Essay writing, as anyone who is involved in evaluating essays submitted for various purposes will concur is an art, and a fine art at that. There are people to whom the aptitude for writing essay seems to come naturally, with others really struggling with the task.
What makes the argument that ‘essay writing is an art’ hold water, however, is the fact that a considerable number of those who struggle with the writing essay task are not necessarily daft people in general terms, but rather people who simply happen to lack aptitude in the fine art that is essay writing. Conversely, those who seem to ace through the task of writing essay are not necessarily the cleverest of people (though ones writing, to be sure, does give insight into his or her general mental aptitude); but rather people who just have good aptitude in the art of writing essay.
Thankfully, essay writing, being the fine art it is, can be learned (as all arts can be).
The first step towards learning the fine art of writing essay is understanding the general principles of writing. There are many books on ‘introduction to writing’ and many more articles on the Internet offering tips for the same, so this should not really be a major problem. The general principles of writing in question here include things like sentence structure, flow of logic, fundamentals of writing grammar and so on, which every aspiring writer has to be armed with if they are to be successful at the task.
The second step towards learning the fine art of writing essay is reading widely. Unless you are a widely read person, you can never be a good writer. You therefore need to read widely on diverse subjects, for your enjoyment, while also noting the writing styles employed in those pieces of work you come across. Besides general works of writing, of course, if you can lay your hands upon some of what are considered well written essays, you would be well advised to read them keenly, studying them closely for style and substance – and noting what it is that makes them ‘so special.’
The third step, and the final one in the process towards learning the fine art of essay writing is practicing. As with all arts, practice in writing essay does make perfect. Some people, and especially the most accomplished writers, list writing as one of their hobbies; and you too will have to bring yourself to a point where you can enjoy your writing if you are to find the motivation to keep practicing; and finally become adept at the fine art of writing essay.
Remember, while becoming an accomplished essay writer might seem like too much work (especially if you feel you don’t have good aptitude for the task), it has its own rewards. Many ordinary people who have gotten themselves into superb jobs for instance, or into what are considered the prestigious schools (with the benefits both accomplishments confer) owe their success to nothing else, really, beyond their superb writing skills – that saw them submit awesome essays when they were asked to as part of their applications for the respective positions.