Essay writing is a popular writing genre. You can find essays in magazines, newspapers, anthologies, and books. Here are some tips for improving your essays.

Essay writing is some of the most popular writing around. One advantage of writing personal essays is the range of topics available to you.

Picking Topics

Open a magazine that publishes this type of writing, or read an essay anthology, and you will see topics as varied as walking in a nearby wood, to remembering a great dinner in China. Every aspect of life can be an essay topic, but whatever you choose make sure it’s something you feel passionate about. After all, if you aren’t passionate about your topic, a reader won’t be either.

Keep a Working Journal

Keep a working journal for recording snippets of conversation, things you see, or descriptions that come to mind. Write each down under a suitable heading.

Also write down essay ideas that come to you on the bus, and use your journal to carry on a conversation with yourself about the style (or tone) you want to use in an essay.

Essay Style

An essay’s style (or tone) is important. It must be right for the topic. If it isn’t, you won’t get the reader response you hoped for.

Although humour works well in many cases, it can backfire in other cases. A flippant tone is great for some topics, but disrespectful for others.

If you’re uncertain about the right style for an essay, try writing the first few paragraphs in different styles, and then compare them. By reading the paragraphs out loud, you will hear which style works best.

Essay Voice

Also experiment with different voices. Should your essay be written in the third person voice, that all-knowing narrator? Or is the first person voice, presenting your point of view, a better choice?

General interest topics work well with a third person narrator, while topics that are personal to you work better in the first person voice.

Grab a Reader’s Attention from the Start

Remember that whatever your topic, style, and voice, you need to grab a reader’s attention from the start. One way to do this is with a question or series of questions that makes a reader want to learn the answers.

You could also begin with a tantalizing or startling fact, something that will spark a reader’s curiosity.

A third way to draw a reader in is to start your essay with an anecdote, which gives you the opportunity to show rather than tell.

The Body of the Essay

Once you have a reader, you have to keep him or her.

Try using short story techniques such as selective use of description or dialogue to keep interest. Varying your sentence lengths will help create different moods, as well.

For example, a reflective essay will benefit from longer sentences, which give a thoughtful quality to the work, while short sentences will give your essay a sense of immediacy. Experiment with both.

Transitional Words

When you finish a thought or paragraph and need to move on to the next, transitional words such as “first”, “second”, “earlier,” “later,” can provide a smooth flow.

Another way to accomplish this flow is to arrange information so that the item mentioned last in one paragraph is mentioned again at the beginning of the next.

Wrap Everything up for a Sense of Satisfaction

A good writer knows the importance of wrapping all the thoughts in an essay together to sum up the piece. By doing this, you will leave a reader with a sense of satisfaction at the end.