How to Write an Essay: 4 Minute Step-by-step Guide | Scribbr 🎓

Summary

This video offers a crash course on academic essay writing, covering the three main stages: Preparation, Writing, and Revision. It emphasizes the importance of understanding the assignment, choosing a topic, and formulating a clear thesis. The script guides viewers on crafting an engaging introduction, organizing the body with focused paragraphs, and concluding effectively. It also stresses the need for thorough revision, including grammar, spelling, and plagiarism checks, to ensure a polished final submission.

Takeaways

• 📚 The main goal of an academic essay is to persuade readers through informed arguments backed by evidence and analysis.
• 🎯 The essay writing process consists of three main stages: Preparation, Writing, and Revision.
• 🤔 In the Preparation stage, understanding the assignment and choosing a topic are crucial first steps.
• 💭 Developing an initial thesis statement is important to establish the main point or position you will argue in the essay.
• 📝 Creating an outline and planning the essay structure helps kickstart the writing process and maintain focus.
• 📖 The introduction should grab the reader's interest and provide context for the essay's argument.
• 📝 The thesis statement, presented in the introduction, is a central argument that drives the entire essay.
• 🔍 The body of the essay, which makes up 60-80% of the content, is where arguments supporting the thesis are developed with evidence.
• 📑 Using clear topic sentences in each paragraph helps to structure the essay and guide the reader through the arguments.
• ✍️ The conclusion should summarize the essay's main points, show the outcome of the arguments, and emphasize the importance of the thesis.
• 🔧 After writing, revising and polishing the essay is essential, including checking arguments, grammar, spelling, and formatting.

Q & A

What is the main goal of an academic essay?

The main goal of an academic essay is to persuade readers of a position or perspective through informed arguments supported with evidence and analysis.

How many main stages are there in writing an essay according to the script?

There are three main stages in writing an essay: Preparation, Writing, and Revision.

What is the first step in the preparation stage of essay writing?

The first step in the preparation stage is to understand the assignment and choose a topic.

What is the purpose of a thesis statement in an essay?

The purpose of a thesis statement is to present the main point or the central argument that the essay will make.

What should be included in the introduction of an essay?

The introduction should include a hook to grab the reader's interest, context to help the reader understand the argument, and the thesis statement.

What is the function of the body section in an essay?

The body section is where arguments supporting the thesis are made, evidence is provided, and ideas are developed.

Why is it important to use paragraphs in the body section of an essay?

Using paragraphs in the body section helps give the essay a clear structure and allows each argument or idea to be centered around one topic sentence.

What should a topic sentence in an essay paragraph do?

A topic sentence should introduce the purpose of the paragraph, making a transition from the previous paragraph and presenting the argument to be made.

What are the three things that should be done in the conclusion of an essay?

In the conclusion, one should summarize and tie together the points made in the essay's body, show the outcome of the arguments, and emphasize why the argument matters.

What is the final step before submitting an essay after it's been written?

The final step before submitting an essay is to revise and polish the writing, double-check arguments, and ensure grammar, spelling, and formatting are correct, including checking for plagiarism if sources were cited.

What is the next step recommended after understanding the stages of essay writing?

The next step recommended is to create an outline for the essay.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introduction to Essay Writing

This paragraph introduces the video series on essay writing, emphasizing the goal of persuading readers through informed arguments supported by evidence and analysis. It outlines the three main stages of essay writing: Preparation, Writing, and Revision. The speaker, Jessica from Scribbr, provides an overview of what will be covered in the series, including detailed steps and examples in upcoming videos.

Keywords

💡Academic Essay

An academic essay is a formal piece of writing that presents a specific argument or analysis based on research and evidence. In the context of the video, the academic essay is the central theme, with the goal being to persuade readers of a particular position or perspective through informed arguments. The video emphasizes the importance of understanding the assignment, choosing a topic, and developing a thesis to guide the essay.

💡Persuasion

Persuasion in the context of an academic essay refers to the process of convincing readers to accept the writer's point of view or argument. The video underscores that the purpose of an essay is to persuade through the use of evidence and analysis, rather than just stating opinions.

💡Informed Arguments

Informed arguments are those that are based on knowledge and evidence. The video stresses that to write an effective academic essay, one must support their points with well-researched and credible evidence, which is a key component in persuading the reader.

💡Evidence

Evidence in academic writing refers to the data, examples, or quotes that support the claims made in the essay. The video mentions that evidence is crucial for developing arguments and should be interpreted and explained to show its relevance to the overall argument.

💡Analysis

Analysis in an essay involves critically examining the evidence and relating it to the thesis or argument. The video highlights the importance of not just presenting evidence but also analyzing it to show how it supports the writer's position.

💡Preparation

Preparation is the initial stage of essay writing where the writer understands the assignment, chooses a topic, and formulates a thesis. The video outlines this as a foundational step, emphasizing the need for a clear idea of what the essay will argue before beginning to write.

💡Outline

An outline is a structured plan that organizes the main points and the flow of an essay. The video suggests creating an outline to plan the essay's structure, which helps in kickstarting the writing process and keeping the writer on track.

💡Introduction

The introduction is the opening section of an essay, designed to grab the reader's interest and provide an overview of the essay's content. The video instructs to hook the reader with the first sentence, provide context, and present the thesis statement.

💡Thesis Statement

A thesis statement is a sentence or two that presents the central argument or claim of the essay. The video highlights the importance of the thesis statement as it drives the entire essay and should be carefully crafted.

💡Body Section

The body section is the main part of the essay where the writer presents arguments, provides evidence, and develops ideas. The video advises using paragraphs centered around single arguments or ideas, each introduced with a topic sentence.

💡Conclusion

The conclusion is the final part of the essay where the writer summarizes the main points, shows the outcome of the arguments, and emphasizes the importance of the thesis. The video suggests that the conclusion should provide a new insight and highlight the significance of the argument.

💡Revision

Revision is the process of reviewing and refining the essay after the initial writing is complete. The video emphasizes the importance of revising to check arguments, grammar, spelling, and formatting, ensuring the essay is polished and ready for submission.

Highlights

The goal of an academic essay is to persuade readers through informed arguments supported with evidence and analysis.

There are three main stages to writing an essay: Preparation, Writing, and Revision.

Understanding the assignment and choosing a topic is the first step in the preparation stage.

Creating an initial thesis is crucial for outlining the main point or position of the essay.

An outline and essay structure should be planned to kickstart writing and keep the writer on track.

The introduction should grab the reader's interest and inform them of what will be covered.

The thesis statement, one or two sentences long, drives the whole essay and should be well-crafted.

An overview of the essay structure should be provided at the end of the introduction.

The body section, making up 60-80% of the essay, is where arguments supporting the thesis are developed.

Each paragraph in the body should center around one argument or idea, introduced by a topic sentence.

Evidence should be presented with data, examples, or quotes, and interpreted to support the overall argument.

The conclusion summarizes points, shows the outcome of arguments, and emphasizes the importance of the thesis.

Revision involves checking arguments for completeness, restructuring if necessary, and proofreading for grammar and spelling.

Using a plagiarism checker is essential to ensure all sources are properly cited and to avoid academic dishonesty.

After completing the checklist, the essay is ready for submission.

Creating an outline is the next step after understanding the essay writing process.

Transcripts

Welcome to your crash course on essay writing, by the time you finish this series, you'll

be all set to ace your essay!

This is the first video of the playlist, in which you'll learn the basics.

In an academic essay, the goal is to persuade readers of a position or perspective through

informed arguments, supported with evidence and analysis.

There are 3 main stages to writing an essay: Preparation

Writing Revision

In this video, I will quickly go through all the stages and steps with you.

And in the next few videos in this playlist, we’ll go more into detail for each stage

with example sentences and paragraphs.

Can't wait?

Let's dive right in!

Hi, I’m Jessica from Scribbr, here to help you achieve your academic goals.

In the preparation stage, you first need to understand the assignment and choose a topic.

Once you've chosen your topic, you should come up with an initial thesis – this is

the main point you want to make in the essay, or the position you’re going to argue for.

At this stage, it doesn’t have to be perfectly phrased, but it’s important to start with

a clear idea of what you want to say.

Then you can start creating an outline and planning your essay’s structure.

This will kickstart your writing and keep you on track!

Preparation is done, and now we're moving onto writing.

Every essay starts off with an introduction.

It’s important to grab the reader’s interest right off the bat and inform them of what

will be covered in the essay.

Hook the reader in the first sentence, and then give context that will help your reader

understand your argument.

This might involve providing brief background information, giving an overview of important

academic work or debates on the topic, and explaining difficult terms.

But don’t overdo it, just enough to give the reader a taste, you know?

Next, remember the thesis statement from before?

Present it here – tell the reader the central argument you’re going to make.

The thesis statement is usually one or two sentences long, and it drives the whole essay,

so make sure to spend some time on this part!

You can end your introduction section with an overview of the essay.

So basically signposting your essay’s structure.

Moving onto the body section, this is the longest part of your essay, usually around

60-80%.

Here is where you make arguments supporting your thesis, provide evidence, and develop

your ideas.

It’s easy to get lost in a big chunk of text, to give your essay a clear structure,

it is important to make use of paragraphs.

Each paragraph should be centered around just one argument or idea.

Introduce the purpose of each paragraph using topic sentences.

A good topic sentence makes a transition from the previous paragraph and introduces the

argument to be made in this paragraph.

We elaborate more on forming clear topic sentences in this video!

After the topic sentence, present evidence by providing the reader with data, examples,

or quotes.

Be sure to interpret and explain the evidence, and show how it helps develop your overall

argument.

Alright, the hard work is done, and you’ve arrived at the last paragraph of your essay,

the conclusion.

Here are 3 things you should do: Summarize and tie together the points you

made in the essay’s body Show the outcome of your arguments - what

new insight have you provided?

Emphasize why your argument matters

After you're done writing, but before you submit your hard work, it’s important to

revise and polish your writing.

Double check your arguments: have you said everything you meant to say, or do some points

need restructuring?

Finally, make sure to check your grammar, spelling, and formatting.

And if you’ve cited sources in your paper, also use a plagiarism checker to make sure

everything is good to go!

Once you’ve checked everything off this checklist here, you’re ready to go!

When you're ready, your next step should be creating an outline for your essay!

Click this to learn how to do so, see you there.