Academic Foundations

Week 5 – Essays

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FastwebEssay Tips: 7 Tips on Writing an Effective Essay

In this week’s topic we looked at essays; how to write, structure and reference them. Originally I thought that I had a fair idea about essays and what writing one involved but I was not prepared for the vast knowledge that I gained from this topic. It is easy to simple say that an essay is a piece of writing that is structured and requires you to cite and reference your work in order to avoid plagiarism; which I have now decided to call the ‘simplified basics’ of an essay, however there is a great deal more required to write a ‘good’ essay.

What I really need to focus on:

I have to make sure that I understand the essay question through identifying the key words called ‘instructional words’ and that I understand exactly what is expected, I should paraphrase the topic question in a way that I am able to answer the essay question and keep my focus on this throughout the essay. I have to conduct a focussed review of my notes and readings by identifying the key concepts in the essay question and creating further questions from these, and brainstorm what I already know about the essay question and break these down into sub-topics. I should also consider possible answers for the topic while I do my reading and note taking, which will help me focus on finding relevant, useful and specific information on the essay topic. I have to critically assess the arguments and validity of my sources to make it easier to determine the position that I will adopt in my essay, and include bibliographic details so I do not have to check them later. Before I begin to write, it will be very helpful to summarise my position (or answer to the question) in a sentences or two, and include bibliographic details so I do not have to check them later.

The essay should be logically structured to the essay question and points made within paragraphs need to be connected and well-researched. Some questions to keep in mind when preparing for my essay:

• The TOPIC AREA of my essay is…
• The QUESTION I am answering is….
• My THESIS STATEMENT is…
• THREE STRONG ARGUMENTS that support my thesis are…
• TWO or THREE ARGUMENTS that are in opposition to my thesis are…
• MY MAIN SOURCES OF INFORMATION are…

To avoid unnecessary spelling mistakes and awkward grammar (which I am great at doing) and confirm that I have correctly answered the essay question, I need to thoroughly edit and proofread my final draft.

Here is something I did not know to this extent:

There are several types of essays and each have their own structures, standards and parts and it is important to understand which type has to be written:

• Analytical essay
• Argumentative essay
• Interpretive essay
• Comparative essay
• Problem and solution essay
• Cause and effect essay

I will have to make use of the essay writing checklist (below) and will definitely refer back to the YouTube video (engvid. (2013, July 22). Writing skills: The paragraph  [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/0IFDuhdB2Hk) very often because I found them to be extremely useful.

Essay writing checklist

Have I …

• Understood the question correctly?
• Answered all parts of the question or task?
• Included a thesis statement (answer to a question or response to a task) and an appropriate argument?
• Developed my argument by using logical points which are well reasoned?
• Used informationfrom academic texts or credible sources to support my argument?
• Included relevant examples, where necessary, from the supplied case study or other data to demonstrate application?
• Been analytical and demonstrated critical thinking in my essay?
• Proofread my work to check that each paragraph links to the previous or the thesis?
• Structured my essay in an introduction, body and conclusion
• Checked my spelling, grammar and punctuation.

I look forward to the challenge of improving my academic writing and language skills and building on this knowledge as I continue through my course.