5 Essay Writing Tips for Quick Results

Here are five quick essay writing tips you can use right away to boost your essay and term paper grades.

Essay Writing Tip 1. Avoid the Repetition of The Same Words As Much As You Can

Consider these sentences:

“Use Active Voice – Avoid Passive Voice.”

And

“Use Active Voice – Don’t Use Passive Voice.”

Which version is better?

The first one. Why? Because it avoids repeating the word “use.” Catch these little repetitions and try to replace them with a synonym, or just rewrite the sentence to make it diverse. This shows that the writer has a sense of style and class. Try it, and your grade will go up.

Essay Writing Tip 2. Use Vivid, Colorful Examples

Do you want your writing to stand out above the crowd? Begin using some specific examples in your writing. So few students do it – it’s amazing! College essays tend to be very general. The most specific evidence usually used is some statistics.

Instead of (or in addition to) describing the behavior of thousands or millions of people, take an example of just one person and write it out. Use some colors; make it vivid; describe the sounds and smells. Trust me, if you do just that and don’t follow the rest of the advice I give here, your writing will go a long way, and, again, so will your GPA.

Examples will help you build volume AND make your essays and term papers more interesting and exciting to read.

Essay Writing Tip 3. Don’t Use Overuse Quotes

I don’t know if this is surprising to you or not, but sometimes as much as 70% of a given paper consists of quotations. Come on, your professor is not stupid. He can see right through such attempts to disguise the lack of things to say behind other people’s thoughts. You are intelligent and talented. You have your own things to say. So, say them – in your own language. Sometimes I like to avoid quoting altogether – I don’t always need it. This also means that I don’t have to look for them on the Internet, which takes time and effort.

Essay Writing Tip 4. Be Sincere Whenever You Can

If you care at all about the subject you’re writing about (which isn’t always the case), just be sincere. Don’t be afraid to be judged on the political or social statement that you’re making. You probably don’t want to offend anyone, let me make that clear. But don’t worry that your professor will lower your grade just because your opinion differs from his.

First of all, you probably don’t even know what your professor really thinks about a certain subject. Second, most likely, he doesn’t care about your political or other views. He should and most likely will judge your essay solely on its academic merit. And most importantly, if you write what you really feel, you will have more fun writing the essay, and it will be of better quality, for sure.

Essay Writing Tip 5. Talk To Your Professor

Before even writing your first essay assignment, approach your professor at the end of class and ask her about his expectations from the students’ essays. Some of the questions to ask are:

• What are two or three most important things in an essay, in your opinion?
• Do you require that I write an introduction and a conclusion?
• What is the biggest no-no that could drive my grade down a lot?

And then just listen and follow the recommendations to the best of your ability. Also, asking your professor this kind of questions shows him that you care. You can’t lose.