These are the guidelines for essays.
Form
Essays should have several paragraphs, each expressing its own central idea. These ideas added together make one cohesive idea about a thing or a process about which one is writing. This is called the form of the essay.
Product
The product is the subject of the essay. It is also called a topic.
Purpose
The purpose of the essay is the reason the essay should be written.
Audience
The audience is the people that the essay that is intended for.
Thinking
Before writing an essay, the author should think about all of the above ideas. He should think about the form the essay should take considering all the of above concepts. He should the consider the form the essay should take to best address the topic of the subject taking into consideration the purpose of the essay and how it would effect the audience. He should make lists of the central ideas, the purpose, and how the audience will react. Then he should write an outline of the essay taking into account each item on the list that he has made. After the outline, he is ready a first draft.
Here is where brainstorming comes in. Use of the five w’s could help with this:
- Who is this essay intended for
- What is this essay about and what is it intended to accomplish
- Where does the action take place
- When did the action take place
- Why did the action happen
After considering all these things a first draft can be written. You should get an editor, maybe a friend, to look it over and offer suggestions on how the essay can be improved. These suggestions could be in the form of content improvement, spelling, or punctuation help. After the editor marks up the draft, the author should rewrite the essay. Then one last read should be made by both the author and the editor. When both people conclude this essay is the best piece possible, the essay is finished and ready to hand in.