What Are the Best Tips for Writing Short Essays?

When writing short essays, the object is to convey a solid stream of thought in a concise manner. This can be facilitated by the use of several writing tips and tricks common to professional writers. The use of brainstorming, outlines and rough draft writing can be very helpful to the writer trying to create short essays for school or business.

Brainstorming is a technique used by writers to gather their thoughts. The process involves writing down a few main keywords or thoughts and then thinking up variations for these central points. For example, if one were writing short essays on the main subject of dogs, brainstorming could bring up the subpoints of dog breeding, dogs in literature, the care and feeding of dogs or how to buy a puppy. The purpose of brainstorming is to create an atmosphere where the writer's mind is focused on the subject and to give the subject a thorough explanation by ensuring that important subpoints are not missed.

After a session of brainstorming, many professional writers outline their writing. This process is equally useful to those writing short essays. An outline is basically a grid-work picture of what the completed essay will contain.By creating a main theme and several subtopics from the points discovered during brainstorming, the writer can put all of these thoughts into a logical order.

For those writing short essays, it may be beneficial to make each subtopic into a separate paragraph or into an individual section with subheadings. During the outlining process, writing a sentence or two for each subtopic can help to keep the fluid motion of movement in short essays. This keeps the reader from feeling like he or she is being bounced back and forth through various parts of the main topic.

Once the outline is finished, a rough draft is assembled. For individuals writing short essays, the rough draft involves little more than fleshing out the outline to include pertinent information regarding the main topic and subtopics. Depending on the desired length of the short essay, the rough draft writing process may involve just an introductory paragraph, a few sentences for each subtopic and a closing argument.

The rough draft is then polished and refined to eliminate spelling and grammar errors, as well as to ensure the wording flows well for the intended reader. This process is called writing a final draft. Some professional writers recommend taking a break after this part of the writing process and coming back to proofread the essay later to make certain the wording still sounds correct. Alternatively, the writer can have another person proofread papers to help find spelling and grammar errors that he or she may have missed.