Essay Phobia

Do you have Essay Phobia?

Do you see the words “write an essay” and feel like a deflated balloon?

Did you ever write an essay you thought was brilliant, and got an “F” on it?

Do you feel like the way you write an essay is never going to have a big impact on your life?

Consider this: you will have to write essays for school in almost every subject. Essay writing is part of the ACT test. You will often have to write them as part of college applications, and also for scholarships. If you go on to graduate school, you will still be writing essays that will be a big part of your grades. The quality of an essay could make all the difference in a grade, an acceptance to a school, or being awarded a scholarship or not.

Some common mistakes in essays:

• Run-on sentences (like when you write something that goes on for several lines and there isn't any punctuation and when people get to the end of it they feel like they need to take a breath like this one).
• incomplete sentences (examples: 'Because I could.' or, 'Yesterday.')
• Incorrect spelling
• Incorrect use of apostrophes or dashes (it isn't 'Do your test's or 'pick-up your garbage.')
• Descriptions that are too 'wordy' or too dramatic
• Wandering off the subject
• Did you ever notice that in Word, the number of words you have typed (as well as how many pages) is at the bottom left corner? You might be assigned a 1000 word essay, and that's how you can keep track of the number of words you have so far.

If you're stuck as to where to start, try starting with an outline--a plan on what the essay will include.

So, how do you know if your essay is written well enough to submit? Here are some suggestions:

• First, use spell check. Fix spelling errors. It will also alert you when words should be capitalized and possible grammar mistakes. Be sure to fix and then save.
• If you're stumped for a word, try the thesaurus that's part of your Word program.
• Check with a tutor. Colleges and high schools often have a tutoring center.
• There may be another instructor who'd be willing to look at your work and make suggestions.
• You can try an online tutoring app.

Here are some online sites you might try for help with writing:   https://www.grammarly.com/?q=essay&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Search&utm_term=%2Bfree%20%2Bessay%20%2Bwriter&matchtype=b&msclkid=39400f7ea2791557810152e2056d91e9  
You can also try:  

https://www.tutor.com/subjects/essay-writing
        This site offers online tutoring in other subjects as well. 

 https://www.slickwrite.com/#!home
Don't be scared: It's only an essay!