Every good story has a beginning, a middle, and a twist. There’s not much use in getting to the end of a piece of writing without having learned something along the way. And that means that our expectations should be built up to a point where new information and new ideas give us pause for thought. There are, of course, some house-keeping issues with essay writing that must be addressed and taken care of. For example, citing your sources (see here for help) and mapping out a relevant structure – failure to plan at this stage will undoubtedly lead to long and winding unclear sections followed by short well-made arguments when you finally arrive at your point.
Ambition is the road to ruin
No one is saying that composing an essay worthy of peer review isn’t an ambitious project. Ambition is, after all, probably the motivation that got you this far. But here’s the thing. If you want to write a really outstanding essay, it can’t be based solely on your own opinions, experimentation, and closed research. Your readers need to see for themselves that you are credible. And the way in which we appear credible in front of a new audience is by giving them what they know before you add your own thoughts – your work needs to be referenced. This means that when you choose your topic, be careful not to select anything too ambitious with little or no peer reviewed supporting evidence to back it up. Even if you’re right, your work must become part of the overall picture, not a stand-alone jigsaw piece.
Let’s do the twist
The twist is the best part. Without the twist, that kid in The Sixth Sense would never have said “I see dead people”. Without the twist, Luke’s father might have been, well, someone else. And if you think essay writing is any different, you are mistaken. You see, part of the art of writing a killer essay is taking the reader on the same journey you went on. From the exploratory beginnings of investigating an idea to the magic of realizing that the answer is something you weren’t searching for, and that your question may have even been wrong. New answers to questions that weren’t even asked in the first place shows a learning curve. That’s something that has value. That’s something that your readers will appreciate.
