Writing a formal essay is nothing too difficult. It requires you to know how to structure the essay, how to present it, and how to format it correctly.
Definition of formal essay
Formal essays are types of essays that look into a problem to come up with a solution. The problem could be in different topics such as; education, poverty, faith, climate change, war among many others. If you analyze a formal essay example, you will realize it analyzes a problem and provides a solution to the problem.
When writing a formal essay, you should research the topic and come up with a strong thesis.
How to write a formal essay
- Read more formal essay types
All formal essays follow the same structure. It is important to read other formal essays to gain more knowledge on how to write a formal essay.
- Choose a topic for your essay
Choose a topic you understand and is easily debatable for your essay. This will help avoid wasting too much time doing research. E.g., you can choose a topic like humanity essay topics to write about.
Ensure you choose a topic you are interested in to give a satisfactory final product. This will help you score high in your essay.
- Formulate a thesis for your essay
Analyze your opinion on the problem stated from different perspectives. Come up with a conclusion that makes sense to you. Write about three sentences explaining the thesis statement. Ensure your thesis statement is not ambiguous. It should be clear to allow readers to understand.
- Write an introduction
An introduction should have a brief explanation of what you will discuss in the main body. Begin by writing a hook sentence. This helps in grabbing the attention of the reader. It also introduces the general topic. Ensure you write your thesis statement in the last sentence of your introduction paragraph.
- Body paragraphs
Present all the ideas you have in the body paragraphs. Each idea should be discussed in its paragraph. Start all your body paragraphs with a topic sentence.
- Conclusion
In the conclusion of your formal essay, summarize information written in body paragraphs. Do not introduce new ideas in the conclusion part of your formal essay. Connect the reader to the introduction in the closing sentence of your conclusion.
- Edit and review your formal essay
After you finish writing your essay, reread it to correct any grammatical errors, poorly constructed sentences, and plagiarism. After writing, take like a day or two before editing. This will help you have a fresh mind. You can also give a third party to edit your essay. They can see mistakes like grammatical errors, poorly constructed sentences, etc. that you probably cannot see.
Formal essay formatting
- Writing standards
When writing a formal essay, choose a standard font. It should be clear and easy to read. Choose Common standard fonts like times new roman. Also, font size should not be too big or too small. Use a 12-point font size for your essay.
- Use proper citations
While writing your formal essay, ensure you cite all the work taken from published work to avoid plagiarism in your essay. The format of the citation depends on the writing style your work follows. The common styles of citation include; American psychological association (APA)and modern language association (MLA).
- Use proper margins
Your instructor may provide instructions on the margins to use in your pages. If not provided, you can use a standard margin like a one-inch margin on right and left of your page.
Language use in your formal essay
- Use formal vocabulary
Formal essays should be thought of like academic or professional writings. Use formal words and phrases while writing this essay. You should not use abbreviations, cliches, slang language among other informal words.
- Use strong transitions
Transitions help in bringing together parts of an essay into one piece of writing. Do not force transitions. Use them naturally. Common phrases include; on the other hand, in contrast, among others. They help in recognizing the previous sentence to the current one.
- Avoid writing in the first-person language
While writing a formal essay, do not write in first person language i.e. I or we. Such pronouns make the essay personal which is not the intention of a formal essay. Show the truth in a topic you are supporting rather than your understanding of the topic.
- Get rid of unnecessary/repetitive words and phrases
When writing a formal essay, avoid using repetitive words and phrases. They make your work boring to read. Such words include; “new innovations”, “past histories” among others. Read through your essay to remove such words and phrases.
Key takeaway
Writing a formal essay becomes easy when you use this guide. Develop a thesis statement for your essay. Choose a topic you understand and have an interest in. Structure your essay properly and write a summarized conclusion. Finally, edit your essay to correct any kind of mistakes.
