English language essays make up the bulk of a university student’s marks. High school prepares you somewhat for this as you are introduced to essay writing on a very basic level. However, once you reach the big leagues, you go way more in depth regarding research, planning and structure.

An important part of English Language Essays are the references. People too often don’t place enough importance on this. Some are under the impression that original thought is more prized among academics. This could not be further from the truth. Developing an original opinion based on an academic’s previous work is worth more than your own ideas for the most part.

This is not to say that you should not express your ideas. On the contrary, students have gone on to become groundbreaking thinkers in their field by properly expressing their original ideas through papers and journals. The point is that you should always back them up with previously cited work because this adds weight and credibility to your argument.

Don’t be afraid to reference the great thinkers in your field and don’t be afraid to be a great thinker yourself. Then go on to do a rough draft of your essay so that you can see where, how, what and why you’re going to be formulating your argument. English language essays are after all, academic arguments that are made in a guided and structured way.

A good mind map will always lead to a good and well structured essay. If you have a clear idea of what you’re trying to say and how you’re going to say it, getting it down becomes much easier than if you were to simply type and type and hope something of essence comes out of it.

Again, this is where constant research comes in to the picture. If you are reading all the time, you automatically expand your knowledge base to include everything you read. This makes writing easier because you will find that you won’t have to keep referring to books or the internet because you will have the knowledge you need.