Strengths and weaknessess as an essay writer

Writing essays has always presented somewhat of a challenge for me. It just isn't something that comes easily to me. Over the past few years of high school my essay writing has most definitely progressed but there is still room for improvement Something that I do well while writing an essay is coming up with a strong argument that gets the point across. I tend to be able to come up with strong supporting points but I then have trouble structuring them in my essay in an effective way. I hope to be able to learn how to properly structure an essay in a way so that my ideas are clear and easily understood. Another thing I think I will struggle with is breaking out of the typical essay pattern we learn in grade 9 and 10. Making sure to avoid doing things like restating the thesis in the conclusion, or having the typical 3 paragraphs with an idea for each. I think breaking out of this trend will allow me to expand my essay writing. Something else I struggle with is being able to keep "my voice" in the essay without it sounding unofficial. I find that my writing style becomes too casual when I write using my voice. I sometimes write the way I would speak in a conversation which can make my writing confusing to read. I also need to work on my in-text citations, thinking about when I should use them to have the strongest affect. My goal for myself as a writer is to be able to use my strong ideas to create a well-structured essay that has a sophisticated voice, and good in-text citations. I will try to achieve this goal by spending more time on the planning stage. While planning I will think about what structure I want my essay to take, and also what some good points to cite would be.