How to Write a Powerful Essay
There is a reason why so many students find essays to be a bore; students grow up writing essays according to a formula, and are not exposed to many really powerful, interesting essays as example. If you want to write a powerful essay, you have to feel free, passionate and unconstrained. If your first draft is interesting but messy, you can always go back and straighten it up. If your first draft is technically correct but bland, however, it likely will never be better than mediocre.
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Instructions
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Write on a topic that interests you. If you are writing an argumentative essay, argue the point that you find most intriguing. If you are writing a biographical essay, write about someone who you can't get out of your head. If you like the topic, you will write with passion, which will add power to your essay.
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Take the time to brainstorm and plan. For some writers, this means just writing out a list of ideas for the essay and thinking about it for several minutes. Other writers may get better results if they plan every detail of the essay before actually writing it. Don't start the actual writing until you feel like you know where the essay is going.
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Write a very sloppy first draft. Get everything down in whatever words seem the most natural to you. You may want to write it as if you were explaining it to a friend. Ignore everything you know about correct essay language for the time being.
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Read through your essay to make sure it makes sense. Are there any pieces you didn't explain, or any parts that need more evidence? Fill in any logical gaps in the essay, but don't worry about the language yet.
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Rewrite your essay in proper essay language. For a formal essay, you will have to avoid idiomatic expressions, "I" statements such as "I think" and "I feel," and "you" statements such as "if you want to understand this book, you have to look at the author's life." Try to improve the vocabulary too, using powerful and elegant words.
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Correct any mechanical errors in the essay. Check the spelling, grammar and punctuation. Add citations if your essay requires it, and set the margins and font according to your teacher's requirements. Make sure the essay satisfies the assignment.
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Have someone else read the essay to catch any errors that you may have missed. Most writers are not very good at proofreading their own work because the work is too close to them. A fresh, objective reader will most likely catch a few things that you've missed.
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Tips & Warnings
Just because an essay uses formal language doesn't mean that it has to sound bland. Try to keep the tone vibrant and passionate when you rewrite the essay.
