How To Write An Essay Plan: An Effective Strategy

A good essay plan will help you sort out the ideas you want to include in your paper, logically arrange them, and not get off the track in the process of work. By planning your piece of writing beforehand, you considerably simplify the further stage of drafting your paper. Take the following steps to create an effective plan that will cover all relevant points and help you answer the assignment question completely and in detail.

Preparation

• Study the essay question.
• Write it out and check if you understand it fully. You may be asked to answer a question, give comments on a certain statement, discuss a particular point of view, etc.
• Brainstorm the subject and jot down your ideas on the topic.
• List the terms and phrases that are likely to be useful.

Rough outlining

• Write down your thesis at the top of the page.
• Try to formulate your position in one sentence. This statement will be included in your introduction later.
• Come up with your main points on the topic.
• They should answer the assignment question and prove your thesis statement. Your main points will serve as the topic sentences of your body paragraphs.
• Leave some space beneath each point.

Research

• Look through the lecture notes and course material to find any relevant details on the topic of your research.
• Research the issue in other sources: books, journals, the Internet, etc.
• Write down where you found the necessary details for your main points.

Detailed outlining

• Add evidence to your rough plan.

These will be quotes, facts, examples, or paraphrased text from reliable sources. Put these details in the space beneath each point of your argument. This information should prove both your specific points and your general position on the issue.

• Consider the word count.

Your essay should stick to a certain word limit, and the greatest number of words should be allowed for the main body of your paper. Calculate how many words each of your paragraphs is likely to take and write down this number in your plan. Of course, this will be an approximate assessment, and you are not obliged to rigidly follow it. However, this strategy will be very helpful in the process of writing because it will prevent you from being too wordy or not providing enough supporting details.

If you create a plan, the following writing stage won’t be a great problem because it will involve just pure technical work. A good plan will guarantee that you compose a balanced and well-reasoned essay as a result.