How to write an essay, from the prompt to the final draft

Many college essays ask for the same thing in different words: take a position on a question and convince the reader it holds up. Below, the process runs in the order you will meet it, from decoding the prompt to the last read before you submit, drawing mainly on the handouts of the Writing Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Read the prompt for its verb

Start with the assignment sheet, and read it more than once. Look for the key verb in the task: analyze, summarize, compare. Each one asks for a different kind of thinking, and an essay that summarizes when it was asked to analyze will miss the point however well it is written. Notice the question words too, such as how, why and what, because they point you at the information the essay needs.

If the prompt is not phrased as a question, turn it into one. “Discuss the effect of X on Y” becomes “What is the effect of X on Y?” Your essay is the answer.

Find something to argue

Writing in college often takes the form of persuasion, which UNC’s writing center calls academic argument. After a short introduction, you state your position directly, often in a single sentence. That sentence is your thesis statement, and it usually comes near the start of the essay, most often at the end of the first paragraph.

A thesis is not the topic. The topic might be a war or a novel; the thesis is your way of understanding it. It should answer the question you were set, and it should make a claim that a reasonable person could dispute. If no one could disagree with it, you are probably writing a summary rather than an argument.

Harvard College Writing Center describes the same test in its own terms: a strong thesis is arguable rather than descriptive, and it is the right scope for the essay. A descriptive thesis only names or summarizes something the reader can already see. One that is too narrow leaves you nothing interesting to explore, and one that is too broad cannot be supported with the sources you have.

Do not expect the thesis to arrive first. It comes out of reading, collecting evidence and noticing patterns, contrasts and connections. What you will have at the start is a working thesis, a first version you can defend with the evidence you have, and it will probably change as you write.

Test your thesis

UNC’s writing center suggests putting a working thesis through a few questions. Does it answer the question? Could someone challenge it? Is it specific, or does it lean on vague words like “good” or “successful”? If a reader’s first reaction would be “So what?”, connect it to something larger. If their reaction would be “How?” or “Why?”, it is too open-ended and needs more of your reasoning in it.

The center’s own example shows how this works. Asked to discuss the impact of social media on public awareness, a student might start with “Social media impacts public awareness in both positive and negative ways.” It answers the question only vaguely, almost no one would disagree with it, and it says nothing about how or why. A stronger thesis picks the one effect the writer can argue with evidence and says why it matters.

Answer the other side

An argument worth making is one that not every reader will accept, so expect objections. Harvard’s writing center advises thinking of counterarguments as other possible answers to your question, and explaining why your answer is stronger. Do not bolt one on at the end because you know you are supposed to; look for the points where a thoughtful reader could reasonably disagree as you write, and answer them there. If you meet an objection you cannot answer, revise your thesis. Often you will find that an objection complicates your argument without overturning it. Your argument is stronger when you show readers why the objections they might raise are less convincing than your own case.

Build paragraphs around one idea each

A paragraph is defined by its idea, not its length. Each paragraph should support one main idea, often stated in its topic sentence, and every sentence in it should serve that idea. Each paragraph should also link clearly back to the thesis, follow a logical order, and be developed with enough evidence and explanation to make its point.

When you revise, check that each topic sentence introduces what its paragraph is actually about, and that the paragraphs follow an order a reader can follow.

Introductions and conclusions

Introductions are easier to write once you know what the essay says, so try writing yours last, or write a rough one first and replace it at the end. Skip the dictionary-definition opening; anyone can look a word up.

For the conclusion, UNC’s center suggests playing the “So what?” game: read your closing points to a friend and have them ask “So what?” or “Why should anybody care?” after each one, then answer. Avoid opening with “In conclusion,” stating your thesis for the first time at the end, bringing in a new idea, or simply repeating the thesis in different words.

Revise first, proofread last

Revision is not fixing commas. That is proofreading, and it comes last. Revision means looking again at the whole essay: whether it stays on the question, whether you still agree with your thesis, whether some sections are too long and others too thin, whether the order makes sense, and whether every claim is supported and cited. Put the draft away for a day, or at least a few hours, before you do it. “Think big, don’t tinker,” as one writing handbook quoted by the center puts it.

That only works if you leave time, so start early. Be ready to cut. The paragraph you like most is sometimes the one that confuses the reader or breaks the flow of the argument.

Keep it your own work

Every idea, quote and fact you take from a source needs credit. UNC defines plagiarism as presenting another person’s words, thoughts or ideas as your own without attribution, whether you mean to or not, and accidental plagiarism carries the same consequences as the deliberate kind. Paraphrasing means putting an idea fully in your own words, not changing a word or two in someone else’s sentence. And never pay anyone to write an essay for you. It is cheating, and it leaves you without the skill the assignment was meant to build.