Pre-Writing Techniques For University Essays

Studying in a university is one of the defining moments of a person. A university degree can change the whole life course of an individual. Also, earning a university degree gives the graduate myriad of opportunities to find decent jobs and work for reputable companies. However, there are many challenges that one has to encounter in order to succeed and get a university diploma.

When one goes to a chosen university, there is a writing gap that needs to be bridged. On one side of the gap lies the person’s background, sense of identity and perception of the world, the subject of what the person has to write, and the academic basis. On the other side lie the university standards, the culture, and the intellectual expectations that must be met. In order to meet these important aspects halfway, there are several things one must do, to wit:

• Make a glossary of terms

Different terms may have different meanings. For example, the words liquid and solvent are different in the field of chemistry compared to accounting. The word mouse is different from an IT perspective compared to a layman’s perspective. A glossary of terms can help a person improve his essay writing skills. University essay writing style is more formal in tone and is more serious in its approach. On the other hand, an extensive glossary list also improves the terms one can use for the essay.

• Practice writing

Essay writing is not an easy task. Writing in a university level entails more practice. It cannot be done in just one setting or overnight. Practice writing helps the person perfect the tone, the approach, and the choice of words in an essay. The more one practices writing using the university standards can easily adapt to any additional criteria in essay writing. The only point here is that writing is a skill. Just like playing lawn tennis, one cannot expect to become a master without constant practice. The problem with some students is that they write as if they are already expert writers – trying to correct their essays even in the beginning. The best method in practice writing is writing without editing: the editing is only done after the entire essay is already done.

• Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a very critical factor in creating university essays. Almost all well-written university essays undergo a lot of brainstorming process. Brainstorming helps a lot in honing and developing substantial ideas for the essay content. At the same time, brainstorming facilitates a more analytical and rational presentation of thoughts in the essay. This is why brainstorming is inevitable in writing university essays.

• Generating questions

Before starting to write, one must know the important questions that need to be addressed in the essay. Questions play an important role on how to structure and phrase the essay.

Prewriting is necessary in all fields of writing. This means that one must get a thorough understanding of what writing is all about before engaging in the essay writing process.