Let’s be honest here. When you get a new writing assignment, what’s your first reaction? It’s not excitement, is it? Indeed, a majority of students write their academic papers just to satisfy their instructors, get a grade, and get over with it. But how does it affect your readers, especially if they are your groupmates? How do you involve the audience while you are presenting such an essay?
The question is, how to balance the two things – to write a satisfying essay when you have a lot of other work to do and to engage the audience, especially if it is not from the academic community? We’ve prepared a few tips on how to pick and deliver an interesting topic for your next essay.
Consider Your Audience before You Start the Research
The first thing you should care about is your readers or listeners. Ask yourself, “what are they interested in?” For certain, it should be something new for them, something relevant to their experience, either personal or professional.
It is also essential to research an issue that you are interested in. It can be something that you know about a lot — consider the assignment as your chance to share information with others. Still, make sure that it is familiar to your potential readers.
Pick an Up-to-Date Topic
Don’t pick common and overused academic topics for essays; select trendy ones instead. Let your topic be fresh and original. If you follow the news and talk to people, you will be able to get some great ideas. Alternatively, ask your professor or make a survey among your classmates. Also, make sure that you use the most recent sources while researching.
Style and Conduct Are Essential
They contribute to the catchiness of your essay greatly. When you are presenting your topic, bear in mind that you are the part of the presentation as your text is. Use your voice and body language to highlight certain points while making statements or appealing to the listeners. Remember that you are talking to the audience, and your audience consists of individuals. During the speech, try to keep an eye contact with the listeners. Ask questions to involve the audience to the discussion — let it participate. Finally, use humor. If humor is not something that goes along well with your topic, then illustrate your presentation with anecdotes or some personal examples.
Your Topic Should Contain a Call for Action
Think about the goals of your essay. What do you want to achieve by presenting it? What do you want your listeners leave with at the end? Then make your presenting interactive, ask questions and encourage actions. Give the audience a final message, upon which they could act on their own.
If you truly want to stand out with your academic papers, you should stop thinking about them as the mere assignments. You are also interested in creating your essay, both the paper itself and its presentation, engaging for those who will read or listen to it. Make sure that your topic is familiar to them, gives them some new information to work with, or encourages them to do something. Speak to them instead of talking to yourself. At the end, you’ll see the improvement in your grades as well.