ne of the toughest assignments for students in basic English courses is the "simple" essay. Most trying for students is differentiating between what is considered simple to what is considered complex. Usually, various topics are selected for students to discuss. What frustrates many students is that the topics are too general or too specific and students have a hard time figuring out what the professor is looking for. This site will discuss and even lead the student through the variety of essay writing styles. Whether it is a short paragraph or a complex research paper, this site will link the student to reading and writing exercises that will improve the quality of the papers written.

  With this stated, there are a couple of things that the student MUST know in order to improve his/her work. One of the first things to keep in mind is that all writing is a process. No one, absolutely no one, escapes the re-writing bug. Everyone has to write, read over the work, edit mistakes, and re-write the paper. Proofreading is a must.
    Second thing to keep in mind is grammar. Different professors will stress different things e.g. a strong thesis statement and organization of ideas versus error-free punctuation and spelling mishaps. Subject/Verb agreement  as well as faulty parallelisms may be a stickler for some, while other professors will gloss over these mistakes in search of meaning and of originality. What is important is that it does not matter if a paper is error-free; if it doesn't make sense, it doesn't make sense. Likewise, a well-thought-out paper that has a plethora of grammatical mishaps prevents a professor from enjoying the ideas. In either case, grammar is paramount and should be coupled with organization and original ideas.
    Finally, what has been hinted at, originality and organization are closely related. Strong papers not only show creativity but also show the writer's ability to organize his/her ideas effectively. There are several sites that link to this page. Each of these sites offers a variety of examples that demonstrate what essay writing is all about.

Guide to Writing a Basic Essay will give you the fundamentals on essay writing

Researchpaper. com will illustrate how research paper writing can be made simple

A+Research and Writing has a colorful and interesting approach to writing papers for classes.

How to Organize a Research Paper and Document It with MLA Citations shows how strong writing is similar to a burgeoning tree.

Essay Writing- A Guide for Students : though it links to another university's criteria for effective writing, this site shows the "cross-the-board" idea of how an essay or any writing should be presented.