Writing a good essay is dependant upon more than just regurgitating someone else�s words or ideas. Writing a good essay stems from knowing and understanding the topic that one is writing about, one�s interpretation of those thoughts and ideas, and the ability to relay those thoughts and ideas to others in one�s own words.
The first step in writing a good essay is to know and understand the topic. Knowing and understanding the topic comes from asking questions. The answers to these questions are what forms the breadth of the essay and how one answers them, what sources one uses, gives validity to the essay. (�The Fundamentals of Writing�) More than one source will often solidify the validity of an essay providing even further credibility to the sources that one has already utilized in formulating their knowledge and understanding on the topic. Validity is important so that the reader believes what they are being told and can equally trust that the facts provided in the essay are true. (�The Fundamentals of Writing�) Validity is further reinforced buy the knowledge and depth of understanding that one gains from their research. This knowledge and understanding can then be interpreted into the body of the essay.
The second step, the interpretation of one�s thoughts and ideas, is up the individual. This will generally depend on the amount of time and effort the individual put into researching the topic of their essay and how far they chose to explore the parameters of the topic. Only then can they fully form their opinion. The reader will recognize the full amount of knowledge and understanding that the writer has developed by the specificity in which the author conveys that knowledge.
The Research paper on Understanding Writing
If there is one thing life teaches us all everyday it is that learning never ceases. It matters not if the subject is a foreign language, understanding abortion laws, or writing about love. We learn whenever we participate in anything. Therefore it is worthy of understanding. We learn many ways, through many means. Some listen, some read, some ignore and other study till they cry, but the true ...
The third step is conveying the author�s thoughts, ideas and opinions. In conveying the thoughts, idea and opinions, the author needs to remember that sometimes less is more. There is no need to use words with a lot of syllables just because they sound fancy. The author has to remember to write for his/her reader and that the primary purpose is to educate them about the topic. While the topic itself may not be particularly interesting to the reader, the author could make the topic interesting to the reader by demonstrating through the enthusiasm of his or her words their excitement about the topic. The whole idea is to demonstrate �[the] idea works� and how �[the] idea compares to other people�s approaches.� (Jones, 11)
In conclusion, it is the effort that one puts into learning about a topic that makes the difference in any essay, and the more knowledge one has gained, the better the author is able to advocate his position on a topic, and provide and overall well written essay.
Reference
�How to Write a Really Good Research Paper�, Custompapers.com, 13 October 2008
Jones, Simon Peyton, �How to Write a Great Research Paper,� Microsoft Research, Cambridge, 13 October 2008
