Read the essay question several times to make sure that you fully understand the subject matter.
Write the main ideas that you want to express in your essay to help you formulate the thesis statement.
Organize your essay by writing a rough-draft template of what you want to include. The most effective essay includes an introductory paragraph with a thesis statement, three main supporting paragraphs and a concluding paragraph.
Open your essay with a strong introductory statement that clearly expresses your thoughts and sets up the body of the essay. Using some kind of hook that grabs the reader is always effective. For example, if you're writing about an incident that changed your life, you could start with, "It was raining the day my father died," which gets the reader's attention. Write a strong thesis statement that expresses the focus of your essay and describes how you will back up your statement with evidence in the subsequent paragraphs. Be specific and use strong action verbs that stand out. Use your thesaurus and dictionary to expand the word choice in this section.
Write three supporting paragraphs that directly relate to the points you made in your introduction and thesis statement. Write a sentence in the first of the three paragraphs that transitions the reader from your thesis into the main body of the essay. Develop each paragraph by providing evidence to back up everything you write. Beware of going off on tangents. Every paragraph must be linked to a point you made in the thesis statement.
Conclude the essay by summarizing your main points to tie the three paragraphs together. The goal of an effective conclusion is to restate to the reader how you've thoroughly supported your thesis statement in the main body of the essay.