In the field of marketing, being persuasive is the key to success. You need to be able to convince your audience about why your ideas are good enough to be implemented. Writing a marketing essay is a challenging experience for many marketing students for this reason. If you are in this conundrum, you are not alone! To decrease your anxiety related to marketing courses, you can get marketing essay help and avail professional essay writer’s service. But knowing the basics of a marketing essay are important to get you started.
Read on to see what a marketing essay entails, what are some common mistakes students make, and some tips on improving your marketing writing.
What is a marketing essay?
A marketing essay is a piece of academic work you write for a marketing course. Like any other essay, it needs to have certain basic components, such as an introduction, a body of paragraphs showing main arguments and evidence, and a well written conclusion. A marketing essay needs to follow the essentials of an academic essay, as well as convince the reader of the points you are making (University of Nottingham, n.d.).
Marketing essays can be about several topics, but they are usually written in a persuasive style. Your job is to tell the reader about your marketing idea and why it will work. You need to base your arguments on previous marketing research or theories.
7 mistakes to avoid when writing a marketing essay
There are many reasons your marketing essay may not be good enough to get the grade you want. But don’t worry, by reading the following common mistakes in marketing essays you can be sure to avoid them and be successful in your studies!
1. Don’t ignore the assignment brief
Students make the mistake of not taking enough time to go through the assignment question. This is a common mistake that needs to be avoided. You should carefully go through the assignment question and see what is required by the assignment (University of Bradford, n.d.). You can highlight the keywords and see the main questions being asked.
Marketing essays usually require you to analyze a certain topic using evidence and coming up with your own arguments. They can ask such questions as comparing different ideas or evaluating the topic in detail. If you ignore the requirements of the essay, you cannot structure the essay in the right way, and end up losing marks.
2. Don’t be dismissive of your thesis statement
Once you are clear on your topic, you need to develop a thesis statement that clearly outlines your main arguments in the essay. A lot of times students do not focus on making their thesis statements clear or concise. By not spending enough time, students come up with thesis statements that are not developed or based on sound reasoning.
Before starting your marketing essay, you need to do a thorough search on the internet and read books about the topic to have a clear understanding of it. Then you are in a position to make a well-reasoned thesis statement. And you can base your whole essay around that thesis statement.
3. Don’t forget to make a paper outline
After you make the thesis statement, it is important to make an outline of your essay. Students who ignore this step run the risk of being disorganised and confused about what to include. It is no surprise, then, that they do not get good grades. So, you should always make an outline of headings and important points to include under each heading. This will give you a clear idea about where to start and what to include. You can also assess whether your paper fulfills the requirements of the assignment by looking at the outline.
4. Don’t try to skim through the readings
Researching on marketing topics does require a lot of research, and you should spend time thoroughly reading the main arguments about that topic. Students make the mistake of quickly going through the readings to save time and may end up missing vital information. For example, if your topic is about comparing the models of branding, you need to read about the models thoroughly to be able to see the similarities and differences.
This point is really important for critical writing. In university level marketing courses, critical thinking is a requirement, and you can achieve this if you spend a lot of time reading about concepts and frameworks. So don’t skimp on reading!
5. Don’t be vague in your writing
Marking is a management science and requires clarity of expression. A common mistake students make is not using the right academic language for the essay. You need to make sure you use active voice and use technical business language in your essay. Avoid using the first and second person and maintain a formal tone.
6. Don’t ignore business case studies
Case studies are vital for marking essays. They tell you about how real life businesses apply marketing concepts. By not including real life case studies in their analysis, students make it difficult for them to get good grades. So, always look for case studies involving your topic and include them in your analysis to have a strong basis for your arguments. The internet has various sources for accessing case studies.
7. Don’t forget to spend time in editing your paper
This is the last step and happens after you have written your paper. You’d be surprised to learn how many students submit their assignments without proofreading or editing them! They put themselves at risk of leaving in mistakes and not citing properly. So, always proofread your final work, and edit it where needed. This also gives you the chance to improve your structure and writing style and put it more details where you think they are needed.
Some Final Words
By now you should know some common mistakes that students make while writing marketing essays. Maybe you have made some of these in your studies before, but you are now better equipped to deal with your marketing assignments and get the grade you want!