Develop a One-Sentence Response
As you plan your essay, try to come up with a brief one-sentence response to the question right off the bat. As you do so, be sure that it matches the approach that's been called for by checking for key terms. If you're working on a paper for a class, you'll have plenty of time to mull over your one sentence, but even if you're taking an essay exam, the tactic is the same: come up with a very brief response that echoes the question.
For example, if you've been asked to compare two differing views, be sure that you draft a sentence that sums up the major similarity or difference between those views. If you've been tasked with writing an argument, be sure that you set forth a persuasive position. So if you've been asked to construct an argument about whether drugs should be legalized in the U.S., you might jot down 'Drugs should not be legalized in the U.S. because it would increase the number of addicts and crimes committed by drug users.' If you've been asked to evaluate specific statements, then you should draft a statement that weighs the merits of those statements. You might explain that one statement is more logically sound than another.
An additional benefit of taking this step is that you can use this statement as the basis for a thesis for your paper. But for purposes of staying on-track as you write your essay, having this short response sketched out in your notes can be helpful. You can glance back periodically at your core response and ask yourself whether you're still supporting that statement or if you've wandered off on a tangent with a lot of irrelevant details.
Sketch out an Outline of Your Major Points
Writing effective sentences at the same time that you work to convey your large-scale points can be a challenge. Putting together an outline of your major points is useful whether you're writing a timed essay for an exam or a term paper for a class. In a timed scenario, you can sketch out a very short, basic outline. With a term paper, you'll have time to add more detail. Either way, by plotting out the major points of your essay at the start of your writing process, you can concentrate on expressing your main points effectively within a well-organized structure for your main ideas. Having a plan can also keep you from panicking about how much time you have to write.
For example, if you're constructing an argument that drugs should not be legalized in the U.S., you might decide to structure your paper around three major points. Let's say that you focus on these three main ideas:
- Legalization would lead to increased drug use.
- Legalization would lead to more young people becoming addicted early in life.
- Legalization would lead to more violent crime due to an increase in the number of addicts.
By planning out your major points in a rough outline - and by sticking to that plan - you can help yourself stay on track with what you set out to say in your paper. As you write each paragraph of your paper, you can ask yourself: 'Does this paragraph support my main response that drugs should not be legalized in the U.S.?' As you write each paragraph, quickly refer back to your one-sentence response to the question and to your major outline points to ensure that you're staying on-track with what you need to be writing about.
What to Do if You've Strayed off Point
If you do find that you've wandered off course, you'll want to rein yourself back in and answer the question as fully as you can. If you're working on a term paper and have plenty of time, this is a manageable problem, but if you're working on a timed essay exam, this can be a cause for stress.
Many essay exams are administered on computers, which makes it easier to go back and revise your already-written paragraphs. If you're working on a handwritten exam, it may be a good idea to write on every other line of your paper, leaving enough space to cross out lines and rewrite them if you need to.
Let's address what to do if you find that you've gone off on a tangent with seconds ticking away. Examine the paragraph that's gone astray. Determine the nature of the problem. Have you used the right approach in that paragraph but overloaded it with too many irrelevant details? You can take another look at your earlier one-sentence response to the essay question. If you find that you have sentences - or even a whole paragraph - that doesn't directly support that response, you'll know that you've gone off track. To solve this, edit out any information that's not central to the main point of the paragraph. You may need to add a few more supporting details or examples that actually work to support the main point of your paragraph.
Perhaps irrelevant details aren't the problem. Perhaps you haven't used the right approach in the paragraph.