Introduction
Writing is a culture that began many centuries ago when humans learnt how to draw, paste, and put their ideas on papers. In schools today, a number of questions requires the student to explain the points in a simple but clear form. This is where the concept of writing essays comes in. Lecturers and teachers normally expect the student to demonstrate utmost ability to explain a point using the available information in such a way that the work from the student is explicit and of high quality. With regards to this, essays present a better way to present ideas and information in a planned and controlled way for the tutors and lecturers.
Writing Essays
While essays are the best medium for expressing the research findings of a student on a particular subject, there are some other serious mistakes that the students end up making when presenting their ideas on the paper. One of these mistakes is plagiarism.
Plagiarism
It is a situation in which the student or any essay writer presents ideas, facts, figures, demonstrations, findings and even the concepts of another person without giving credit to the person. It is a serious academic offense to present somebody's ideas in one's work without acknowledging such a person. In cases whereby plagiarism is detected in a writer's work, such papers are considered as mere copying and the penalty may be rejection of the paper or expulsion from an institution of learning if the writer is a student.
Therefore, it is vital for students and other beginners in the essay writing sector to acquaint themselves with the basic concepts of essay writing. A careful consideration of such concepts is essential into ensuring high quality and result-oriented essay papers for the students and other writers.
Parts of an Essay
Effective and appealing essays should clearly demonstrate the following six main components:
i. Topic
Before beginning to write your essay, always ensure that you have the right topic. The choice of the topic may depend on the need of the specific instructor or on the interest of the writer. Either way, the topic chosen should be one in which the writer is conversant with and/or is able to gather some secondary information about. In cases whereby the topic is given, like in the case of class assignments, the student should ensure that the information requiring coverage is adequately researched on, read about, and understood before presenting the work to the teacher or lecturer.
ii. Thesis
It is the main argument of an essay. Unlike the topic that is simply a representation of the essay's subject area, thesis is the main proposition of an essay. Good thesis are arguable; the reader may disagree or agree with it. The ability to argue with a thesis statement is especially crucial in distinguishing it from an observation or a fact. In achieving a successful essay paper, the thesis should appear explicitly on first page of the essay, followed by a more complex and nuanced form of the thesis as the essay proceeds. However, some writers often delay the announcement of an essay's thesis.
iii. Question or Problem
The intellectual context from which your thesis is based matters a lot. Problems that
academic essays address usually originate from recent controversies on an important issue. The writer tries to clarify vividly a concept that would, otherwise, remain mistaken or obscured. The primary role of the first few paragraphs of an essay is establishing the question or problem. An essay is tantamount to irrelevance if it is unable to solve, deepen, or illuminate the problem.
iv. Evidence
