One of the most common mistakes when writing a paper can be to stray off the subject in question. Deviating in this way can make an essay lack control and appear aimless to the reader.
Signposting is another mistake that many people make when writing a essay. Telling their reader what is coming up in the paper is unnecessary. Using sentences such as “later in this essay I will be addressing…’ and ‘let us now go on to explore…’ are to be avoided, regardless of how tempting they may seem.
Creating structure in an essay can be tricky; misjudgements in this area are common. However, an essay with poor structure lacks direction and purpose, and can be difficult for the reader to follow. Therefore it is important to tackle the issue before it becomes a problem.
To avoid straying from the subject it is important to write the essay question out in full on both your notes and your essay script. This will help to remind you of exactly what you are supposed to be discussing. Planning your essay carefully before you begin writing can also help. Consult the word count for the essay, then list all of the arguments you plan on covering, relating each one to the question topic. Furthermore, at each stage of your argument, ask yourself whether the piece is entirely relevant and whether it relates directly to the question. This should help you to identify any problem areas at an early stage.
In order to combat signposting, avoid using phrases that explain your essay. Instead, clearly state the points of your argument and allow them to represent themselves. Again, forward planning will help you to get around the problem. If an essay is well planned, its progression will be obvious to the reader, leaving no need for explanation. If you want to introduce subtle hints about essay structure, it is acceptable to use sentences such as ‘firstly…’ and ‘however, an argument against this is…’.
The most effective way to write a well-structured essay is to spend time creating a plan; organising a persuasive or logical order to your points is vital. The order of such parts is usually determined by the subject matter. For example, this order might be created using logical progression, chronological order or narrative order, depending on which seems appropriate. Furthermore, each topic should be discussed separately, in at least one paragraph of its own.
Course Work On Challenges Of A Paper
Type of paper: Course Work
Topic: Theater, Planning, Writing, Time Management, Order, The Reader, Structure, Problem
Pages: 2
Words: 400
Published: 11/08/2019
Cite this page
- APA
- MLA
- Harvard
- Vancouver
- Chicago
- ASA
- IEEE
- AMA