Writing an Essay on a Book You Haven't Read

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An essay is a common type of academic writing that yous'll likely be asked to do in multiple classes. Before y'all showtime writing your essay, make sure you sympathize the details of the assignment so that you lot know how to approach the essay and what your focus should exist. In one case you've chosen a topic, practice some inquiry and narrow downward the main argument(s) you'd similar to make. From there, y'all'll need to write an outline and flesh out your essay, which should consist of an introduction, body, and conclusion. After your essay is drafted, spend some fourth dimension revising it to ensure your writing is every bit strong as possible.

1. 1

   Read your assignment advisedly. The fashion, construction, and focus of your essay will vary depending on the type of essay you are writing. If yous've been assigned to write an essay for a course, review the consignment advisedly and look for information most the nature of the essay. A few mutual types of essays include:^[1]

   • The compare/contrast essay, which focuses on analyzing the similarities and differences between ii things, such every bit ideas, people, events, places, or works of fine art.
   • The narrative essay, which tells a story.
   • The belligerent essay, in which the writer uses evidence and examples to convince the reader of their point of view.
   • The critical or belittling essay, which examines something (such as a text or piece of work of fine art) in detail. This blazon of essay may attempt to respond specific questions about the subject or focus more generally on its meaning.
   • The informative essay, that educates the reader nearly a topic.

2. two

   Cheque for formatting and style requirements. If you're writing an essay for a grade or a publication, there may exist specific formatting and style requirements you need to follow. Read your assignment carefully to make sure you understand requirements such equally:

   • How long your essay should be
   • Which citation manner to use
   • Formatting requirements, such as margin size, line spacing, and font size and type

   EXPERT TIP

   Christopher Taylor is an Adjunct Banana Professor of English at Austin Community College in Texas. He received his PhD in English Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014.

   

   Christopher Taylor, PhD
   English language Professor

   Christopher Taylor, Professor of English, tells united states of america: "Most essays will contain an introduction, a body or discussion portion, and a determination. When assigned a higher essay, make certain to check the specific structural conventions related to your essay genre, your field of report, and your professor's expectations."

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3. 3

   Narrow down your topic and then your essay has a articulate focus. Depending on your assignment, you may already have a specific topic yous are supposed to write about, or y'all may merely exist asked to write about a general theme or field of study. If the assignment doesn't specify your topic, accept some fourth dimension to brainstorm. Try to pick a subject that'due south specific, interesting to you, and that you call up will give you plenty of cloth to work with.^[2]

   • If you're doing a research-based essay, yous might detect some inspiration from reading through some of the major sources on the subject.
   • For a disquisitional essay, you might cull to focus on a item theme in the work you're discussing, or analyze the meaning of a specific passage.

4. four

   Enquire for clarification if you lot don't understand the assignment. If you're not certain what you're supposed to exist writing about or how to structure your essay, don't hesitate to ask! Your instructor tin can help clarify anything you don't sympathize, and they may even exist able to provide examples of the blazon of piece of work they're looking for.^[3]

   • If y'all're having trouble narrowing down your topic, your instructor might exist able to provide guidance or inspiration.

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1. 1

   Observe some reputable sources on your topic. If y'all're writing an academic essay or any type of essay that requires you to support your claims with bear witness and examples, you'll probably need to do some enquiry. Caput to your library or get online to discover up-to-date sources that provide accurate, verifiable information about your topic.^[iv]

   • Academic books and journals tend to be good sources of information. In improver to print sources, you may be able to discover reliable information in scholarly databases such every bit JSTOR and Google Scholar.
   • You tin can also look for main source documents, such every bit letters, eyewitness accounts, and photographs.
   • Always evaluate your sources critically. Even enquiry papers by reputable academics can contain hidden biases, outdated data, and simple errors or faulty logic.

   Tip: In general, Wikipedia articles are not considered appropriate sources for academic writing. However, yous may exist able to find useful sources in the "References" section at the end of the article.

2. 2

   Make notes as you lot do your inquiry. Equally you're researching your topic, keep detailed notes nigh relevant data, ideas that interest you, and questions that you need to explore farther. If you plan to use any of the information that y'all discover in your paper, write down detailed citation information. This will allow you to discover the information again and cite it properly.^[v]

   • Yous might observe information technology helpful to write your notes downwards on individual note cards or enter them into a text document on your computer so you can easily copy, paste, and rearrange them however yous like.
   • Try organizing your notes into dissimilar categories so you can place specific ideas y'all'd like to focus on. For example, if you lot're analyzing a curt story, y'all might put all your notes on a particular theme or character together.

3. 3

   Choose a question to reply or an result to accost. Equally you lot do your inquiry, you will likely notice yourself narrowing your focus fifty-fifty further. For example, y'all might discover that there is a detail question you want to reply, or that there's a popular argument or theory about your topic that y'all'd like to endeavour to disprove. This question or effect will form the ground for your thesis or main argument.^[six]

   • For example, if your essay is nearly the factors that led to the end of the Statuary Age in the ancient Middle Due east, you lot might focus on the question, "What role did natural disasters play in the collapse of Belatedly Bronze Historic period lodge?"

4. 4

   Create a thesis statement that summarizes your main argument. Once you've hit on a specific question or idea you lot'd like to address in your essay, wait at your research and recollect about the major betoken or argument you lot'd like to make. Endeavor to summarize your primary point, in 1-two sentences. This will be your thesis statement.^[7]

   • One easy fashion to come upwardly with a thesis statement is to briefly answer the main question you lot would similar to address.
   • For instance, if the question is "What role did natural disasters play in the collapse of Tardily Bronze Age society?" then your thesis might be, "Natural disasters during the Late Bronze Historic period destabilized local economies across the region. This set up in move a series of mass migrations of dissimilar peoples, creating widespread conflict that contributed to the collapse of several major Bronze Age political centers."

5. five

   Write an outline to help organize your main points. After you've created a clear thesis, briefly list the major points y'all will exist making in your essay. You don't demand to include a lot of detail—simply write one-2 sentences, or even a few words, outlining what each bespeak or argument will be. Include sub-points addressing the evidence and examples you'll be using to back upwards each point.^[8]

   • When you write the outline, call back about how you would similar to organize your essay. For case, you might start with your strongest arguments and then motion to the weakest ones. Or, you lot could begin with a general overview of the source you're analyzing and so motion on to addressing the major themes, tone, and manner of the work.
   • Your outline might look similar this:
     • Introduction
     • Body
       • Point ane, with supporting examples
       • Betoken 2, with supporting examples
       • Indicate iii, with supporting examples
       • Major counter-argument(s) to your thesis
       • Your rebuttals to the counter-statement(due south)
     • Decision

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1. 1

   Write an introduction to provide context. Once you lot've written your thesis and outline, write an introduction to your essay. This should consist of a cursory, general overview of your topic, forth with your thesis statement. This is the place to provide information that will help orient the reader and put the residual of your essay in context.^[nine]

   • For case, if y'all're writing a disquisitional essay about a work of art, your introduction might outset with some basic information about the work, such as who created it, when and where it was created, and a brief clarification of the work itself. From there, innovate the question(southward) about the work yous'd like to address and present your thesis.
   • A stiff introduction should too incorporate a cursory transitional sentence that creates a link to the starting time signal or statement you would like to make. For example, if yous're discussing the utilise of color in a work of art, atomic number 82-in by saying you'd like to start with an overview of symbolic color use in contemporary works by other artists.

   Tip: Some writers find it helpful to write the introduction afterward they've written the residual of the essay. Once you've written out your chief points, information technology'south easier to summarize the gist of your essay in a few introductory sentences.

2. two

   Present your argument(south) in detail. Working from your outline, write a serial of paragraphs addressing each of the major points you'd like to brand. Each paragraph should incorporate a topic sentence, which is similar a miniature thesis—information technology briefly explains the primary signal you are trying to brand with your paragraph. Follow upwards your topic sentence with a few concrete examples to support your point.^[10]

   • For example, your topic sentence might be something like, "Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories are amongst the many literary influences credible in P. G. Wodehouse's Jeeves novels." Y'all could then back this up by quoting a passage that contains a reference to Sherlock Holmes.
   • Try to show how the arguments in each paragraph link back to the main thesis of your essay.

3. three

   Employ transition sentences between paragraphs. Your essay will flow improve if you build connections or smooth transitions between your arguments. Try to find logical ways to link each paragraph or topic to the one before or after.^[eleven]

   • When creating transitions, transitional phrases can exist helpful. For example, apply words and phrases such as "In addition," "Therefore," "Similarly," "Subsequently," or "Every bit a result."
   • For case, if y'all've just discussed the utilise of color to create contrast in a work of fine art, you might kickoff the next paragraph with, "In add-on to colour, the artist also uses different line weights to distinguish betwixt the more than static and dynamic figures in the scene."

4. 4

   Address possible counterarguments. If yous're writing an argumentative essay, get familiar with the major arguments against your indicate of view. You'll need to incorporate those counterarguments into your essay and present disarming evidence against them.^[12]

   • For example, if you're arguing that a item kind of shrimp decorates its trounce with red algae to attract a mate, you'll need to address the counterargument that the crush decoration is a warning to predators. You might do this past presenting evidence that the red shrimp are, in fact, more likely to get eaten than shrimp with undecorated shells.

5. five

   Cite your sources properly. If you plan to use someone else's ideas or data that you got from some other source, you lot volition need to credit the source of your information. This is true whether you're quoting another source directly or simply summarizing or paraphrasing their words or ideas.^[13]

   • The way y'all cite your sources will vary depending on the citation style you're using. Typically, you'll need to include the name of the author, the title and publication date of the source, and location information such equally the folio number on which the data appears.
   • In general, you don't need to cite common noesis. For case, if you say, "A zebra is a type of mammal," y'all probably won't need to cite a source.
   • If you've cited any sources in the essay, y'all'll need to include a list of works cited (or a bibliography) at the terminate.

6. 6

   Wrap up with a concluding paragraph. To end off your essay, write a paragraph that briefly reiterates the master point of your essay. Land how your arguments support your thesis and briefly summarize your major insights or arguments. You might as well discuss questions that are still unanswered or ideas that merit farther exploration.^[xiv]

   • Keep your determination brief. While the appropriate length will vary based on the length of the essay, it should typically exist no longer than 1-ii paragraphs.
   • For example, if you're writing a one,000-word essay, your conclusion should be nearly 4-v sentences long.^[15]

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1. 1

   Take a break subsequently finishing your first typhoon. Afterward drafting your essay, it'southward a good idea to take some fourth dimension away from it. That style, yous tin can come back to it and await at it once again with a fresh perspective.^[16] If possible, take one-ii days before you lot wait at it again.

   • If you don't have time to spend a couple of days away from your essay, at to the lowest degree have a few hours to relax or work on something else.

2. ii

   Read over your typhoon to check for obvious issues. When yous're ready to piece of work on your essay again, first read it over to look for whatever major problems. You might find it helpful to read the essay out loud since your ears can selection up on things your eyes might miss. If you spot annihilation, make a note of information technology, merely don't attempt to ready it right abroad. Look out for issues such as:^[17]

   • Excessive wordiness
   • Points that aren't explained enough
   • Tangents or unnecessary data
   • Unclear transitions or illogical organization
   • Spelling, grammar, style, and formatting problems
   • Inappropriate language or tone (e.g., slang or breezy language in an academic essay)

3. 3

   Correct any major problems y'all discover. Once y'all've read over your essay, get through and edit it. When you're done, go back over the essay again to brand sure it flows well and that at that place aren't any bug you missed.^[18]

   • You might take to cutting cloth from your essay in some places and add new material to others.
   • You might too end upwards reordering some of the content of the essay if you remember that helps it menstruum improve.

4. 4

   Proofread your revised essay. Afterward editing your essay, get over it again closely to spot whatsoever pocket-size errors, such as typos or formatting bug. In that location may be problems that you lot missed during your initial round of editing, and there could also be new typos or formatting issues if y'all fabricated changes to the original draft. You may find it easier to spot these errors on a printout rather than on an electronic version of your essay.^[19]

   • Read over each line slowly and advisedly. It may exist helpful to read each sentence out loud to yourself.

   Tip: If possible, have someone else check your work. When you've been looking at your writing for too long, your brain begins to fill in what information technology expects to come across rather than what'southward there, making information technology harder for yous to spot mistakes.

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Essay Help

Add New Question

• Question

  How do yous brainstorm an essay?

  

  Christopher Taylor is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of English at Austin Community Higher in Texas. He received his PhD in English language Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014.

  

  English language Professor

  Expert Answer

  Brainstorm your essay by narrowing your topic, researching your topic, taking notes, and brainstorming your ideas.

• Question

  What is the format of an essay?

  

  Christopher Taylor is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of English at Austin Community College in Texas. He received his PhD in English Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014.

  

  English Professor

  Expert Answer

  Different essay genres can have different formats. Make certain to cheque the specific conventions of your essay genre with your professor.

• Question

  What is an essay?

  

  Christopher Taylor is an Adjunct Banana Professor of English at Austin Customs College in Texas. He received his PhD in English language Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014.

  

  English Professor

  Expert Respond

  A higher essay is a formal writing assignment that tin take many forms. Persuasive, descriptive, analytical, expository, and personal are examples of types of higher essays.

• Question

  How do I write an argumentative essay?

  

  This answer was written by i of our trained squad of researchers who validated information technology for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

  

  wikiHow Staff Editor

  Staff Answer

  Start by defining the chief statement you'd similar to make in a few sentences. This will be your thesis argument. From in that location, y'all'll need to present a few different arguments that back up your thesis. Back up each of them with specific evidence and examples. Make sure to address whatsoever major counterarguments or testify confronting your thesis.

• Question

  I can't even get ane give-and-take WITH a topic. How exercise I write one judgement?

  

  This answer was written past one of our trained squad of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

  

  wikiHow Staff Editor

  Staff Respond

  Beginning by jotting down whatever ideas you have. Yous might find it helpful to exercise some reading on your topic and make notes about anything y'all find interesting or any questions you have. Try doing some free-writing and putting downwards any thought that jumps into your head.

• Question

  Where can I find instance essays?

  

  This answer was written by ane of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

  

  wikiHow Staff Editor

  Staff Reply

  At that place are numerous example essays online. Do a search for the type of essay you're looking for, e.g., "case expository essays." You can also find examples in many English composition textbooks.

• Question

  What are the chief different types of essays?

  

  This answer was written past one of our trained team of researchers who validated information technology for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

  

  wikiHow Staff Editor

  Staff Answer

  There are many kinds of essays, but some of the common major categories are narrative, descriptive, expository, compare and dissimilarity, and persuasive. Typically, your assignment instructions volition either clearly state what kind of essay y'all need to write or use words that clue you in (e.thousand., an assignment for a persuasive essay might include phrases like "Use examples to back up your argument").

• Question

  How do you lot begin the introduction?

  

  Commencement with a great fact, story, or compelling idea, then grow from at that place. If you're stuck, many writers save their intro until the cease, one time they know the actual direction and evidence in the rest of the essay.

• Question

  How long should a paragraph be in my essay body?

  

  5 - seven sentences is an appropriate length for paragraphs in the torso.

• Question

  How do I know how to start an essay?

  

  Try to start with something intriguing and promising. Questions can exist really effective for an introduction. Aim for an introduction that has an explicit relation to the topic/title of your essay, and avoid analyzing the topic in your starting time paragraph.

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Article Summary 10

If you need to write an essay, start past gathering information from reputable sources, similar books from the library or scholarly journals online. Take detailed notes and keep track of which facts come from which sources. As you're taking notes, expect for a central theme that you're interested in writing about to create your thesis argument. Then, organize your notes into an outline that supports and explains your thesis statement. Working from your outline, write an introduction and subsequent paragraphs to address each major betoken. Offset every paragraph with a topic sentence that briefly explains the main point of that paragraph. Finally, finish your paper with a strong determination that sums up the most of import points. For tips from our English Professor co-writer on helpful revision techniques, keep reading!

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