Writing an essay can be a very time-consuming and stressful process. However, most colleges and job applications nowadays require you to write at least one to get a clearer and more personal picture of yourself. Rushing to finish essays before the deadline is a common mistake made by many high school students, leading to grammatical errors and awkward words, which can negatively affect the reader's opinion of the author. Fortunately, it's easy to eliminate the stress associated with writing and produce a quality essay by following eight simple steps. Before you even put pen to paper, it's important to conduct research on the topic you're writing about. Writing about a topic without knowing anything is like going to war unarmed: it is useless and harmful. Great places to find information are school and local libraries. There you can search for books related to the topic you are interested in. Books often contain more information than necessary. However, further exploration may give you a better perspective on what your arguments are...