One of the most valuable skills to develop in college is Writing effective essays – essays that grab reader’s attention and express your ideas clearly. Unfortunately, too many students don’t make enough efforts to hone this Skill.

I say “hone”, because we all are able to generate and formulate brilliant ideas. Each person has a creative sparkle within and the good news is that, as everything in this life, it only needs certain practice to get improved. You can do this by learning from best professionals.

In this piece I will present you the basics of the useful essay writing skills that you definitely must develop while in college if you plan a successful career in future.

The art of effective questioning

The first thing you should acquire as a student is the skill of asking effectively. Effective questioning is about making questions that are powerful and thought provoking. Such questions are rather “what” and “how” questions, which are good for soliciting information and taking useful outcomes. Nevertheless, you should also learn how to listen. Do you know what your readers expect of your essay? Are you aware of your teacher’s requirements or the writing style? Above all, you should be attentive to what your teacher/college instructor is saying.

If you don’t listen carefully, you don’t gain understanding and are not able to make correct takeaways. What is more, you won’t know what to start with and which of questions that pop up in your head are worth being asked. Asking intelligent questions will help you get important information and also build a positive image of you as a student.

We aren’t talking about being a docile student, but simply that following the instructions is the shortest way that brings you to what we call a successful essay.

Where to pick the idea

Next skill is the ability to find useful information. The difference between brilliant essays and those are not largely depends on how creative you are. Again, as I mentioned before, each person has a talent, and the problem hides in having the creative process going.

Most students are likely to go start their essays with checking online for information sources or even referring to research writing services. But this strategy is risky as it is hard to trust the information you find online because it might not be of an acceptable standard. In case of Internet searching, you must refer to reliable websites with high ranking and good reputation.

Consider going to a library or academic archives for the credible sources. If you received a reading list, be sure to check each book on it.  It is nice to get a big picture of the topic before honing in on the specific details further in specialized literature.  This way you will compose your essay in a way to lead the reader from the broader idea to narrower aspects of your research.

How to say it right

Another important skill you should is the skill of formulating your thoughts clearly. You need to perceive the information and structure it, before you move to building conclusions.

Make sure you know exactly what you want to write about. Focus on one specific angle and don’t force everything into one small paragraph. Keep in mind that your audience won’t be fully aware about all details of your topic, so you should explain things as clearly and coherently as you can.

Be real! It is not so easy to find an authentic voice nowadays, as everyone got used to picking thoughts and style of others. Don’t pretend – be honest and write from your very own heart. Avoid the trivia and focus on telling your very own story.

Master different writing styles

The point is that each form of college writing has its own style. Academic papers require special structure; they state a problem and provide reasoning or solutions to it. The expository essay is about author’s own perspective on an idea and includes a well-grounded evidence. In persuasive essay you should demonstrate your best ability to win the reader over to adopt your point of view. You should rationalize, argument and back up your thoughts with credible sources.  Finally, in analytical essays you’re required to analyze and examine things in a way to interpret them from unbiased perspective. But, regardless what kind of essay or paper you write, you must master all styles of writing as it makes you more in demand as a professional.

Learn to handle with the feedback

The ability of handling the rejection comes last but not least.  Whenever you get a negative feedback or a “revise and resubmit” message, you may feel it is unfair and baseless. Give your anger some time and then move on to making revisions. You should realize that you mustn’t do every single change that you were suggested. Consider them as optional yet be thoughtful – some comments might have a reasonable grain. When replying to reviewers, be polite and reserved. Acknowledge the reviewer’s concern and politely indicate if applied some changes.

We are human and sometimes we take things too personally. It might be upsetting to spend time working on a paper only to have it rip it up after submission. Get emotional support from someone of your peers. But then, get back to work!

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