Starting An Essay
Beginning an essay is very difficult for most people. A more structured way of starting an essay that could produce a better piece of writing includes planning. Planning your essay, whether it is a classification, persuasion, compare/contrast or cause and effect essay, should be where you start.
You can use a few steps to assist you in the planning process:
Step 1: Choose a topic
Step 2: Brainstorm
Step 3: Categorize
Step 4: Build a thesis
Step 5: Organize an outline
Choose A Topic
Choosing a topic is very important, and you should spend some considerable time on choosing the best one. However, many people simply take their outstretched index finger, hover it over a page with a list of topics, cover their eyes, and proceed to drop that finger onto the page expecting their finger to make the best choice. A topic should reflect your interests and knowledge. Once you select a topic, you should test its strength by brainstorming ideas.
Brainstorm
Brainstorming means to think and to generate ideas. You can brainstorm in various different styles. All you need to do is write down every idea about your topic that comes to mind on a piece of paper. It does not matter whether you put these ideas down as a list or scattered around a page. Put your ideas down in point form; there should be no sentences or paragraphs.
Categorize
Organize your ideas. Take your ideas and group them together. Do not just put any ideas together; the ideas will need to be similar or relate to one another. Label each category after categorizing your ideas. After this, you will have all the elements needed to make a thesis statement.
Build A Thesis
A thesis is like a window. When the readers look through it, they see what they are about to read. It tells the readers what you are trying to prove. It should contain the topic and the contents of your writing. At this point, you have everything needed to make a thesis statement. Once you create a thesis, then you can create an outline.
Organize An Outline
The outline is very important; it will make the writing process much easier because it will guide you through the structure of your essay. An essay contains a hook, a thesis statement, body paragraphs, and a conclusion, but not all of the sections have to be included in an outline. The most important parts for an outline would be the thesis and body paragraphs. Separate each body paragraph and list every point in that paragraph. It is also a good idea to show a description and example of each point on the outline.
After all this planning for your essay, you can finally start to write your essay. You have your ideas planned out in a structured way that you can follow.