4 Skills Students Must Have Before Attempting Essay Writing

Posted by learntowritenow on December 28th, 2020

Many students think that having grammar skills is enough towrite a good essay, so they join agrammar workshop. But while understanding proper syntax and morphology is required to make your essay word-perfect, it cannot lend you some skills that are crucial for essay writing. There are the other foundational skills you must acquire to write an effective essay.

Reading skills

That’s right—reading is an essential part of the writing process. Great writers are enthusiastic readers. Bydeveloping a love for reading short stories, articles, novels, and even reference materials, students canacquire the essential knowledge and insights to write informative and compelling essays. Reading also provides students with the taste of ‘good writing’ and what is required to achieve it in the first place. As they get exposed to well-written materials, they learn about different styles, tones, proper structure, and various creative ways to inform, persuade, critique, and argue.

Organizational skills

One of the common mistakes that students make when writing an essay is failing to organize their ideas. They simply start writing without any plan whatsoever. The result is an essay that is hard to follow and a pain to read. Organizational and outlining skillsare important because they enable writers to clearly communicate their ideas and guide the reader seamlessly from one point to another. At the same time, these skills also help students write faster because they have a clear plan for what to talk about next. Organization is essential not only in essay writing but even more so in academic writing later on when they enter university and pursue higher studies.

Research skills

Don't know what to write about? Do some research. Need additional information that supports the main idea? Do more research. Many students think that they already have this skill because they can simply Google their requirements. But research involves more than just copying text from random websites. It's about finding reliable sources, analyzing data, and knowing what relevant details will truly add value to the essay. Research skills are necessary to prove points and form strong thesis statements.

Imaginative Skill

When someone like the Great Einstein can put imagination before knowledge, we must heed the advice and act accordingly. While knowledge gained from research can help, an essay might also command some of the imaginative skills to make it word-perfect. Regular practice by students can help to hone their imaginative skills and command them to action when writing an essay.

Essay writing is challenging for many students. If your kids need extra help in this area, consider having them join essay and grammar workshops. Good grammar workshops are definitely worth the investment. After all, they will be able to use the learnings and experiences they will gain from these workshops throughout their student life and well into their professional life later on.

About the Author:

This article is written by the team of Learn To Write Now. Learn to Write Now (LTWN) is an online ELA after school program for K-12 grade students, working make every student proficient in reading, writing, listening, speaking, and test-prep.