Writing a Fact-Based Essay

Steps to writing a fact based essay:
  1. Analyze the essay questions. Make sure you understand what they are asking, and therefore what the teacher is expecting to be included in the essay.
  2. Research your topic thoroughly and find studies that support your ideas. Take detailed notes while doing research. Look for information in different types of sources including books and journal articles. Don't rely just on what you can find online.
  3. Create a reference list. Find out what style your teacher is expecting for your sources or reference page. Include all the sources you have used in your research.
  4. Create an outline. I always require my students to include the outline with their paper. A good outline will help your student to structure his information and save him a lot of time when he starts to write.
  5. Write a strong thesis statement. A thesis statement usually appears at the beginning of paper, in the introductory paragraph. It is usually one sentence tha offers a concise summary of the main point or claim of the essay or research paper. 
  6. Write your first draft, including all in-text citations.
  7. Proofread and edit the essay. Check grammar, spelling, structure of the essay and quality of the ideas.
  8. Revise and review the first draft. Refine your argument and make improvements to content. Correct any spelling and grammar mistakes you found while proofreading.
  9. Turn in your first draft to your teacher. Once you go to college you will need to have a friend, classmate, older sibling or a parent to do this step for you, which is to read and review your essay for content, structure, grammatical and spelling errors you have missed. Consider this feedback seriously and make revisions.
  10. Prepare the final draft to your teacher's specifications, including page requirements, style requirements and whether or not a title page or table of contents is required. Make sure you understand when the due date is so that you can pace yourself accordingly.

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