Natural Therapies Institute

Professional ideas to improve your writing skills.

Learning how to write essays that stand out: study tips for students

If you are in school, or in college, you will spend a lot of time writing essays, and essays will be the criteria against which your grades are generated. So, they are going to be important, now, and for your future. This means that you need to stand out, that your essays need to shine in the heavy competition of today’s educational environment. So, how can you stand out in a strong field? Here are a few tips.

  • Work Hard
  • As in all walks of life, in academia there are no shortcuts. That means that if you want to stand out, you have to work harder than the competition. Get in that library!

  • Read More
  • Read as widely as possible in your subject area, and in the area of your paper; extra knowledge, background and context, provides that added layer of intellectual and scholarly depth that will stand out to a tutor.

  • Find an Original or Understudied Subject
  • An interesting and original or understudied subject is always going to make for a stand-out essay.

  • Find a Novel Approach to that Subject
  • Now that you have a novel subject, one that is understudied but which has merit, find an engaging and original way to discuss that subject. Let’s say an under-read poet from the perspective of the current political climate.

  • Research, Research, Research
  • Research, research, research ... This is pretty self-explanatory, but the absolute bedrock of a good essay.

  • Careful Planning
  • Take a lot of time, at least one entire, full working day to plan your approach; think of various ways that you can discuss your subject, and choose a plan that is designed to engage and convince a reader of the point that you want to make

  • Flawless Writing
  • Now, simply write the essay, using clear, untechnical, unambiguous, unpretentious writing. Clear writing makes the reading process much more fun.

  • Careful Editing
  • Take as much time as you can going through and editing your paper. Over and over again, until it seems like it is flawless, and is convincing.

  • Time Away
  • Then take a break, do not submit, have a few days not thinking about that essay.

  • Careful Editing
  • Return with clear eyes and mind, and put any finishing finesse into the paper.

Follow these simple steps and you should end up with papers that stand out in the crowded world of academia!

 
 

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