An essay is a piece of writing in which the author gets to show his opinion, share his arguments and get to his own conclusions. Essay writing is something we encounter in various fields of activity: business, economics, marketing, commerce etc. We use our essay writing skills to write our resumes, motivational letters, job applications, business plans, and so much more. It goes without saying that everybody needs at least the basic essay writing skills.

But, what are the most important skills for writing an exceptional essay? If you’re interested in finding out what skills you need to nurture in order to improve your essay writing, just keep reading.

Here are the 4 essentials skills every essay writer should work on.

1. Creativity

Although essay writing is a more serious form of writing, some still feel like it’s a form of art. And every art form requires some creativity.

When you’re writing your essay, you’re creating something new. The goal is not only to convey your message and reach your conclusions. It’s also to evoke certain emotions in your readers and find a way to entertain them.

Therefore, creativity is a must.

But, how can you work on being creative?

Here’s a couple of things which can help you get your creative side in motion:

Brainstorming
Brainstorming is a great technique for coming up with new ideas and letting your creativity take over. Use this process to explore your imagination and find the ideas you’re looking for.
Feeling good
If you’re feeling down and you have things on your mind, the negative emotions are going to block the creativity. Therefore, get in the right mood before starting to write:
go for a run
listen to your favorite music
eat something you love

Being creative is essential if you want your essay to be exceptional.

2. Critical Thinking

The following skill is the core of essay writing and you can’t go very far without it.

We’re talking about critical thinking.

So, what is this skill all about and why do you need it so badly? Let’s break it down a bit.

Critical thinking is a process in which the author of the essay goes through a series of steps in order to form his own opinions and judgments. It consists of:

analyzing literature and other authors
gathering materials and information
analyzing facts
using logical reasoning
forming a judgment

It’s important that you learn how to properly form an opinion and be able to back it up with facts.

This will give your essay the credibility it needs and your readers will be able to trust you.

In case you’re unsure of your critical thinking skills and you feel you need help to write your essay, check out Get Academic Help to see what they can do to help.

3. Outlining

The process of outlining is rather simple, but many people refuse to do it, thinking it’s redundant.

However, it’s necessary because it will help you stay on track and write exactly what the topic implies you do.

Here’s what outlining is all about:

focusing on the end goal of the essay
organizing ideas into order
planning a separate paragraph for each idea

The result of outlining is a draft of what your essay is going to look like and how you’re going to organize it. Once you have an outline, you can start focusing on writing each of the planned paragraphs.

4. Proofreading

As we’ve already mentioned, an essay is a serious piece of writing. The audience who’s going to read it are usually academics, businessmen, professionals, and highly educated people.

This means that you, as the writer, need to show your professional, academic side.

Therefore, it’s important that you learn how to proofread every essay.

Proofreading is a process in which a person revises what they’ve written looking for:

punctuation mistakes
grammar mistakes
spelling mistakes

It’s a process of polishing a piece of writing and making it impeccable.

You can proofread your essay yourself, or you can ask a friend to do it for you. You can also use an online proofreading tool to find the mistakes for you.

Whatever you choose to do, don’t let even a single mistake find its way to your essay.

Conclusion

Essay writing may sound as a simple process. The fact is, it is simple if you have what it takes to write it. The skills enlisted above are critical for an essayist. They help you write more interesting, unique, meaningful, and accurate essays.

Therefore, practice the skills which truly matter and use them to write brilliant essays.