Writing an Academic Essay: Tips

In English class today, Mr.Paterson taught us about some of the key factors we should keep in mind when writing an academic essay. First of all, grammar is important when it comes to writing a book review. We must make sure to check for contractions and casual language when typing up our essay, AND when proofreading others’ writing. This means that having phrases such as do not, cannot, and kind of in it, will degrade the quality of your sentences. In addition, in most cases, personal pronouns should be avoided. However, because our essay is about our opinions and thoughts on a book, this doesn’t apply to us. Then, the second thing we should keep in mind is sentence structure. When looking at each paragraph as well as the essay as a whole, it is vital to check the sentence lengths. Good authors and writers tend to not use the same number of words in every sentence by using all long, medium-length, and short sentences in an appropriate manner. It is all about balance, and we can avoid unvarying sentence lengths by using the online tools Mr.Paterson provided for us. Also, if we make our strongest points our shorter sentences, it creates a big impact, therefore assisting us in proving our statement. In terms of sentence structure, sentence starters have a huge effect on our academic essays. As I’ve learned previously, words like and, but, and because, shouldn’t be put at the beginning of sentences. For this reason, when revising and writing book reviews, we should replace them with better options like also/in addition/moreove/furthermore for and, however/on the other hand/despite — for but, and since for because. Another thing to keep in mind, is repetition. Mr.Paterson expressed how useful word counter gadgets are, as it helps us notice if we’ve used a certain word too many times. He told us about his experience, when he had repeated the word “student” too much. With the help of a thesaurus and essay analysizing tool, the problem of having a word show up too frequently was solved. The fifth unforgettable aspect is the overall length of your essay. What must be avoided when making sure of this, is pheasant verbs. Often times, people write length phrases even when it can be described with one adjective. Although it’s in the past, writing unnecessary words was seen as a taboo since it uses up the ammunition. Lastly, in order to make our essay the best it can be, we should be creative. Using alliterations, even if it’s just a couple, will amp up our paragraphs for sure.