How to Write Your First University Essay

Many high school students plan to enter colleges upon graduating. Getting admitted to your dream college is a serious undertaking indeed. So, students set it as their vital goal and throw all their effort at it. When they finally get enrolled, they are so excited they are ready to celebrate.

However, fresh students soon find out that it is too early for a celebration. There are suddenly so many new stress factors " both school-related and others. Even so much as writing an essay can get you confused. Sure, you have written dozens of those back at high school, but this time it is different. You are probably not very familiar with your professors and their expectations, as well as the college requirements in general. Chances are you don't even know where to start.

You also remember that since it is your first essay, the paper is more important than the ones to follow. Your professor does not know you or your capabilities yet, so your first essay is an opportunity for you to introduce yourself, to give your teacher the first good impression of yourself. It'd be a shame to waste this opportunity and submit a mediocre essay that does not nearly reveal how intelligent and sophisticated you really are.

Putting it briefly, you don’t know where to start, and this realization is eating you out from the inside.

Simply put, the first thing you need to do is pull yourself together. It is best to start working on your essay as early as possible " as soon as you have the assignment. By all means, avoid wasting your time in procrastination and self-pity. Putting off your work to the last minute will give you nothing but more stress and panic, and this is not what you want.

You can start by picking a topic. It is always a good idea to write about something that you relate to. This way, your task will be more enjoyable and less tedious. However, you shouldn't try to bite more than you can chew: pick a topic you are familiar with so that you knew what you are going to write in your essay.

Once you have made up your mind on the topic, you can proceed to the research. While the Internet is a very rich source of information, it is still good to check out your school library. Even though they might not have as much material on your topic, you can be sure that these sources are 100% reliable. Moreover, since they are in the school library, it must mean that they are recommended by the school. During your research, always mark the places in the book which are relevant to your work. You can even take notes on the go, but then you should include the page number and all the bibliographical information in your notes so you could reference your sources correctly.

It is important to know where to stop. A typical essay can have as much as 6-8 references " you are not writing a 7-tome encyclopedia, after all. So, when you have gathered enough material, you can begin writing. Start with an outline. Typically, an essay consists of the introduction, the main body, and the conclusion. Remember that the main body of your essay is the only section where you present some new information " this includes both facts and arguments. The introduction is for preparing the reader to what they are about to witness, and the conclusion is summarizing and restating your point.

When the topic is truly engaging, it is easy to get carried away by your own stream of consciousness and overlook a few flaws here and there. Therefore, it is always good to have a second pair of eyes to proofread your essay. Just remember that this person has to be skilled and trustworthy.

Still, we are all human. Anything can happen, so it is always good to have a plan B in case your essay is not ready in due time. As an option, you can address a professional essay writing service. Such services can be found online in abundance. They are not free of charge, but they are quite affordable, and their writing is usually of high quality. Besides, your essay can be ready as soon as the next day.

Author's Note

Sophia Clark graduated from the University in the City of New York with B.A. in Journalism, 2011. She is a creative writer from New York who loves to share her thoughts with readers, now she writes for Custom Writing Service BeforeWriting.com . In her free time, she enjoys writing fiction as well as reading it. Her big dream is to publish a novel one day.

Reviews

[Matthew M Murill]

After I went to university and started writing my first essay, I was shocked. The requirements in college were completely different, they were much easier than at the university, so I had to devote a lot of time to perfecting my writing.