Maybe it’s having to juggle two different subjects in one essay. Usually you set your sights on one topic and tackle it directly.

However, with a compare and contrast essay, you have to tackle two subjects. Plus, while addressing one of them, you have to constantly keep the other in mind.

It’s a juggling act of describing one thing in relation to another thing without losing sight of the main purpose for writing about those things in the first place.

This isn’t an easy thing to do. So if you’re having trouble, don’t worry. You’re not alone.

So let’s see if we can figure out how to start a compare and contrast essay on the right foot.

What Is a Compare and Contrast Essay?

First, let’s make sure we all understand what exactly this type of essay is before we begin dissecting how to start a compare and contrast essay with a good introduction.

There are already a couple of posts on the Kibin blog about this subject, so I won’t go into it too deeply here.

In the most general sense, the idea is to take an in-depth look at the differences and similarities between two subjects. But it doesn’t stop there, for obvious reasons.

I could easily write an essay about the similarities and differences between bushes and trees, but why would anyone care?

This question is the most important part of any compare and contrast essay: why should anyone care? There has to be a reason for looking closely at your two subjects. And as outlined in a previous post, that reason can take one of the following forms:

• State something unknown
• Clear up a misunderstanding
• Show that one thing is superior to another
• Lead to a new way of doing/seeing/understanding something
• Argue a point with supported facts

The reason that you have for writing your particular essay will affect how exactly you approach your introduction. That means it’s important to identify that reason early in the research phase of your essay.

Stumped on picking the right topic? Try one of these 70 compare and contrast essay topics.

Need to compare and contrast two poems? We’ve got you covered there too. Double-covered even.

So It Begins: How to Start a Compare and Contrast Essay

I know you’re excited, but you can’t just jump straight into discussing the similarities and differences between your two subjects. You wouldn’t have a conversation with a stranger without first introducing yourself, would you?

So before we dive into exactly how to start a compare and contrast essay, let’s examine what goes into setting things up.

First, you must introduce the subjects in an introduction paragraph. There are three main objectives of your introduction paragraph:

• Pique your readers’ interest
• Give them some background information on the subjects
• Present the main point of the essay

The first will be accomplished with a strong hook at the very beginning of your essay. This will be followed by the necessary background information needed to support your thesis.

And oh yeah, the third will be accomplished in your thesis, the most important sentence in your whole essay.

Hook your reader

The idea behind a hook is to make your readers want to continue reading. You want something that makes them interested in what you will write next. But it has to be relevant to the subject at hand. This isn’t a chain email.

This could come in the form of a question, a quotation, a statistic, or a funny anecdote. For 14 different ways to write a hook sentence, check out this post.

The way in which you decide to hook your readers in a C&C essay will depend on that reason you identified earlier for writing the essay in the first place.

Hook approaches for a compare and contrast essay

If you are…

• …writing your essay with the purpose of stating something unknown about your subjects or their relationship, then your hook sentence could take the form of a question, pushing your readers to realize how little they know about the subject and therefore leave them wanting to know more.

• …clearing up a misunderstanding, then you may hook your readers by questioning what they know about the subject or by presenting a statistic they might find surprising.

• …writing your essay to show that one thing is superior to the other, then you may pique your readers’ interest by quoting a famous or respectable figure who shares your view on the subject.

• …trying to inspire a new way of doing/seeing/understanding something, then a great way to get your readers’ attention may be to tell a humorous anecdote that helps them to see it in a new way.

• …writing your C&C essay because you want to argue a point with supported facts, then you may want to use the first sentence of your introduction to present an interesting and convincing piece of evidence from your research that will immediately push your reader toward your view.

No matter which direction you choose to take with the beginning of your introduction, the goal is the same: motivate your readers to read what comes next.

No matter how you start your essay, the goal is the same: motivate readers to read what comes next.
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Introduce the subjects of your essay

And what, exactly, comes next? Well, it’s time to let your readers know what exactly your essay will be talking about.

After hooking your readers’ attention with a statistic, question, or interesting anecdote, it’s time to identify the two subjects that you will be comparing and contrasting. It can be tricky to balance the two subjects, but it can be done.

Think about what relevant background information will be beneficial to your readers as they start thinking about your reason for writing the paper.

Is there any history about the subjects that is relevant? Any new information that your reader may not have heard yet? Now would be a good time to mention it (you can expound on it later if need be).

Use this time to present any questions or misconceptions related to the topic, and begin to explain the importance of the topic.

Although you should try to give both subjects an equal amount of time in the introduction and throughout your paper (as they should be equally important to proving your argument), sometimes one subject is just less known to the majority of people.

If this is the case, it’s better to speak about that one a bit more in the introduction than to present a bunch of obvious information to your reader just for the sake of balance.

However, don’t let it get too out of balance. If you really need to explain a lot about one subject, you may need to save it for the body paragraphs.

Don’t overthink this part. Just provide any history or general statistics that show that the subject you’re speaking to is worth reading about. Get your readers ready for your thesis!

And remember, the entire introduction serves as a hook for your paper, so keep your readers interested!

Nail the thesis

After writing an interesting hook sentence and providing your reader with a general overview of your subjects, along with any need-to-know history and statistics, you’re ready to lay the big one on them: your thesis.

This is the most important sentence in your whole paper. It is the reason for writing the essay. It is your argument. It is your guiding light. It is the backbone.

We’ve written a lot about the thesis here at Kibin, so I’m going to leave that horse alone.

However, don’t forget to place it at the end of the extremely interesting introduction paragraph you’ve just written for your compare and contrast essay.

And that’s how to start a compare and contrast essay on the right foot! Need some help with the rest of your essay? Check out compare and contrast essay examples from other students to see how they’ve tackled both the introduction and everything else.

These posts can also help:

• Here’s How to Write a Surprisingly Good Comparative Essay
• 2 Compare and Contrast Essay Examples Worth Emulating
• 2 Comparison Essay Examples That Make Cool Comparisons

If you’re still unsure after writing your introduction (or your full essay), I suggest you send it to an editor at Kibin, who will read it and give you some great advice for the next draft.

Good luck, and happy writing!

Several strangers are forced to work together on a project that’s generally recognized as being more easily done alone.

Will they find a way to work together, or will they descend into chaos?

Without the right strategies and attitudes in place, it can quickly feel like your group is leaning toward the latter.

So today let’s look at how to write a group essay and ways to avoid losing your mind while also producing a strong piece of writing.

How to Write a Group Essay Without Losing Your Mind

Whether you’re just learning how to tackle your first group writing project or you’re starting your 10th, you can maintain your sanity–and avoid the chaos.

Here are eight ways to get through the group process, sanity intact.

1. Have a good attitude

Let’s start with maybe the most important thing to keep in mind when writing a group essay. No matter what happens, maintain a positive attitude.

You can’t always control the people you are grouped with or how you will mesh with those people, but you can control yourself.

Remember what John Milton writes in Paradise Lost: “The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.”

Things will inevitably go wrong, but with a good attitude, you can overcome them!

2. Avoid the urge to appoint a leader

Maybe it’s some remnant desire of our more primitive pack-hunting selves, but people tend to look for a leader when in a group setting. This may seem like the most productive strategy, but it can lead to some unintended consequences.

Putting someone at the top means someone has to, in turn, be at the bottom. This slippery hierarchical slope can lead to hurt feelings and failing grades.

As you’ll see in number 3, it’s better to collaborate fully than to give one member more power than others.

3. Work on all parts together as much as possible

The UNC Writing Center has created this nifty spectrum as an approach for how to write a group essay or writing project.

On the far right of the spectrum, one group member writes everything while the other members simply provide comments. On the far left, all parts of the writing process are done together.

There are various points along the spectrum between these extremes, including planning together and writing alone and working in pairs on different parts of the paper.

However, the closer you are to the left side of the spectrum, the better.

It’s best if you don’t divide the assignment up. Back when the only way to collaborate was to be in the same room together, it was common practice to divide the essay and work alone in an attempt to not go crazy.

Luckily, the times have changed, and you can collaborate online from the comfort of your own home.

While spending time in the same room working on the essay is still invaluable to its success, it’s also difficult to accomplish. By using collaborative writing software–such as Google Docs–you can work on the essay together, even if you aren’t really together.

4. Set a schedule and deadlines

If you’re thinking to yourself that attempting to prepare and write all parts of the paper together sounds like insanity, well, it kind of is.

As we established at the outset, expecting a group of people to write an essay, each putting in the same amount of work, is kind of crazy. But it can be done.

One way to make it work is to create a schedule with deadlines and stick to it.

Writing a group essay? Create a group schedule with deadlines—and stick to it.
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First, come up with a weekly schedule for when you will collaborate, either in person or online. Then, create an overall schedule that lays out what must be done and when it needs to be finished.

Here’s a tip to ensuring this crazy process gets completed successfully: leave lots of time in the schedule for revision and editing. You’re going to need it.

5. Recognize individual strengths and weaknesses

Just because you won’t be dividing the work up doesn’t mean some people aren’t going to be stronger at some aspects than others.

Just because you aren’t going to appoint a leader and specific roles, doesn’t mean that group members’ strengths and weaknesses should be ignored.

If someone is great at research but bad at editing, it’s okay for them to shine in that earlier stage of the process, and vice versa.

The key is to stay positive and flexible during the process so that everyone has a chance to shine.

6. Don’t be the slacker or the dictator

Although it’s okay to step up or step back during each stage of the process depending on your skills, you must be careful not to do one or the other too much.

You may not like working in groups, but don’t be that person who slacks off and allows everyone else to do all of the work.

Conversely, you may feel an urge to take control when things seem messy, but it’s better to take a deep breath and remain in the spirit of collaboration than to take over and start telling people what to do.

If a group member starts to become the slacker or the dictator, avoid calling the person out by name. Instead, try gently reminding everyone of the schedule and asking all group members to quickly check in with what they’re currently working on.

This will hopefully nudge everyone back on track while avoiding animosity.

7. Be a good peer editor

Group writing assignments can be awkward for various reasons, but peer editing can be particularly uncomfortable. However, nailing this step is integral to the success of your group writing essay.

As any editor will tell you, the line between constructive and destructive criticism can be a perilous one to walk.

The key, much like in group writing as a whole, is to stay positive. It’s of the utmost importance that you’re honest, but you shouldn’t be overly negative in your feedback.

So before giving your peer constructive criticism, try to find a few positive things to say first.

Peer editing and revision aren’t just about pointing out what’s wrong. You should give credit where credit is due.

8. When all else fails, stick to the process

As we’ve clearly established already, group writing assignments can be difficult for various reasons. Things will inevitably go wrong. But these setbacks don’t have to derail your entire essay.

When things start to get challenging, do what you have to do to get through whatever step you’re on and move to the next. Wipe the slate clean, and move on to the next step in the process.

Even if you’re still a little unsure about how to write a group essay, you–and your sanity–can get through it by sticking to the process. So let’s take a look at those steps.

Prewrite and brainstorm

In your very first face-to-face meeting, you should set a work schedule and start brainstorming ideas for your essay. You should settle on a topic and direction that first day because this step of the process is difficult to do when you aren’t in the same room.

Outline

Ideally, you can start to outline the structure of your essay on that first day as well, but this can be done online if need be.

It’s important that you all agree on the structure of the essay before you move on to the next step. If you don’t, things can quickly get messy.

Research

Once the outline is finished and the group knows what to look for, most research can be done individually.

However, any potential source should be run by the other group members before a final decision is made on whether to use it. Just because you think the source is great, doesn’t mean your group members will.

Write

It may seem impossible to write together, but it’s not! By using online writing software, you can all write and rewrite while seeing any changes that are made.

If a group member makes a change, all other members can see that change and discuss whether to keep it or go back to the original way it was written.

In this way, all group members can have have their say in how the paper is written. However, if this causes frustration, you can also divide the paper up to be written separately and then fused together later. That approach will require more revision time to mesh the voice, though.

Read

Once you have the first draft written, allow time for every group member to read it and come up with suggestions on how to improve it.

With online writing software, each group member can make notes right in the document that the other members can read and consider.

Revise

After everyone has made suggestions on how to improve the draft, you should go back to the writing step to complete the next draft.

From there, continue to write, read, and revise until you come up with a draft that everyone feels good about. During the reading and revising steps, don’t worry about sentence-level issues. Those will be addressed next.

Edit

Once you have a final draft that everyone is happy with, it’s time to edit. This is the time to look for and correct any sentence structure, grammar, or vocabulary issues that may hurt the clarity and flow of your essay–and in turn your grade.

Each member of the group should take the time to edit the draft. The more eyes the better. If you want to take it a step further, you can send your paper to a professional editor at Kibin to give it a once over.

Need more insight on writing a group paper? Check out these example essays that students have written about working in a group or have written for a group project:

• A Job Analysis of an Ames Company Sales Representative
• A School Paper on Creation of a Small Group Project in School “Change of Hearts”
• A Report on Group Dynamics in a Project on the Topic of the Influences of Environment on Personality and Character Traits

In the end (as in the beginning), the success or failure of a group writing project–even if you have how to write a group essay down to a science–often comes down to the attitudes of its members.

Professors know that it’s hard to write in a group, but they also know that collaboration is important. If you keep an open mind and a positive attitude, everything will work out just fine.

Good luck!

You get an essay back from a teacher with a grade written clearly across the top of the paper, but little is written elsewhere to indicate why you received that grade.

There’s no real explanation of what you’ve done well or what you’ve done badly. And so there’s little indication of how you can improve and be a better writer.

It’s not all the teacher’s fault. Many teachers are incredibly overworked with hundreds of students, kids of their own, and sometimes, second jobs to make ends meet.

Can you imagine working all week and then spending your entire weekend grading hundreds of essays while juggling these other responsibilities?

And for many students, it’s not much easier. Going to school is a full-time job for those who want to get the most out of it. Many students also have a part-time job (or two) on the side to support their own families or, if in college, to pay for school.

Those students who are lucky enough to not have these extra responsibilities may have the time and flexibility to track down a teacher after school or during office hours.

When that’s possible, students can find out what they did wrong on their essays and how they can improve to be a better writer.

But if you don’t have this luxury, how can you become a better writer?

While reading a ton of example essays is one option, the clearest way to become a better writer is by simply writing yourself. But that seems too simple, right? I mean, you can type out essays all day long.

But unless you have some indication of what you’re doing right and what you’re doing wrong, it’s hard to ensure that the next essay you write will be better than the last.

However, I still argue that the best way to improve your writing is by writing. The problem is that many people don’t understand what “writing” is.

Writing is not just typing words. It’s a process. Writing is thinking and researching. Writing is outlining. Writing is formulating a thesis. Writing is, yes, putting the words on paper. But writing is also revision.

Actually, it’s mostly revision.

The only way your first draft will be your best draft is if it is the only draft you write.

The only way your first draft will be your best draft is if it is the only draft you write.
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To produce the best essay, you need to write and rewrite it until it’s the best it can be. But here we are back at the beginning–how do you improve the second draft if you don’t know what’s wrong with the first?

One way is with an editor. An editor is like your own personal teacher, identifying your mistakes, both big and small, and teaching you how to fix them in your current essay and avoid them in subsequent ones.

Want to become a better writer? Let’s take a look at six ways an editor can help — plus feedback from students who have worked with Kibin editors.

1. Seeing What You Don’t

First and foremost, an editor provides a fresh set of eyes for your writing.

Moreover, an editor has the eyes of a word nerd who understands the micro elements (punctuation, grammar, word choice, sentence structure) and the macro elements (thesis statements, style, essay structure, formatting) of writing.

If you feel a bit lacking in your knowledge of one or more of these areas, an editor can spot your mistakes, draw your attention to them, and show you the correct way forward.

Even if you feel as though you have a strong understanding of each aspect of writing, you’re still going to miss some things along the way. When you stare at something long enough, you become a bit blind to parts of it. An editor will catch the mistakes you missed.

And it’s not all about catching mistakes! Sometimes there’s nothing wrong with your writing, but an editor can make various suggestions on how to improve it.

Maybe you will ignore some of those suggestions, but if even one of them resonates with you, it can turn your good essay into a great one.

Students say…

Thank you again for a prompt and thorough review of my document. I truly appreciate your honesty. Sometimes you just need a second set of eyes on something to make sure you are on the right track. — feedback for Bethany R.

2. Identifying Frequent Errors

An editor is not only awesome at seeing errors and ways to improve writing but also incredible at seeing the patterns in your writing.

Some editors at Kibin have edited millions of words (literally!). With all of that practice, they have become adept at noticing recurring issues in your writing.

A good editor will point out these areas and give them extra attention so that you can learn from them and correct your negative habits.

On the micro level, negative patterns can be found within one essay. An editor will notice grammatical errors that recur and teach you how to correct them. On the macro level, editors can identify frequent errors in structure or style over the span of several essays.

At Kibin, you can request to work with the same editor who worked on your previous essays. This offers a great opportunity to build a rapport with your editor and for your editor to teach you how to improve your essay-writing abilities over the long term.

Students say…

In 2 days, Dan has taught me more than 4 years in HS and a semester in college. He is very patient with my mistakes and takes time to thoroughly explain what I can do to improve!!! BEST editor EVER! — feedback for Dan C.

3. Pointing Out Successes

Editing isn’t all about pointing out the errors that you’ve made in your essay. A great editor will also take note of the things you’re doing well!

Sometimes you don’t even realize how good a word, sentence, paragraph, or essay you’ve written is.

It’s important to have a professional set of eyes who can look at your writing without any bias. That allows an editor to tell you not only where you need to improve but also where you should give yourself a pat on the back.

This is one area where having an editor you don’t know can help.

You never know when a friend or family member will be afraid to tell you when something is wrong. Moreover, sometimes it’s hard to tell when positive feedback is honest and when it’s flattery.

The perfect editor is one who points out both the positives and the negatives in a clear, honest, and constructive way so that you can become a better writer.

Students say…

Your feedback and encouragement are invaluable. I am learning grammar progress in my writing while working with you. You always ‘get me right.'” — feedback for Crystal W.

4. Teaching in an Approachable Way

Getting a friend, family member, or classmate to review your paper is better than nothing. However, there are some ways in which an editor is better.

Asking a friend to look over your paper? Having an editor do it instead is better in some ways.
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Most importantly, editors have experience on their side. This means two things:

• They have an incredible knowledge base from which to draw.
• They have the ability to provide that clear, honest, and constructive feedback you need to improve your writing.

While your buddies might be able to tell you that something is incorrect, they might not be able to tell you exactly why it’s incorrect.

An editor, on the other hand, is a teacher. An editor works to not only find the areas of your essay that need improvement but also is skilled at explaining why it needs improvement and how you can improve it.

Students say…

I was very pleased when I received the edited paper this morning–it wasn’t so much an editing job as a teaching job. I will use this service a lot! — feedback for Alex L.

Need to polish your paper?

Let our expert editors help.

Yes! Edit my essay.

5. Providing Suggested Edits, Comments, and Feedback

One way that an editor at Kibin teaches you to be a better writer is through comments, feedback, and suggestive edits.

While some editors may just find and fix your mistakes, a Kibin editor will instead highlight your error and suggest a way to improve it. In this way, you will see what you did wrong and how changing it improves your writing.

Furthermore, if any explanation is needed on why it’s wrong and the various ways in which you can improve it, you can expect to find a detailed yet easy-to-understand comment to accompany the suggested edit.

Moreover, it’s important for an editor to comment not only on the micro-level mistakes made in your essay but also on the overall strengths and shortcomings of your essay.

This is provided through feedback at the end in which the editor points out what you’ve done well in your essay and what you can work on in the next one.

So a Kibin editor works to improve your writing ability on three levels:

• Finding errors and suggesting edits
• Explaining those suggested edits
• Giving macro-level feedback on your essay as a whole

Students say…

She has done a tremendous job with giving feedback and suggestions, and I look forward to using her again in the future. Jane provides top-notch quality editing, and I am grateful for her valuable and intuitive thoughts/comments. — feedback for Jane J.

6. Modeling Revision

As we talked about in the beginning of this post, one of the most important aspects of the writing process is revision. Unfortunately, you’re not done writing when you write the last word of your essay.

I know it’s a bit like finishing a 10K and then being told you’re running a marathon, but revision is key.

You must read, analyze, and revise your draft in order to get the most out of your essay. And guess what? That’s exactly what an editor does.

Editors read, analyze, and find ways in which you can revise your essay to make it better. And along the way, they can make you a better writer.

Students say … 

Thank you so much for all your help! I am forever learning this art that you have mastered. — feedback for Susan S. 

The Takeaway: An Editor Can Teach You How to Be a Better Writer

I like to think of Kibin editors as revision coaches.

Their job isn’t to simply improve your essay. Their job is to show you how to improve your writing. They do that by modeling and explaining the revision process. In this way, an editor shows you exactly how to be a better writer in the future.

More specifically, editors help you to identify what you’re doing right and wrong at the micro and macro levels. Editors teach you how to correct the errors not only in one essay, but also in future essays.

In other words, they show you the proper way to revise your writing so that you can do it yourself in the future.

In these ways, an editor can help you to be a better writer.

Over the next 20 or so years of his life, Tolkien wrote The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, drawing inspiration from his native English countryside and family trips to places like the Swiss Alps.

The idea for the antagonist Smaug most likely came from the dragon in the ancient English poem Beowulf. Meanwhile, the dwarves that inhabit Middle-earth are similar to the ones from Grimm’s Fairy Tales.

It’s also been said that the language used in each of Tolkien’s stories was inspired by Old Norse sagas from Iceland. And the idea for the iconic ring came to him during a visit to an archaeological dig.

And I’ve heard Sméagol was inspired by a chin wag with some gobby bloke at a chippy who was clearly off his trolley serving fish with no taters, precious.

Okay, I made that last one up. But it seems plausible.

The others are true, however, which goes to show you the myriad ways in which a writer can be inspired.

So today let’s look at 13 surprising sources of inspiration for writing, no matter whether you’re writing an essay or a work of fiction like Tolkien’s.

1. Films and Theater

Just as Tolkien was inspired by other sources when creating his stories, you can find inspiration in films and plays when writing a story or an essay.

Art is imitation of real life. There are many films and plays based on real experiences or historical figures.

While watching, you may find yourself interested in learning more about the time period, historical events, or people depicted on the screen or stage.

And nothing fuels a strong essay or story like curiosity.

2. Documentaries

While films are fictional representations, documentaries are nonfictional. Where a film might inspire you to do research on a subject, a documentary provides factual information on the subject up front.

If the subject matter of a documentary is of interest to you, then you already have one source at your disposal before the research even begins in earnest.

3. Podcasts

Podcasts are often similar to documentaries but in audio form. It blows me away just how many podcasts there are out there on every subject imaginable: science, history, politics, and plenty of weirder fare.

A personal favorite is This American Life. There are so many amazingly interesting stories on various subjects explained through a more personal lens.

I’ve used it as a source of inspiration for writing for years, and I encourage you to do the same.

4. History

As they say, real life is stranger than fiction. There are generations of compelling stories in our past, and then some.

Check out the History Channel, go to a museum, or even pick up an encyclopedia and turn to a random page. There’s no telling what you will find.

For an even more interesting perspective, look for personal history. Talk to your grandparents, go to a yard sale and read people’s old letters, or grab a free trial at a genealogy website and take a look around.

5. News, Politics, and Current Events

History is made every day. A surprising source of inspiration can be the news and politics of today. Things that are unprecedented and controversial happen almost on a daily basis, it seems.

By staying in touch with current events, you may find the thread of a story or essay about the connection between today and the past, and what it means for the future.

6. Science and Technology News

Not only is it interesting to learn and write about where we have been, but it’s just as interesting (and more so if you ask me) to explore where we’re going.

The rate of scientific and technological advancement in this day and age is hard to believe. There are stories every day about things seemingly pulled from a science-fiction novel.

These stories and advancements can be great fodder for a piece of fiction or inspiration for an essay on our historical and future progression.

7. Reading

One of the best ways to get inspiration for a story or essay is to read other works of the same type. For example, if you want to write a good short story, you should probably read a lot of short stories first.

This will not only help you to learn how to write a story properly but also can inspire you to explore your own ideas.

The same goes for academic papers. If you want to write a strong essay, then you should probably read some essays. This seems like common sense, but students are rarely given the opportunity to read examples of the works they are supposed to produce.

Reading example essays provides inspiration for your writing—and helps you write stronger essays.
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However, Kibin has its own Essay Database that you can check out to learn how to write a great essay and get some inspiration for writing.

The Kibin blog even has some annotated essay examples to show you what’s good and what’s not in various types of essays.

8. Nature and Meditation

Nowadays, we’re bombarded with sights, sounds, and screens. It’s even easy to go an entire day without being silent at all! It’s hard to know what effect this has on our brains and bodies.

However, I think it’s safe to say that a little silence, whether it’s in the park or in your bedroom, can go a long way toward clearing your head. There are numerous ideas already swimming in your brain. Sometimes, you just need a quiet place to hear them.

9. Dreams

One way that these ideas swim to the surface is through our dreams. There are numerous writers who have found inspiration in their dreams. Stephen King comes to mind. Can you imagine that guy’s dreams?

Dreams can help us not only come up with new ideas but also break out of our writer’s block. However, our nighttime thoughts can be fleeting, so try keeping a dream journal next to your bed so that you can jot down anything that comes to mind.

10. Travel

Seeing and doing the same things day after day can be rough on your creative spirit. Breaking out of your bubble and seeing something new and different can inspire you in ways that you never imagined.

And this doesn’t mean you have to go to the airport and buy a ticket on the next flight in some dramatic gesture. Sometimes a day trip to the state park an hour down the road will be enough to provide some inspiration for writing.

11. Community Involvement

Just as traveling and seeing something different can inspire you, so can meeting new people and getting to know them. Volunteering in your community is a great way to meet people you may not have another opportunity to meet.

Moreover, doing so broadens your horizons, allowing you to be a bit more open to the world and its inspiration.

12. Social Media

While social media can be a distraction from your writing—or worse, a detriment to your mental health—it can also provide inspiration for your writing if used the right way.

Social media can be a gateway into the lives of people from different communities, states, and countries. It can teach us about cultures that would otherwise be out of our reach. It can even inspire a good thesis statement.

Just use it sparingly, and be careful to avoid the nasty stuff.

13. Interviews With Writers and Artists

You can learn a lot about writing by reading, listening (see source #2), or watching interviews with established writers. These are people who have spent years coming up with a process that works well for them.

If you feel stuck on your essay or story, try learning from the masters. They might just inspire you.

Bonus Source of Inspiration for Writing

And of course, don’t forget that Kibin has a cadre of professional writers and editors who would love to read your essay and provide feedback.

And who knows? They might just inspire you.

However, there are times when having less is better. So for the sake of accuracy, let’s say this—less is better…sometimes.

So far I’ve said practically nothing, and I feel better already, which I think proves my point.

So when is less better?

Certainly it’s not better to have less money when it’s time to pay rent or to have less wine when spending the weekend at your brother-in-law Chad’s house.

However, when writing a strong essay, less can be better.

Reading a concisely written essay, with fewer words, is better than slogging through page after page of drivel.

Less can be better—a concise essay, with fewer words, is better than page after page of drivel.
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So let’s learn about concise writing—that is, how to write a strong essay with fewer words.

What Is Concise Writing?

How you talk to a friend is different than the way you talk to your boss. And how you write a Facebook post should be different than how you write an essay in English class.

However, sometimes one leaks into the other. It’s quite common for students to fill their essays with casual language written in a conversational tone.

The problem with conversation is that it’s wordy.

Ahem. We speak using many unneeded words.

Concise writing is that which makes a strong point using few words. The idea is to rid your sentences of any unneeded words and structure them in the most effective way. This will make your writing more concise—and therefore easier to read and digest.

Write an Outline and Follow Your Thesis

The first step in writing a focused, concise essay is to stick to the script without meandering off into another subject. Well, I guess that’s the second step because first you need a script.

An outline is an important tool in the writing process that students often skip. Don’t do that. Seriously. You need this blueprint to help you stay on subject. Without it, you will have trouble being concise.

So start your outline by creating a thesis statement for your essay. This sentence is the main idea, or argument, of your essay. Each section of your paper will address one part of your thesis.

The outline allows you to examine how best to organize your essay to prove your thesis.

Writing concisely starts by thinking about the best way to outline your essay and then sticking to it throughout the writing process.

Do a Close Edit

It’s quite all right for the first draft of your essay to be a bit wordy. It’s important that you let your ideas flow without worrying too much about whether you’re writing concisely. It doesn’t have to be perfectly concise writing the first go-round.

That’s why we revise. And you must revise!

So once you have written the first draft of your essay, I suggest you then do what I call a close edit. A close edit involves carefully reading each sentence, looking at each word, and thinking of ways it could be rewritten more concisely.

However, before doing a close edit, it’s important to know the common mistakes writers make and how you can edit them to make your writing more concise.

So here are a few ways in which you can make your writing more concise during the close-edit process.

Use your active voice

The active voice means that the subject of the sentence (usually the person) is doing something to an object. For example: “Jack mails the letter.”

The passive voice is when the sentence is reordered so that the subject of the sentence is being acted upon. For example: “The letter was mailed by Jack.”

In almost all circumstances, the active voice is the way to go. It’s more concise.

Avoid adjective and adverb abuse

Although adjectives and adverbs can seem like a good way to spice up your paper, they often become overused, cluttering your writing.

Mark Twain said, “When you find an adjective, kill it.” Well, that’s a bit harsh, but you should be careful not to use too many. The same goes for adverbs.

Avoid repetition

It’s common to find a statement written more than once in the same paper. Sometimes writers will say the same thing in different ways.

For example: “An increased dropout rate leads to more crime. The crime rates have increased as more students have failed to finish high school.”

There’s no need to say it twice.

Moreover, many writers seem to feel the need to reiterate things that were just stated in a previous paragraph.

For example: “Now that it has been established that an increase in dropouts leads to more crime, let’s take a look at the dropout rates around the country.”

There’s no need to repeat that information here. It just slows the flow of your essay.

Improve your verb usage

Look for moments in your paper when the verbs can be improved. Avoid using verb phrases where you can use a stronger verb instead.

For example: Instead of writing, “The temperature went down,” you can write, “The temperature decreased.”

Also, instead of writing, “Jaundice is an indication of liver disease,” you can write, “Jaundice indicates liver disease.”

Use a thesaurus and a dictionary

When we can’t find the right word to express ourselves, we tend to get wordy as a way of working around it. Being concise means finding that right word, so learn to use the thesaurus and dictionary when these moments pop up.

You might write, “The politician explained the benefits of supporting her campaign.”  However, you can make it more concise by writing, “The politician promoted her campaign.”

Cut useless words

There are some pointless words in the English language that we tend to use a lot. Learn to avoid these in your writing.

For example, don’t write, “The judges love the way in which she dances,” when you can write, “The judges love how she dances.”

And avoid using the words “really” and “very.” They are truly pointless. There’s no reason to say “really big” or “very big” when you can say “huge.”

Mark Twain again nailed it when he said, “Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very’; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.”

Avoid redundancy

It’s common for people to write expressions like “the reason is because” or “the reason why is.” Some even get a little crazy and write “the reason why is because.” Don’t be these people.

Some people argue that the above phrases are grammatically correct, but you should avoid these types of sticky phrases.

Instead, use the more concise phrase “the reason is.”

Ditch the expletives

I don’t mean certain four-letter words (though you should probably avoid those as well). Expletives are words or phrases that are used as filler without adding any real value to the writing. So they’re pretty much the enemy of concise writing.

For example: Instead of writing, “There are many scientists who believe,” write, “Many scientists believe.” Avoid writing “there are.” The same goes for “there is.”

Also, don’t write, “It is clear the stock market will crash,” when you can simply write, “The stock market will crash.”

Use an apostrophe

A simple way to make your writing clearer, more concise, and easier to read is by using the apostrophe.

For example: “The judge’s opinion” is more concise than “the opinion of the judge.”

Combine sentences

While doing a close edit, look for opportunities to combine sentences. You shouldn’t overdo it, of course, but there will be times when two sentence can and should be rewritten into one.

For example: “Some people believe that improving mental health services is the key to stopping gun violence. Other people believe decreasing the number of guns is the key to stopping gun violence.”

That’s perfectly fine, but it’s better to write it as one sentence: “While some people believe improving mental health services is the key to stopping gun violence, others believe we must decrease the number of guns.”

Get to the point

Always keep your thesis in mind. The point of your essay is to prove that one statement. There may be some details that seem interesting, but they shouldn’t be included unless they’re important to proving the point of your thesis.

For example, you may think it sounds better to write, “The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor with a combination of torpedoes and bombers,” than to simply write, “The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.”

However, unless your thesis is specifically related to what the Japanese used to attack Pearl Harbor, the second sentence is more concise and to the point of your essay.

All Part of the Process

This may seem like a lot to think about when you’re writing, but concise writing is just one step in the writing process.

As I mentioned briefly before, you shouldn’t be too concerned with writing a perfectly concise first draft. Instead, the first draft is a chance to let your ideas flow naturally.

The second and third drafts of your essay offer the chance to do a close edit and take out any and all fluff. This is what revision is all about. And it’s an incredibly important part of the process.

If you need help with it, I suggest you send your essay to one of the editors at Kibin. They will ensure that your essay is strong and concise.

Or so it constantly seems when writing an essay.

As soon as you think you’re finished, it’s time to examine, revise, and rewrite.

The end of your first draft marks the beginning of your second. The beginning of your third draft marks the end of your second. So on and so on.

The end is the beginning is the…

As a teacher, I can tell you that the second draft is much more important than the first, the third is more important than the second, and the final draft (if one really exists) is more important than the one that came before it.

This means that understanding and addressing the feedback in each draft is incredibly important to the success of your next draft. And to your grade.

The end is the beginning not only for you but also for your teacher. Your first draft might have been the best in the class, but if you ignore or misinterpret your teacher’s feedback when writing your second draft, your final grade certainly won’t be at the top.

So let’s take a look at 15 types of essay feedback and how to address each one in your subsequent draft.

15 Types of Essay Feedback and How to Address It

While this list obviously doesn’t address all possible types of essay feedback you might receive, these are the most common and cover vital components of any good essay.

1. “What is the main point/argument?”

Almost all academic essays require a thesis statement, which expresses your main idea or argument. The rest of your paper uses your thesis statement as a guiding light. All evidence and explanations are focused on supporting that important statement.

If your teacher is confused about what the main point or argument is within your essay, it’s almost assuredly because your thesis is weak or unclear. In your next draft, focus on writing a concise thesis statement that clearly expresses the main points of your essay.

You can also try Kibin’s thesis generator.

2. “The essay doesn’t flow well.”

Writing a longer essay can feel like an overwhelming undertaking for those who lack a lot of writing experience. Therefore, a common problem is that a first draft doesn’t flow well.

This can be because the writing is clunky or because the information isn’t presented in a logical order. To prevent this, it’s important to create an outline early in the writing process.

If you’ve already written a draft without an outline, try creating a reverse outline before writing your next draft. Once you’ve done this, you should be able to reorder your essay in a way that will flow better.

Beyond presenting information in a logical order, you need to develop strong transitions between points so that your writing flows flawlessly from one point to the next.

3. “This section is unclear.”

Even if you have outlined your essay and put paragraphs in a logical order, it’s easy to write a paragraph in a way that seems clear to you but isn’t for your reader.

This happens because you have spent so much time with the material that it’s difficult to imagine what it will be like for a reader who is coming in with a blank slate.

So if you find a paragraph in your draft highlighted as “unclear,” you should go back and look at the structure of that paragraph. Remember that you need a topic sentence that clearly states which part of the thesis the section or paragraph will be supporting.

Without it, you risk confusing your reader.

4. “There is not enough/too much evidence.”

There’s a fine line between having too much evidence and not enough. I have read some papers in which there were only one or two quotes in the entire paper, and I have read others in which almost the entire essay consisted of quotes from sources.

As a new writer, it can be difficult to strike the right balance.

Although your professor might encourage you to provide as much evidence as possible in support of your thesis, it’s still your paper. Too many quotes, statistics, and data can clutter your paper.

Remember that you must provide commentary, in your own words, for every piece of evidence you provide.

If, on the other hand, you don’t have enough evidence for your paper, you should start looking for more resources to support your claims, no matter how terrible you find the idea of doing more research.

5. “The ideas aren’t original.”

Although some research papers ask you to merely research a topic and explain it, the majority of assignments call on you to make some type of claim. In an argumentative essay, this means arguing for or against some aspect of your topic.

Some students fall into the trap of merely researching someone else’s argument and regurgitating it. However, the point of the paper is to come up with your own original idea.

To avoid this, spend some time thinking about your own view of the topic before reading other people’s opinions on it.

6. “The essay is too long/short.”

Some professors have strict word-count requirements that you must take into account when writing your paper. If you aren’t sure if your essay length is acceptable, ask your professor before turning it in.

If you’re faced with essay feedback that says you need to shorten your essay, try to focus your argument a bit further.

For example, instead of arguing that students should take a gap year after high school, narrow your argument to what they should do during that gap year, such as volunteer in another state. By narrowing your argument, your essay will shorten.

If your essay needs to be longer, it’s time to expand your thesis with another claim and possibly do more research. I know. Sorry.

7. “The essay lacks focus.”

Remember when I referred to the thesis statement as the guiding light of your essay? Well, it’s there to guide you for a reason.

Every piece of evidence and commentary in your essay should be supporting your thesis in some way. If it isn’t, then your essay will lack focus. Keep this in mind as you’re outlining your paper and when revising it.

Also beware of any evidence that might unintentionally contradict your argument. Know your thesis, and let it guide your writing.

8. “Expand/Elaborate on this idea.”

There are times when an idea or argument seems perfect in your head, but then your reader says it’s insufficient.

Don’t get discouraged. A lot of times this is just because you’re so close to your subject that it’s hard to see any holes in it. This is why revision is so important!

Between your first and second draft, you’ll have some time away from your essay. When you return to it, it’ll be easier to spot those holes.

It’s often as simple as needing another piece of evidence or a bit more commentary. Sometimes providing an example to your reader can clear up any confusion.

9. “Vague/Confusing/I don’t understand/What does this mean?”

Remember that most essays should be written with the idea that your reader doesn’t know anything about the subject. Sometimes you can fall into the habit of assuming the reader will understand.

For example, if you’re writing about cryptocurrency, it might seem to you that your reader should know what a blockchain is, but the reader might not.

However, you should make sure your introduction provides any necessary background info so that your reader isn’t confused later. That means explaining any history on your subject that’s pertinent to your argument.

Also be sure to explain any necessary vocabulary or jargon that might trip up your reader.

10. “Needs better/more reliable sources.”

This is a common problem that’s easy to fix with a bit of education on what constitutes a reliable and an unreliable source.

You want to search for and use materials from reputable sources, but how do you know whether a source is reputable? Look carefully at the author of the material and, if online, assess the website itself as well.

You want to find information from people who are respected in their fields. This means no crowd-sourced material like Wikipedia.

Also pay attention to the purpose of the source. If it’s written by a lobbying firm, then it will be one-sided. Some of the best information will be from recent academic journals. Even then, try to find information from multiple journals, not just one.

11. “The style/tone is inappropriate.”

The tone of your essay will change depending on the essay assignment and subject. This can be tricky for some students.

For example, a narrative essay can take on a much more personal tone because it’s focused on telling a story. However, the tone for an argumentative essay should be much more professional.

If you included personal anecdotes in the first draft of your argumentative essay, you will probably be well-served by removing them from the next draft.

12. “The introduction is flawed/confusing.”

A good introduction will hook your reader, provide necessary background information, and then present the all-important thesis statement.

This is not the place for examples, data, quotes, or paraphrasing. Keep it simple, or risk it becoming confusing.

To fix a “flawed/confusing” intro, keep it simple—avoid examples, data, quotes, or paraphrasing.
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13. “The conclusion is ineffective.”

The goal of the conclusion is to leave your reader without any lingering questions. Every conclusion paragraph should include a restatement of the thesis statement and a recap of the most important takeaways from your paper.

If there are any loose ends, now is the time to tie them up. The conclusion is not the place to present further evidence or another argument. It’s too late. Doing so now will potentially leave your reader with unanswered questions.

And if you’ve ever seen the show Lost, you understand that being left with questions is frustrating.

14. “The citations are incorrectly formatted.”

Formatting your citations and reference list can be a bit tricky for even the most seasoned writers, so don’t be discouraged if you need to revise them a bit in later drafts.

Be sure that you’re using the style guide your professor has chosen for the assignment as the various guides (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.) can vary wildly.

15. “There are too many errors.”

This can be a discouraging piece of essay feedback, but it’s also one of the easiest to fix. It’s important to have someone read and edit your draft, whether you struggle with grammar or consider yourself a word nerd. Everyone makes mistakes.

For a trusted, professional editor who will ensure your paper is spotless, check out Kibin. Kibin editors will not only fix any grammatical errors but also leave some great feedback so that you can improve your next draft and learn along the way.

That’s what feedback and revision are all about. Good luck!

Our goal here at Kibin is to educate you on the art of writing. We do that in several ways, including awesome editing services, a deep database of essay examples, and this blog.

Our focus on the Kibin blog is to explain ways to write specific essays and improve your general writing skills. We do this through informative writing.

Often this takes the form of “How to” posts on argumentative essays, thesis statements, essay topics, outlines, etc. The goal of an argumentative essay post, for example, is to teach you how to write an argumentative essay. Simple enough, right?

But today I’ve been asked to get meta: write a piece of informative writing on how to write a piece of informative writing.

It’s a little disorienting. It reminds me of taking education classes at university. When I was there, the teachers were teaching me how to teach, which is easy enough to understand.

But some of those teachers were actually PhD students who had teachers who were teaching them how to teach us to teach. AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Ahem.

Pardon me.

Let’s start slow, for your sake and mine. Before we dive into how to write an informative essay, let’s look at the nature of an informative essay.

What Is an Informative Essay?

As you can guess, an informative essay is meant to inform your reader on a subject, but aren’t all essays meant to inform?

I’m sure, as a student and reader of this blog, you’ve heard of the argumentative essay. It’s the most common type of essay. In an argumentative essay, you inform your reader of a subject, but then also strive to convince the reader of your view on that issue.

An informative essay takes a different route. You’ll find no argument here. Instead, the informative essay is meant to only inform your reader, not convince.

When writing an informative essay, you should focus on the facts, not opinions.

When writing an informative essay, you should focus on the facts, not opinions.
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For example, an argumentative essay may argue that Pluto should or shouldn’t be classified as a planet. But an informative essay would only cover the way planets in our solar system are classified and how this has changed throughout the years.

Because the informative essay must avoid any opinion, choosing a topic is an important step in the process.

Because the essay is focused on facts and information, your research must be well-executed.

Because you’re informing your readers of a subject that they may know nothing about, the structure and flow of your writing are pivotal to the success of the essay.

We will touch on each of these important areas below, so you can learn how to write an informative essay that tells all.

How to Write an Informative Essay That Tells All

Before we dive into the nuts and bolts of each of these areas on how to write an informative essay, commit these steps to memory:

• Choose a good topic
• Conduct research
• Structure and write
• Revise

Choose a good topic

There are a couple of routes students usually take when choosing an essay topic. An informative essay is no different.

One, they choose a topic that they already know a lot about, therefore cutting back on their overall research time.

Or two, they choose a topic that they’re really interested in so that the research doesn’t feel like forced labor.

There are merits to both of these options but also potential pitfalls. When writing an informative essay on a subject you already know a lot about, it can be hard to see the areas that may trip up your reader.

The subject is already so familiar to you that it can be hard to see what might be confusing to your reader. This can lead to holes in your essay that make it less informative than it should be.

Moreover, if it’s a subject you’re too close to, it can be hard to separate your writing from your preconceived opinions on the subject. And as we’ve discussed, opinions are a no-no.

When choosing a topic because it piques your interest, you can forget to consider whether it will interest the reader. And since informative essays are all about informing your reader on a new subject, it better be a subject your reader will find interesting.

The best course of action is to find a balance between these two routes. Choose a topic that that you already know a little about but one that you, and others, would like to know more about. Approach it with a clear mind, and keep your opinions out of it.

Moreover, it’s important that your topic isn’t too broad. Check out this post for some great informative essay topic ideas.

Conduct research

The lifeblood of your informative essay is the information you provide to your reader. You’re the teacher, and your reader is the student. And no one appreciates an unreliable teacher.

The information must be credible and easy to process. No matter how much you think you already know about your subject, you must cite research from reliable sources.

That means no third-grade teachers, no Wikipedia, and no Facebook memes.

Sources aren’t the only things to consider when doing your research. You should also consider what type of information will best educate the reader on your topic.

This could include quotes from experts on the subject or hard facts and figures from studies that have been conducted.

Once you have a set of research that you think clearly illustrates your topic, it’s time to start thinking about how best to gather that information into essay form.

Structure and write

Although at this point in your process you know a lot about your subject, you must keep in mind that your readers probably don’t.

Therefore, it’s important that you start with the basics. Your introduction is for laying the foundation. Provide your reader with any background information that will be needed to understand later portions of your writing.

For example, if there’s any lingo that’s specific to your subject, you should explain it here. If you’re writing about Pluto, you shouldn’t assume that your reader will know what a dwarf planet or the Kuiper Belt is.

In fact, when writing an informative essay, you should assume that your reader knows nothing about the subject.

Once you’ve covered the important background information in your introduction, you’ll use the body paragraphs to explain the main aspects of your subject.

This is when it becomes important that your subject isn’t too broad. The topic must be narrow enough that you can cover it here without your essay becoming too long.

Writing about the entire history of planet formation and discovery won’t be feasible within the word count provided by your professor. However, focusing solely on the history of Pluto could be.

In this example, you could focus on three important aspects:

• Pluto’s formation and history as we know it
• The way we classify planets and how this has changed
• The circumstances by which Pluto is today considered a dwarf planet

Each of these could be covered in separate portions within the body of your essay.

Your conclusion will be used to tie the information in your body paragraphs together. How does one thing relate to the others? The conclusion can also be used to discuss how things could change in the future based on new discoveries, advances, and understandings.

However, when talking about the future of your topic, be careful not to wade into your own opinions on its direction. Instead, stick to the views of the experts that can be cited from your research.

Revise

Once you’ve written the first draft of your essay, the work isn’t finished. As in any essay, revision is of the utmost importance. Perhaps it’s even more important in an informative essay.

No matter how clearly and comprehensively you think you have described and explained your topic, there will most likely be holes in the first draft of your essay.

The reason is simple: when you spend so much time researching a topic, you have a wealth of information in your head. This can make it difficult to identify questions that may arise for readers who haven’t researched the subject beforehand.

Therefore, even if you think you know how to write an informative essay, it’s important that you have someone look at your essay with fresh eyes. It’s even better if the person knows little about your topic before reading.

Ask your reader to write down every question and comment that comes to mind while reading. With these notes, you can close these holes in your informative essay in subsequent drafts. The result? An informative essay that tells all, not just one that tells most.

It’s the backbone of your paper.

In other words, it’s the star around which your ideas orbit, the bread crumbs in your essay meatballs, or any other metaphor that articulates the fact that your thesis is super-duper important and kind of holds the whole essay thing together.

I’m going to use the star metaphor today.

It’s not as sexy as meatballs, I know. But honestly, I just don’t have the willpower to concentrate on this blog post while visions of meatballs dance in my head.

But really, the solar system metaphor works well because today we’re going to talk about those important parts that revolve around your thesis: the body paragraphs.

So let’s take a look at how to write a paragraph that supports your thesis.

The Main Parts of an Essay

On the most basic level, your essay is made up of a few distinct parts: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion.

Of course, when you dig a little deeper, there are many more parts that are all connected to each other.

If you break down the introduction, you’ll find the all-important thesis statement tucked in nicely there at the end of your first paragraph.

This one sentence is a declaration of the main idea of your paper. In an argumentative essay, it’s your argument.

The thesis is like the sun.

Everything else in your paper orbits around it.

The thesis is like the sun. Everything else in your paper orbits around it.
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Break down the thesis and you’ll find that it’s made up of claims, the more specific and focused arguments that make up your main argument.

Each body paragraph is dedicated to one of these claims. These are like the planets in your essay solar system.

In much the same way that we’re separating the essay into parts, we can break a body paragraph down. When we do, we’ll begin to see that it’s constructed with the express purpose of supporting your thesis statement.

The Main Parts of a Body Paragraph

Galaxies and solar systems are like cosmic matryoshka dolls in that they have similar properties to the larger universe that they reside in.

Similarly, body paragraphs are like smaller essays residing inside your greater essay. They’re made up of clear parts that share properties with your essay as a whole.

According to the Purdue Online Writing Lab, there are four elements to a good paragraph: transition, topic sentence, evidence and analysis, and a brief wrap-up sentence (TTEB).

Each of these parts is important in forming a cohesive paragraph.

Let’s take a look at the roles the parts play and how you can ensure that they’re doing their part to support your thesis statement.

Transition

This aspect of a good paragraph has more to do with ensuring your paper flows well than it does with supporting your thesis. However, that doesn’t make transitions any less important.

It’s important to order your body paragraphs in a way that makes sense. If readers need a bit of information about one claim in order to fully grasp another claim, then the claims need to be in that order.

It’s important that the beginning and end of each paragraph is formulated in a way that clearly leads from the last paragraph and into the next one.

Doing this will ensure that your reader can connect the dots between your paragraphs and clearly see how, together, they support your thesis.

Topic sentence

If each body paragraph in your essay is like its own mini essay, then the topic sentence is the thesis of that paragraph.

One of your claims will become a topic sentence. As you know, your essay should always focus on your thesis without veering off into left field. The same goes for the claim in your body paragraph.

Just like you wouldn’t talk about meatballs in an essay about the solar system, you should be careful not to address other claims within a body paragraph.

Instead, focus on the claim at hand. Once that claim is stated in your topic sentence, it becomes the star of that paragraph around which everything else revolves. That means it’s important that it’s clear and concise.

If you need to add some explanation after your topic sentence for your readers to understand the gravity of it, then do it. Need some extra help with topic sentences? Read this post with examples of good topic sentences.

The evidence

It’s after the topic sentence that you will present and explain each piece of your evidence. This is your chance to delve into your claim on a deeper level.

If the thesis is the sun in your essay solar system and the claims (each with their own body paragraph) are the planets, then the pieces of evidence that support each claim are like moons.

Your evidence orbits closely around the claim while revolving around the thesis as a whole.

Your evidence should consist of concrete examples and data that you’ve gathered through your research. You should explain how this evidence supports your claim and your argument as a whole (your thesis).

Also, make sure you cite your evidence. Nothing will deflate your claim faster than unreliable evidence.

Concluding sentence

After presenting your claim in the topic sentence and your evidence in the rest of the paragraph, you should wrap up your paragraph with a concluding sentence.

The goal of this sentence is to tie all of the evidence together and clearly articulate how this claim relates to your thesis. Therefore, this is an important moment to ensure that your paragraph is supporting your thesis.

If there’s any chance that your reader will have trouble seeing the connection your paragraph has to your thesis, you must fix that here.

This part of your paragraph is also sometimes known as the “warrant.” The idea is that this is your chance to clearly articulate why this claim and the evidence are necessary to your thesis.

Now we can put it all together to complete the how-to part of how to write a paragraph that supports your thesis.

How to Write a Paragraph That Supports Your Thesis

The best way to ensure that a body paragraph is supporting your thesis is to ensure that it stays on topic. Make sure that each body paragraph is dedicated to one of the claims from your thesis.

Then make sure the evidence within each paragraph is focused on that specific claim.

The solar system and the actions of all its parts are dictated by the laws of physics. For example, planets can’t suddenly start rotating around each other or other stars. Moons can’t suddenly swap planets.

Likewise, your essay should be structured judiciously. There shouldn’t be a body paragraph that argues for a claim that isn’t found in your thesis. And there shouldn’t be evidence in a body paragraph that doesn’t clearly relate to the claim of that paragraph.

I suggest that you create an outline at the beginning of your writing process and then stick to it. Compare your essay and its paragraphs to that outline at the end of the process to ensure you’re staying focused and that your paragraphs are supporting your thesis.

Don’t have your essay written yet? Look at example essays from other students. Now that you know how to write a paragraph that supports your thesis, you can more easily see what does and doesn’t work.

If you need a fresh set of eyes to ensure that you’re accomplishing this goal in your own essay, send your paper to the editors at Kibin.

Thanks for reading, and good luck!

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We’ve written so many blog posts on the subject because it’s by far the most common essay assignment that students face. About the only way to avoid argumentative essays is to not go to school at all.

They are kind of like uncomfortable conversations with your grandma about your future. You can avoid them by just never visiting your grandma, but you should really visit your grandma. Seriously, go visit your grandma.

And since argumentative essays are so ubiquitous, it’s important to me that you can easily access all of the necessary information on how to write them.

So when you’re done counting those 18,312 words (seriously! …maybe), come on back and read the rest of this post containing everything you need to know about the argumentative essay.

The Argumentative Essay: What Is It?

First and foremost, you’ll need to have an understanding of what an argumentative essay is. The last thing you want is to get halfway through your essay only to realize that you’re doing it wrong. It happens.

It’s kind of like a vegetarian getting halfway through dinner and then realizing it’s meatloaf. Honestly, that sounds just as bad for a non-vegetarian. Meatloaf is gross.

So remember: An argumentative essay requires you to pick a debatable topic, do extensive research on it, choose a side in the debate, and then argue for that side by citing the evidence you have gathered.

• This post does a great job of breaking down how to frame your argument.
• If you’re a visual learner, check out this infographic that illustrates the most important elements of your essay.
• Check out this post for a detailed analysis of what makes a strong argument.

Prewriting Strategies

After you get some experience as a writer, you start to develop certain strategies that help you tackle an essay in a more efficient way.

The same goes for writing the argumentative essay. You’ll write this type of essay so many times during your college career that you’ll begin to develop a process. However, if this is your first time writing one, you haven’t yet discovered what works best for you.

You could jump from the plane and hope for the best, but perhaps you should learn how to pull the ripcord first.

So it’s important that you read up on the best prewriting strategies before jumping into writing your essay.

• Here’s a post that explains various prewriting strategies that you can easily apply to the argumentative essay.
• Check out this great post on how to outline your argument in a clear and logical fashion.
• It’s important to understand what a finished argumentative essay will look like before you tackle your own, so check out our database full of examples and a post we did analyzing and annotating two examples.

Choosing the Right Topic

The single most important decision you’ll make in this process will be choosing your topic.

You will not like working on an essay for several weeks related to a subject that is of no interest to you. So choose wisely, my friend.

Your face will not melt if you choose poorly (Indiana Jones reference), but you won’t feel good about it.

• Check out this post that includes dozens of amazing argumentative essay topic ideas…or this post with dozens more…or this post with—okay, I jest, but there are at least 80 topics between the two posts for you to dive into!

Finding the Right Resources

The foundation of a strong argumentative essay lies in the research you do.

The entire premise is to argue for one side of a debatable topic. The only way to do that convincingly is to have research to back up your claims.

However, not all sources of information are created equal. The quality of your research can mean the difference between your essay being praised or panned.

So make sure you evaluate your sources to ensure they are reputable and pass the CRAAP test. You must avoid unreliable sources of information! That includes Wikipedia, Facebook posts from Aunt Susan, and state-run Russian blogs.

• If you’re writing your argumentative essay on gun control, fast food, global warming, the death penalty, affirmative action, texting while driving, or cyber bullying, we’ve gathered some quality articles to get you started.
• If you have a broad topic but need to narrow it down, well, we’ve got just the post to help you with that too.

Nailing the Introduction and Ever-Important Thesis

The introduction, which includes the thesis statement, is one of the most important parts of any essay. The argumentative essay is no different.

You want to use the introduction to frame the topic in an interesting way. You can achieve this by starting with a hook sentence that gets your reader interested in your topic.

After your hook, provide any necessary background information that the reader will need before considering your argument.

Then, wrap up your introduction with the backbone of your essay: the thesis. This one sentence should contain the multiple facets of your argument that you plan on tackling in each body paragraph.

Hook + background info + good thesis statement = nailing the intro of your argumentative essay.
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• Need help writing your argumentative thesis? Check out our thesis builder.
• We’ve also written two posts full of thesis examples for argumentative essays. Check them out here and here.

Writing the Body Paragraphs

Now that you have your thesis, you can write the body of your argumentative essay.

Each argument or facet of your bigger argument that is contained in your thesis will be explained and proven within one section of the body.

These sections may be one paragraph each (in the case of a five-paragraph structure) or multiple paragraphs each (in the case of a lengthier research paper).

Moreover, the body of your essay should be used to refute any counterarguments that might prevent you from convincing your reader.

Remember the outline you (hopefully) did during the prewriting stage of the essay process?

Make sure you refer back to that outline so that you don’t forget anything.

• Here is a post we did on how to craft the perfect paragraph.
• And of course, no paragraph can be perfect without a stellar topic sentence.

In Conclusion

As you conclude your argumentative essay, and we near the end of this blog post, it’s important to review a bit and tie up any loose ends.

In an argumentative essay, you want to repeat and reinforce your argument in your final paragraph.

Then, in a sort of inverse hook, you should release your reader with an intriguing scenario to consider. What would happen if your argument was implemented? Or conversely, what would happen if it wasn’t?

If done correctly, this can cement your argument in the reader’s mind.

• Check out this post we wrote on how to write a killer essay conclusion.
• If you want to see some examples, read this post with 12 example conclusions.

If you need some help getting started, I suggest you read some of the argumentative essay examples in our database.

Then, once you have a draft, send it over to the skilled editors at Kibin. They will comb through it for any potentially damaging holes in your argument.

As always, thanks for reading, and good luck!

Stuck on Your Argumentative Essay?

Check Out These Example Arguments

Yes! Show Me Examples.

On the west coast of Taiwan, just north of Taichung City, there is a place called Gaomei where the setting sun takes all but an inch of water with it out to sea.

There, you can take off your shoes and socks and walk into the wetland, feeling the wet clay work its way up between your toes before becoming dry and flaky on the tops of your feet, like late-summer skin.

To the south, giant windmills rise like modern monolithic reminders that society lies somewhere beyond this natural canvas that the sky has been painting for millennia. The winds drift in slowly, cooling your skin and wafting up the musky scent of the seabed.

As the sun dips toward the horizon, the world is splashed with oranges, reds, and pinks. You are drawn to it, walking farther and farther out into the color, losing any indication of where the sky stops and the wetland begins. You can reach down and touch the sky.

With any luck, you can visualize how the Gaomei Wetlands look after reading this story (scroll down for a photo).

The goal of descriptive writing is simple: get your readers to see the thing you’re describing without them having to actually see it.

Although descriptive writing is a pillar of literature, it can also be utilized in your essays to make them more interesting and memorable. So what is descriptive writing? Let’s find out, and see how you can use it to improve your essay.

What Is Descriptive Writing?

Description is to writing what a good BBQ sauce is to pork steak. You can get the job done without it, but the end product will fall far short of its potential.

Side note: If you haven’t had a pork steak, you need to get yourself to St. Louis and get your life changed.

When I was searching for examples of description in literature for this blog post, I thought of “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver. In it, a blind man visits a woman he knows, and her husband (the narrator) has a hard time with it.

The narrator is asked by the blind man to describe a cathedral that’s on TV. He doesn’t do well:

To begin with, they’re very tall…They reach way up. Up and up. Toward the sky. They’re so big, some of them, they have to have these supports. To help hold them up, so to speak.

Can you imagine this guy as a tour guide?

Even though this is not an example of a good description, it does make me think that descriptive writing is a bit like describing an image to a blind person. Because although your readers may not be blind, they cannot see the image you’re describing.

Your written description must be vivid so that your readers are able to visualize the image in their minds without ever seeing it.

Carver himself does a much better job of describing the character:

We didn’t say anything for a time. He was leaning forward with his head turned at me, his right ear aimed in the direction of the set. Very disconcerting. Now and then his eyelids drooped and then they snapped open again. Now and then he put his fingers into his beard and tugged, like he was thinking about something he was hearing on the television.

I’m able to clearly visualize the scene in my head when I read this passage. And that’s what descriptive writing is all about.

If your readers are able to envision what you’re describing in your story, or essay, they will become enveloped in it and be that much more focused on your message.

Keep written descriptions vivid so that readers visualize the image without ever seeing it.
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How to Write Descriptively

So the goal is to transport an image to your readers’ minds. To do this, you should first imagine said image in your own mind or, if possible, look at the image.

Then start breaking that image into parts. Think about how you can describe those parts and how they form a whole. It’s also important to think about the feelings that accompany the image as this is the main thing you will be hoping to pass on to your readers.

Once you do this, it’s time to choose the right words to describe it so that your readers can imagine the same image. This is easier said than done, but you can do it.

Focus on the little details

I mentioned breaking the image into parts. We tend to see a thing as its sum instead of its parts. But if you examine a thing more deeply, those parts start to stand out.

It’s kind of like how you don’t know you need glasses until you try them.

When you write descriptively, you must see the details that add up to form the object. By pointing out these little details, you create a vivid image of the thing as a whole.

Instead of describing the man as simply listening to the TV, Carver explains that he was “leaning forward with his head turned at me, his right ear aimed in the direction of the set.” This is a much more striking image that stays with you as a reader.

Incorporate all five senses

Although your instincts will tell you to focus on how the thing looks, using all five senses in your description can make it much more memorable and vivid.

So instead of describing a tree as tall with green leaves, tell your reader about the rough texture of its bark, the birds singing from its branches, and the sour smell of its discarded leaves beneath your feet.

Use adjectives

This seems like a no-brainer. An adjective is a word used to describe a noun or pronoun. Its whole purpose is description, so obviously you should use them in descriptive writing.

However, you must be careful not to overdo it, especially with common (i.e., boring) adjectives. Try to find ones that will resonate more with your reader. For example, simply describing my nephew as “messy” doesn’t really do him justice.

This will depend on what you’re describing, but take the time to look for the adjectives that best describe the object and convey the feeling you want your reader to have.

Keep your verbs vivid

This same advice can apply to the verbs you use in your writing. Try to use more interesting verbs than the common ones you hear on a daily basis.

For example, in the passage from “Cathedral,” Carver writes that the man’s “eyelids drooped and then they snapped open again.” I find the use of drooped and snapped to be much more vivid than saying they lowered and then opened again.

Where to Use Descriptive Writing

Descriptive writing can and should be used in just about every form of writing. Being more descriptive can only help. But here are a few areas where it’s especially helpful.

Descriptive essays

Obviously. A descriptive essay requires you to describe something (an object, a person, an experience, etc.). The goal is to create a vivid image in the reader’s mind. Sound familiar?

For more information on how to write a descriptive essay, check out this post.

Sample Descriptive Essay:

A Vivid Description of the Beach

Narrative essays

Narrative essays give you the chance to tell a story. But remember to do that by showing, not telling. This is almost always a personal account of something that happened in your past.

This is the closest we get to creative writing in essays. In fact, you could call this creative non-fiction. And creative writing allows and calls for a lot of descriptive writing as it’s important for your reader to visualize the story you’re telling.

Sample Narrative Essay:

My Poker Experience

Persuasive essays

Persuasive, or argumentative, essays require you to present an argument for or against something. Your goal is to persuade the reader. Descriptive writing can help.

The argument in your argumentative essay will be much more powerful if you vividly set the scene for it. People are more easily persuaded of an argument when they can visualize its effects.

Sample Persuasive Essay:

A Persuasive Essay on Ecology: Live Green!

As you can see, descriptive writing is a great skill to practice and implement in your writing, whether creative or academic. It can take your writing to the next level, like good sauce on a pork steak.

If you need some feedback on how to improve your descriptions, you can send your essay to essay database.

Before I go, how well did I describe Gaomei?

Thanks for reading!