Guides
Essay writing guides.
Clear, practical guides to writing and formatting academic essays, from the first reading of the prompt to the reference list, with examples you can adapt and checklists for the final read-through.
Writing
How to write an essay, step by stepHow to write an essay in ten steps: understand the prompt, write a thesis, outline, draft the introduction, body and conclusion, cite sources and revise. With examples.How to outline a research paperHow to outline a research paper: the standard sections (IMRaD and argumentative papers), a fill-in template, a worked example, and how to turn the outline into a draft.How to write a literature reviewWhat a literature review is, how to search and organise sources, thematic vs chronological structure, an outline, and a model synthesis paragraph with real studies.
Formatting
Essay format: structure, layout and styleHow to format an essay: margins, font, spacing, title, headings and page numbers, the standard structure, and how MLA, APA, Chicago and Harvard differ. With examples.MLA format for essays (MLA 9)How to format an essay in MLA 9: margins, font, header, heading block, title, quotations, in-text citations and the Works Cited page, with a first-page example.APA format for student essays (APA 7)How to format a student essay in APA 7: fonts, margins, the title page, page numbers, the five heading levels, in-text citations and the References page, with examples.How to write an annotated bibliographyWhat an annotated bibliography is, the three kinds of annotation, how to write one, and formatted APA and MLA examples with real sources.
Essay types
How to write an argumentative essayWhat an argumentative essay is, how to structure it (classical, Toulmin, Rogerian), an outline template, a model introduction and counterargument, and 20 topic ideas.How to write an expository essayWhat an expository (informative) essay is, its five common types, how to structure and write one, an outline template and a model paragraph.How to write a persuasive essayHow to write a persuasive essay: the difference from argumentative essays, ethos, pathos and logos, a structure that persuades, a model introduction and 15 topics.How to write a narrative essayWhat a narrative essay is, how it differs from a short story, how to structure it around a turning point, an outline, a model opening and tips on dialogue and reflection.How to write a compare and contrast essayHow to write a compare and contrast essay: choosing the bases of comparison, block vs point-by-point structure, a thesis that says something, outlines and a model paragraph.