Three Milestones: How to Write a High School Essay
High school is a time for learning, but it can be a struggle for students to master all of the skills that are required of them during the high school years. By the time a student reaches college, a student’s professors expect the student to have a highly developed understanding of how to write essays. However, most high school graduates don’t leave high school with writing skills that are college-ready. Indeed, the majority of students entering college will be required to complete either a freshman writing course or a remedial writing course because high schools are no longer focusing on writing essays. Most professors say that if there were one skill they wish high schools would teach their students, it’s the art of writing essays. So what can you do to write better high school essays?
In this article, we’ll take a look at the best way to write a high school essay. But first, let’s talk briefly about why high schools aren’t teaching essays the way they used to.
The biggest reason for this is that high schools are increasingly focused on teaching to the test as standardized testing has taken high school education by storm. Because educators must ensure that their students do well on standardized tests, which are mostly multiple choice or short answers—in large measure because many of their jobs and salaries depend on rising test scores—they have deemphasized skills that aren’t tested, such as essays.
Digging in: Questions and Research
So, how should you write a high school essay? Let’s take a look at some of the key steps.
The first thing you need to do when you write a high school essay is to read the essay question. This might seem like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how many of your classmates simply reply on the teacher’s oral description of the essay question and never actually read the requirements. This is a sure-fire way to miss something important and end up with an unsatisfactory essay. Instead, read the assignment carefully and make sure that you have understood all of the key points. If anything is unclear, ask your teacher to explain it so you can be sure your paper will meet all the requirements.
The next thing you’ll need to do is start the research process. To find out what you should be researching, you should develop a few questions to help guide your research based on the assignment question. Using these questions, you can start to look up information online. It’s tempting to use information you find on Google or another search engine, or even Wikipedia, but by the time you get to college you’ll be expected to use reliable sources, especially academic or scholarly sources, to support your essays. It’s good practice to make use of resources you find in your school library, since that’s what you’ll be doing in college.
After you’ve gathered your research, you can use what you’ve learned to develop a thesis statement. This is the sentence in your introduction that tells the reader what your paper will demonstrate or prove. A good thesis explains your main conclusion and the three major lines of evidence you will use to support the thesis statement. The thesis will then help you to write your paper.
Drafting and Writing: Dealing with Five Paragraphs
Many high school essays will follow the five-paragraph essay format. This format is sometimes compared to a sandwich, with the introduction and conclusion as the bread and the middle paragraphs as the filling:
- Introduction. The introduction is the opening paragraph of the essay in which you draw the reader in, explain the problem, and end the paragraph with your thesis statement to set up the rest of the essay. The introduction is basically the paper in miniature.
- Paragraph 2. The first body paragraph explains the first main line of evidence listed in your thesis statement. It should explain that evidence in a topic sentence, support it with facts, quotes, and/or other details, and then tie the paragraph together with a closing line that connects the paragraph to the next paragraph.
- Paragraph 3. The second body paragraph explains the second main line of evidence listed in your thesis statement. It should explain that evidence in a topic sentence, support it with facts, quotes, and/or other details, and then tie the paragraph together with a closing line that connects the paragraph to the next paragraph.
- Paragraph 4. The third body paragraph explains the third main line of evidence listed in your thesis statement. It should explain that evidence in a topic sentence, support it with facts, quotes, and/or other details, and then tie the paragraph together with a closing line that connects the paragraph to the next paragraph.
- Conclusion. The final paragraph restates the thesis statement and closes the essay with a final thought to send the reader away with. The conclusion should tie everything together and let the reader feel a sense of closure.
Delegating: Dealing with Essays Like a Pro
If you are facing difficulties with your assignment, you might be ready to say, “Who can write an essay for me so I can get it over with?” Using an essay writing service like WriteMyPaperHub can get you the help you need on your essays fast. When you pay a professional writer to create an essay for you, you can benefit from an expert’s understanding of your topic to see the right way to approach any paper, no matter how simple or how complex.
Why is delegating tasks such a popular measure nowadays? First of all, because students are constantly under pressure with their assignments and this pressure only increases. There have been many debates on how this burden should be decreased, but basically nothing was done. Second, even if you are a determined person and are used to dealing with everything on your own, you still may face some unexpected challenges on your way. There is nothing wrong about it, this is life — we all get sick, our relatives and friends get help, some assignments take more than planned, etc. In such cases delegating your essay writing to a professional seems a reasonable choice. They don’t call it a force majeure for nothing. Third, you need to focus on assignments that really move you forward. It is an international fact that all professors see their tasks as the most important ones even if their class is some additional “casualty” to your major. Think twice before spending time on something that has no meaning for your future education or career. Delegate smartly, choose professional companies, and order in advance to pay less for the same services.