Ultimate guide on how to write a short essay

Do you know how to write a short essay? Are you looking for some tips for writing a short essay for your high school assignments? Here you have landed on just the right page! In this article, we will discuss expert’s guidelines on short essays.

What is a short essay?

A short essay is an abbreviated version of a longer written work.

It follows a particular assignment format.

We can define a short essay as any short piece of writing that focuses on one subject or idea—a formal position (thesis statement) and its supporting arguments, for example—and develops it utilizing description, analysis, reflection, or commentary.

The writer typically focuses on one main idea in a short essay and provides details supporting this thought or opinion. Furthermore, don’t forget to explore our helpful post on What is a Number Sentence 

You can even write a short essay definition essay as a piece of writing that briefly describes an object, person, or thing and provides some details to explain the writer’s point of view towards it. In other words, it is a small essay having only 500 words or as per the instructions.

If you want to know about the best pestle analysis examples, click here.

How long is a Short Essay?

When you write a short essay, you cannot randomly figure out how long should a short essay be or tell the exact word count. However, a short essay should be a minimum of around a half-page & a maximum of 1 page on single-spaced. It can go up as much as two pages on double-spaced. Short essays mostly consist of a maximum of 400 to 500 words according to the topic of the essay. Also, you can go through the blog on the nature vs nurture essay.

How many paragraphs in a short essay? 

A short essay is usually composed of three paragraphs: introductory paragraph, body paragraphs, and conclusion. The exact number of words in each paragraph of the introduction and conclusion depends on the type of short essay writing.

For a personal narrative or descriptive university essay writing, the first paragraph of your short essay will contain a definite short essay structure. An introductory sentence that sets up the scene; one to two sentences about the incident that occurred, including brief essay details like (sights, sounds, smells, tastes) to help paint a picture in the reader’s mind; and an ending sentence that ties into your thesis statement. One paragraph, probably the second, should support or emphasize this point with more details from the event you are describing.

In the third paragraph of your college article, you should contain a concluding sentence that sums up the main idea or reinforces your thesis statement. For getting an excellent online college essay written by experts, you can even connect with some essay writing help.

How many words in a short essay?

A short essay can vary in length and is not limited to a certain number of words. Many writers and authors suggest that effective, well-crafted short essays should contain a minimum of about 200 – 250 words and a maximum of 500 words, carefully paying attention to the prompt. However, it also depends on the essay format you’re writing for (personal narrative or persuasive). Also, follow here to discover how to restate a thesis.

How to write a short essay format? Essay writing structure 

Introduction Paragraph: Include the topic of the essay and the argument or point you plan to prove to your reader in one paragraph.

Body Paragraphs: Use evidence from your research in each of these paragraphs to offer one element of your argument. You should try to include at least two body paragraphs, but three is preferred if there’s enough information out there for it!

Concluding Paragraph: Restate your argument and add any final thoughts you have about the topic.

Few academic short essay examples for a better understanding -Banning of plastic, free education, pollution, advanced technologies, space study, etc.

Most importantly you should write it in a spatial order organization.

What are short essay components?

Few high school writers find a short story essay more challenging than long articles. It is because when you write a short essay, you do not have enough scope to establish your argument. Hence it becomes essential to highlight your ideas in the crucial components, which are the following:

• Introduction added with a thesis statement,
• Body paragraphs that include
• a topic sentences
• introspection
• supporting evidence,
• Conclusion.

Thesis 

A thesis needs to be shorter and compact. A strong thesis statement has to be at the end of the introductory paragraph. Remember, when you are writing an essay short, it has no room for playing with the short essay word count.Check out an example of short essay.

Consider the intensity of the topic and determine the length wisely. Keep the citation to the point and limited. Remember, you need to keep some words for introspection.

Topic sentences 

To organize the points in your essay, introduce a new point in a topic sentence before you present it. Present these topics as stand-alone ideas.

Supporting evidence

Limit the number of your words in the sentences where you provide supporting evidence. Use statistics, examples, anecdotes, and famous quotes to support your main point.

If you need to use a lot of examples to explain your topic thoroughly, choose another one.

Topics that require many supporting facts don’t fit well into the short essay length. Also read Why is academic research important?

Introspection 

During the short English essay, show your instructors how you can think critically and present strong arguments by reflecting on the topic. Before you begin, read your assignment prompt carefully and follow through with the directions.

For an essay with a word count of 250, you shouldn’t stray from the main point. Every sentence irrelevant to your thesis weakens your argument and takes up space that could otherwise bolster your points. Do not forget what exactly your key idea is.

Conclusion 

In order for your paragraph to have a strong ending, include a summary of the essay’s main argument and its implications in the future. This simple strategy will allow you to depict yourself as a forward-thinking student without losing focus on the essay’s main idea. Keep this paragraph to only a few sentences. It is not a great idea to exploit the number of words. 

 Also read our assignment writing tips to have a better focus on this point.

How to write a short essay? 

1. Get a topic to explore

 If your professor didn’t assign a topic, select one on your own. Make sure to research well so that you can craft your paper well. To write an effective essay under 500 words, decide what type of essay is necessary to complete the assignment. After you know your key points, identify what you want to address. It would help if you then outlined the primary goal of writing.

2. Plan your ideas 

It’s important to know how you’re going to structure your main ideas. For example, will you use a compare and contrast method or an analysis of two different points? To get more ideas on this, check out Writing a compare and contrast essay.

3. Select a single argument for the readers to understand 

• To write a short essay, the writer must focus on one central topic with little room to introduce tangentially related secondary topics. To avoid running out of space, choose a very specific topic.
• If you’ve been asked to write an essay, try to tailor it to suit the given prompt. For example, if you’re writing a college application essay about yourself, think of ways to talk about your positive qualities.

4. Establish the thesis statement 

Your essay should be argumentative and clear enough for your audience to get the main point. In other words, they should be able to tell what your thesis statement is after reading your first sentence. A thesis needs to include a one sentence summative statement about the main point of discussion and two paragraphs that support your argument.

5. Start working on the essay writing 

Start by writing an outline of your main ideas and then developing each idea in separate sentences. To write a good short essay, you should set your topic at the beginning of each paragraph, provide detailed examples and illustrations to support your argument, and use the page length appropriately.

6. Begin with the introductory paragraph. 

While your introduction should contain a hook, the main body of your essay is where you draw attention to the whole discussion in detail. The quickest way to get from a blank page to a completed essay will be to write your introduction after writing the body of the paper.

The conclusion

The conclusion should be brief, focusing on reiterating the main points covered over the whole paper. It is age-old advice to a student to avoid introducing new arguments in conclusion.

To make your essay concise, use sentences in the active voice. Using an active voice will convey a crisp and clear meaning. Write sentences that can explain a point directly without using too many words.

8. Add a finishing touch to your writing 

 Paragraphs in short essays should introduce one idea at a time. For a 500 word essay paper, focus on the most important answer first and least essential last. The paper should contain relevant ideas, and you should also review the instructions.

Also, see how to write an argumentative essay.

Writing a short essay format 

The word count for a short essay assignment is usually between 200 and 500 words. However, this form will depend on individual teacher preference. Taking into consideration that short essays are limited to 250 words, select an appealing topic and find relevant sources. Though there are no hard rules in terms of paragraphs, a good essay usually includes 2-5 paragraphs. A mini essay with 250 words has to convey the essence of the essay prompt clearly.

How to write a 3 paragraph essay?

For writing a good 3 paragraph short essay, provide the main points in the first paragraph with some reasoning and support in the second and summarize everything in the third. You don’t need to include an introduction nor conclusion since it is too short.

For a short written composition, you don’t need an introduction or conclusion. Just answer the prompt and write 250 words or so for your college paper.

There isn’t much difference between this type of short essay and a short answer; that’s why if you have to write an essay within three pages, it is far better to stick with the 5-paragraph format.

In the meantime explore the best accounting assignment helper to shine in a class.

How to write a 5 paragraph short essay?

The five-paragraph essay is ideal for writing short essays. It includes both a formal structure in the introduction and conclusion, along with brief paragraphs giving details on each paragraph within the essay’s body.

The pages may vary depending on your word limit, but the readers should get the writer’s essence. It is advised to follow the school or the university guidelines.

The most effective and safe way to develop a five-paragraph paper is in 900 words, generally three pages.

Amazing Research paper Topics to impress tutors.

The Final verdict

So we can conclude that the short essay is one of the most usual academic writing assignments to the college students, which the student should compose after a good research work. The student has to pick up well, and hence he must have a clear knowledge and understanding. 

Also, the students have to be quick with completing the research paper. It is important to cultivate the subject well to make the article more appealing and more acceptable to the readers. This way, the knowledge of the writer gets demonstrated too.

Although writing the article may seem easy now, remember it is even easier for a proficient writer to keep your task at bay.

So, just do not worry if you need help with your essay writing. Professional and highly skilled online essay and research writers can help you with just any answer. They write quality content and write according to the desired length, following the guidelines of your professor. You can search for a good online essay helper or ask for a free sample short essay if available.

So use the tips mentioned and start writing an excellent and compact short essay paper.

Our Latest Blogs