How to Write a Short Essay

What is Short Essay

Before you find out how to write a short essay, you should know its definition. So, it is an academic paper that allows the writer to develop his or her own argument. Being rather short in length, this document is pretty informative and detailed. Such essays are classified as formal and informal and are used as instruments for conveying the important messages on the paper. An essay may be written in order to advocate, persuade, criticize, describe, and do many other actions. Formal essays are usually used in academic writing in order to evaluate the students` ability to build logical arguments, think critically, research information, etc. Informal essays are usually written to tell personal stories.

The main feature of the short essay is that the writer should know how to squeeze the necessary amount of information into one-two pages. Sometimes, it can be pretty difficult because the topics can be too wide to explore them in short essays. As such, the writer should pick up the best arguments and use the strongest evidence to support them.

What Are the Main Characteristics of the Short Essay?

The title of the short essay speaks for itself. It means that this essay should be really short. As for the common guidelines for short essay writing, they are almost the same as the guidelines for writing a long essay. You need to pick us a topic and discuss it from different perspectives. As the word count is limited, you have to be very attentive when using the words or sentences. All of your ideas should be pretty clear and comprehensive. Also, your essay should not contain the concepts and terms that may be unknown to your reader.

Six Basic Rules for Writing a Short Essay

It is not unusual for students to be given short essay assignments by their tutors. In most cases, these essays are made up of just five paragraphs. Students can be given essay assignments for virtually every class, whether it is an art, history, math, or science class. An essay of this type should set out a claim, concept or idea, and these should be supported with credible evidence.

There must be a logical structure or pattern to a short essay. If you adhere to the simple guidelines below, you should succeed in writing a good essay. Our six essential rules are:

  1. The five paragraphs in your short essay should comprise of an introductory paragraph, a few (three) body paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph. The very first paragraph of your essay is the introduction. The three body paragraphs should follow this, and lastly, there will be the concluding paragraph. This format is the accepted standard in academic circles.
  2. There are certain goals that an introductory paragraph should aim to achieve. The most notable of these is the need to make your readers interested in your work, tell them what your paper will discuss, and provide a thesis statement. Begin with an irresistible sentence – rather than a tedious one that will put readers off from the start. The thesis statement is usually the last or final sentence in an introductory paragraph.
  3. The body part of a short essay is usually comprised of three paragraphs. Each of these should cover a key point with supporting evidence that lends credibility to your thesis statement. The three main ideas in these paragraphs should be independent of one another but will have to be tied together to demonstrate the special merits of each one. This can be achieved by using transitions when moving from paragraph to paragraph.
  4. The conclusion is the final (and fifth) paragraph. This should summarize the main points from your essay’s body. It lets the reader know how the provided evidence supports the main points or thesis statement. This is the final part of your essay and the one that readers will remember most. So do your best to ensure it counts!
  5. Make sure there is a logical flow to your writing. Ideas should flow from one to another seamlessly. The reader should not have to stop during any part of your essay and wonder if they have understood what they read. It helps to ask another person to read your work and then say whether they understood it. If they did not, you will have to add some clarity.
  6. Lastly, your work will need to be proofread and edited. Do not skim over this stage because it is as critical as any other part. A lot of good essays fail because they are not edited or they are badly edited.  

Short Essay Examples

We do believe that the previous sections of this guide helped you understand how to write a short essay. Below, you will find the short essay examples that will help you understand how such a paper should look like. Looking through these samples, you will find it easier to understand how to begin your essay, how to develop your ideas, how to finalize it, and many other important aspects.

Summary

So, let`s have a closer look at short essay writing prompts and find out what you should do and do not when writing your short essay.

Do

  • Make your essay snappy. For this purpose, you need to present your idea, support, and introspect it. Make sure to include the details that are important for conveying your messages;
  • Include a good introductory paragraph with a thesis statement in the end as it will help your reader understand the overall idea of your essay;
  • Limit supporting evidence. Though each argument should be supported, you need to be very attentive putting the statistics and facts that are not relevant;
  • Answer the professor`s prompt. You may want to discuss other angles of the topic, especially if it is interesting for you. However, we assure you that only by following the professor`s prompt, you will be able to achieve the anticipated result;
  • Condense your text whenever it is possible. For this purpose, you may use compound sentences, dashes, and semicolons.

Don’t

  • Think that the longer is better. Keep in mind the essential peculiarity of this paper;
  • Pick up the topic that is too broad. Usually, such topics have a lot of aspects to consider, which is impossible considering the limited word count;
  • Become too attached to your ideas. Do not use three sentences when one will do. Describing too many details, you will lose your focus and go over the limit.

We do hope that our short essay writing tips will help you cope with writing a short essay. Pay attention that the short essay structure is just the same as the structure of the long essay. It should include the introduction in which you will present your topic and suggest your thesis statement. In the main body, you need to examine your topic including some relevant and accurate supporting details. Finally, your conclusion should briefly summarize the points mentioned above.

Best Short Essays Are Here!

Writing a short essay is not as difficult as it may seem. You just need to pick up a great idea, investigate it, and present your findings in a clear and comprehensive piece written in accordance with the quality standards accepted in academic writing. However, if you are too exhausted to work on your task and want to hire a professional writer for it, you should not feel ashamed. Thousands of students all over the world have the same problem trying to find alternative solutions that would help them maintain a successful academic performance without sacrificing their free time. Cooperation with reliable writing service just like ours can save you from pressure. You just need to place your order on our website and relax knowing that we will do our best to provide you with a great result. Our writing staff is well-trained to help our customers handle the most sophisticated academic tasks. If you are looking for a writing platform offering the best price and quality balance, you should not waste your time and place your order here because our cooperation is maximally convenient and smooth for all our clients. No matter what short essay format you need, we will tackle your request efficiently. So, if you know nothing about writing a short essay but you want to improve your academic reputation, just fill in the order form at WeWriteOnline.com. In our toolbox, we have a lot of instruments to make your teacher impressed!