Imagine if you’re a teacher/professor/lecturer etc and you get an essay to read & review. You may find it interesting, full of in-depth analysis, continuously riveting etc. On the flipside, you may also find it dull, boring, and even full of mistakes. That’s the kind of mindset an examiner is bound to be in when he’s reviewing your essay too.

If you think that writing the essay completely the first time all that you need, think again! It’s also essential to revise your essay as well. There are several reasons why you need to do this. During the course of writing the essay, you may find it difficult put all your thoughts and opinions in the essay, or even that your thoughts have changed while you’ve been writing. It’s important to realize that you can control the way your essay comes out to the examiner. If you’re not happy when you review your essay, you can change it or re-arrange it till you find it perfect.

Once you’ve checked the overall message of the essay, the next step is to check for spelling and/or grammar mistakes. Make sure you’re using a word processor with a spell checkers, but regardless, be careful not to use it overtly. Make sure to check each word that’s marked instead of selecting the "Correct All" option. For grammar, make sure to use various words and not rely on a single word to be too repetitive. Use a thesaurus to select alternate words and a dictionary to make sure that you’re using the correct synonym.

Punctuation is another important aspect of having a neat & clean essay. The proper use of quotation marks, colons, semi-colons, apostrophes, commas etc creates the overall understanding and picture of the essay. Avoid using exclamation marks to over-stress your sentences.

Don’t be too casual while writing an essay. Avoid the use of contractions or abbreviations, such as don’t, can’t, won’t, shouldn’t, could’ve, would’ve or haven’t etc. Instead, rely on formal English and use complete forms such as do not, cannot, will not, should not, could have, would not have, have not etc. This shows the level of professionalism within your essay, even though it is written in a lighter vein.

If you’re citing other sources within your essay, make sure to properly explain and identify the author's ideas. Once you’ve done that, you’re welcome to offer your own opinion. You may choose to agree or disagree on the author’s viewpoints, so long as the opinion is your own.