by David Dewitt

Created on: March 16, 2009

Essays are one of the basic forms of writing that are part of any learning environment. Every student should know how to write a quality essay no matter what subject of study. There are several important steps to consider when writing an essay.

Select the topic

Determine the nature of the essay and the scope of its content. There are two scopes to essays: general and detailed. The general essay is one that offers an overview of content with the goal of providing basic information on a wide scale. A detailed essay is one that provides detail oriented information on a narrow topic. Once the nature of the essay is determined, choosing the topic becomes much easier.

For example, a general topic essay might be on the branches of the United States government. A detailed essay might be on the office of the President or the role of the Congress.

Outline Basic Information

The outline is the skeleton that forms the foundation of the essay. Everything builds from the outline. Writing a good outline is essential to writing a good essay. Many believe that writing an outline is difficult but it is the easiest part of writing the essay. The following is an example of an outline for an essay on American government.

Sample Outline

Introduction: Three branches of government

I. The Executive Branch

A. The Responsibilities of the Executive Branch

B. The Office of the Executive Branch: The President

II. The Judicial Branch

A. The Responsibilities of the Judicial Branch

B. The Offices of the Judicial Branch

1. The Supreme Court

2. The Federal Court System

III. The Legislative Branch

A. The Responsibilities of the Legislative Branch

B. The Offices of the Legislative Branch

1. The House of Representatives

2. The Senate

Conclusion: The function of American government

Write a thesis

The thesis statement informs the reader in advance of what the essay will cover. The thesis statement provides a direction for the remainder of the essay. The thesis normally appears in two connected parts. First, the thesis will state the topic of the essay and second the thesis will address the purpose or point of the essay. Another variation of the thesis can state the topic and then detail three or four major points that the essay will present.

Example a basic thesis statement: The United States Government has three different branches.

Example of a detailed thesis statement: The United States Government has three branches, the Executive Branch, the Judicial Branch, and the Legislative Branch.

Build the Body

The bulk of the

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>