Essays are basically exercises in thinking and learning. An essay makes the writers analyze, criticize and get information on their own. For most students, essays are very intimidating. And most students have not been taught were to start or how to write an essay. This makes essay writing very hard for students to master. The best way to start is make a master plan. A master plan lays out the steps that are going to go into the essay. Basically, there are about four steps to writing an essay. They are brainstorming, making a rough draft, editing, and finally making the final draft. Once a topic for an essay is decided upon, the next step is to brainstorm. One of the simplest techniques is clustering. Clustering is done by making a circle or a horizontal line in the middle of the page. The topic is placed inside the circle or on the line. From the center of the shape or line, lines should be drawn out into the page. They should be spread out. At the end of each of these lines, another circle or horizontal line should be drawn. In each shape or on each line, the main ideas about the topic, or the main points that need to be made should be written down. If trying to persuade, the best arguments should be written down. If trying to explain a process, the steps that need to be followed should be listed. They should be grouped into categories. The most common format starts with the Beginning, then the Middle, and finally the End. From each of the main ideas, three or four lines should be placed out into the page. At the end of each of these lines, another circle or horizontal line should be drawn. In each shape or on each line, the facts or information that support that main idea should be listed. When finished, the basic structure for the essay is completed. Now that the basic structure is made, a rough draft can be started. Within the essay, there are three main parts to it. They are the introduction, the body, which are ...
