Planning Is the Key to Great Academic Writing
Irrespective of the number of years you have spent in academic circles, it may still be intimidating when you're expected to submit a substantial writing assignment, and higher word counts evoke greater levels of stress. The key to drafting a great and easy-to-read academic essay is all about the right planning.
Understanding the Topic Completely
Prior to beginning your research on the topic of your academic writing, you must outline a rough sketch of exactly what your essay must include. To start with, if you have been assigned a research topic for discussion, have a closer look at the terms of the question to make sure that you have understood what it is asking of you. Just ensure that you have considered all components of the question, and if required for longer questions or comprehensive topics, note down every point that should be covered, so that nothing is left out from being mentioned in the given topic.
Sketch Layout of Academic Writing
The next step is to initiate a rough layout of your writing. This will work as a guideline for your research and will simplify the format you would be following when writing up your essay. At the same time, it will also enable you to present your argument more effectively, due to the rough outline, which will show how you initiate, develop, and conclude your essay. Now, you should create a heading for every paragraph or section, discussing a new point at length, having a few bulleted points that are expanded as per the topic it is going to cover. For instance:
Paragraph/Section 1: Environmental Hazards of Pollution
Comprehensively explain some of the negative impacts/threats that different chemical industries are posing on the environment.
Give some detailed supporting examples.
Such outlines will help you focus on conducting your research, and you would be able to comprehensively develop the entire academic writing by shedding light on new information that you may wish to add. It will also help you make the right decisions on where to add new information. This will keep your essay compact, crisp, and relevant, equipped with logical illustrations in terms of sequence and flow.
Making Writing Illustrative
The more you research, the more you learn and understand. This will add more details and illustrations to your plan and help you add relevant quotes to the relevant section in your plan. This will also evenly distribute the collected references throughout your essay.
Once you have undergone all the above steps of research and planning, you have a detailed essay plan. Now, you simply need to elaborate on your points and focus on developing the best possible phrasing and style for your writing.
Understanding the Topic Completely
Prior to beginning your research on the topic of your academic writing, you must outline a rough sketch of exactly what your essay must include. To start with, if you have been assigned a research topic for discussion, have a closer look at the terms of the question to make sure that you have understood what it is asking of you. Just ensure that you have considered all components of the question, and if required for longer questions or comprehensive topics, note down every point that should be covered, so that nothing is left out from being mentioned in the given topic.
Sketch Layout of Academic Writing
The next step is to initiate a rough layout of your writing. This will work as a guideline for your research and will simplify the format you would be following when writing up your essay. At the same time, it will also enable you to present your argument more effectively, due to the rough outline, which will show how you initiate, develop, and conclude your essay. Now, you should create a heading for every paragraph or section, discussing a new point at length, having a few bulleted points that are expanded as per the topic it is going to cover. For instance:
Paragraph/Section 1: Environmental Hazards of Pollution
Such outlines will help you focus on conducting your research, and you would be able to comprehensively develop the entire academic writing by shedding light on new information that you may wish to add. It will also help you make the right decisions on where to add new information. This will keep your essay compact, crisp, and relevant, equipped with logical illustrations in terms of sequence and flow.
Making Writing Illustrative
The more you research, the more you learn and understand. This will add more details and illustrations to your plan and help you add relevant quotes to the relevant section in your plan. This will also evenly distribute the collected references throughout your essay.
Once you have undergone all the above steps of research and planning, you have a detailed essay plan. Now, you simply need to elaborate on your points and focus on developing the best possible phrasing and style for your writing.
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