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#  Improve Your Academic Essay Writing Skills: Tips from a Teacher

Written by Mary Cardoza on January 17 2023.

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WRITING SKILLS - If you’re a student at college, learning how to write an academic essay can be a real challenge. You need to have a solid thesis and support it with credible, relevant evidence. It can be a learning curve to learn how to do research, use and credit sources, and format and structure your essay correctly. Here are some tips from a teacher on how to improve your academic essay writing skills.

**Create an outline before you start writing

When you create an outline, it gives you a sense of direction for your essay. It will help you to leave out what’s irrelevant and structure your argument. Don’t worry too much about the introduction or conclusion at this stage. They must be compelling and relevant, so they are easier to write after you write your essay body.

Focus on the sub-topics and paragraphs for the body of your essay. For each paragraph, write down a specific point you want to make. Make sure paragraphs lead logically from one to another.

**Essay writing help for students**

As a student at college, it can take a while to find your feet and master academic writing. In the interim, you can look for online help and pay for essay writing. Professional writers at essay writing services like [EduBirdie](https://ca.edubirdie.com/pay-for-essay-writing) will provide quality work that can bring “A” grades. They have the education and experience to understand what professors expect. You can also learn from the quality essay example you receive to improve your own writing skills.

**Keep your main argument at the forefront of your mind**

You may be tempted to go off into a side argument, but this will make your essay less concise. Focus at all times on the purpose of your essay. Weigh the evidence you want to include and ask yourself whether it directly supports your thesis. You should be able to explain why you include evidence and how it is relevant. Random evidence that is not clearly connected to your topic will simply dilute your essay.

![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Jan-2023/005v1.jpg)

**Create an introduction that hooks readers**

Unless your introduction [captures the attention](https://caw.ceu.edu/capture-readers-attention-examples) of the reader, any attempt at persuasion may end right there. The introduction has to set the scene for what’s to come. This is why writing it after writing the body is better. It has to engage the brain immediately and create intrigue about what follows.

**Freely write your rough draft

When you write your rough draft, your main focus should be getting your thoughts down on paper. Write freely but use your outline as a guide for writing. Don’t worry too much about spelling and grammar because you can fix that later. A rough draft is exactly that – it’s far from the final version. You will need to spend many hours refining and polishing it. You can also use one of the [best legit essay writing services](https://www.hometownstation.com/news-articles/5-best-legit-essay-writing-services-in-the-usa-in-2022-430606) to do this for you. It will give you mental peace and ensure a lot of free time for you.

**Don’t use words and language to try and impress**

When you write an academic essay, you want to persuade others and argue intelligently. This doesn’t mean that you need to use complex words to impress. When you use complex words to try and sound intelligent, they often have the opposite effect. If you don’t really understand the meaning of a word, don’t use it. You may end up using it in the wrong context, which can be confusing for readers.

**Make sure you cite your sources correctly**

When doing your initial research, it will save you a great deal of time if you keep track of your sources. There is software that can help you to do this, and it will help you to avoid plagiarism. You need to find out [what referencing style](https://www.student.unsw.edu.au/referencing-essay) you need to use and use the correct style to quote your sources in your essay.

**Write a conclusion that supports your research**

You can’t afford to just dash off your conclusion and repeat what you say in your introduction. It has to outline your key points and tie all your research together in a concise way. It must show how the evidence either proves or disproves the main argument. A weak, vague conclusion can make an essay earn a lower grade.

**Conclusion**

Writing an academic essay requires various skills, including correct use of language, proper formatting and correct citing of sources. It can be difficult to pick up all these skills. Hopefully, the above tips, such as creating an outline and spending time on your introduction and conclusion, can help you achieve more academic success.

*(Mary Cardoza works as a tutor and academic writer on various online platforms. Her work requires her to be highly updated and know the latest trends, which she understands very well. This is why she spends a lot of time reading books, researching material online and free essay samples. Her main aim is to write so well that it can always ensure good grades.)*

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