Advice to Writing A Clear Essay

Students have good ideas to write about, but they should make sure to write those ideas as clearly as possible. Clarity is essential to a good essay because with clarity a reader can better understand and judge your ideas. Clarity is comprised of (but not limited to) understandable sentences, a clear argument, and supportive evidence for all claims. Below, I will show you mistakes I have made that you can learn from.

To write understandable sentences, you should proofread. Small errors that can be caught by proofreading mar your writing: they distract or mislead your reader, or otherwise make your essay less credible. In a paragraph about Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Self-Reliance,” my lack of proofreading has consequences. I write, “Emerson claims that ‘no law can be sacred to me but that of my nature’ (Emerson 33), entailing that people should not conform to their surrounding society, but rather listen to their own ideas” (Kish, “Winter Journal”). The word “entailing” should be replaced with “implied”: “entailing” does not express the my thoughts accurately. Therefore, my word choice does more than give a bad impression, but it actually misleads the reader. When/if the reader catches these errors, they (he/she/they) will also become distracted, making the piece less credible and less engaging.

In my in-class Gatsby essay, my inconsistent argument detracts from the piece. I argue how Fitzgerald’s descriptions of tangible details sets a mysterious and intriguing tone. However, I write that they create senses of curiosity, beauty, and greatness--not mystery. “[Fitzgerald] implies a sense of incredible greatness and beauty unfamiliar to the reader” (Kish, “Mystery in the Great Gatsby”). Since these senses are not the same as the sense of mystery, the argument is inconsistent, making the essay confusing and distracting. The reader is left wondering what I am trying to say, rather than being convinced by my argument.

In another essay, my lack of evidence mars the validity of the analysis. In my first paragraph I try to prove the narrator in The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man by James Weldon Johnson is wasting his time and resources by overanalyzing. I write that the character “puts in extensive efforts” (Kish, “ExColoredMan”) into forming ideas on race. However, despite a description of some of the character’s ideas, no evidence is ever shown that these ideas wasted a significant amount of time. In doing this, my reader has no reason to believe me since they do not know what I am basing my claims off of. Since the supportive claims in an essay are the foundation for the main argument, it is necessary that they are defended with evidence. This way, the reader has a foundation to judge you and your thesis with. Evidence makes your essay more transparent and convincing.

It is important that you, as a writer, proofread to remove distractions and false claims/information in your essays, which will also validate your conviction. Relevant and consistent claims will validate your argument as well, but more importantly, they will get your point across clearly, and thus convincingly. Evidence and examples for every important or disputable claim creates a basis for your reader to make an educated and unbiased judgment on your argument. Doing these things, you will write clearer and more professional essays, which means your piece will be more believable, credible, and influential.