Basic rules of writing an academic essay

Every day of their academic life, students deal with a myriad of assignments and challenges which make them smarter, educated, and competent. Even such a seemingly uncomplicated task as an academic essay can significantly boost your performance and assist in becoming a better learner; however, this scenario is possible on the condition that this assignment is performed correctly. Whether you are required to write about the history of the USA or have to select a topic of your own, you’ll most likely have to follow some universal guidelines to create the text according to the highest academic standards. Let’s explore the basic rules for writing an academic essay and enhance your knowledge of technical and creative aspects of composition!

Writing an academic essay: Primary guidelines 

When you look for academic essay writing rules on the Internet, you will probably find a bunch of recommendation reviews about formal style, writing complete sentences, and other essential requirements. However, we would advise you to start with one ‘unofficial’ rule: try to treat this assignment as an excellent opportunity to conduct research, express your unique ideas, and develop your writing style. Simply put, consider writing an essay as a one-of-a-kind self-development opportunity, and you’ll see how following the basic rules will become more exciting and uncomplicated. 

First and foremost, let’s explore the technical aspects of academic essay writing in detail. After you’ve decided on the topic of your essay, it is crucial that you properly frame your ideas and arguments. If you follow these guidelines, the reader will easily navigate your paper and understand the flow of the essay ideas. Moreover, sticking to these rules almost always guarantees excellent grades. So, here they are:  

• Start with developing an outline

Indeed, unless your professor didn‘t require you to create an outline, you can think that this component is not obligatory and skip it. However, an outline is a mini-version of your future college essay, and its further composition would be a piece of cake.

• Stick to a formal style

There are certain rules when it comes to the style of academic papers. Thus, these texts should be written using formal language – treat it as a universal ‘code‘ that helps people in academic environments to speak one learning tongue. 

• Develop a concise and informative thesis statement 

Your thesis statement is the heart of your academic essay – this last sentence should present the central thought of the text and briefly mention the supporting arguments. 

• Pay specific attention to the structure of your text

The secret of an exemplary structure lies in the balance. Your introduction and conclusion should not be too extended, while the paragraphs should be equal. There‘s no universal word count, but some instructors require not to exceed 150 words per body paragraph or 90 words per introduction and conclusion sections. The main thing to keep in mind is that the reader should easily understand the ideas. 

• Use transitions

Transitional words and phrases are increasingly helpful for making the text‘s flow more smooth and easy to read. For example, several ‘besides,‘ ‘therefore,‘ or ‘however‘ can significantly improve readability and assist you in becoming a more skillful writer.

• Do your best to incorporate relevant and reliable evidence and examples

Most academic texts are composed with the help of external sources. Whether you exploit academic articles or online articles, always double-check the information and make sure it supports your thesis statement and the arguments. Remember, it‘s all about quality connection.

• Ensure that your ideas and arguments are well interconnected and support the central idea of your paper

When composing an essay in English, take care of cohesion and coherence. These ‘helpers‘ are called to support the connectedness of your arguments. For example, if you‘ve decided to explore a particular music style in your essay, it would be awkward to mention the band that didn‘t have anything to do with it.

• Verify that your text corresponds to the required style of academic essay

Depending on the instructions, you may have to write an essay of a different style. Argumentative, discussion, persuasive – consider these specifics to develop your paper and use the corresponding style. For instance, if you introduce many pros and forget to balance them with cons, there‘s a good chance of failing the assignment. 

• Proofread your essay

Make sure that your text is free of grammatical errors, personal pronouns, and punctuation issues. Other than that, this rule can help you to reveal sense-bearing or factual inconsistencies. 

• Use plagiarism checkers 

Even though you are sure you created an original essay, run it through the plagiarism checker. Quite often, such a review reveals that students use the same phrases over and over again, which doesn‘t contribute to the ‘freshness‘ of their texts. So, why don‘t you get rid of proven patterns and create something genuinely unique? 

Helpful resources: The expert assistance in your academic writing journey

Needless to say, many students don’t feel that writing is their strong side and, therefore, may require outside assistance to enhance their skills and competence. The silver lining is that to get quality help, you have to explore the Internet and find a professional website that offers custom writing services and other support. Most custom essay writing services provide clear guidelines regarding the essays’ structure, styles, vocabulary, sources’ credibility, and other vital components. Moreover, you can even explore academic essays’ samples and enrich your writing style and strategies due to such websites. Isn’t it amazing to live in a digital world! 

For example, if you need help writing an essay, you can safely cooperate with academic essay writing services e.g. CustomWritings.com – a professional custom writing company that has already helped thousands of students to become proficient in writing high-quality academic papers. Such writing companies provide unparalleled support for learners. Moreover, many students worldwide enhance their writing competence when they choose the option to buy cheap personalized paper. This service will suit your needs if you lack time and experience writing academic papers from scratch. 

Also, by cooperating with such a company, you can communicate with professional writers and discover multiple secrets of top-quality writing. Another great news – when you order from verified websites, you automatically become a member of an online community always ready to provide outstanding support to their customer. Need advice about your academic essay structure or the research components? These specialists won’t make you wait long. 

To sum it up, the explored rules almost deprive you of the chance to fail an academic essay writing assignment. Notably, these guidelines are not universal, and professors often assign tasks with customized requirements, so always be attentive when reading their instructions. Now that you know the basics, you’ll avoid the common mistakes many students make and create unforgettable texts worthy of the attention of your professors and marked by high grades. Finally, it would be best to keep in mind that the sense of incompetence is your other strength. Please don’t ignore it and work on it, ask for expert help, and become a confident and experienced writer!