School Essay

If you’re having trouble writing a good school essay, especially if you’re in high school, your best ticket to a good grade is to do your research and then, while writing the essay, follow the standard five-paragraph method.  Though it isn’t the flashiest way to write a school essay, your teachers will appreciate your clarity and the fact that you’ve followed a clear format.

The first part of writing a good school essay, the research, is probably the most difficult.  Most students skimp on their research and hope that their writing will cover up the holes in their knowledge.  Granted, sometimes this strategy works, but usually you’ll be better served by getting a firm grasp on your subject before you start to write the essay.  Do some outside reading, even if it isn’t a whole lot, to get a better idea of what you’re talking about than the assigned readings tell you. 

Once you’re well-read on the subject you’re writing about, write up an outline of your essay.  I know, I know, nobody likes doing outlines.  Most students think they’re boring and that they take up a lot of time, and sometimes that’s true, but I guarantee they’ll help your writing.  An outline, no matter how formal or informal, will allow you to put together your ideas into a coherent format before you start writing. 

When you write your outline, divide it into five sections.  The first section of your school essay will be your introduction, where you introduce your topic to your audience and sketch out what your essay will be about.  The last sentence of the introduction should be your thesis, the one-sentence summary of the essay’s main idea.  The middle three paragraphs will be your body paragraphs where you give your audience the bulk of the information about your topic and make your argument, if you’re writing an argumentative essay.  In your final paragraph, restate your thesis and end with a conclusion that appropriately sums up the essay.

If you setup your outline in these five sections and add in the bits of information that you want to include in each paragraph, writing the school essay itself will be a snap.  If your outline has enough information in it all you’ll have to do when you actually write the essay will be to connect the bits of information that you’ve already laid out for yourself.  Though writing an essay like this may take a little longer than just jumping in and starting to type, your ideas will be clearer and your grade will be better in the end.