Writing a simple essay requires a certain amount of creativity and skill. It is one of the most common tasks assigned to students during their course of education. Written academic papers may vary in their complexity depending on the course and discipline, for instance, a senior student is usually assigned to more difficult tasks than a freshman. While this may concern writing a detailed proposal that would accompany independent research, one of the first steps to introducing oneself to the essence of writing academic papers is the basics of a simple essay assignment.
First of all, it would be noteworthy to mention the difference between an academic essay and other short stories. Even though the essay may be simple, the paper itself still has to follow a certain structure as well as a set of academic standards. These standards include a set of rules that govern the formatting of the paper and referencing list. The author should avoid plagiarism at all costs and cite any used sources using appropriate APA, MLA, or other standards, which are applied in his/her school or specified by the instructor.
By definition, an essay is a relatively short written piece describing a certain subject or event. It may include or omit the thoughts of the author depending on style and assignment. After choosing the topic of the essay, the writer should decide on using one of the four primary essay types:
- expository;
- persuasive;
- analytical;
- argumentative;
An expository essay describes a certain event, idea, theme, or issue. It may feature the author’s personal response to the subject. A persuasive essay is designed to directly influence the audience. Its main goal is to convince the readers to adopt the writer’s position on a certain topic. The analytical essay is a paper designed to critically review another work such as an article, book, presentation, or movie. An argumentative essay aims to prove a certain point of view through the use of arguments and objectivity. Unlike other essay types, it has to be based on scientific evidence and avoid personal predisposition of the author.
In order to simplify the task of writing the essay, the writer should divide it into three sections: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. The introduction should include a few opening phrases, which briefly summarize the topic. An effective introduction should provide a “hook” sentence that would catch the attention of the reader and support it with a strongly defined thesis statement. The main part of the essay, the body, should focus on describing the primary event or theme. This part should include most of the information. The conclusion is the final part of the essay. It should outline the main idea of the author and summarize the information discussed in the essay. All things considered, a simple essay should not be oversaturated with information and should be laconic, intelligible, and easily readable. Hence, the main aim of a simple essay is to reveal the student’s writing skills and creative thinking rather than information on the actual topic it is written about.