Q&A for How to Write an English Essay

That could be a good idea! Starting with a question gets the reader into a questioning mindset, which can be a good thing if you're dealing with a highly controversial topic.

To plan out your essay, write or type up an outline with the points you want to make in the introduction, middle, and conclusion of your essay.

The essay should always be written in paragraphs unless otherwise instructed by your teacher/professor because they would usually tell you otherwise.

Drop "a" "and" "the" "but" "I" and all the other extraneous words that you really hardly see when you read. What is left are the keywords.

Unless the teacher/professor or assignment specifies otherwise, an outline is not required to write an essay. There are about as many different ways to write an essay as there are people holding pencils, so you may not ever need to write an outline at all. However, if you notice yourself having trouble arranging ideas coherently or transitioning from paragraph to paragraph, you may want to consider starting with an outline.

This can be effective if you can directly relate the quote to your essay's topic. Do not overuse this tactic though because it can become redundant.

"Thesis" has two meanings in the context of this article, each loosely related to the other: (1) a written dissertation taking a position based on original research; (2) a proposition offering to answer some stated question or provide a solution to some issue.

No, they are not necessary, but they can definitely help you prove your point.

If you're asking about writing a biographical essay, start by giving the reader a reason to be interested in the subject. Then move chronologically through the subject's life, mentioning the highlights from birth to the present (or until the subject's death).

Use a period at the end of a sentence. Use a semicolon within a sentence if you want a "strong" comma, such as when separating complicated phrases, or if you want to join together two sentences that are closely connected. Using a semicolon instead of a period is never grammatically mandatory; it's just a stylistic choice that can help things read/flow a little better. When in doubt, it's safest to stick with the period. See How to Use a Semicolon for more detailed guidelines.

That's a huge question with about a million possibilities. There are numerous sites that will help you with introductory paragraphs.

Not caring makes it easier to be objective and include various points of view, which ultimately could make the essay more valuable to the casual reader.

Traditionally essays do not contain illustrations. If you feel compelled to add graphics to an essay, go ahead. It's possible that whoever is judging your essay may enjoy a little "variety." Why not ask first?

See Do Well in Your Exams and Do Well in Tests and Exams .

A reflective essay about a book would be sort of a review where you reflect on what you thought of the book. You might want to read the article on How to Write a Book Report .