Assignments are a critical part of your marks, so you need to write them with care. Article writing can be a hard job. But nothing is impossible when you put all your time and effort into it.
Whether you’re in school, college, or university, it’s never too late to improve your essay format or assignment writing skills. That being said, here are some key tips on how to write an essay and to be a better writer.
1. Time management
Schedule a specific time for your assignment-free from destructions such as games, or TV shows.
If you spend most of your time watching trending Tiktok or YouTube videos, then concentrating on your article during the last minute. There’s a high chance that you may fail to deliver quality work.
This is because you’ll be concentrating more on meeting the deadline rather than creating a quality essay. It, therefore, wise to schedule your time accordingly.
2. Don’t be afraid to seek professional help
Visit writing centers in your college or university to get help on how to write an effective essay article. Grammar, spellings, formatting, and other smaller details can be hard to master.
You will first have to fail some assignments before getting straight As. Seeking help from an essay writing service like Edubirdie or writing centers can speed up your progress. You will learn how to write quality assignments and how to achieve the maximum assignment score.
You can also seek help from a professional writer to guide you in every step. With the help of a writing tutor, you can learn how to adapt to the strategies we’ve mentioned above. Also, you’ll get to improve your article writing skills much faster.
3. Read as much as you can
Writing an essay is no joke. If you want to become great at writing, you need to read a lot. By reading, you get to adopt new ideas and inspirations that will help you write better articles for college.
Reading doesn’t necessarily mean reading syllabus books. You can read anything else, whether its thriller, satire, poetry, horror or science fiction. This means you will have an idea about what sounds good on paper as well as increase your vocabulary.
4. Analyze the assignment question
Learning how to write a college essay means being ready to visualize and having an in-depth understanding of the question at hand. Once you’ve achieved that, then you can write a quality essay.
To grasp the meaning of the question, re-write it in your own words, then analyze it. Find the words that contain instructions on what you need to do. If the question has words that you’re not familiar with. Use a dictionary to search for the word or ask a friend or lecturer for clarification.
Also, look for topic words from the question that provides you with information you need to write about. Sometimes a question can also contain restricting words, which makes a topic more specific.
5. Know how marks are awarded
Many students don’t bother to check how examiners award marks for research papers or essays. To deliver a quality article, you need to go through the assessment checklist and find out what the examiner is searching for when reading your assignment. This way, you can concentrate on the important areas that will secure you lots of marks.
6. Research
After understanding what the topic is about and how marks get awarded. Go to a local public library or use online sources to search for useful information you can use in your writing.
Do not limit your research to a specific source; instead, collect your information from multiple sources. This is critical because it eliminates the chance of presenting poor or incorrect research information, which might lead to a deduction of marks.
When you find your information, evaluate it, and make sure it’s perfect for your written work.
7. Outline your ideas
After enough research, you can start outlining your ideas based on the topic. Describe your essay topic based on what ideas you want in your written piece and how you want it arranged.
It’s more like creating a logical structure that can keep you from going off-topic. Don’t opt for shortcuts because this is a critical stage. Organize your thought and get a cohesive assignment structure that relates to it.
The article you’re doing will determine the broad structure you’ll adopt. But also check out the assessment checklist and topic question to understand what your lecturer expects from you and how you should structure your answer. Also, check what needs to be included as well as which section carries the most marks.
Once you’ve checked the mentioned elements, proceed to create your outline by using headings and gaps for the info you’ll fill in.
Start Writing
Now that you’re well prepared for the college essay, writing it will be much easier. Here is how you do it:
Introduction
Start your assignment by introducing your key argument, then add a bit of context and key concerns of the question. Continue explaining how you plan to tackle it. This helps the examiner know whether or not you understand what you’re doing.
The introduction also plays a critical role in capturing the reader’s attention, so it’s crucial to prepare an outline of the introduction to ensure the introduction sends out a clear message.
Support your arguments with evidence from credible authors. If you find it hard to start with an introduction, address the rest of the article first, then come to the introduction.
Main body
When writing the body of your essay, answer the assignment question citing evidence. Make sure each point stands out by using quotes and statistics you gathered during your research to support your argument.
But remember, each paragraph should feature the same organization or structure. Casually preparing your written piece means it will be difficult for the reader to follow, and you might end up scoring low marks.
Therefore, it’s imperative to arrange your work in a systematic format that will ensure the lecture will follow the information clearly, as a result delivering a clearer answer.
If you’re relying on different sources, it’s easy to forget them when creating your reference list. Try making things easier for yourself by jolting them down as you go along.
Conclusion
The conclusion is the part where you summarize your arguments and leave a lasting impression with the reader. Here you conclude everything in your essay based on the evidence you presented.
Also, present your recommendations and do a little discussion on the recommendations to portray that you have an understanding of the findings of the research topic.
Citations and Reference
You need to cite and reference your sources correctly based on APA, MLA, or Harvard guidelines. A wrong citation will cost you your marks. If you are not sure of the reference style, ask an essay rewriter or consult the person who gave you the assignment.
Go Through the Assignment
Whether or not you’re a native English speaker, always proofread and edit your assignment. Re-read your written piece to the point of completion. Complete the paper earlier and leave it for 2 or 3 days, then go back and re-read it.
You’ll feel like you’re reading something new, and you can see and evaluate your essay. You can re-organize your essay or research paper and make it much better than before.
Some things you can do before printing and submit your assignment include:
- Checking if you’ve answered the topic question correctly
- Compare your article against the assessment checklist and see what factors you’ve missed addressing.
- Ensure you have used the correct structure
- Check the logical arrangement of the article. Does it flow smoothly, or does it need some editing? The perfect way to check for this is by reading your assignment aloud.
- Lastly, check if you’ve used your word and acknowledged all your sources.
Cut out text
If you go through your assignment and there is a part of the text that doesn’t seem to support your argument, don’t be afraid to cut it out. Microsoft Word provides you with the “Track Changes” feature, which you can turn on when making various changes to your college essay.
The feature allows you to edit your text without losing the changes forever. So once you proofread your written piece and realize you’ve made a mistake removing the text, just reject the changes.
Final Thoughts
Assignment writing is a skill you build over time. The more articles you write, the better you become at it. There are a lot of factors that come into play when writing your college essay, and a wise student will note these factors and work on them.
Lastly, before submitting your written piece, print it out, and proofread it one last time. It’s easier to capture errors in print than on a computer screen. If you’re satisfied, submit your assignment.
