Do you want to write about them?
5. In another document, start writing out different variations of potential points that feel strong. Notice little threads of common themes that could be fleshed out to become a thesis statement. Draft a thesis that connects the strongest potential points. It does not need to be elegant by any means, but it will build a foundation for a stronger thesis when you’re writing.
4. Gather resources like you are picking the prettiest flowers to bring home to someone dear to you. Find quotes from your primary sources or results that feel cohesive with anything you’ve mused about in your brain dump. Start perusing secondary sources that touch on topics that the prompt has brought up if you are required to add these (and it can help to do so even if you’re not technically required to include secondary sources—you don’t have to do all the heavy lifting alone, so long as you reference well!).
6. Elaborate on your strongest arguments and take the quotes from your brain dump that help support these. As you elaborate and specify the how and why of your essay, continue to edit and strengthen your thesis.
Neither is true. (And to be sure it’s clear: .)
Statements like these define an essay’s argument. They give coherence by providing an overarching theme and position towards which the entire essay is directed.
7. Omit anything in your arguments and the supporting points, including citations, that feel flimsy or useless. You want to make sure the structure of your essay is sturdy and well-supported, which will make the actual process of writing your first draft a lot easier. It’s tough to say goodbye to great ideas or novel insights, but if they don’t belong in the paper, they belong on the cutting room floor!
8. Edit your thesis again to make sure it supports your argument. Make sure it is not just a theme that is being described, but an actual argument. SASS has a lot of great resources for crafting a strong thesis on its .
If you’re writing a “Why I want to be an engineer” essay, for example, what 3-5 common “engineering” values might other students have mentioned in connection with engineering? Use the for ideas.
And this should be the general structure of your paper:
3. Read the prompt and then dump every single idea that pops into your head immediately into a blank document. It is okay if it feels like a silly notion or something that holds little substance. Write it down still! Write down what words pop into your head, what a concept means to you, and what characters, ideas, thoughts, notions—anything that might be relevant—which you associate with the idea. Think about the topic from different perspectives. What would the question mean to you if you were five, fifty, if you lived in Victorian England, if you were a physicist, a chemist, a professional engineer—whatever feels pertinent to the subject matter. Be creative and hold nothing back. Don’t worry about being “right” or having good evidence for your musings at this stage.
In Montage Structure, story events connect thematically.
2. Read the guidelines and the rubric very carefully. I like to try to find every instance in my notes, on OnQ, and in the syllabus where my professor spoke about the essay assignment. I also consolidate all the guidelines into my document into a checklist. It’s like I am Easter egg hunting for ways to understand how to do well on something!
Here are some resources for APA style citation from the and .
And before you beg me for an “uncommon values” resource, I implore you to use your brilliant brain to dream up these connections. Plus, you aren’t looking for uncommon values in general; you’re looking for values uncommonly associated with your topic/thread.
The theme of your essay is the thread that connects your beads.
10. Edit!! Make yourself some tea and get cozy because this is where the heart of essay writing is. Delete redundant things and re-write phrases that use passive voice instead of active voice. Make sure you are citing using the proper expected format (use for help if you need it!) and check for any accidental plagiarism—cite everything, and it’s better to cite too much than too little!
Follow these 7 steps for the best results:
1. Before I start an essay, I try to center myself somehow. Take a few deep breaths, make sure I have some food to munch on nearby and fill my water bottle. I always listen to the Little Women (2019) soundtrack to help myself fancy that I am Jo March wordstringing whims in a dreamy cottage. Enjoy some music while you work—research shows it can help!