While some students often struggle to write longer essays and come up with enough words to hit the required word count, others are challenged to write shorter ones. In fact, 200-word essays are among the toughest to write as students must convey a complicated message in four short paragraphs. In this article you will find effective tips on how to write a great 200-word essay, as well as some examples.
General Essay Writing Tips
Brainstorm Ideas
Take another look at the prompts for the essay to gain a deeper understanding of the topic at hand. Make sure you fully understand what your teacher expects before starting to write. Don’t jump into writing an essay blindly without understanding what the paper is supposed to be about. The document may be 200 words, but it still needs a compelling structure like any other essay. Take advantage of all the other fundamentals of essay writing, you know. Create an attention-grabbing introduction and introduce a new idea with each paragraph.
Choose an Appropriate Topic
Choosing a topic you know about and familiar with is vital for any essay, especially a short one. Write your paper on something that means something to you or is otherwise essential to you. Choosing an appropriate subject helps you create an authentic and excellent piece. Your essay reflects your familiarity with the issue. A perfect quality paper increases your chances of achieving your goal, such as landing a scholarship.
Do Some Research
Be sure to dedicate some time to researching the subject. Understand the topic at hand. Doing research gives you the information you can use to write a better essay backed up with facts and figures to convince the audience to your way of thinking.
Give Yourself Enough Time
Be sure to take your time when writing the essay and think about the prompt. Create a plan and draft and revise them to put together the best possible paper. Essays and personal statements that you take the time to write correctly are sure to stand out and improve your chances of success.
Be Brief
You don’t have much room to play with for a 200-word essay. As such, you should keep things brief and avoid using jargon and complicated terminology. Stick to direct and efficient language to send your message.
Have a Thesis Statement
The thesis statement covers the main themes of an essay. The statement introduces readers to what they should expect from the piece. You can develop a short, two-sentence statement after creating an outline for the paper. This statement should introduce the purpose of the essay, so having an outline in mind helps to create one. This statement also gives you something to refer back to when writing the essay.
Write the Introduction
Once you’ve created a thesis statement and written the body of the essay, go back and write a compelling introduction. The introduction fascinates readers and encourages them to keep reading. Busy openings discourage people from reading and send the wrong message. Use an exciting story, quote, summary, revelation, or other hooks to start your paper and introduce the topic. Your hook should tie into the thesis statement.
Write the Essay Body
The essay body is the bulk of the text. This is where you describe your topic and make your arguments. The body is where you discuss the main ideas identified in your outline. Each paragraph in the body introduces one new concept or idea. Don’t forget to give each section an introductory sentence and ensure they serve a purpose.
Explaining the themes and ideas of the essay comes after this introductory sentence. Be sure to back up your claims with credible sources and information. Cite any material you reference or quotes you use according to the assigned essay format.
Stick to the Word Count
The desired word count is one of the most essential parts of writing an essay. If your piece comes with a word limit, then make sure that you respect that word count and convey your message in an appropriate number of words. Slight deviations are acceptable, but don’t severely under-write or over-write your essay. Also, avoid repeating information covered in companion pieces, such as a resume. The paper should be brief and written with perfect grammar. Go through the essay and correct grammar and spelling mistakes.
Write a Conclusion and Proofread the Essay
Make sure the points of your essay are appropriately organized. Avoid writing too much in the paper, or you risk losing control of the writing. Your essay conclusion summarizes the paper and the main points covered. The conclusion should be no more than five sentences long. Don’t introduce any new ideas during the closing statements. With that said, you can restate your thesis statement. Some people like to write conclusions by restating the introduction. When finished, go through the paper and correct any mistakes or other issues you find.
Guideline For Writing a 200-Word Essay
- Create the Plan and Outline. Creating an outline is as vital for a 200-word essay as it is for any other piece. These papers are concise and require an introduction and conclusion and the body. Keep the word count in mind as you put together the outline and ensure each section gets enough attention.
- Find Some Essay Templates. Check 200-word essay templates and examples. These will help you create your paper by giving you an idea of the format and writing style to use.
- Explain Ideas. Be sure to explain facts instead of using long quotes. This helps to keep the word count to a minimum.
- Use Complete But Concise Sentences. Use concise sentences to spread your message without using too many words.
- Proofread. Proofreading is one of the most essential parts of writing an essay. Proofreading is also the last thing you do after completing the paper. Read through your essay one more time and correct any mistakes you made when writing it. Check for grammar and punctuation errors, typos, punctuation marks, and structural problems to ensure the piece reads smoothly.
The Key Features of a Short Essay
- Thesis Statement. The thesis statement is crucial to any essay, no matter how long it is. However, how you formulate that statement can change. This statement should be placed in the first three sentences of the essay. Ensure that your thesis statement appears at the start of the essay.
- Opening Sentences. Each new paragraph must begin with a topic phrase. Approach the topic sentences from different angles and choose the most persuasive argument to create the most substantial opening sentences in a 200-word essay.
- Supporting Phrases. Writing such a short essay means ensuring each paragraph has supporting evidence that backs up the main arguments. However, avoid using over-long sentences or wordy facts to save room in the piece. Remove quotes that don’t add to the paper.
- Conclusion. Cover the thesis statement in the conclusion and provide a summary of the paper.
How to Reduce Word Count For a 200-Word Essay
Writing a 200-word essay is a challenge for students and professionals. Summarizing a complex idea in 200 words is a challenge for anyone. One way to approach the issue is to write a longer essay and then remove words to bring it down to 200. If your paper is longer than 200 words, you need to go through it and remove unnecessary words and sentences. Here are some tips on how to reduce the word count in a 200-word essay.
- Highlight key sentences you need in the essay and remove ones that aren’t.
- Single out and remove unnecessary words to ensure the essay only contains essential data.
- Evaluate the essay to see if sentences are connected to your main point or not. Delete any unnecessary sentences.
- Simplify long and complex sentences into simpler and shorter ones.
200-Word Essay Examples
Scholarship Essay Example #1
Many people who attended college in my area did so using loans. Reliance on student loans is an issue because there are many who can’t afford these loans, cutting them off from higher education. I want this scholarship because I want to achieve both my and my mother’s dream of attending college and studying for a degree.
I have two siblings attending college already because my mother always wanted us to have a better life than she did. I’ve watched her sell most of her possessions to send my siblings to college and borrow money herself, so they don’t have to. Our father died years ago in a fatal accident.
These struggles have not stopped me from dreaming of creating a better future. I work harder than anyone else I know. I am dedicated to success, but I don’t have the money to attend college and achieve that success.
I deserve this scholarship because of the hard work in my education. I have always worked hard to get top grades. I promise to work harder than anyone else to ensure I succeed in college. I eagerly await your response to my application.
Narrative Essay Example # 2
The mahogany coffin was covered in rocks and weeds. I was ashamed of myself for sending my brother off so dutifully when I grabbed the shovel. I was ashamed because I hadn’t given him a proper goodbye. As I stood there, shoveling dirt on my brother and letting him go, I had to accept that he was no more. I couldn’t believe that disease could take my beloved one away from me.
I learned my brother had sickle cell anemia when I was ten years old. I got mad at myself when he died. I couldn’t let go of how I abandoned him by watching TV or playing with friends instead of being with him.
I threw myself into my education. I wanted to learn everything I could about sickle cell anemia. I promised myself that I would learn and memorize everything I could about the disease.
Sickle cell anemia is just one small part of a person’s life. Sufferers like my brother are so much more than their disease. I want to become a specialist to help people suffering from sickle cell anemia. I want to provide others with the emotional and physical support I couldn’t give my brother. My work allows me to say goodbye to my brother without forgetting him.
Essay Example #3
Friendship is one of the most critical parts of being human. We learn the most essential lessons from our friends. People are shaped by their environment and become the person their friends want them to be.
There’s no such thing as a friend who will leave you in rough times. Someone who leaves you when you are in trouble is not a real friend. A real friend sticks with you to ensure you are always happy and motivated. They stay with you and help you achieve your goals.
Friendships also teach us to be loyal to one another. Friendships teach people how to be faithful and have people return that loyalty with their own. Everyone wants loyal companions in their lives. Friendships make people stronger. They test us and show us we can overcome our problems. Sometimes we end up fighting our friends, but we always reconcile and reconnect to friends. This is what it means to become stronger.
A best friend is someone who will be there during the low times and lift you back up. Our friends are there during the tough times in our life. Friends offer advice and guidance that helps you avoid danger and conflict. A loyal friend is the best thing you could ask for in life.
Conclusion
Writing a 200-word essay is more complicated than it sounds. We hope you understand how to write such a short essay correctly with our advice. Please don’t hesitate to reach out and contact the best essay writing services if you still need help writing essays of any length, not just 200-word essays.