Top-Quality Academic Essay Example
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Writing an academic essay is crucial to studying on any academic level. This task enables tutors to effectively assess your knowledge of the subject and your writing skills. Besides, you will understand the topic better as it’s required to process different sources and clarify ideas. Academic writing practice provides a set of useful skills for your future career.
But sometimes, students face difficulties when crafting an academic essay. And this guide will help you improve your writing skills. So let’s find out how to generate a professional essay together!
What Is an Academic Essay?
The first thing you will investigate in this guideline is quite simple – the definition of an academic essay. It is a piece of writing to address a certain issue on the subject. Students develop an idea or argument using analysis and interpretation when creating papers. They should develop a solid thesis and support it with relevant evidence. It can be based on your research or personal experience. This task is assigned to the school, college, and university students to showcase their knowledge and develop writing skills.
At first sight, an essay doesn’t differ much from other pieces of academic writing. But some key features to consider will help you perfectly craft this type of assignment.
- It is a piece of formal, objective writing, emphasizing objects, ideas, and facts
- The author supports their thoughts and beliefs through arguments
- It requires critical analysis
- This type of writing shows the author’s interests in the subject and may include their experiences
- It has a solid structure and academic format
- A paper has a short length, ranging from 200 to 500 words
- The topic is not too broad and narrowed down to studying a specific aspect
- Three is a thesis statement (a central idea) a writer proves in the paper
- Vocabulary is particular to the subject
- It includes references to expert research
Academic Writing Types
Before starting your paper, consider four main writing types: descriptive, analytical, persuasive and critical. Then, learn their specific language features and purposes to create the A+ work.
Descriptive
The simplest type of academic writing aims to present facts or information. For example, it can be the result of an experiment or a summary of the article. When compiling a descriptive text, you should objectively identify and record data. The academic description is formal and communicates certain points. In order to create a catchy caption, it’s recommended to choose words carefully.
Analytical
Analytical writing includes a description and requires information processing to organize it into categories and build relations. You may be required to create them independently and compare some subject aspects. To do that effectively, writers should plan their writing and brainstorm ideas. In the analytical essay, you can outline the pros and cons of some phenomena. Create a clear structure, and analyze, compare, and contrast data.
Persuasive
Persuasive writing requires you to present a personal point of view in addition to analyzed data. Your opinion may include a recommendation or interpretation of a certain idea or phenomenon. But your claim should be supported by evidence, research findings and reliable sources. You should evaluate data and take a position. It may be challenging to decide what viewpoint to help, so read carefully different sources and select strong evidence.
Critical
Critical writing is a widely popular assignment, including features of persuasive writing. It requires you to consider several viewpoints and compare them to yours. You can give an alternative interpretation of some idea or phenomenon. Disagree, debate, and evaluate ideas found in articles and reviews. But to do that correctly, you have to point out an issue and present a better approach to its solution. Finally, provide evidence, such as reference to trustworthy sources, research data, or logical reasoning.
Types of academic essays
Let’s look at the variety of academic essays you may have while studying.
- Argumentative
- Critical
- Analytical
- Descriptive
- Expository
- Cause/effect
- Narrative
- Process
- Definition
- Process
Stages of Writing Academic Essays
It’s easy to craft an excellent essay if you have a plan and write step by step. In such a way, you will not miss out on any detail and be more productive. So let’s find out what these crucial stages are.
Study the Question
Your primary task is to analyze the essay prompt. First, define the paper’s purpose, like research, discuss, argue, compare and contrast, or explain. You should pay attention to the keywords in the prompt as they can be a part of your essay. Finally, study carefully all the words in the question that influence the search of materials and data.
Gather Information
The next stage of academic essay compiling is collecting data. You should read many reviews, journals, books, and articles to find useful information. Depending on your subject, your primary research may include interviews, surveys, or experiments. Secondary research involves processing recommended bibliography or searching your materials online or in the library.
Develop the Thesis
Now it’s time to craft your essay’s most important central idea – a thesis statement. You will develop all your points in a way to support the thesis. It controls your essay, so make it strong and clear. To create it effectively, do not make it too broad or too narrow. Encourage the audience to keep reading your statement.
Structure Your Essay
Keep in mind that a professional paper should have a very organized structure. Connect all ideas coherently striking to an outline. Organizing the paper will allow you to present all points of information and details and give you a good visual picture of the final variant. You will develop and support your thesis effectively. So let’s explore key essay structure elements:
- The introduction should contain a hook, background information, a thesis statement, and main points
- Body paragraphs include main points with supporting evidence and examples
- The conclusion gives a summary of key issues, reiterates your thesis, and has a final word
- References include information on your in-text citations
Draft Your Paper
Following the outline, write a draft laying out all your thoughts and ideas on the paper. Your task is not to make the paper perfect but to include all the necessary information in corresponding sections. Again, use formal language and an objective tone.
Revise Your Essay
Revising your academic essay, you should edit and proofread it. Make sure there are no mistakes and that ideas are well organized. You can ask someone to check your paper or use online tools to improve the text quality.
Tips on How to Start an Academic Essay
A solid introduction is the key to success. The introductory paragraph sets the essay’s tone, so try to attract readers’ attention from the first lines. Here you should present background information and the central point of your work. Consider generating a powerful hook to spark the audience’s curiosity. It should be clear, short, and catchy.
Sum up the overall argument with a thesis statement. It’s not obligatory, but you can map the structure in long essays. You should always check and revise the introduction separately. You can even write the introductory paragraph when the whole paper is completed. So make sure
- The first sentence is engaging
- Background information introduces the topic
- Key terms are outlined
- The thesis statement is clear
- The introduction is relevant to the main body of the paper
Example of Academic Writing Essay
A good academic paper example will be really helpful to inexperienced writers. You can find sound essay samples on our platform. Our professional writers create high-quality papers on any subject, so you will easily find yours and generate professional work.
You will see the structure, format, vocabulary style, and useful sources there. Do not copy sentences but study from these relevant materials. Then, craft a strong paper using our examples and get an excellent mark for the unique, meaningful work.
Conclusion
Writing an academic essay is an integral part of successful studying. Despite all challenges, you will learn to express your own opinions, ideas, and views clearly. Once you know the type of academic writing, you can structure and format the paper appropriately. If there are any difficulties, you can always contact us, and we will help you craft a paper on any topic whenever you need.
FAQ
What is the outline of an academic essay?
The structure of an academic paper consists of three main elements: an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
What is the academic essay format?
You can use the APA or MLA formatting styles in your paper. They determine how you organize a cited list.
What are academic writing types?
There are four main types of academic writing such as descriptive, critical, analytical, and persuasive.
