tbt: how to write essays

ooh high school me has good advice sometimes. this post is still, sadly relevant. it will always be relevant as long as i'm in school. so enjoy.

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You would think that by now, having written countless essays for college and for school that I would know how to write a really good one. Yeah, that's not true at all.

My mom was (is?) appalled at my lack of essay skills, and despite what I think, she's write right. Apparently it's not just me either, basically everyone in my school district probably can't write essays, since they don't teach us the "right way" to write essays. My mom is going to write a letter and complain about it when I graduate.

Apart from that, it's been a long process trying to learn how to write an essay. This sounds so dumb, I'm seventeen years old, almost done with high school, taking AP Lit and I still don't know how to write an essay. I've been getting by on good ideas. My personal problem (and probably everyone else's too) is organization when I'm given a vague prompt, like "Write about death and justice in Frankenstein". That's really helpful, I know. I have way too many ideas and I just kind of word vomit them onto a piece of paper and decide that's okay.

It's not.

According to my mother (we'll pretend she's an expert) the proper way to write an essay is to come up with a thesis and three supporting arguments. Then in each paragraph, you provide evidence, and explain it, repeating until your paragraph is done. (This last part is supported by my Lit teacher, so you can know it's legit.)

It's definitely going to be hard, but a recent exercise we did in Lit, really showed me how right my mom was about my essays. So here are my tips/instructions/requirements on how to write essays. They're mostly here for me, but if you get use out of them, let me know!

• Write down any and all evidence you have or want to use. Then group them in similar/related categories. This will help you come up with your thesis.
• Write your intro and concluding paragraphs last. This sounds weird, but I did it for my most recent essay, and it really helps. This way you know the direction of your essay and can tailor the two paragraphs to that direction instead of having them being unrelated. (Lit teacher approved)
• If you state something from the book, you have to back it up with a quote (or at least 90% of the time). (Lit teacher approved)
• Explain your quotes and their significance. This helps it so your essay is not just a plot summary but actually original thought. (Lit teacher approved)
• Write an outline so you know where you're heading. 
• Make a plot map! This kinda goes with the first one, but at the same time, it's different. We did these for Frankenstein, and it was really nice to get all of my thoughts organized on a piece of paper. You just write a thought and another thought and more and more and then connect them!
• Take a few minutes to think. This goes with the outline, but if you take five minutes to think rather than just jumping right into writing an essay, you're guaranteed to come out with a better essay. (This is really helpful for timed writings.)

So that's that. I really like writing essays, but at the same time I don't. (speaking of which I have one I should be working on right now. I'd better go do that.)

-Em xx