The Art of Essays: Five ways to write a better school essay

by Frank Holowka
Ramstein High School


As most students know, one of the hardest and most time consuming assignments we face are writing essays.

We become bored, careless, and tend to lose focus while writing. We let our minds wander off onto different things making it that much harder. Writing essays for classes are hard, especially when you have a short amount of time to write.

Here are some quick tips that you can use in any school subject to improve your essay grades and become a more effective writer.

1. Do not restate the question in your essay. Answer the question, you don’t have to or want to repeat it.

2. Do not write everything you know on the topic. Stay focused on answering the question you are asked.

3. Do not suggest anything that can be misconstrued as unethical. State the facts and use logic. You don’t want the reader to become confused or offended.
        
4. Do not spend a lot of time writing your introduction and conclusion. Keep them simple. Put your focus into the body of the essay.
        
5. Do not begin writing until you have a clue what you are going to write. To
organize your thoughts, it helps to make an outline. An outline with help you to avoid a wandering mind and keep your focus on the topic or
question.