Many think that essay writing doesn’t require literary talent, but only mastery of writing technique. Almost any essay requires creativity from you. However, you are in luck if you need to write a 500 word essay, as there is a general approach to writing such essays.
It includes five basic steps:
- Determining the type of essay.
- Determining the volume of the essay. How long is a 500 word essay? This type of paper usually consists of five paragraphs.
- Formulation of the main idea, thesis, and arguments. You need to know how to present all these elements if you want to know how to write a 500 word essay.
- The main part of the essay. According to the 500 word essay format, two paragraphs are allocated for the introduction and conclusion. The rest of the essay consists of the main part. For example, in an essay out of five paragraphs, the main part should consist of three sections, and each argument should be described in one paragraph. In an essay of three paragraphs, there is only one paragraph to represent all three arguments, which makes writing it even more difficult. After a brief outline of the main part, you should write one introductory sentence for each paragraph. Introductory sentences inform the reader about what will be discussed in the paragraph. Then the arguments that substantiate the essence of the introductory sentence and examples (a quotation or a case from life) are set forth. The introductory sentence, the argument, and the example together constitute one paragraph of the main part. Since the arguments were already presented in the introduction, there is no need to use the semantic transitions in the main part – you should only state them in the order in which they are presented in the introduction.
- Conclusion. The conclusion, as a rule, is the most difficult part of the essay. The conclusion should include a paraphrased thesis, taking into account what has been said in the main part, i.e. the explanation of how the arguments reinforce the thesis, as well as the final sentence, which draws a line under the main idea of the essay. The more clearly you formulate the thesis, the easier it is to write a conclusion. The difficulty in writing a conclusion means that, most likely, the thesis is too vague. In this case, you can try to rewrite the introduction and then start to conclude again.
The main recommendation for writing essays is to quickly sketch out the original version of the essay. If you do not have enough time, at least, you will have a finished, albeit imperfect, product. In any case, the finished essay is always evaluated higher than the unfinished one. If you have some time left, you can easily improve the essay with small changes.
How to Avoid Writing a Terrible 500 Word Essay
Some simply ignore the recommendations for writing essays, while others lack the ingenuity, and others still certainly have their reasons. In any case, the result is lamentable: a terrible essay. Do you want to try? Let’s find out how a terrible 500 word paper is written.
Degree of difficulty: very easy
Time: only a few days
What will be required:
– A lot of laziness
– Lack of common sense
– Foolishness
– Lack of writing skills
– A large dictionary and ignorance of the language
– Inability to express thoughts
Tips for terrible writing:
- Be sure to ask your friends for their old essays, correct them slightly and present them as your own writing.
- Look for a free 500 word essay example on the internet or in books and also present it as your own.
- Use more complicated words to show how smart you are. For example: globalization, entrepreneurship, convergence, synergies, dystopia.
- Do not forget about the acronyms. Use them as often as possible. These are quite suitable: .NET, G2C, JPG, XML.
- Pay special attention to jargon – show your knowledge in it!
- Demonstrate your wisdom, and add banalities.
- “Decorate” your language with such wonderful words as: ameliorate, supererogatory, accouterment.
- Try to have each essay describe you differently, and contain information from different people.
Have you laughed? Now let’s be serious. Do exactly the opposite if you want to write a really worthwhile essay. Remember that no one specifically wants to write funny, absurd essays, but the fact is not only a few students can write really high-quality essays. Give your creation to someone to read; it’s good if these people are not so close to you, that these people know little about you.
The Enemies of a Good 500 Word Essay
So, you decided to beat plagiarism (excellent!) and write your own essay (fine, but …). If you have some writing skills, your thoughts will not be difficult to read. Think about how to impress the reader with your intellect, the knowledge of the language, a huge vocabulary and, of course, an excellent ability to express your thoughts.
Many people mistakenly believe that essays must be stuffed with some terms, complex words, various abbreviations, and other such nonsense. Some also manage to include in the essay banal inferences and even jargon. What do all of these lead to? Well, certainly you will not get an essay that can impress a teacher.
It may sound awkward, but there are a lot of examples of poorly written essays done by students. It’s hard to say why. It can be assumed that students did not hear about the requirements for writing a 500 word essay (hard to believe, isn’t it?). Version number two: dizziness from success. Of course, by describing the achievements and positive qualities of yourself, it’s hard to resist the temptation to overdo it. The result is exactly the opposite of what you expected: you wanted to impress the reader, but in fact, you demonstrated your unoriginality and ignorance of the language.
Do you want to try again? Pay attention then to the following tricks:
- Describe clearly who you are today and what you would like to achieve.
- Try to understand the subtext of the essay question – show the depth of your thoughts (rather than the limited vocabulary).
- Write only “on the topic.” And put the dictionary aside for a while. Write in your style!
- Proofread and edit the written essay.
A good 500 word essay sample can be an admission essay. Let’s find out how to write an essay that will serve for your application.
The Features of a 500 Word Paper for Admission
The topics of essays are specially designed to make you brainstorm. Consider a fresh 500 word essay example for an application for Wharton. Why do admission commissions ask you to write about yourself? What do they want from entrants? Let’s try to figure this out. Knowing what the purpose of the essay is, you will increase your chances of admission.
Some time ago, the Wharton business school reduced the number of application essays to one. So, you need to express your thoughts clearly and concisely and interest the admissions committee, keeping within 500 words. Examiners know exactly what they want to hear, and do not want to waste time in vain.
Let’s analyze the example.
Question: What do you hope to achieve in the personal and professional sphere, having received education at the Wharton business school? (500 words)
At first glance, this is a standard essay in which you need to talk about your goals, but there is one nuance. Carefully re-read the question – you immediately notice it. The catch is in the word “personal.” Wharton sets us all a difficult task. Admit it: did you ever think about this in this vein? Success for many is associated with status, profit, position in society – and against this background we somehow forget about the personal sphere. Thanks to the Wharton guys for making us think. Thanks to them for attracting attention to this aspect of success.
It’s somehow simpler with the professional sphere, right? Probably, many hope that the MBA diploma will help them to occupy a high position, which will allow them to achieve something outstanding. Remember: a position is not a goal, but a means. It’s not enough just to try to lead Apple; you need to understand what you can achieve as a director of the company. Upgrade the work of the company, enter a new market, make a significant contribution to the development of society – these are your goals, and not just to become CEO of Apple. Do you see the difference? Well, we have figured out the professional aspect, and now we move on to a more complex part of the question. You will have to brainstorm.
How will success affect you personally? It’s not easy to answer this question. What kind of thing is a “personal goal”? Let’s do a little thought experiment. Imagine that you are cut off from the whole world, and you have no way of knowing if your work gives at least some results. (Yes, a strange situation, but you still try.) Have you imagined that? Day by day you work tirelessly, doing everything possible to achieve your goal. You believe that you are doing the right thing, but you have no way of making sure that your efforts are not in vain.
Are you happy? Do you get pleasure from the work itself? This is the only way to check if the chosen profession suits you, if you just do your job and hope that you will succeed. Otherwise, your happiness will depend only on external factors, and this is not good. Wharton acts wisely, revealing this deficiency even at the stage of admission.
So, what causes a sense of inner satisfaction in you? What would you consider a personal achievement regardless of external factors? Finding the answer to this question, you can not only write an excellent essay, but also understand what your real vocation is. After that, writing an essay will not be difficult. One can be guided, for example, by such a plan:
- Start with a general description of your plans, as in any other essay. Tell us what opportunities are open before you, what problems you would like to solve, what makes you take certain steps. Write what you would like to do without providing too many details.
- Write about your professional goals.
- Indicate long-term goals.
- Write about personal goals.
- Write about how the school will help you to achieve success in the professional and personal spheres.
- Explain why you need a diploma.
If you feel that you can’t write a good 500 word essay, you can always find a writing service that can do it for you. Help from such a service will save your time and efforts so that you can relax, and as a result, get a high grade!