How to Write a Short Essay: Your Guide to Writing Brilliance

Writing different types of essays is a regular task in colleges, schools, and universities. Essays are also required in college admissions and scholarships. There are also times when essays with limited words are very much complicated compared to longer essays. Therefore it becomes important to express your thoughts clearly and succinctly. Thus, learning to write a short essay is very important in today's fast-paced academic environment. 

Purpose and Definition of Short Essay

Definition

A short essay refers to the type of essay that precisely showcases only the most important elements. Although there is no particular length or number of words, however, the word count of essays stays between 250-750 words.  Although the subject can be complicated, it is important to interpret the subject in a way that does not exceed the word count. 

Purpose

There are many advantages to writing a short essay. The major purpose of writing a short essay is to explain the ideas and construct them in very few words. You can take the help of other sources, however, it is important to use the key ideas in your language. 

Some of the major points to take care of:

• Developing writing skills: Writing essays in fewer words is considered very helpful in developing your writing skills. You learn different types of ideas to include words for various types of essays.
• Professional Communication: Writing short and brief is an important skill as it helps in improving the skills required to communicate in professional and corporate sectors. Whether it's a project proposal or a persuasive email, it is important to convey the information very efficiently to attract the attention of the readers. 
• Critical thinking ability: When writing an essay, in short, requires thinking critically as it makes it easy to prove the argument. 
• Effective communication skills: This is something that is not so important. Just research the essay, note the main points, and start writing the essay from the introductory section. It is advisable not to use extra or unnecessary words to present an effective essay. 

Short Essay Format

In case you are struggling to format your essay in a few words, then this section is very helpful for you. Don't worry, it is not a major problem and most of the students face these issues when writing short essays due to lack of knowledge. Although it is not so tough as it seems. Let's check the details

• The format of an essay contains a set of guidelines that will help in creating the structure of the essay. It is an important element of the essay that showcases how you are presenting your academic essay. 
• The short essay format follows this basic structure in an essay. However, some things are required to remember when you are starting the essay writing. 
• During the short essay, it is important to follow a linear approach when writing an academic essay, scholarship essay, or any other kind of essay. 
• It is important to showcase the ideas in a way that the content of the essay develops the interest of the reader.
• It is important to remember the readers when writing the short essay. Conduct in-depth research regarding the relevant sources. Therefore it is important to prepare the essay in a way that provides a clear image of the message that you want to convey in the essay. 
• All these points will help you in grabbing the attention of the readers. 

Let's now look at the format of the essay. 

• Introduction: The introductory paragraph should include an introduction to the topic. Include the background information or context of the topic in a summarized way. It is important to include a strong thesis statement based on the critical idea. This is considered the central argument for the short essay. 
• Body paragraphs: The body paragraphs help in developing the thesis statements and supporting statements in the essay. There can be multiple paragraphs in the body part. However, it is important to note that each paragraph in the body should contain the main point or idea to support the central idea of the essay. 
• Conclusion: This is the final paragraph of the essay containing the summary of each body paragraph in the academic essay. The conclusion of the essay could include the thesis statement differently. It should also include the closure by expressing your final thoughts or views on the core idea of the essay. It is advisable not to include any new argument or material in the conclusion. On the other hand, try to close the essay by giving a closure statement that will help in creating a long-lasting image in the minds of the readers. 

Key elements of short essays

Although you are writing a short essay, it is important to take into consideration all the important elements in the checklist. The key elements in the short essay are: 

• A short essay should contain a clear introduction, topic sentence, thesis statement, and conclusion paragraph. 
• The body paragraphs should contain information that should be linked to the thesis statements.
• The essay should contain a good flow of information with a smooth transition. As a writer, you should include transition phrases to connect the paragraphs. 
• When you write the first paragraph of the essay it is important to include an attention-grabbing hook statement and provide a clear thesis statement in the introduction section of the essay. You can also include a preview of different subtopics that will be discussed in the main body of the essay.
• An integral part of a good essay in a few words is its thesis statement, as it is the central argument. Since there is limited scope for the number of words that can be used, it is important to write the thesis statements in not more than two to three lines. 
• Collect relevant information and evidence from books, journals, websites magazines, and newspapers. Then organize the data collected so that it can be included in the essay. 
• The conclusion of the academic short essay should also be short and should not exceed the total word limit. However, it should be comprehensive enough to contain the important points. 

Important tips for writing Short Essays

When writing a short essay it is important to consider many important points. In a scholarship essay, admission essay, and any other use, it is important to maintain a short essay format. Some of the important tips when writing a short essay are

• Understand the prompt: It is important to read the prompt. Make notes of the important phrases, as it will help you understand the essay. 
• Plan your writing: Before you begin the essay, understand the question that should be answered in the essay. Brainstorm different ideas and jot down them to plan your essay. This will help in improving your writing skills. 
• Create a draft: Outline the essay, containing the central points, background information, a short introduction, the topic sentence, body paragraphs, and the conclusion.
• Create a strong thesis statement: It is important to think and formulate a strong argument statement for the essay. 
• Prove the thesis: It is important to focus on the purpose of the thesis. Include the transition phrases and use statistics and facts to prove the thesis statements. It is also advisable to make use of visuals if present. 
• Proofread your essay: Read the entire, essay carefully to ensure that there are no grammatical, or spelling errors. It is also beneficial to make use of grammar checker tools to correct the inconsistencies and mistakes in the essay. 

Conclusion

Although writing a short essay can be tricky, the information provided in this article will help you write attractive and informative short essays during your academic assignments. However in case, you need more detailed help writing an attention-grabbing short essay for your school, college, or university assignments, our experts in "the assignment ninjas" are always there to help you write your short essays based on your requirements.