An Effective Guide To Essay Writing: How To Make Your Paper Stand Out

When writing an effective essay and making your paper stand out, make sure you have a thorough rough draft. The rough draft should be written in a free fashion, one that follows the outline you created and makes use of your notes and relevant information. Try and avoid padding the paper with too many quotes. As a rule of thumb, each paper should be made up of no more than ten to fifteen percent quotes. If you have too many quotes, you might try cutting them down or at the very least, paraphrasing the quote in your words (while still giving credit to the source) that way it is not just a direct quote. Having too many quotes might seem like a good idea, one which shows that you did a lot of research, but if it exceeds the ten to fifteen percent rule it will only make you come off as lazy, someone uninterested in writing anything original.

After you complete your rough draft, take some time to review for unity and for coherence. Reword any sentences that do not read well, or could be improved with better punctuation, grammar, or structure. Use dictionary and thesaurus tools if you find yourself repeating the same few words throughout, and replace them with synonyms. Read your paper out loud to really get a feel for how well (or not so well, depending on the case) your paper flows. If there are any awkward sentences, you will find them when you read over the draft out loud and can correct them before you submit the final paper.

Note: after you finish reviewing your paper, give yourself some time and distance. Do not work on it for at least one day. When you return, you will be clear of mind and better able to find any issues that still need correcting. Review the content for accurate citations and verbatim quotations. If you give a copy of your work to someone else and ask them for their thoughts, make sure you take into consideration the thoughts that they provide for you. An outside might have very good information to give, so be sure to take it. After all, if there is a gap in your argument, or flaw in your logic, a new reader will be the first to find it.