Essay writing is a concept of writing that more people than not struggle to comprehend. In essence, the prospect of composing an essay doesn’t sound all too difficult; you’re required to select a topic, formulate an argument around that topic (assuming you’re writing an argumentative essay), and use your paper as a means to convince the reader to side with you on whatever subject your essay is about.
If you’re tasked with creating a comparative essay, the principle is the same, however, the argumentative element of the paper is replaced with a compare and/or contrast approach.
I have my Bachelor’s degree in Honours English Language and Literature, and I find it a wee bit concerning that at no point during my university career was I told how to go about structuring an essay properly. Granted, essay writing is something taught in high school, so by the time you reach university you arguably should have somewhat of a grasp of the concept; the issue, however, in my case, is that the way I was taught to write essays in high school is not at all what was expected of me when it came to writing essays in university.
I wasn’t happy with the grades I was receiving on my essays in university, so I approached one of my professors and asked for some guidance. The advice I received is some I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life, and I’d like to share it with all of you in hopes of assisting someone else struggling to grasp the basics of writing a strong essay.
Your thesis statement is the most important piece of your essay because it contains your argument and how you plan to prove it. To take things one step further, however, and ensure your thesis is strong enough to carry your essay, you must explain, directly within your thesis, why it matters. So, as an example, if my essay is arguing that fast food should be banned, instead of writing my thesis like this:
“This essay will argue that fast food is detrimental to the health of the public and should be banned.”
I should write it like this:
“This essay will argue that fast food is detrimental to the health of the public and should be banned because it would alleviate significant stress on already over-worked and over-used healthcare resources, allowing for a diminishment in obesity rates and medical attention to be directed toward individuals with debilitating issues.”
See the difference?
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