How to Write
Writing a good essay is the basis of all academic study and still the main way of testing students’ understanding of a topic that has been taught. Therefore, you should make the acquisition of good essay writing skills one of your main priorities as you move through academic life.
The basis of writing a good essay is the understanding and answering of the question correctly. This may sound obvious but it is very easy to misread a question and therefore lose marks because the essay you are writing is not the essay that was required – this happens more frequently than you would think!
For this reason, when beginning to write an essay you should ask yourself:
- What precisely is this question asking me to do?
- How many parts are there to the question?
- Do I understand exactly what is required?
This would be the basis of your ‘thesis statement’, formed from your response to the question and this should feature in your introduction. Look for ‘key words’ here, such as ‘analyse’, compare’, ‘contrast’ etc. as they will help you to determine what type of essay question this is. Only when you have addressed these questions and decided on your response should you move on to structure and write your essay.
Structuring Your Essay
Before you start, make an essay plan. This should be a very basic list of all the points you want to make in your essay.
If you do this then later, when you are writing your essay, you can look back and refresh your memory when you run dry, as we all do from time to time!
Most basic academic essays are structured on the ‘five paragraph essay’ or a variation of it. The five paragraph structure is as follows:
- The introduction – this addresses the essay title, as identified above, and includes your thesis statement. As has been stated the introduction is based upon the thesis statement i.e. your response to the question. The introduction should also include an indication of the way that you will be answering the question (known as the ‘methodology’) and an overview of some of the major texts you will be using. Keep the introduction brief and do not include quotations in it. Conclude the introduction with a sentence linking it to the main body of the essay.
- The main body of the essay – this is a series of linked paragraphs each of which addresses a different aspect of the main argument. Here are some tips for structuring the main body:
- You need to ensure that despite each paragraph being different, they are all connected to the central theme or argument
- You supply ample evidentiary support to substantiate your argument in each case.
- In the five paragraph essay, the main body would consist of three paragraphs but this can be varied according to the length and topic of your essay.
- It is important that the evidence that you provide should be analysed appropriately.
- This means commenting on significant words and saying how they help to make the evidence important.
- Remember that each of the paragraphs in the main body of the essay should be connected by linking sentences at the beginning and end of each so that they seem to be strongly joined and related to the main topic and each other.
- Ensure that you cite your evidence correctly using the referencing style you have been asked to use. This is usually either footnote and bibliography or parentheses (brackets) and reference list – you just need to check what style to use with your tutor.
- The conclusion – this should be a summary of your argument and what you believe you have achieved within it. It can also be useful in a conclusion to give some indication of what you feel are or were the limits of this essay and what direction future work might take.
In most cases, you will also need to supply a bibliography and/or a reference list to accompany your essay. This needs to be structured in alphabetical order and compiled in the referencing style required by your school, college or university, as with your quotations. You need to consult your tutor on this and the style guide for the required referencing style of your academic institution.
Writing an essay according to this structure gives you a strong outline but also allows you sufficient flexibility to adapt and change if the question or structure seems to require you to do so.
Remember that it is not necessary to write long and overblown sentences in your essay. The essence of good English is clarity and your argument should reflect this. When you are writing your essay, bear these points in kind, asking yourself:
- Am I using two words where one will do?
- Is the point I am making relevant to the main argument?
- Is the point I am making well-expressed?
- Is the language I am using free from errors in grammar, punctuation and/or spelling?
The answer to all of these questions should be ‘yes’ and if not, you should make the appropriate changes to make your essay the best it can be.
Finally, you should proof-read your essay carefully so that you make sure that you have made no careless errors which will lose you marks and lessen your grade.
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