Significance

As you develop your sentences into paragraphs and make progress in considering how well these will be understood by your audience, you will have the essence of a first draft of the body of the essay. A valuable question to ask at this point is “So what?” A good essay will help the reader understand why the ideas, issues, and arguments discussed there actually matter. Try to make sure you have an answer in your essay for the reader who asks the so-what question.

Learning to see your writing through someone else’s eyes is difficult and takes practice. A helpful tactic, once you have a draft with which you are fairly satisfied, is to step back and forget about it for a day or two; the distance gained allows you a better chance of viewing the paper more objectively and from the perspective of another reader.