paper: When you 'tell them what you are going to tell them' you are writing the introduction. When you 'tell them', you are writing the body of the paper, and when you 'tell them what you have told them', you are writing the conclusion.

The Introduction

The primary purpose of the introduction is to capture your reader's attention and provide background information on the topic of your paper. It should pique the reader's interest and lead to the thesis of your paper.

Typically, introductions begin with a broad statement about the main idea of the paper. This statement is then followed by a few sentences that provide more specific information about the paper's topic and lead the reader closer to the actual thesis of the paper. The final sentence of the introduction is where we find the thesis statement.

The thesis statement is a fairly specific statement about the topic of the paper that explains in greater detail what the author of the paper intends to write about. Thesis statements, in contrast to the beginning statement of the introduction, should be narrow rather than broad and should be limited to making one point rather than several points.

Body of the Paper

The body of the paper is where you will actually tell your reader about the topic. It is usually comprised of several paragraphs. These paragraphs are where you need to cover the topics you said you would cover in your introduction. Transitions and flow are very important here, as is making sure that the paper conforms to the paper's thesis.

The first sentence of each paragraph in the body is key to a smooth, flowing paper. This sentence can take the form of either a topic sentence or transition. While topic sentences introduce the paragraph, transitions help the reader move on to the next paragraph of the paper. Whichever sentence form you choose to start your paragraphs, make sure that you use a similar structure for each paragraph and that each paragraph examines and describes the topic using the same structure. Consistency makes for a more flowing paper.

Conclusion

The conclusion of the paper is where you emphasize the importance of the thesis statement and show your readers why your paper is important. It is also where you give the reader a sense of completeness about the paper and attempt to impart a lasting impression about the topic. New writers often make the mistake of simply summarizing what was written in the paper, but a good conclusion does more than summarize - it demonstrates how your ideas worked together and how the examples in your paper supported your thesis. It should also leave your readers with something to think about, as well as an increased interest in the topic of your paper.

Bibliography

Every paper requires a list of the sources used to write the paper. The list of sources at the end of the document can follow any one of several citation styles. Links to sites that explain some of these styles are provided under the Citation Styles heading.