Essay is a piece of writing, usually short, on any one subject and dealing with particular issue.

An essay can have many purposes, but the basic structure is the same no matter what. You may be writing an essay to argue for a particular point of view or even to explain steps to follow.

Reading the essays or other literary works of famous writers will often bring one to believe that writing seems to come so easily to them. Such belief makes one regard writing as some natural gift given to a chosen people; that those who were not given the skill should not even attempt to write the simplest essay if they don't want to face disappointment. However, there are those, who, after successfully writing an essay, learned that writing like any skill can be acquired if one will only be persistent and patient.

If you follow a few simple steps, you will find that the essay almost writes itself. You will be responsible only for the ideas in the essay, which are the important part of the essay anyway.

So, before you put your pen on the paper or your fingers on the keyboard you should think of what you are going to present to your audiences by following the steps mentioned below: 

Choose a Topic.

Before starting, determine first the purpose of the essay; know why it should be written: Is it to persuade people to agree with a belief, to explain a morally ambiguous subject, or to educate people about certain people or events?

Once the purpose is determined, the topic must then be decided on. Writing a list of interesting topics can greatly help achieve this. The topic could be issued about the lives of interesting people, education or everyday tasks or any other prevailing subject. Once the general idea is formed, the subject should then be narrowed down and should fit the chosen purpose.

Do Research (collect data)

Doing research is more than just surfing the Internet. The one who will totally depend on the Internet for all his or her research will most likely produce imperfect work. Not every web page gives you the needed data, the best way to find substantial information for nearly all essay topics is by reading books or magazines. Asking the opinion of other people or doing surveys are also effective ways to gather important information for the essay.

The quality of the paper greatly depends on the sources that were used. Knowing how to differentiate important and insignificant information is the key to a successful essay.

Outline

Once the collection of data in a random manner is finished then outlining starts straight. The outline is the body of the essay.

Either in the form of a diagram or in point form, the outline evaluates the order of presentation of the main idea. This is basically where one prepares to explain, describe, or argue the chosen topic. The typical outline consists of the statement, the points of argument, sub-points of the topic, and the evidence of the argument.

Conclude

The conclusion brings closure to the reader, summing up your points or providing a final perspective on your topic.

All the conclusion needs three or four strong sentences. Simply review the main points (being careful not to restate them exactly, just paraphrase them) or briefly describe your feelings about the topic.

Edit & Proofread

Before submitting the finished product, it's always good to go through the whole paper again and again. Check every word, sentence, and paragraph for wrong spellings and incorrect tense or structure.

More than just giving the writer a chance to correct the general body of the essay, editing and proofreading will also give him a fresh look at the message of the essay. Every individual who has completed an essay will know that behind every successful paper are long hours of careful and attentive editing. Editing and proofreading are the two elements that will transform a good essay to an excellent piece of work.