A 1000 word essay is a difficult challenge for an academic writer. It not only tests your knowledge of a given subject but also your ability to condense all that information into a reasonable number of words. So in this post, I will go through the steps needed in order to write an effective 1000 word essay.
Step 1: Pick an idea
This step might seem obvious, but there is more than just picking any topic because it interests you. Before you start writing anything down, sit back and think about what would be the most interesting angle to take when exploring this topic area? Maybe there’s something which you’ve never seen before discussed in an educational setting or perhaps there’s someone else who has written on the same subject recently so it would be beneficial for you to compare your ideas to theirs – whatever it is, finding something new and different will help you to set yourself apart from the crowd. Remember, there’s no point in writing about a topic which has been covered many times before because it won’t be original – there are only so many ways to present information, if someone else has already done that then there is no point in trying to do it again yourself.
Now that you have picked your topic, make sure that it’s narrow enough for a 1000 word essay. Sometimes an idea can be very ambitious and require a lot more space than what you are allowed to write, so try to keep the scope of your topic as tight as possible.
Step 2: Do some background research
Now that you have a topic, it’s time to start finding some sources so that you can build on your knowledge. The first thing which I do is to check whether there are any academic papers written on this subject – if there are then those will be the best ones for me to use as they have already gone through a peer-review process and been deemed worthy of being published, but if not then I might try looking for articles from popular magazines or newspaper articles online.
If you’re writing about something very specific such as a recent scientific discovery then using these different formats might not help much because the information won’t be too broad, but if you’re writing about something more general like social issues or politics then these types of resources can give useful insights.
Step 3: Find the points which you want to make
Having read through your research, you should be able to get a feel for what is important within each source. Whether it’s a direct quote or just a sentence in an article which really stood out to you – all of these things will help demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the subject so try to pick one or two key points from each relevant source which you can use when writing your essay.
Ideally, in a good quality academic essay, there should always be some counter-arguments given along with your main point but this doesn’t have to be the case in a 1000 word essay where space is limited – having this balance between different ideas gives people who are reading it something to think about, but if you wanted to then you could focus on expressing one key point in a simple and persuasive way without having to worry too much about the other side of the argument.
Step 4: Find some analysis that you can use
Just reading through your sources isn’t going to be enough for a good essay – it’s also necessary that you add your own analysis into the mix. In fact, unless you’re writing a very dry scientific paper then there should always be some form of commentary from yourself included along with any relevant quotes from different sources because that is what makes an academic essay accessible and relatable to people who aren’t experts on the subject matter. A good rule of thumb is if something seems obvious to you when reading an academic paper then it shouldn’t be included in your 1000 words – that would just be repeating what the author has already said.
Even if you have read multiple sources on a certain topic, try to keep your analysis succinct – no one wants to read a 10-page essay that only has one paragraph about each source so try to give your opinions quickly and get onto the next quote or point without too much excess verbiage.
As well as using quotes from previous research when writing an essay, sometimes it’s also useful to include some bullet points under each relevant idea which briefly summarise all of this information in order to make things easier for people who are reading it.
Step 5: Structure your work
Researching and writing can take up a lot of time so it’s important to be efficient with the different stages so that you can save yourself some effort. Your writing should start with a brief introduction that states your argument, follows it up with your evidence and analysis, then ends with a conclusion that summarises everything.
People are more likely to read an essay if they come across it while browsing online or in a library, but there is no need for anyone to read all of the things that you have written – make sure that people can get an accurate idea about what your essay is about by having the structure laid out clearly at the beginning.
Step 6: Proofread multiple times
Editing after you’ve finished writing an entire essay might seem like a good idea, but I can guarantee that you won’t be able to pick up on everything – no matter how many times you check your work. After the first draft is finished, leave it for a few days then come back to it with fresh eyes – this will allow you to spot any mistakes which might have been missed previously.
Step 7: Reference all of your sources correctly
Even if you are writing an essay about something which is totally your opinion or something that’s so obvious that repeating the information would be useless, referencing where information has come from is helpful because it can show people who are reading your work where they can look for more background information if they want to find out more about the subject.
Most university essays require at least one reference per paragraph, but when you’re writing a 1000 words essay it’s probably best to just add in references at the end of the whole thing – that way you won’t need to worry about how many times different sources have been quoted.
Step 8: If nothing else works, use a professional
If you’re still having trouble with how to write a 1000 words essay then it might be worthwhile to use writing services such as those provided by Essay Expert. These companies employ professional writers who will be able to turn out essays in no time at all – and for an affordable price as well!
I hope this guide has helped people who are struggling with writing an essay for uni and I wish everyone the best of luck going forward 🙂
