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How do you write an essay of about 3000 words (without AI)? You can write an essay in four simple steps.

The formula for a standard essay is: there are three parts. The beginning (introduction). The middle (main content). And the end (conclusion). Sticking to this formula and using the below four steps makes it pretty easy to write an essay on your own without any help from AI.  – an essay that ticks all the boxes it needs to, is engaging and original, and importantly, is your own work.

Step 1: Rough draft: intro, and dot point arguments or topics

1. Write an introduction saying what your main argument, or arguments x, y and z, are. (One or two  paragraphs.) Don’t bother refining it yet. Leave it as a rough draft.
2. Then jot down, as dot points, all the evidence-based mini-arguments or topics that support your main argument. These are the basis for your main content.
3. The number of arguments you can fit into a 3000-word essay is limited. So, if you end up with more than three or four main content dot points, highlight the three or four most important or best-evidenced topics, in terms of proving the arguments presented in the introduction. You will be focusing on these three or four dot points as the main content of your essay.
4. While jotting down your dot points, you may think of another idea that you want to write in the introduction; if so, write it in now.

Step 2: Write the main content

Now, you will write the middle part of your essay, which is the “main content”. This is where you will provide detailed arguments and evidence that support the main argument or idea stated in your introduction.

Each of the three or four dot points you have written will need to be written up into paragraphs that clearly show the evidence that supports that idea or argument. Each topic might comprise two to four paragraphs; some topics might only need two paragraphs while others might need four. When we say “evidence” we mean examples – either your own anecdotes or things you have read about or seen on the media – or quotes that are evidence that what you are saying is correct. If you use quotes, you need to cite the source of the quote, either within the paragraph or in a footnote.

If any of the topics you have chosen to write about in the main content does not specifically relate to the topics stated in the introduction, either a) it is not relevant so should not be in this essay, or, if it is relevant, b) you will need to go back to the  introduction and mention the topic there.

Note: It is possible to fit in more than four topics in the main content of a 3000-word essay but this can only be done if you are quite concise when  writing up each topic. So if you have chosen more than four dot points to write about in your essay, keep a close eye on the wordcount. If you see it creeping up too high, you might have to decide which topics to keep and which to ditch.

Step 3: Write the conclusion

Once you have finished writing the main content, write a conclusion that clearly links what you said in the introduction to what you have proven in the main content you have written.

The conclusion can be one to three paragraphs long. It is where you “wind up” what you have discussed in your essay and tell the reader your findings.

The conclusion can if you like include a kind of “call to action” based on your findings. Or, it can show how you have proven that x, y and z, as stated in the introduction, is correct. Or, it may show how x, y and z have been discussed but that based on the evidence, your argument cannot be proven – which is also fine as a conclusion.

Step 4: Self-edit intro, main content and conclusion

Self-edit the introduction to make it more clear and concise in setting the scene for exactly what you want to discuss in your essay. This is also the best place to provide a clear definition, for the purposes of your essay, of any terms that have multiple or ambiguous meanings.

Then go through the rest of your essay deleting anything that is not entirely relevant, making sure you have correctly referenced any quotes, making sure all the evidence you have included is absolutely relevant, shortening and therefore simplifying any sentences that are  long or convoluted, and generally polishing up your essay.

Longer essays

For a longer essay – for example, a 5000-word essay, or longer – you may need a longer introduction and conclusion, and obviously there will be room for more dot point arguments or topics to be expanded on in the main content so you can cover more topics, as long as they are all absolutely related to your statements in the introduction. You will also have space to write far more detailed paragraphs about each topic, and provide more evidence.

You may also decide to use subtitles throughout your essay to break it up into chunks because especially in a longer essay that makes it easier to read.

Publishing your essay

If your essay is intended for publication, the above principles will probably still apply. But usually a publisher will not publish your essay unless it meets their specific standards and rules. So, before writing the essay, you should contact the publisher and request a copy of their brief and style sheet. Ask them what style guide they use and make sure you are across that style guide.

If your essay is technical or specialist (for example, intended for publication in a scientific journal) we recommend you hire a professional editor to copy edit it, prior to submitting it to the publisher.

Why not just use AI to write it?

There are a lot of reasons why it’s better to write your essay yourself, rather than use AI to write it. Keep an eye on our blog for the next article about the nexus between using AI to generate content, and the legal copyright issues, not to mention the plagiarism issues, around that.

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