Steps and tips for writing an Essay on Climate Change

Last Updated: 03 August 2023

Are you wondering how to write an essay about climate change? Climate change issues have been making headlines for a while now, so it makes sense that it is a debated topic across most disciplines. Creating a good climate change essay requires thoroughly researching and articulating your opinion on a topic. You have to be well informed about climate change and global warming. Writing a climate change essay challenges many students taking an environmental studies program because of the many requirements. On top of this, one needs to possess professional writing skills to write a high-quality climate change paper. Therefore, if you struggle to construct one, know you are not alone.

The following comprehensive guide will help you write a good essay about climate change.

Outline Example of a Climate Change Argumentative Essay

The following is an example of an outline you can use when writing an essay about climate change.

1. Introduction

2. Body paragraphs

Present strong evidence, examples, research, statistics, studies, and text citations to validate your thesis.

Explain a justification of the thesis.

Explain the second justification and so forth.

Provide a discussion of the opposition.

Explain the second opposing view.

3. Conclusion

Steps to Write a Great Climate Change

Even though this is a step-by-step guide for how to write an essay about climate change, the process is not linear. Sometimes you may have straightforward progress; other times, you may be overwhelmed by what is needed. So do not beat yourself up if you struggle to complete the paper. Here are the steps to follow when writing an essay on climate change.

Step 1: Read the Instructions or Prompt

An assignment prompt is a set of precise instructions of what your instructor expects to be done to show that you understand a subject. Reading and undertaking instructions is essential if you struggle to figure out how to write an essay about climate change. Assignment instructions and prompts provide valuable information about the paper's topic, structure, format, deadline, and other requirements.

Do not just skim through the instructions if you want to understand them. Take time to go through each sentence and pay attention to the keywords and phrases. When you do this, you will comprehend what is expected of you and maximize your chances of earning a good grade. 

Step 2: Do a Preliminary Research

You must get your points and ideas straight when writing a climate change essay. Environmental research has changed significantly, so using outdated information is easy. Conducting preliminary research will help you collect the relevant background information about a topic to answer the questions of who, what, when, where, and why. How to write an essay about climate change will become easier when you conduct preliminary research. This research will also help narrow your topic and form a research question as a road map for each section. Preliminary research activities could involve activities such as:

Begin your preliminary research immediately after you identify the focus of your paper. Start by getting familiar with the climate change topic by doing some online research. This will yield a ton of sources to read. Next, narrow down the paper's focus by getting into the specific elements of the topic. For instance, you could talk about how ice levels have fallen by 12% since 1980. You could also do this by thinking of the stance you wish to take about the topic. To make things easier, consider adding something interesting about the topic. It would be best to choose a topic you will have an easy time writing about. Ensure to create a list of questions about the topic that will help you write a good essay. You can answer these questions as you research more about the topic. When researching, check international environmental organizations' websites, such as World Bank, WWF, IPCC, UNEP, United Nations, etc., for up-to-date data and evidence to incorporate into your paper.

Step 3: Develop a Thesis Statement

To write a good climate change paper, you must develop a thesis statement depicting your position on the argument. A good thesis statement is the foundation of your topic and will be prominent throughout the paper. To create one, start by analyzing your sources as you look for controversies, ambiguities, or any implications the author failed to address. Figuring out any of these will put you on the right path to developing a solid thesis statement.

Climate change is one of the most pressing issues currently, resulting from human beings' (anthropogenic) activities. Thus, your thesis statement should display the urgency and gravity of the problem. Readers should understand that without taking any action, the repercussions would be detrimental. A strong climate change thesis statement must inspire readers to take necessary action to save the Earth. You will come across several different thesis statement ideas as you research, which you can use to write the essay.

  1. Co2 is an invisible threat that poses a significant risk to the environment. It increases global temperature and melts the ice caps and oceans' acidity levels.
  2. Environmental scientists have reviewed research from multiple disciplines and concluded that increasing global temperature has increased aggression.
  3. According to environmental reports, a surge in global warming has resulted in the intensity of weather conditions such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and storm winds, which have become devastating in various parts of the world.
  4. Climate change is a real threat that has led to melting ice caps that have resulted in rising water levels in water bodies and resulted in devasting storms in some countries.
  5. Climate changes are slowly occurring reality because of various human activities and are the most significant environmental challenge the world is currently facing.

As you construct your thesis, make sure it:

The thesis should be debatable, clear, and concise. It should also not be more than two sentences long.

Step 4: Write an Outline or Essay Plan

Now that you have a thesis you can work with, it is time to create a plan. Figuring out how to write an essay about climate change becomes easier with a good outline. An outline is also a great way to determine how your essay will flow. An excellent essay is consistent, which can only happen when you create an outline involving a great introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion.

Introduction

Begin with a hook like:

  1. A famous quote to get the readers to mull over the words. For instance, "Global warming isn't a prediction. It is happening."- James Hansen.
  2. A shocking fact will make you readers get involved with the problem. For instance, Since the 1900s, the Earth's temperature has risen by 2 degrees.
  3. An intriguing question to make readers add their thoughts about the topic.

Please remember a hook aims to provide a small piece of information to grab readers' attention and get them to read your paper. So, ensure you make it worthwhile.

Body Paragraphs

The body paragraph is an integral part to master when learning how to write an essay about climate change. This is where you present your arguments about the chosen thesis. You can either defend or oppose it but make sure you provide evidence, in the form of quotations, examples, illustrations, etc., to back it up. Your body should look like this:

  1. Topic sentence
    1. Supporting sentence.
    2. Supporting evidence.
    3. Analysis of the significance of the evidence.
    4. Concluding sentence
  2. Topic sentence:
    1. Supporting sentence.
    2. Supporting evidence.
    3. Analysis of the significance of the evidence.
    4. Concluding sentence
  3. Topic sentence:
    1. Supporting sentence.
    2. Supporting evidence.
    3. Analysis of the significance of the evidence.
    4. Concluding sentence
  4. Topic sentence
    1. Supporting sentence.
    2. Supporting evidence.
    3. Analysis of the significance of the evidence.
    4. Concluding sentence
  5. Topic sentence
    1. Supporting sentence.
    2. Supporting evidence.
    3. Analysis of the significance of the evidence.
    4. Concluding sentence

A topic sentence is an initial statement that introduces the idea you will discuss in the paragraphs. Everything you discuss underneath should relate to the point. Use relevant and authoritative examples to develop your points.

Conclusion

  1. Restatement of the thesis.
  2. Summary of the main points.
  3. An insightful statement, implication, and future recommendations

Step 5: Write the First Draft

Now that you know how to write an essay about climate change start writing. Begin with the introduction, where you state why climate change came to be and how human activities have accelerated it. Conclude the introduction by presenting your thesis statement. Make sure you do not include any irrelevant information. Every piece of information you provide should be directly related to the topic at hand.

As you write the body, make sure you state your points clearly and explain them in a way that readers will understand. Remember that the purpose of the body paragraphs is to develop your thesis. So, ensure each paragraph introduces an idea supporting your main argument. Then provide examples to back your ideas. For instance, if you are talking about the effects of climate change. Climate change has resulted in the melting of glaciers, leading to a rise in water levels. Conversely, discussing solutions to climate change, you could talk of individual steps countries can take to reduce climate change and combat global warming.

The conclusion paragraph should be between 10-15% of the essay. It tells readers that you have come to the end of your climate change essay. It should not introduce new information but summarize the main points discussed in the body paragraphs. The conclusion should end with a powerful statement that leaves readers with a strong impression of climate change.

Step 6: Edit, Proofread, and Polish into a Final Draft

Now that you are done writing ensure your climate change essay is error-free before submission. Proofread and revise your work as you check for grammar, spelling errors and ensure that all the points are articulated. Editing techniques ensure you understand how to write an essay about climate change without errors. It will also ensure your work is more readable by checking on clarity, formatting, style, and citations.

Some of the editing strategies to incorporate include:

After editing, you can start proofreading by doing the following:

Ensuring your work is free of errors will help you earn a good grade and establish credibility among your audience.

Checklist for a Good Climate Change Essay

Are you trying to figure out how to write an essay about climate change? Use the following checklist to ensure your climate change essay is up to par. Make sure that you have the following:

Related Blog Post: Powerful words to make your essay stand out.

Choosing a Good Climate Change Topic

A good topic is critical to helping readers understand the issue at hand. However, selecting a good topic for a climate change essay is challenging, but the following tips can make it easy.

These tips will alleviate any fears you may have about how to write an essay about climate change. However, if you are still struggling to decide on the best topic, here is a list of some climate change topics depending on your essay type.

Argumentative Topics on Climate Change 

Persuasive Topics on Climate Change 

Informative Topics on Climate Change 

Compare and Contrast Topics on Climate Change 

Problem Solutions Topics on Climate Change

Proposal Essay Topics on Climate Change

Related Blog post: Social and Global issues to focus your essay titles.

Good Arguments to Support Climate Change Argumentative Essay

The following are some good arguments for supporting a climate change argumentative essay.

Final Word on Climate Change Essays

Climate change is a serious issue that has been making headlines over the last few years. Writing an effective climate change essay is one way to convey your message about the controversial topic. You have to come up with excellent points to make a case about climate change. In addition, you have to know how to organize your work to have a logical flow. For this, you can use transition words to connect ideas and concepts. We hope the above tips will help you learn how to write an essay about climate change. The same ideas, steps, and tips apply when writing a global warming essay. Regardless of the topic, follow this brief guide and smile toward better grades.

If you want custom essay assistance with your global warming or climate change paper, we are a click away. Our writers work round the clock to ensure we attend to all 'write my paper for me' requests within the shortest turnaround time. Expect original, well-researched, organized, and well-cited papers from our website. Trust us to write your essay today!

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Frequent Questions about Climate Change Essays

How do you start an essay on climate change?

Begin with a fun fact or shocking statistic about climate change and its consequences that will excite readers to know more about it. Similarly, you can begin with a famous quote or ask an intriguing question. You need an attention-getter or attention-grabber at the start of the essay to hook your readers, making them anticipate reading your entire essay.


How can I write about climate change?

What is a good introduction to climate change?

A good introduction begins with a captivating hook about climate change to grab readers' attention and make them interested in the essay. Followed by a strong thesis statement that supports your argument. Finally, it also signposts or outlines what readers should expect to read in the body paragraphs.

How do you start off an essay?

By coming up with a great hook to capture readers' attention, followed by some relevant background information to let your audience know what you are about to talk about, then writing a thesis statement and concluding with an outline of the essay.

What are the ten causes of climate change?

What are the four leading causes of climate change?

What are the five effects of climate change?

What is climate change in a paragraph of 10 lines?

Climate change is a long-term transformation of temperature and weather patterns. It can last for an extended period, a decade or more. The shift in weather conditions is due to natural elements and anthropogenic activities, leading to global warming. The increase in the Earth's temperature results in greenhouse effects. This then causes the melting of glaciers, leading to a rise in oceans and sea levels. Factors affecting climate change could be either internal or external. Internal factors are those beyond human control, like volcanic eruptions. External factors, on the other hand, involve human activities. Internal and external activities result in flooding, drought, heat waves, etc. This makes it harder for day-to-day living in most parts of the world. Planting more trees and stopping harmful activities will stop global warming and climate change.

What is climate change in 500 words?

The United Nations reports that the failure to control global warming will increase the Earth's temperature by 6 c by the end of the 21st century. The world is already experiencing these effects, from extreme weather conditions like tornadoes to wildfires. Scientists argue that things will worsen as time passes if things do not change.

Climate change refers to long-term shifts in world temperature and weather patterns. This change is due to natural causes such as volcanic eruptions and sun activity changes. However, it is also due to human activities such as burning fossil fuels.

Research has shown that burning fossil fuels emits poisonous gasses in the air, which destroys the ozone layer. The ozone layer is a protective shield in the Earth's stratosphere responsible for absorbing ultraviolet rays from the sun. Human activities such as burning fossils release halogen gases containing bromine and chlorine atoms, which lead to the depletion of the ozone layer. This depletion affects the terrestrial and aquatic biogeochemical cycles and melanoma skin cancer among humans.

Climate changes also manifest itself in various ways. Over the past few years, there has been an increase in severe storms witnessed in most parts of the world. As the Earth's temperature increases, more moisture evaporates, exacerbating extreme ran, catastrophic flooding, and more destructive storms. The warming of the ocean causes the frequency of extreme rainfall. Tornadoes, cyclones, and typhoons are all a result of warming oceans. These types of storms bring about a lot of destruction and fatalities. 

While climate change causes record-breaking storms in some parts of the world, the other parts, which are already water-stressed, suffer from extreme water shortages, thus leading to drought. Warmer temperature increases evaporation, which reduces surface water, thus drying out land. If there is insufficient water supply, growing crops becomes a challenge. Climate change intensifies drought by making it more severe and consistent.

The Earth is ours to protect; if everyone fails to participate in environmental protection, we will have nothing left. Everyone should take steps to reduce carbon emissions, which will have positive consequences like improved air quality.

Renewable energy comes from using wind or solar power. These types of energy do not emit harmful gases, leading to climate change.

Using energy wisely to reduce pollution is yet another strategy to help reduce the aftermath of climate change. Installing a programmable thermostat in homes, swapping gas for electric stoves and unplugging electronics when not in use will reduce air pollution.

Overall, climate change is a change in average weather conditions in a particular region over a long period. Failure to take action will only make things worse now and in the days to come. Instead of neglecting our environment, we should start acting up and taking measures to ensure the world is safe.

How to write a climate change in 1000 words (break it down)

1000 words essay on climate change has five paragraphs with the following structure.

Introduction (100 words)

Body paragraphs (800 words)

The body should have three paragraphs, each explaining an individual point. Each of the paragraphs should be between 200- 250 words.

Conclusion (100 words)