College is known for its impossible essays that you don’t even know how to begin. As an online student, you’ll likely tackle difficult essays and final projects requiring attention to details. Writing skills are essential beyond college and into your career. Whether it’s drafting emails, writing letters of recommendation or applying to graduate school, you’re sure to find yourself falling back on these skills for years to come. 

Here are three tips to conquering that next essay, assignment or email.

Be clear

The biggest problem most writers face is using flowery language, which makes it difficult for the reader to comprehend what you’re trying to say. Organize your ideas and get to the root of the essay. Write out your main point, or thesis, and come up with supporting arguments or points. Let someone not in your class read your essay and see if they can understand what you’re writing about. Another tip is to read your paper out loud and hear how it sounds. See how your paper flows and be specific in your writing.

Be concise

Unless there’s a page number requirement, most people don’t want to read something that takes all of eternity to get to the point. Read through your essay and cut out any extra words that don’t add value. Words such as that, very, really and only are some examples. Make sure you don’t repeat points, and if you need to summarize, do so in a different way than simply repeating the main topic. Use tools such as a thesaurus and paraphrase facts as opposed to quoting long sentences.

Proofread

Although this is obvious, make sure your writing is free of grammatical errors and typos. Double-check that you have completed the assignment thoroughly, all of your requirements are complete and you have correctly cited everything. Don’t plagiarize and correctly give attribution to your research. Have someone edit your paper and reach out for help from your professors. If you’re needing additional support for research on assignments, contact your distance librarian.