What Do Professors Look for in Great Essays

What Do Professors Look for in Great Essays Grading essays varies greatly among university professors. Some are looking for creativity, others mark spelling and grammar while others mark a bit of everything. Although professors may disagree on what makes a great essay, there are certain rules and secrets that apply across the board. Instructors naturally value quality content. However, it does not end there. You can write a high quality paper only to end up with a big E. Here are some of the things that make a convincing essay Purpose and Audience The first thing that professors look for is whether your essay meets the audience and purpose of the assignment. At the minimum, ensure that your essay meets the assignment instructions provided by your instructor. For example, if you are given a comparative essay to do and you submit a narrative essay, you will definitely score poorly using this parameter. Ensure that you are clear on the professors’ instructions, the audience, as well as the rhetorical method that you should use. Writing a research paper for your scientific community is not the same thing as writing a speech for your prom. Knowing your audience and purpose is just the beginning. Effective Content Organization Despite fully understanding an assignment, most students encounter difficulties when it comes to organizing the content on their essays. Great essays should have a clear central idea. You then need to build your essay around that idea, and stick to it. Your essay should remain focused with proper use of paragraph structure to support your essay effectively and consistently. Every word and every sentence in your essay should serve a purpose. If it doesn’t, then you should get rid of it. There should be a clear transition of thought and ideas from one paragraph to the other. Any time you introduce a new claim, ensure that you produce supporting evidence. Never assume that your reader will understand the claims you make. The connections between evidence and ideas are normally the weakest link when it comes to student essays.