Essay Writing The Basics

What Does a Good Essay Need?

• An academic essay aims to persuade readers of an idea based on evidence.
• An academic essay should answer a question or task.
• It should have an argument.
• It should try to present or discuss something: develop a ‘thesis’ or a set of closely related points - by reasoning and evidence.
• An academic essay should include relevant examples, supporting evidence and information from academic texts or credible sources.

1. Starting Your Essay

Although there are some basic steps to writing an assignment, essay writing is not a linear process.

You might work through the different stages a number of times in the course of writing an essay.

For example, you may go back to the reading and notetaking stage if you find another useful text, or perhaps to reread to locate specific information.

Start work early

You can’t write a successful essay unless you give yourself enough time

to read, research, think and write. Don’t procrastinate or leave it until the

last minute; start as early as possible.

Define the question and analyse the task

Writing down everything you know about a topic is not enough to make

a good academic essay. Analysing, then answering the essay’s question

or task is central.

• Be sure that you understand exactly what the question requires you to do.
• Identify the key words (like discuss or analyse) and clarify the approach you are required to take.

2. Researching Your Topic

One of the first steps in essay writing is researching. You

must research your essay by reading and finding relevant

information. Reading on the topic enables you to develop a

thesis and answer the essay question.

Where to Start?

Your starting point for your essay is your initial response to the essay topic or question. Your response is based on what you already know. But this is only the starting point. You then need to research, question your response, and find some evidence to help form your answers.

Reading for Your Essay

Begin reading for the essay as early as possible. This will give you plenty of time to familiarise yourself with the topic and develop your ideas. When you begin to look at your readings more closely,

remember to read with a purpose. Ask yourself:

• What do I already know about the topic? Start with what you know. If a topic is unfamiliar, do some introductory reading. Look at your lecture notes and course readings for help.
• What do I need to read to be able to answer the essay question?
• Is this material useful to my topic/argument? 
• Can I use this material to support my answer?

Taking Notes From Your Readings

When you read in-depth and find information relevant to your essay, note it down. Your notes will be the basis of your essay.

Don’t take notes during your first reading. If you are using photocopies, underline or highlight relevant information. You can return to it when you reread and take notes.

Always make notes with the question clearly in mind. You must use evidence to support your argument, so look carefully for relevant information. This can include summaries or direct quotes from texts, useful examples, case studies or statistics.

Make a note of any sources of information you use. Copy down all the bibliographic details of what you read. Include author, date, title, publisher and place of publication. For journal articles, include volume and issue numbers. This will help with your referencing.

3. Organising Your Ideas

Now begin organising your thoughts into an answer.

Your notes should help you to do this.

Thinking it Through

Essay writing requires both creative and critical thinking. 

• Creative thinking encourages you to broaden your ideas. Try techniques like brainstorming or mindmapping.
• Critical thinking encourages you to narrow the focus or scope of your ideas (for example, asking why an example is important to your argument).

Your essay should include both points in favour of and against your argument. You need to evaluate these points - that is, explain why one argument is more important than the other.

4. Writing the Essay

Drafting

Writing a draft essay will help you work out:

• what you need to say 
• how you will answer the question
• which evidence and examples you will use
• whether you have enough information

Write a first draft to try out the structure and framework of your essay. Once you have a draft, you can work on writing well.

Structure

Structure your essay in the most effective way to communicate your ideas and answer the question. All essays should include the following structure:

1. Introduction

Answer the question and provide a summary or ‘road map’ of your essay. Tell the reader what you are going to talk about and what you believe the answer to be. Keep it brief, but mention all your main ideas.

2. Body

The body of your essay is where you answer the question by developing a discussion. Here, you show your knowledge and grasp of material you have read. Offer exposition and evidence. Use relevant examples and authoritative quotes to support your argument. If your question has more than one part, structure the body into sections that deal with each part of the question.

3. Conclusion

The conclusion rounds off the essay. Relate it back to your main ideas or points and reiterate your answer to the question. NEVER introduce new information in your conclusion. The conclusion moves from specific to general.

Essay Paragraphs

Each paragraph in the body of the essay should contain:

1. a topic sentence (or main idea sentence) that states your point; 
2. an explanation of the point you’re making; 
3. evidence. Most of the time, your point should be supported by some form of evidence from your reading, or by an example drawn from the subject area.

Don’t just leave the evidence hanging there - analyse it! Comment on the implication/significance/impact and finish off the paragraph with a critical conclusion you have drawn from the evidence.

5. Referencing Your Essay

All academic essays MUST contain references. Referencing guards against plagiarism, a serious academic offence.

Plagiarism is copying someone else’s words or ideas and presenting them as your own. Make sure you are familiar with the referencing style your faculty or school requires. Most Schools/Faculties have guides specifying the system they prefer. Often Schools/Faculties don’t mind which system you use as long as it is consistent. If this is the case, use the system you are most comfortable with.

Reference Lists

Remember to list all the books and articles you use for the essay in a Reference List. This is a list of all works cited in your essay, and should be the final page.

6. Editing Your Essay

Most essays are dramatically improved by careful editing. Good essays are the product of writing and rewriting. If you have time, put your essay aside for a few days before you begin to edit. This gives you time to gain a perspective on what you have written and to think further about your answer and arguments.

Don’t despair when you find faults in your essay - this is part of the editing process. If you find that you need more information, or your argument has holes in it, keep calm and concentrate on fixing any problems.

Once you have a well-organised and fairly complete draft:

• Revise sentences. Make sure the words you use mean what you think they mean. A good dictionary is a useful tool.
• Check transition signals. Be sure that a reader can follow the sequences of ideas from sentence to sentence, and from paragraph to paragraph.
• Check punctuation and spelling. 

7. Handing Your Essay In

READ the assignment guidelines in your course outlines and find out how your lecturer/tutor would like assignments presented. Make sure you have complied with their requirements and that you know when and where your essay should be handed in.

In General:

1. Make sure you know when, where or to whom your assignment should be handed in. Most schools have a box for  students to submit their essays.
2. Don’t hand in your essay in a plastic folder or sleeve (unless you are asked to do so). ‰
3. Use double-line spacing and a readable font (size 12 at least) ‰
4. Essays should be legible so make sure your essay is easy to read. If possible, type your essay. If not, write neatly on ‰ every second line.
5. Use a cover sheet (available from your school office). ‰
6. Number pages and use wide margins. ‰
7. Print on one side of the page only. ‰
8. Make sure you have an extra copy.