How to Write a College Level Essay and Prove Your Knowledge
Writing consists of organizing and expressing your thoughts in a way to argue a point of view to your audience in a clear and concise manner. Great writing usually shows your knowledge on a particular topic, because it requires that you present critical thought in a logical way.
Here is how to write a college level essay and prove your knowledge:
- Define your audience and purpose: As you begin thinking about your topic you should consider a few things about your audience and the purpose of your paper. What questions will your audience ask? What knowledge do they already have on a subject? A great writer will not only consider his or her audience but also the purpose for writing the essay in the first place.
- Determine your rhetorical mode: The topic, audience and purpose of your essay help determine the kind of rhetorical mode you should take in your writing. There are several to choose from – process analysis, narration, compare and contrast, etc. – so it’s best you read your essay prompt carefully for any clues. It’s also a good idea to consult your instructor or teaching assistant for some direction.
- Brainstorm your findings: It’s not enough to read a number of sources and merely rephrase what others have written. Writing a college level essay is about presenting an original idea. You need to take the time to make new connections between your readings, so that you look at a topic with a fresh perspective that provides value to your audience and the broader topic.
- Develop a thesis: A thesis statement is single concise and clear statement that presents your argument or position on a topic. You may find that you will need to draft a few versions of a thesis or that it changes along the way. That’s okay, just make sure that it accurately presents an argument that can be agreed or disagreed with.
- Create an outline: An outline is a great tool to organize your thoughts in order to present them in a clear and logical way. Develop each point in its own paragraph by drafting a topic sentence and providing your evidence beneath each. You might find that you’ll have to rearrange your outline to make your argument flow better. The more thought you put into your outline the easier time you will have writing a paper that shows your reader how much you know about your particular topic.