March 31, 2023
Your cheat sheet for writing great college essays
Your cheat sheet for writing great college essays
Want to write a tight, cohesive essay that clearly and accurately communicates your thoughts to your reader? You’ve come to the right place.
Below, we share a cheat sheet for writing college and university essays like a pro.
Whether you’ve just written an essay that you’re unsure about or you’re in the planning stages of the writing process, this simple checklist can help you improve your grades and impress your instructor with the quality of your work.
How should I use this checklist?
It’s simple: read the items on the checklist one at a time, and check off each item that you’ve fulfilled.
If you find that there are some items that haven’t been addressed in your paper, you’ll need to go back to your essay to add them in.
Here’s the checklist:
- My essay has a clear, helpful introductory paragraph.
- My thesis statement is clearly stated at the beginning of my paper.
- My argument is clearly outlined in an explicit way.
- The body of my essay is broken down into concise, well-structured sections and paragraphs.
- Each paragraph in my essay has a clear point, theme, or conclusion that it’s arguing for.
- Each of my key claims is supported by evidence and/or external sources.
- I have taken a critical stance and considered evidence that might challenge my thesis statement, and such evidence has been explicitly addressed in my paper.
- My essay ends with a clear, concise conclusion that reiterates my thesis statement.
- My citations and references are formatted correctly, and every citation mentioned in the body of my paper is included in my reference list.
- I have read through my paper and edited it as much as possible.
- I have run a final spelling and grammar check on my document.
If you’re still uncertain about the quality of your essay after working through this checklist, ask a friend or family member to read it and provide feedback, or get outside help from a professional editor.
You can get in touch with Lumida Editing & Proofreading for a free, no-obligation quote for professional essay editing services here.
Happy writing!
Jess Blackwell
Jess is the founder of Lumida Ltd., a passionate environmentalist living a low-waste life, and a lifelong writer. When she isn't helping our clients make their writing shine, Jess can be found working on her writing projects, experimenting in the kitchen, or taking nature walks.
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