How to Write an Essay - A Complete Guide with Examples


While making an essay outline, many authors tend to write out their ideas in long form, or copy and paste sentences and paragraphs they wrote in advance into their outlines. It can be a good idea to expand on your ideas or use additional headings and subheadings to remind yourself later of the content you intended to add to the outline.
There is no need to write out a “perfect” outline before starting your essay. In the end, an outline is just a tool to help you organize your thoughts and get the writing process started. Therefore, it is best to stop outlining and move onto the actual writing whenever you feel ready to do so. In addition, note that there are certain elements of an essay that typically do not need to be part of an outline. For example, you should not feel pressured to include an opening sentence or “hook” or the concluding summary sentence in an outline. Unless your instructor specifically requires you to add those to your outline, you can simply leave a couple placeholders indicating where those would eventually go. For this particular example, you could choose these three: (1) the promotion of innovation, (2) the customizability, (3) the (typically) free cost. Now, write out topic sentences for each body paragraph. A topic sentence is to each individual paragraph what the thesis statement is to the entire essay; it condenses the main point of the paragraph. An example of a rudimentary topic sentence could be “Open source software promotes innovation.” The basic structure of an essay is simple: introduction, body, and conclusion. However, there are many different ways to approach an outline. You can see below for a generic template, but you should alter it to best suit the type of essay you are writing. Your instructor may also require you to submit your outline before the essay itself, so you should check whether a specific format is required. An essay outline is a structural summary that includes each point covered in each of your essay’s paragraphs and displays how your argument will be made in the essay. A good essay outline can help you pinpoint the research you need and makes the writing process more manageable by allowing you to tackle individual sections rather than the essay as a whole. This article gives step-by-step tips on how to create an essay outline that will make it easier to draft a strong and well-structured essay. An alternative that is encouraged by many professors is to start the writing process by creating an outline. This can be done with pen and paper, a simple word processing program, and/or by using an that can help structure, draft, and edit your paper. There are two ways to begin writing an essay. You can start by putting down anything at all, creating a rough draft and then going back to make your writing cohesive. However, doing this effectively can be difficult, especially if you lack existing knowledge or opinions on the topic you are writing about.

How To Make An Essay Longer - Easy Guide For Beginners

However, the goal of a persuasive essay is not only to convince the reader to agree with the writer’s point of view but also to take action on that issue. To do this, the writer must use strong evidence and persuasive language. When it comes to persuading the reader to act on a particular issue, persuasive essays are the best essay type to be used.

So, let's dive in together and learn how to outline your essay.

An expository essay is designed to be informative and explain something to the reader. An expository essay is not intended to persuade or argue for a particular point of view. To do this, the writer must use facts and data to support their claims.

What about this example for your essay outline?

A narrative essay tells a story from the writer’s perspective. The purpose of the narrative essay is to entertain the reader while also informing them about a particular subject. To do this, the writer must use descriptive language to paint a picture in the reader’s mind.

For a research essay outline, consider this example:

In an argumentative essay, the writer takes a position on a topic and argues for that position. The purpose of the argumentative essay is to convince the reader to agree with the writer’s point of view. To do this, the writer must present evidence and examples to support their position.

Here’s how to outline an essay:

Then, after your supporting points are created, you can also use your essay outline to highlight moments for transition. With the information in front of you, you can see what’s missing or how one idea naturally leads to the next. Before you know it, you’ll have an entire essay laid out in front of you. If you write your essay in chronological order, by the time you reach your conclusion, you should have no trouble restating your case and driving your point home.

Here is a college admission essay outline in format:

If you are writing a longer essay, you can afford to be more detailed in your concluding comments. In a longer essay, you might want to summarize each main point and how it contributed to proving your thesis.