This essay is going to look

Well-structured text — although essays can be considered as one of the least formal types of writing, they still need to have a solid structure and follow the proper academic paper format. Clear central idea — every academic essay should deliver a specific point that should be clear and powerful (i.e. thesis statement).

NEVER start out saying “I will discuss” or “I will talk about” or “My topic is” or “This essay is about”—-I always tell my students that the minute I see that intro, I will give them back the essay to fix it! Here’s the deal: you do not want to tell the reader what you are going to DO, just do it, just show them.

Show, Don’t Tell! (the College Essay, Pt. 2) by Chris S. '11 My take on the MIT short essays. December 23, 2009 in Admissions, Advice, Best of the Blogs, Process & Statistics QUOTE: (i) Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print. (ii) Never use a long word where a short one will do.

Compared to other types of academic writing, essays are usually shorter in length and present the authors’ opinions to support their arguments. Here are some key features of an academic essay for you to keep in mind: Conciseness — as a rule, essays are short; the length of such papers range from 200 to 500 words.