How to Write a High-Scoring English Essay

Many students typically reach out to me with the same question day after day: How do I write an A+ essay? Some even believe that it is impossible to score highly on an essay. What if I told you it is easier than you think? Writing an A+ essay is not difficult with the right system in place. All you need is to understand the writing process and have a checklist of items to observe, and you should be getting straight A’s in your work. This same system has helped 1000s of students pass their essays without the stress that comes with it. Let’s dive in!

Steps to writing an A+ Essay

1. Understanding the Question

Each and every essay you are given is a question that needs to be answered. The essay itself is the answer. All you have to do is figure out the question, and you will be one step closer. One tool that will help you understand what is required is a rubric. It provides a more straightforward breakdown of the essay and what is required in each section. However, not all essays come with an instructor rubric, and that is where you need to break down the question into its small components.

For example, the instructions read;

“Discuss the impact of social media on society”

1. Discuss means argue the case from both sides (positive and negative).
2. Impact could be a positive or negative effect of something. In our case, social media.
3. Social media includes platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok., etc.
4. Society is a wide term describing how people interact in social institutions like family, education, dating, businesses etc.,

So rephrasing the instructions in a more understandable way would look like;

“Argue out how social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok have positively and negatively affected families, businesses, education, and dating.”

2. Plan-out the Essay

After you have understood the question your essay is asking, you need to plan how you will write it. Remember one essay can have many interpretations that are correct. The aim of planning out is to gain clarity over the topic and what is required. Asking yourself questions like the ones below will help you to have a clear plan.

• Where will I get my sources from? __________________
• How many words am I required to write? _________________
• What format will the essay use? ________________
• How many sources will I need? _________________
• How many paragraphs will I write? _____________
• How long will writing the essay take me? __________________

3. Create an outline for the Essay

An outline is a summarized write-up of what your essay will look like once fully expanded. Anyone who looks at your outline will immediately get a good idea of what the entire work will be about. It also helps you stay organized and within the bounds of your topic; that way, you don’t veer off. A good outline should be simple and concise. Here is a great example on the topic “Discuss the impact of social media on society“:

i. INTRODUCTION

• A brief introduction of social media and why the discussion is relevant.
• Include a thesis statement.

ii. BODY

• Discuss the positive impacts of social media on (family, dating, and business)
• Discuss the negative impacts of social media on (family, dating, and business)
• Include evidences and sources on both

iii. CONCLUSION

• Tie everything together
• Reiterate the thesis statement

4. Write the Essay expanding on the Outline

This is the part where you begin writing the full version of your essay. Most students get overwhelmed at this point. To avoid this, just focus on one paragraph at a time. Remember, the best way to eat an elephant is one spoon at a time. That 2000-word essay you are writing is just a combination of several paragraphs. While there is no rigid way to expound on your points, there are some rules on how to handle each section.

For your introduction

• Make it clear what the essay will be addressing
• Show why it is important to address the topic
• You can include some statistics that show the gravity of the topic.
• End with a thesis statement that ties all these together.

Thesis statement sample

Social media has significantly transformed society by reshaping interactions within family life, dating, and business, offering increased connectivity and opportunities while also introducing challenges such as weakened personal relationships, unrealistic expectations, and ethical concerns.

For your Body paragraphs

• Each paragraph should address only 1 idea.
• Use the Point Illustration Explanation (PIE) paragraph structure;

Point – The first sentence(s) state the main argument or topic of the paragraph.

Illustration – Evidence that supports the point, such as quotes, statistics, data, or examples from research or text.

Explanation – The final part where you explain how the illustration supports your point.

Paragraph Example

Social media positively affects businesses by increasing their visibility and enabling them to reach a wider audience at a relatively low cost. Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok allow small businesses to showcase their products through posts, stories, and short videos, often reaching thousands of potential customers without paying for traditional advertising. Many businesses have grown rapidly after a single post or video went viral, attracting new customers from different regions and even internationally. These apps serve as distribution platforms where products and services are woven into content that is educative, entertaining, and shareable. This shows how social media reduces the barriers to marketing by giving businesses direct access to large audiences, making it easier for them to promote their products and expand their customer base without needing significant financial resources.

• Each body paragraph should have 4 – 6 sentences.
• Avoid complex words that make it hard to comprehend what you are communicating.

For your conclusion paragraphs

• Make it clear that you are concluding (A topic sentence like “In conclusion, …” helps to achieve this).
• Bring everything together in the conclusion
• NEVER introduce a new idea when concluding.
• Reiterate the thesis statement, showing how the goal has been achieved.

5. Proof read your work

Once you are done writing your essay, you will need to go over it again to edge out grammatical errors, ensure the font is correct, your pages are numbered, you have used the correct citation style, and line spacing is correct. For something like grammar, I recommend using a checking software like Grammarly or QuillBot. However, avoid clicking on the “rewrite” options; they can make your work get flagged as AI.

Also where possible, you could ask your friend to go over your work and give their honest opinion. Two heads are better than one, and they might help you spot something you missed. Lastly, ensure your work has a title page with your name, instructor, course, institution, and date. Once everything is okay, you are safe to submit it.

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