Essay writing, whether it’s for an assignment or in an exam, is a skill that can make or break your varsity marks. If you’d like to improve your essay writing, there are some effective hacks you can use. Here are 5 of them.

Read the instructions

Every essay topic asks a question, or poses a problem to be solved. That’s why reading it carefully, along with your essay instructions, is vital. Look at what the topic is and what the instruction is asking you to do. For example, are you being asked to prove something, argue for or against a particular point or provide evidence to answer a specific question. Here’s more on common essay types and how to tackle them.

Plan it out

Jumping into essay writing without a structured plan can be a recipe for disaster since it usually wastes time and leads to an essay that’s a bit haphazard to read. If you’re writing an essay in an exam, take a few minutes before you start writing to plan out your headings, ideas you’ll explore in each paragraph and the time you’ll spend on a section. Don’t forget to factor in time for proof-reading and final edits. It’s important to always hand in essays with correct spelling, grammar and proper formatting.

Use resources effectively

Your resource materials (papers, textbooks, articles, etc.) can get overwhelming, and with hundreds of pages you may not know where to start. Most programs you use to read such papers have a “find” tool, which you can use to quickly find relevant keywords and terms. Always ask yourself “why am I using this resource”? And whether it’s relevant to your essay to save yourself time and effort spent reading through dozens of resources you can’t use.

Keep your focus

While researching for your essay, you may find yourself going down some rabbit holes that, while interesting, aren’t really relevant to your essay topic. It’s important to always steer yourself back to the relevant sources, and avoid going on tangents that don’t add anything to your writing. Allocate a word count peer section and try to stick to it as much as possible.

Check your formatting

A mistake that many varsity students make is not following the correct essay or referencing format. This can cost you up to 20% of your final mark, which is a huge chunk of your marks. Be sure to double-check your format when reviewing your essay and make use of online referencing tools to help you cite your sources correctly.

Essay writing doesn’t have to be a drag. The formula we’ve provided above will definitely help you write clearer essays and get the marks you want. Remember that you can download essay templates and reference guides for free from our downloads section.