Balancing Creativity and Structure in Essay Writing

I recently submitted an essay for my communications class, and my tutor said it had “strong ideas but lacked control.” That kinda stung. I’d gone for a more creative, storytelling approach instead of the classic intro-body-conclusion formula. I thought it would make my argument stand out more, but apparently, I just confused the reader. Now I’m stuck trying to find that sweet spot between sounding robotic and being all over the place. Anyone manage to figure that out?