As a college student, you constantly face assignments requiring exceptional writing skills that captivate the reader and bring the subject to life. Unfortunately, many people find it challenging to create content that is engaging, often receiving poor scores as a result. If you’re tired of struggling to write intriguing essays, there are tactics you can use to ensure your content flows and entertains the reader. This list of seven helpful tips to make your writing less bland will give you the tools you need to create high-quality content you can be proud of.
What Makes A High-Quality Essay?
Understanding what makes a high-quality essay is essential for creating content that your audience enjoys reading, whether it’s the professor, classmates, or even a review board. There are many characteristics that combine to create a well-rounded essay, including the ones listed below:
- A well-conveyed argument
- Proper structure
- Trustworthy sources
- And more
While structure, grammar, and ensuring your essay is factually correct are vital parts of creating intriguing content, the most important aspect is making sure it interests the reader. You want to grab their attention from the introduction to the closing paragraph, guiding them along while providing information and entertainment. Let’s take a look at some of the best ways to create interesting content so you can avoid falling into a dull writing style that bores the reader.
7 Tips For Creating Captivating Content
- Choose Topics You’re Interested In
While it may be true that you can’t always choose your essay topics, if you have the opportunity, you should always seek ones that you find compelling. When you are passionate about the subject, that excitement naturally conveys through your writing, making it more engaging and intriguing for the reader. Enjoying the topic also helps make the writing process easier and (dare we say it) more fun! But what do you do if you’re given a topic you find seriously dull? Try these steps to make it a bit more manageable.
Alter Your Outlook
The way you view boring topics has a direct influence on the quality of your writing. Changing your outlook and resolving to find an interesting aspect will help make your writing more intriguing.
Consider The Reader
Don’t assume everyone finds the subject as boring as you do; the reader may find the topic extremely entertaining. Focus on creating an essay they would enjoy reading.
Utilize Google
Googling for your topic can lead you to people who find it compelling, whether in videos, articles, or forums. By reading their views, you may find the topic is more interesting than you realized and receive inspiration for your writing.
- Imitate Different Writing Styles
You’ve heard the saying, “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” and that holds true for writing. Take some time to research different writing styles you find interesting and easy to read and try to emulate them. Consider why you find the writing intriguing, asking yourself questions like:
- Why does the writer hold my interest?
- What sentence structure do they use?
- Are there specific techniques I can imitate?
You may find there are multiple styles you enjoy, so don’t be afraid to implement different aspects to create a style all your own.
- Don’t Try To Get Fancy
One mistake many college students make is trying to make their writing sound too high-brow, often sounding like a thesaurus threw up, resulting in an overly complicated piece of content that no one enjoys reading. In fact, many undergrads admit to overcomplicating their writing to make it sound ostentatious. Don’t risk alienating your reader; stick to clear, easy-to-read language that focuses on substance and quality.
- Use Active Voice
If you ask any professor what one of the best ways to make an essay more intriguing is, they will answer using active voice. Active voice allows the reader to feel part of the writing and creates a more concise, readable result. Active voice has the subject acting on, while passive voice sees the subject acted upon. For example:
Active: The doctors concluded the treatment used was…
Passive: It was concluded by doctors that the treatments used were…
It’s clear to see the active voice is easier and clearer to read.
- Keep It Concise
More is not always better with writing, and rambling on can quickly make the reader tune out. Focus on keeping your content concise, considering the thoughts and facts you want to convey without adding extra fluff. You’ll find that editing is your best friend in this process, so be sure to objectively read your essay after each draft to see what you can improve, and consider having a trusted advisor read it over and give you their thoughts and guidance.
Jumping on the back of creating concise content is avoiding needless repetition. Try combining sentence structures, using a mix of compound, simple, and complex sentences to keep the reader engaged and highlights your syntax range.
- Utilize Rhetorical Questions
An excellent way to engage the reader’s comprehension skills and keep them engaged in your content is by utilizing rhetorical questions. This writing style was often used by ancient orators for dramatic effect and engagement and continues to be a useful tool today. Essentially, you include questions that you will answer later in the text, compelling the reader to continue reading and opening new lines of inquiry within the essay. Using questions like “does the evidence support this claim?” is a great way to start a paragraph, allowing you to discuss the evidence and provide a “hook” that will intrigue the reader.
- Don’t Forget To Proofread
You could have the most compelling and intriguing content, but if your essay is full of grammatical and spelling errors, it will put off the reader. Take time to proofread your essay thoroughly, ensuring there are no punctuation, grammatical, or spelling mistakes, the structure is correct, and the content flows smoothly. This step is a vital part of your writing, so consider having someone else proofread it as well to ensure perfection!
Writing interesting and compelling essays doesn’t have to be difficult. By using the seven tips above, you can create entertaining content, regardless of the topic, your readers will enjoy!