Select a topic for your essay with which you are very familiar. Now is not the time to decide to learn a new subject. The more familiar you are with your content, the clearer and more precise your writing will be. If you have been assigned to write a persuasive essay, you'll be able to form a concise opinion about something you know and feel passionately about. Whereas your English 101 assignments were designed to help you write for specific professions, English 102 prepares you to write for all of the college classes you'll take. You'll need to demonstrate that you can pick apart a subject and provide eloquent detail to explain a subject. Writing about what you know will make this easier.
Make a list of ideas of things to address in your essay. If you are writing about Valentine's Day, you might write that people exchange valentines, go on dates, take romantic vacations, give one another cards and candy, have parties and drink champagne. You might also write down concepts such as cupid, social expectations, gender expectations, being single on Valentine's Day, the history of Valentine's Day and so on. Narrow down the subjects that you will write about to the three most important. You might select that people exchange valentines, the history of Valentine's Day and gender expectations because you feel the most confident about your ability to write critically, convincingly and concisely about these topics for your assigned audience, which is an English 102 expectation.
Write your thesis statement first. This will help you hone in on the specific subject that your essay will address. It should be one sentence and concisely describe what your essay is about for your reader. If he only has 10 seconds to read your paper, this one sentence should clue him in to its main points. For your Valentine's Day essay, you might write "Celebrated every year on Feb. 14, Valentine's Day is a holiday rich with history and gender-based social expectations on which people exchange valentines." English 102 professors expect their students to write concisely -- even more concisely than in English 101, so don't waste words on fancy language or tough vocabulary in your thesis statement.
Build an introductory paragraph around your thesis statement. Provide basic facts about Valentine's Day and explain to your reader why this topic is important and relevant to her life. Provide a hook, or an interesting, attention-grabbing piece of information, that will convince your reader to continue reading your essay. English 102 students should be aware of who their audience is and should demonstrate this awareness by choosing a fact that their reader will find interesting or even startling.
Expand the three main points to form the body of your essay. Write one or two paragraphs, depending on the assigned length of your essay, covering each topic. Your first paragraph might address how Valentine's Day came into existence and how it got its name. The second might discuss how men are expected to give women cards, flowers and chocolate, and how women react if they do not receive these items. The third body paragraph might discuss the tradition of exchanging valentines and how valentines have changed over time from handwritten love notes to commercial products for children. English 102 students are expected to write compelling details about their subject instead of providing generic information, so conduct extra research into your subject matter to present the most pertinent information.
Write a conclusion to your essay. Your conclusion should concisely sum up what you have written without repeating your introductory paragraph or thesis statement. Your English 102 professor will evaluate your paper for your ability to make strong assertions, offer criticism and construct arguments. Consider your conclusion your last chance to tell the reader what you want her to take away from your essay and to show your professor your ability to form a sound argument.
Proofread and spell-check your essay. This is a simple step that, when overlooked, can severely affect your grade. Your English 101 professor may have been more lenient about careless errors, but that will not be the case with your English 102 instructor. He expects a higher level of writing than your English 101 professor. Read your essay out loud to yourself or to a friend. Hearing it out loud may help you spot poor diction and grammatical errors. Ask a friend or roommate for feedback and revise your essay accordingly. Use your computer's spell-check function to ensure that your paper is error-free.