What Should An Essay Plan Look Like?

Writing a successful essay begins with detailed and efficient planning. An essay plan makes you decide what is going to be in your essay before you write it. This achieves a few important things which guys from https://customessayorder.com/ would like to tell you. First, your essay will read in a logical manner and have perfect structure (examiners love this!) because you chose what each paragraph was going to discuss. Second, in your writing process, you will not need to waste time thinking about what you should write next – it is all in your essay plan. And third, you will not forget to mention any important points since you already jotted them down in your essay plan beforehand. Below are useful guidelines that will help you plan an essay in five minutes.

Study the Essay Question Intently

Instructors often complain that students do not answer the question. Ensure that you take the time to understand the question. If necessary, ask your instructor for clarification. Take time to intently study and understand the essay question.

• Is the essay question open-ended or closed? If it is open-ended, you must narrow it down. Explain why and how you narrowed down the introduction to your essay so that your reader knows you identify the wider issues and you can also be selective.
• If the question is closed, the answer you give must refer to the question and stay within the limits (i.e., specific dates, countries, or texts).

Write the Essay Question in Full

Writing the question in full helps you answer the question that is asked. If the question asks about effects, do not talk about causes. If the question asks you to give examples, do not explain. Do not talk about rivers and lakes, if the question asks about the atmosphere. Writing the essay question in full further helps you organize your response so that it holds together as a logical statement.

Spend at Least Half an Hour Brainstorming the Subject Area

The aim of brainstorming is jotting down as many ideas as you can that are related to the essay question. You should have more ideas than are needed in your essay. This is because as you plan your essay, you will discover that some of your ideas lack detail or are inappropriate, and so you will delete them. Ask yourself:

• What do I know about the topic? – From readings, lectures et cetera.
• What don’t I know about the topic, but must find out to successfully answer the question?
• Possible answers or responses to the question – Any ideas about your conclusion?
• Use a mind map to organize your thoughts.

Write Down Your Thoughts on the Question Subject

Many students end up with incoherent, disorganized essays after delving without thinking and writing down their thoughts. Jotting down your thoughts on the question subject is beneficial because spending time thinking about the ideas you have will ensure that you engage and reflect upon the question properly, and that is exactly what the marker is looking for. Additionally, writing your thoughts down will help you evaluate which though is important and which one is not.

List Words or Phrases you Think Need to Be Included

To be truly excellent, an essay must utilize the correct language. You could make a wonderful point, but if that point is not intelligently articulated, you almost need not have bothered. By listing down phrases and words beforehand, you can look up their meaning and find out if they fit in the context you intend to place them in. you can also find out if the words you want to include should be italicized or emphasized. Further, you can decide which phrases or words are optimal for:

• General explaining (e.g., in other words, to that end)
• Adding additional information to support a point (e.g., likewise, furthermore)
• Phrases and words demonstrating contrast (e.g., however, then again)
• Acknowledging reservations or adding a proviso (e.g., despite this, notwithstanding)
• Giving examples (e.g., to give an illustration, for instance)
• Signifying importance (e.g., notably, significantly)
• Summarizing (e.g., above all, in conclusion)

Note the Main Points you should Include to Answer the Question

After finishing your research and collecting the material required to write your perfect essay, you should allocate some time to step back and re-examine the essay topic or question. Consider your approach to the essay question, the main ideas or themes that are emerging, the type of evidence that you need, and the arguments that you can pursue. After considering all these, start selecting the points that will strengthen your argument, points with the most evidence, and points that successfully answer the essay question. You should have more points than you actually need because you will be eliminating inappropriate or insignificant ideas and keeping relevant ones.

Do Not Write Everything Down

You should not jot down everything. Skim through any lecture handout or course material to create a detailed outline. Scan through your lecture notes and only write down what you find relevant to the assigned task. Jot down where you will locate the necessary information to support each of the points in your essay plan (course handouts, lecture notes, et cetera). Indicate on your essay plan where you feel that additional research is needed. Do not allow your essay plan to become too complex by including everything; keep it relevant to the question and stick to main points.

Essay Plan Example

Below is an essay plan example that follows a typical structure of an academic essay.  It has the basic parts of an essay, that is, Introduction – Usually 3-5 sentences, Body – Made up of 3-4 body-paragraphs, and a Conclusion – A paragraph that summarizes what has been said in your essay.

Let us use the following example from a college sample essay question: Discuss how media can influence children. Use specific examples to support your view.

1. 1. Introduction
      1. Introductory Statement
      2. Attention Grabber
      3. Thesis Statement
   2. Body
      1. Body Paragraph One
         1. Topic Sentence:

There are many types of media which cannot all be treated equally.

1. 1. 1. 1. Supporting Ideas

There are many types of television programs

1. 1. 1. 1. • We cannot assume they all have the same effect
            • People consume media in different ways
            • Children use new platforms e.g., online (reference).
      2. Body-Paragraph Two
         1. Topic Sentence:

Media can be actively utilized to achieve beneficial outcomes for children

1. 1. 1. 1. Supporting Ideas:
            • Educational, builds social skills (reference)
            • Increasing range of television tailored for children (reference)
            • Introduces diverse topics and themes
      2. Body-Paragraph Three
         1. Topic Sentence:

Inappropriate use of media can cause many harmful effects

1. 1. 1. 1. Supporting Ideas:
            • Parents and guardians cannot always guard against content
            • Less contact with real individuals (reference)
            • Can create entitlement
      2. Body-Paragraph Four
         1. Topic Sentence:

The type and amount of media, as well as the quality and variety of content, are all significant

1. 1. 1. Supporting Ideas:
         • Studies discovered no harmful effects on an average child; however, overexposure to violence is harmful (reference)
         • The outcome can be good when physical activity is encouraged (reference)
2. Conclusion
   1. Reiterate the thesis
   2. General conclusions
   3. Final statement

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Conclusion on How to Write an Essay Plan

If you started reading this article not knowing how to plan an essay, hopefully by now you have an idea of what it entails to create an effective outline for an essay.  Follow the above guidelines and write yourself a successful essay plan.

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