Do you detest writing essays? Are you looking for essay guidelines to help you create an exceptional essay while having fun?

Many students, both young and old, fear writing essays. It is a complex project that frequently demands extensive research, effort, and focuses.

It is also an assignment that may be broken down into simple sections to make essay writing more accessible and pleasant.

These ten essay suggestions have drastically transformed my writing process, and I hope they can do the same for you.

Essay Writing Can Be Fun

I was a mediocre essay writer for most of high school and college.

Now and again, I would write an excellent essay, but generally, I got B's and A-minuses.

I know how tedious writing an essay can be and how tricky it can be to produce a good one.

However, near the end of my studies, I achieved a breakthrough. I learned not only how to create an excellent essay but also how to have fun while doing it.

Today, I would like to share ten essay tips with you.

Why Writing an Essay Is So Hard

When it comes to essay writing, many students find excuses to avoid it. When they tackle it, they struggle to weave sentences together that sound like a reasonable viewpoint on the prescribed subject.

Here are some of the reasons why essay writing is difficult:

• Instead, you would be scrolling through Facebook 

• rather than writing something your instructor or professor would like.

• You would instead obtain an A than write something genuinely lovely.

• You want to do as little labor as possible.

The main reason writing an essay is so difficult is that we focus on external benefits such as achieving a passing mark, winning our teacher's approval, or even avoiding plagiarism allegations.

The difficulty is that focusing on external approval makes writing less enjoyable and substantially more difficult.

Why?

Because focusing on external acceptance shuts down your subconscious, which is the source of your creativity.

“The subconscious is the source of your creativity.”

In practice, this means that while attempting to produce that ideal, A-plus-worthy line, you are turning off the majority of your best resources and writing talents.

Stop now. Stop attempting to produce a good (or even a "good enough") essay. Instead, compose an engaging essay, one that you find fascinating.

When you are through, revise it until it meets your teacher's standards for "good."

Yes, you must adhere to the guidelines in your assignment. If your teacher instructs you to write a five-paragraph essay, write one!

If your teacher requests a specific type of essay, such as analysis, argument, or research paper, make sure you write it!

However, within those constraints, make a place for something uniquely you.

I cannot promise you will get a better grade (though you very probably will), but I can promise you will have a lot more fun writing.

The Step-by-Step Process to Writing a Great Essay

Are you ready to start writing? You can read my 10 best recommendations for having fun while writing an essay that gets you the highest score, or you can look at this presentation created by our friends at Canva Presentations.

1. Remember, your essay is just a story.

Every tale contains conflict and change, and the truth is that essays also contain conflict and change! The distinction is that the fight in an essay is between various ideas, and the shift is in how we should view those ideas.

As a result, the best essays are about surprise: "You probably think of it one way, but in truth, you should think of it another." For further information, see tip #3.

How do you know which narrative to tell? The prompt should inform you.

Any essay prompts list will have a variety of subjects and duties related to them. Characters (historical, fictional, or contemporary) face difficult decisions within those issues.

Your role is to deal with those options frequently by studying, debating, investigating, or describing them in detail.

2. Before you start writing, ask yourself, “How can I have the most fun writing this?”

When writing an academic essay, it is natural to feel unmotivated. I am a writer, and I am only sometimes driven to write. However, I use a super-ninja, the judo-mind trick, to keep myself motivated.

Here is how it works: One of the fascinating aspects of your subconscious is that it will answer whatever question you pose. So, if you are feeling unmotivated to complete your essay, ask yourself:

“How much fun can I have writing this?”

Your subconscious will immediately begin thinking of ways to make the writing experience more enjoyable.

The first draft is the finest time to have fun. Because you are only brainstorming within the topic and exploring different approaches, the first draft is the ideal opportunity to get creative and even a little scandalous.

Here are some wacky ideas for making your following essay a lot more fun:

• Use the most shocking or outrageous truth about the subject as your hook.

• Use a thesaurus to look up keywords on the topic. Experiment with your vocabulary while you write, incorporating as many keyword synonyms as possible.

• Take the opposing or immoral side of the issue and play devil's advocate. As you write, see where the discussion takes you.

3. As you research, ask yourself, “What surprises me about this subject?”

When writing an essay, the temptation is to write what you believe your teacher or professor wants to read.

Please do not do it.

Instead, ask yourself, "What fascinates me about this subject?" "What has surprised me?"

If you cannot think of anything that surprises or interests you, you need to look harder because history, science, and literature are all full of surprises.

When you look at how great ideas come to be, the tale is always, "We used to think the world was like this." We discovered that we were utterly mistaken and that the world is very different from what we imagined."

These unexpected facts frequently make for the best topic sentences as well. Use these to create an outline for your essay and base your body paragraphs on each particular fact or notion.

As you move from one topic to the next, these will serve as beautiful hooks for your reader.

(By the way, what research sources should you use? See tip #10 for further information.)

4. Overwhelmed? Write five original sentences.

The typical three-point essay is composed of only five original sentences surrounded by supporting paragraphs that support those five sentences.

If you feel overwhelmed, compose five phrases that cover your most important key points.

Here is how they might appear in this article:

• Introductory Paragraph: While most students perceive writing an essay to be a tedious activity, with the appropriate attitude, it can be a pleasurable experience.

• Body #1: Because they focus on external benefits, most students believe writing an essay is tedious.

• Body #2: When writing an essay, students should instead focus on internal fulfillment.

• Body #3: Focusing on personal fulfillment will not only allow students to have more pleasure, but it will also result in better writing.

• Conclusion: Writing an essay does not have to be sole to earn a good mark. Instead, it can be a source of fulfillment.

After writing, it is simple to fill in the paragraphs for each of your five sentences.

Now it is your turn to try!

5. Be “source heavy.”

I discovered a method in college that helped me go from a B-average student to an A-student, but before I describe how it works, please be warned.

This strategy is practical. However, it may only be suitable for some lecturers or professors. Use with extreme caution.

As I was working on a report for a literature class, I realized that the articles and books I was reading expressed far better than I could.

So, what exactly did I do? I used them extensively in my paper. When I was not citing them, I rephrased what they said in my own words, always giving full credit.

This approach not only produced a well-written essay, but it also took roughly half the time to complete.

It is important to remember that utilizing someone else's words, even if mutated into your phrase, necessitates citation.

While plagiarism is evolving with the development of online collaboration and cooperative learning environments, to be safe, always err on the side of the excessive citation.

My professors occasionally commented on how "source" laden my papers were when I utilized this strategy. At the same time, they were always giving me A's.

To keep yourself secure, I recommend a 60/40 split for your body paragraphs: Make sure that 60% of the words are your analysis and logic, and the remaining 40% can be quoted (or paraphrased) from your sources.

This strategy, like the five-sentence trick, simplifies the writing process. Instead of focusing on writing effectively, it requires you to research well, which some students find simpler.

6. Write the body first, the introduction second, and the conclusion last.

Introductions are often the most difficult parts because you attempt to encapsulate your entire essay before you have begun writing it.

Instead, write your introduction last, giving yourself the body of the paper to figure out your essay's primary thesis.

This is especially vital when writing an essay on a subject you are not interested in. I strongly recommend this for classes where you either need to excel or care.

Before writing a significant introductory paragraph, give yourself plenty of time to create and review your body paragraphs.

Otherwise, your introduction may sound uncomfortable, wooden, and uninteresting.

7. Most essays answer the question, “What?” Good essays answer the “Why?” The best essays answer the “How?”

If you are having trouble making your point or reaching the required word count, try focusing on the question, "How?"

As an example:

• How did J.D. Salinger express the concept of inauthenticity in The Catcher in the Rye?

• After the French Revolution, how did Napoleon restore stability in France?

• How does the evidence demonstrate that girls reign and boys truly drool?

If you concentrate on how you will always have much to write about.

8. Feel free to jump around.

Essay writing can be compared to a dance. You can leave one area and write from start to finish.

Allow yourself to write as though you are circling your issue rather than making a single, unambiguous argument for the same reasons outlined in point #6.

Then, you can ensure everything is in order when you edit and proofread.

Now is an excellent time to point out that proofreading your essay is about more than just spelling and commas.

It is essential to ensure that your analysis or argument flows smoothly from one notion to the next.

(Okay, technically, this includes editing, but most students writing a high school or college essay need to devote more time to each step of the writing process.) Let us be accurate.)

As you finish proofreading, ensure your ideas flow smoothly, logically, and organically from one to the next as you clean up your mechanics and sentence structure.

9. Here are some words and phrases you do not want to use.

You (You will note that I use many of you's, which is appropriate for a blog article.) However, in an academic article, it is preferable to avoid using the second person.)

• Clichés

• Some

• That

• Things

• To Be verbs (is, are, was, were, am)

Need more time to edit? Here is a lightning-fast editing method.

Some teachers advise students not to use "I" statements in their writing. However, the truth is that professional academic papers frequently use phrases like "I believe" and "in my opinion,", especially in their introductions.

10. It is okay to use Wikipedia if…

Wikipedia is one of the top five websites in the world for a reason: it can be an excellent source of information. However, most lecturers and professors do not consider Wikipedia a reliable essay source.

However, please do not dismiss it completely! Here are two ways you can include Wikipedia in your essay:

• Background investigation. If you need to learn more about your subject, Wikipedia might be an excellent place to learn everything you need to get started.

• Look for sources. Examine the reference section of Wikipedia articles on your subject. While you may not be able to cite Wikipedia directly, you may frequently locate and cite the sources. Links to primary and secondary sources can be found at the bottom of every Wikipedia page under the categories "Further Reading" and "References."

You Can Enjoy Essay Writing

What I regret most about high school and college is that I viewed them as a chore rather than something I enjoyed.

The truth is that education is a privilege that many people worldwide do not have.

It is a gift, not just something that complicates your life. I do not want you to make the mistake of just "getting by" in school and frantically looking forward to summer breaks and graduation.

How different would your life be if you enjoyed writing essays? What would school look like if you sucked it dry of all the gifts it has to offer?

All I am saying is, do not pass up this opportunity!