What is a short essay format? If this is what you are thinking right now, you are in the right place at the right time. Short essay writing has the same guidelines as causal paper writing. As you could guess, the length of the paper makes the only difference.
A short essay is just half a page long. What could be easier, you’d think? The problem is writing such a paper often appears even more difficult for students. The reason is that you do not have enough space for clarifying all your ideas and viewpoints. It has to be clear, precise, and very short.
It means you should write only the most important information, but at the same time, the essay has to be complete and full-fledged. Moreover, the topic has to be really eye-catching. We recommend creating a good outline before starting to write the paper itself. Below, you will find out how to write a short essay efficiently.
How To Write A Short Essay Step By Step
A short essay’s main quality is that you should put all of your ideas into 200-500 words. The final volume depends on the requirements of your professor and the topic, of course. If a normal essay consists of five paragraphs, this one would usually have from two to five paragraphs. Here are the main steps for completing a short essay successfully.
Pick a good topic
At first, it is necessary to know what you are going to write about. The theme of your essay needs to be relevant to the content. It has to be really attention-grabbing. The topic has to be brief and accurate. We do not recommend opting for broad topics while it will make the process even more complicated.
Tons of materials and sources cover such themes. It will make you lost and confused, you will try to cover too much information, and as a result, the essay won’t be readable enough. It is necessary to learn how to select the most relevant information. If you cannot sort out the essential data, better narrow the topic down as much as possible, so you would not have many options and would not write about everything at a time.
Conduct thorough research
No matter if you write a standard or a short essay, conducting research is one of the main tasks. In the process of research, you find relevant sources. Do not be concerned about it, while you would need just a couple of them for a short essay; this is enough. Articles from journals or magazines, books’ abstracts, etc. serve as good materials.
The requirements towards the sources never change regardless of the type and length of your essay. They should be credible, relevant, reliable, and up-to-date.
Brainstorm
At the very beginning, you might have hundreds of brilliant ideas. You cannot use all of them, though. Not all of them will relate to your topic. Just a few ones will be really helpful. Think well about what you are going to write about. Focus on your topic. Write down all the ideas first. After that, it will be much easier to narrow them down and choose the best ones.
Create an outline
Creating an outline is a crucial step and should by no means be neglected. Once you have enough ideas and approximately know what you will write about, do not get lost and write a plan. You may think it is not that important and necessary since you’re working on a short essay.
But this essay type requires a clear outline even more. You cannot afford to bring up arcane stuff and have to be as precise as possible. Chaotic thoughts will never make a great essay, so forget about them and make a plan and stick to it.
Start the writing process
It isn’t difficult to write if you brainstormed and wrote a good outline. All you have to do now is to follow your plan and work with the sources chosen. Cover all the information step-by-step. Remember to have from two to five paragraphs depending on the guidelines of your professor and the chosen topic.
Editing and proofreading are a must
This is another very important step that cannot be omitted. Even though you may think a paper half of a page long has nothing to proofread and edit, this is not true. Put your essay aside for a while. Give your mind some rest. Get back to it and read again.
You may find out that some sentences are not logical or necessary. Order them properly; eliminate those sentences that seem not necessary. Check it for mistakes, errors, typos, and improve it all. Asking someone to read your essay would be a good idea also. Your friends or family members could tell you their independent opinion and indicate what needs to be improved.
Components Of A Short Essay
The structure of a short essay is the same as of any other:
- Introduction;
- Main body;
- Conclusion.
Now let’s see how you should elaborate on each of them.
Short essay introduction
Although you are working on your short essay, the introduction is an essential and very important part of it and consists of 5 sentences maximum. It has to be short and precise. Just like the introduction of any other essay, it has to be eye-catching and contain a certain hook.
The very first sentence has to let your audience know why the topic is so important. Convince them to read it, use a certain hook. Your essay is very short, so the first paragraph cannot be too long; it has to be precise enough.
Short essay thesis
The introduction has to end with the thesis. It is not a separate paragraph, but it is extremely important and determines the main problem under discussion. In case you decided to write on a broader topic, make your thesis more specific.
It also has to be very clear and understandable to your reader. If you consider it to be not precise enough, rewrite it and make it straight and clear for the audience.
Short essay body
The main body consists of three paragraphs, as usual. Here you should support your core thoughts with evidence. If your essay has micro-topics, write a separate paragraph for each of them. Each of the paragraphs must contain its argument supported by a fact.
We recommend providing the strongest arguments first. The weakest ones have to be stated at the end. If you use quotes as evidence, do not forget to cite them. Remember that proper quotation is your guarantee of protection from plagiarism. Forgetting about citing may affect your grade and reputation.
Short essay conclusion
Just like in any other essay, the conclusion of a short essay has to be meaningful and helps your audience understand the main idea much better. Here you should only summarize everything mentioned above, avoid including new statements or information.
The conclusion contains the thesis statement, but it should not be copied but paraphrased. In your introduction, you raised an important question. The conclusion has to answer that question. Leave your audience fully satisfied with the essay. This part has to be memorable enough. People have to think of what they have read, and exactly the conclusion has to inspire them to do that.
Writing A Short Essay: The Most Helpful Tips
In general, writing assignments are not for everyone. Even the most experienced writers sometimes struggle with them. Yes, they do struggle, and you shouldn’t be surprised by that. First of all, essay writing requires lots of skills — good writing, critical thinking, research, and analytical skills. Secondly, you should have very good knowledge of the field and, naturally, of the topic.
Last but not least, you should have enough time to create a decent paper. Inspiration is also an essential factor affecting the writing process. But even when a professional author has no inspiration or time, he or she has some rules to follow. This facilitates everything and makes the work much more efficient. Our experts share their secrets with you.
Pick a topic you are interested in
Do not despair if you haven’t been assigned a specific topic. Vice versa, be happy with that because you can choose something that makes you really excited. It is a proven fact that writing about something you do not care about or do not enjoy never brings good results.
So, if you were given a chance to pick your topic, do not neglect it and choose something you feel very good about or some issues that have concerned you for a long time, etc. When you enjoy what you do, the audience will also love it — it is a writing law.
Research the topic
No matter whether the theme is interesting for you or not, you are obliged to have at least basic knowledge of it. Conduct your thorough research, learn as much as possible about the issue to be described, and investigate the sources you are going to use. Writing on something you have no clue about is impossible.
Determine your target reader
Your vocabulary, writing style, and presentation depend on your audience, so keep it in mind. Of course, if it is your professor, then no problem — the topic is already at least somehow known for the reader. But if other people will read it, make sure to know their education, working/studying area, interests, etc. Depending on these factors, you will select your tone, style, and vocabulary. Everything has to be understandable and clear for them, so avoid confusing your reader.
Do not lose your concentration
The writing process is tough. It will be even more complicated if you allow yourself distracting from the main work. Avoid listening to music (unless it helps you concentrate), watching TV, playing video games,
etc., when working on your essay. All of this will make the process more complicated and much longer.
Try to find a more convenient and quiet place for it. For example, if it is too noisy at home, you can go to the forest, park, garden, wherever it is more peaceful for you. Pick the places where you are more focused and concentrated.
A Short Essay Format Example At Your Disposal
If you struggle with writing your short essay, you can always use our essay homework help online service. It will help you understand the process much better. One of the best tips we would love to give you is not to procrastinate with your essay writing.
You see that it requires some time and effort to complete such an assignment even though it is just a half-page long. Crafting a great essay within a day is impossible. If you didn’t start the process beforehand and lack the time now, better ask professional writers to complete it for you.
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