Essay writing is an intricate endeavor that requires balancing grammar, vocabulary and linguistic structures. The words you select in your essay are strategic and have the potential to either win or lose your argument. The type of essay that one intends to do should be given special attention because it determines the words one intends to use.
An essay that has poor choice of words will most likely be a dull, uninspired and devoid of strong arguments while an essay that has climatically correct choice of words will buzz with life and originality. Removing unnecessary phrases and sentences from an essay will ensure that it is not only well articulated but also portrays the associated points aptly.
What we provide here are guidelines on how to select words that would ensure your essay serves its intended purpose. Also discussed are how to work around certain phrases and words that would allow you to craft compelling essays. Lastly, we’ll go over some general advice that should enable you to enhance your writing.
These instructions serve as the foundation that would aid you in crafting a fully formed essay that is coherent and serves its intended purpose.
Do you write like a blogger, journalist or novelist? Fail…
In other words, your marker is attempting to evaluate how well you understand the subject matter and how well you articulate it, with particular respect to its critique and objectivity.
Do not make the supervisees amusing, fun, or amusing. Rather, concentrate on being “critical”, “thoughtful,” and “balanced”.
Moreover, if you are trying to set a particular mood in your essay, you must take extra care in the words you use. For instace, informal language might fit in some situations yet when trying to express a serious mood in an academic context, it could come across as unprofessional or insensitive.
As such, it is necessary to be more discerning in your language and avoid words which are likely to dilute your message, ensuring that the tone that you use throughout the essay is appropriate and consistent.
In fact, with every word crammed in your essay superlative, trying to push your marker to adopt your position would only make them roll their eyes further.
In fact, your marker will decide what grade they will award you in a few minutes after reading: by that, I mean of the first few paragraphs. The text at the beginning of your work seems to be very important.
Word groups that lower your paper grade
Overstated words you should not use in your essay
- Absolute Best
- Absolute Worst
- Breaking
- Convincing
- Ground
- Miraculous
- Sensational
- Superb
- Thoroughly
- Unbelievable
First in tips for writing good essay: it is not recommended to use overly exaggerated words in your essay. Using this type of language can give the impression that you are trying to convince your teacher to buy a run-down property.
Studies have shown that when students overuse words with a reinforcing effect, their academic performance tends to suffer. These words are known in academic circles as “boosters”.
Using synonyms for overused words can help you keep your paper sounding academic. Synonyms provide variety in word choice while still allowing you to convey the same message with precision.
For example, instead of using the phrase “the best of both worlds”, try using another phrase such as “all the advantages”, which still conveys the same sentiment without sounding too emotional.
Your goal is to have the appearance of a very sober analysis of the pros and cons of a particular point. The same research study mentioned above emphasized that sober analysis tends to get higher grades.
So you don’t want to give the impression that you’ve exaggerated.
One of the biggest mistakes students make when writing an essay is to overstate their claims. Students think their goal is to present a powerful argument that will overwhelmingly convince their marker of one fact or another.
In reality, a truly critical thinker-even in an argumentative or critical essay-is critical of both himself and others.
That’s why they don’t overstate one side of an argument. Even if they come to a conclusion at the end of their piece, it’s only after they’ve picked apart the flaws and problems with all sides of an argument.
They may present a seemingly overwhelming statistic next to a less overwhelming statistic to show that there is disagreement within an issue. Even if both statistics seem to support a statement, present them side by side to show that even people who agree on the big issues disagree on some of the smaller points.
One of the best ways to show that you have made a deep, thoughtful, and insightful “critical commentary” on a topic is to show the small differences between different scholarly sources you have read. It also shows that you didn’t get carried away and believe something wholeheartedly in a way that seems reckless.
Self-confident words you should not use in your essay
Second in tips for writing good essay: we don’t know anything fully, unambiguously, and undeniably. Therefore, nothing is ever ‘confirmed’.
Even the “theory” of gravity is just a theory. In fact, it’s been changed and updated many, many times since Isaac Newton got hit on the head by that apple.
In fact, the basis of university thinking is the idea that we never really know anything to be completely true. It goes back to scholars like Nicolaus Copernicus. In 1514, Copernicus proposed that the sun revolved around the earth.
At the time, this was a preposterous claim! Everyone knew, was absolutely certain, that the Earth was the center of the universe. The sun rose in the morning and went to bed at night – that’s the way the world was.
However, by observing the positions of the stars at night, Copernicus showed us that we could observe that it was not the sun that was moving through space – it was us!
Copernicus showed us that we have to allow our beliefs to be shaped by our observations. Thinking something is true – no matter how much it seems to be true! – is not enough. We must always keep our minds open to new ideas.
This new way of thinking was called skepticism by Copernicus’ contemporary, Francis Bacon.
Today, students are taught to be skeptical at all times. So we try not to use words that leave no room for new data to change our minds.
Take a look at some words that are overly certain and consider replacing them with more skeptical terms:
Stay away from these assertive claims
- Certainly
- Confirms
- Incontrovertibly
- Irrefutable
- Knows
- Proves
- Settles the Debate
- True Facts
- Undeniable
- With Absolute Certainty
- Without a Doubt
Use this instead…
- Reinforces
- Supports
- Highlights
- Emphasises
- Argues
- Identifies
- Agrees
- Shows
- Defends
- Current Scientific Consensus
- Backs Up
Emotional words to avoid using on essays
Third in tips for writing good essay: if you use emotionally creative words when justifying your arguments, it serves as an indication that you have not adequately thought through the issues at hand.
Thus, such emotional language is an indication to your instructor that your work lacks adequate argument evaluation and analysis. So as to ensure that your output does not appear as if you have resorted to emotional appeal, please avoid any emotional language while making your appeal to the audience.
Developing your argument in a calmer manner could be more beneficial for you from the reviewer’s perspective by making it several times clear that you suffered no biases as the would-be researcher. Relying on logic and calm reasoning will definitely make your argument more convincing.
It is highly recommended that you stay away from the following words:
- Abhorrent
- Absurd
- Beautiful
- Disagreeable
- Disgusting
- Gorgeous
- Perfect
- Repulsive
- Ridiculous
- Sickening
- Stupid
- Unintelligent
Final Tips for Writing a Good Essay
When composing an informative essay, one ought to allow the data to do the talking hence it is crucial to refrain from inserting any personal views into the essay, Unlike blogging and journalism articles, this type of writing ought to be more about the facts, not so much the author’s opinions.
When crafting an essay, ensure that your essay is concise, free of unnecessary embellishments and gets straight to the point. that being said, it does not mean that you rant on. Essaying does tend to need some level of analyzing. You may start ranting and blurring out emotions if you go overboard and that’s not great as it is unlikely benefit you in any essay.
Moving onto the fourth pointer of writing a good essay- There are moments when avoiding certain specific words might be more crucial than focusing on what words must be utilized. By paying attention to the language being used, one can easily improve their writing skills enabling them to gradually raise their overall grades.
Check your essay several times
And last in tips for writing good essay: proofreading your essay is an important step in the writing process. Taking the time to check for errors can help you refine your essay and ensure that it is free of typos and mistakes.
Using a spell checker or peer review can help ensure that your essay is as error-free as possible. In addition, it is beneficial to read your essay aloud to yourself, as this will allow you to catch any mistakes that the spell checker or peer reviewer may have missed.
Finally, once you have proofread and edited your good essay, it is important to double-check that all of the sources you have used have been accurately cited and that all of your quotations have been properly formatted according to the instructions provided by your instructor. By taking these steps, you will be able to submit an essay that is free of errors.