Crafting a Winning Essay: A Guide for Young Writers

Name Institutional affiliations Date Letter to young writer Dear young writer, Greetings, I am one of the named editors of the BAE 2020, and I will be among the editors who will be choosing the best 26 essays of the year. From our earlier conversations, I have noted that you are quite ambitious in your writing and express your desire in your essays to be part of the anthology. In this respect, I am writing you this letter to guide you on what it takes to make a bridge to the reader so that your success can be guaranteed. There are several criteria that you need to incorporate for your essay to be a success. Therefore, young writer, if you want any chance of being in my anthology, you’d better ensure that your essay contains the following. A good introduction paragraph. A good introduction paragraph is essential in any essay since it tends to set up the arguments you would wish to make and further tell the reader what to expect. An excellent introduction to your essay should catch your readers' attention by incorporating a hook sentence. The hook sentence tends to set the tone for your essay. The hook sentence should be clear, concise, and catchy, deliberately done to sparkle your reader's curiosity. In hook sentences, it is always good to avoid lengthy and dense sentences. In other words, the hook sentence should lead the reader into the essay by giving a sense of the topic of discussion and clearly stating why the topic is of interest to you. Once you are done with your introduction and have familiarised your reader with what you want to do and why it is appropriate to give your reader background information, let your reader understand your topic and argument. Background information depends on what you plan to write about, including the historical,