ESSAY WRITING

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ESSAY WRITING

• LEARNING OUTCOMES A successful student will be
  able to
• Explain why essays are a useful learning and
  assessment tool.
• Describe what makes a good/bad essay
• Outline the essential steps in preparing a good
  essay
• Explain the purpose of an essay outline /or
  mind map

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• Why do tutors set essays?
• What is the purpose of writing an Essay?
• What do you as a student get out of it?
• What does the tutor get out of it?

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• Academic Goals
• Deeper understanding of the subject area
• Learn to think analytically and critically
• Learn how to articulate your thoughts and ideas
• Develop your ability to make cogent arguments
• Develop your writing skills and use of English
• Manage a complex task successfully and
  independently

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Where do you start? I.e. once you stop panicking

TITLE
What is it and what is it asking you to write?
Look for clues in the words used.
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Clues in the title Analyse Justify or
prove Assess Review Compare Literature
review Contrast State Criticise Summarise Defin
e To what extent .. Describe Discuss But
remember to look beyond the Evaluate explicit
demands of the title. Examine Illustrate
Expected to analyse as well as
describe
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What does the tutor think the title
means????? Before you really understand what the
title is asking for, you might need to do some
background reading and digest the information
already covered in lectures to give some
perspective on the subject. Dont worry - your
understanding of the essay topic will evolve as
you do your preparation and writing.
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How a person sets about writing an essay will
differ between individuals and with their level
of knowledge and experience. Develop your own
style To get started

• Write down what you think the title is asking.
• List or make notes of areas of knowledge or ideas
  you think
• may be relevant
• Search out relevant resources. Pay attention to
  what the tutor has recommended (they have
  selected these for a good reason!)
• Take notes - dont just photocopy and highlight.
• Note facts, ideas and your own thoughts

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The Learning Centre Academic Skills_at_The
University of New South Wales
Essay Writing The Basics
http//www.lc.unsw.edu.au/onlib/essay1.html
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An Essay Outline

• Is a tool to help organise your thoughts and
  ideas
• into a coherent structure.
• You can write and rewrite your outline many
  times.
• Let it evolve with your own ideas and
  understanding.

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In order to structure your Essay Outline you need
to think about the following What are the main
issues/ideas to cover? In what context? (ethical,
social, scientific, personal) How will you cover
the ideas? What are the main points to
cover? What examples, references, quotes will be
useful? What conclusions will you reach? What
arguments will you put forward? What are the
implications of your conclusions? How am I going
to structure these ideas and information into a
well organised and logical essay?
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Outline Structure should mirror the structure of
the Essay
For this exercise use the format shown in
Creating An Essay Outline
http//slc.otago.ac.nz/studyskills/ch4sect5.asp
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A possible outline for your essay would then
be Introduction Body 1. The psychological and
physiological benefits of exercise 1st main
point        A. Role in reducing stress and
anxiety 1st sub-point               (i). Studie
s on stressed rats evidence               (ii) C
omparative studies of active and inactive
people          B. Effect on heart, blood
pressure, cholesterol levels, and weight 2nd
sub-point               (i) Discussion of expert
medical opinion evidence 2. The role of exercise
in reducing the risk of disease
2nd main point        A. Link between exercise
and lower rate of bone density loss 1st
sub-point               (i) Study of women who
participated in College gymnastics evidence       
B. Link between exercise and lower level of
hormones associated with cancer 2nd
sub-point               (i) American breast
cancer study evidence               (ii) Chinese
endometrial cancer study          C. Inconclusive
results of studies investigating link between
exercise and coronary and cardiovascular
disease 3rd sub-point               (i) S
tudy by Paffenbarger et al. evidence            
   (ii) Study by Sandvik et al.                 (
iii) Additional studies   3. The potential risk
factors of exercise 3rd main
point        A. Risk of cardiac
complications 1st sub-point               (i) D
iscussion of expert opinion evidence        B. D
angers of over exercising 2nd
sub-point               (i) Statistical
data evidence Conclusion Note that the
example provided contains a minimum of detail. In
your own outline you may wish to include more
information in some sections. How much
information you choose to include, however, is up
to you, and will no doubt depend, both on the
length and purpose of your essay, and on the
complexity of your argument. Think of your
outline as a working plan rather than as
something fixed and unchangeable, and be prepared
to revise or refine it as the need arises.
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Writing a draft, the next step.

• The introduction
• Two main functions
• capture the readers interest
• serve as a guide to the rest of the
  essay.
• Indicate how you intend to respond to the
  question
• State the central idea or thesis of your essay
• Show how the central idea is part of a broader
  topic or relates to a larger problem or issue
• Indicate the scope of your essay
• Explain anything else the reader needs to
• understand before proceeding any further

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BODY OF THE ESSAY
..contains your discussion of the issues raised
and the evidence you have selected as relevant
to this discussion.
http//slc.otago.ac.nz/studyskills/ch4sect6.asp
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CONCLUSION

• The purpose of the conclusion is to
• Draw together the different strands of your
• discussion
• Summarise the main points of the essay
• Restate your thesis
• Bring the essay to a close

NO new information!
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• Draft
• Redraft
• Edit
• Check spelling, grammar etc.
• Formatting and visual appearance

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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.
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Tips for Effective Writing Start writing early -
the earlier the better! Starting cuts down on
anxiety, beats procrastination, and gives you
time to develop your ideas. Don't try to write
an essay from start to finish Begin with what
you are ready to write - a plan, a sentence.
Start with the body and work paragraph by
paragraph. Write the introduction and
conclusion after the body Once you know what
your essay is about, then write the introduction
and conclusion. Keep the essay question in mind
Remember what you need to do in your essay and
don't lose track of the question or task. Keep it
in mind as you draft and edit and work out the
best way to answer a question. Revise your
first draft extensively Look at the whole essay,
make sure it flows and that the paragraphs are in
a logical order. Put the essay aside for a few
days This allows you to read your essay with a
fresh eye. Proof-read your final draft carefully.
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Criteria for marking ESSAY PRESENTATION Include
title, name (on all pages!), date, course Easy
to read font eg. Ariel, size 12 Double
space WordProcess and use one side of page
only Additional spacing between
paragraphs Margins all round (at least 2.5
cm) Appropriate use of figures, tables,
graphs Include Figure or Table legends References
(find out if a bibliography is also
required) Keep to the recommended word length
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Correct use of English grammar, spelling and
punctuation Scientific writing normally uses the
past tense Correct and CONSISTENT format for
references Good sentence structure Concise, to
the point - not long winded. Well argued
points Information organised in a logical
manner All relevant background material
provided Introduction, main body, conclusion
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ESSAY OUTLINE EXERCISE - Essay Questions
1 Give an account of the problems and
disabilities that a person with Schizophrenia
may experience throughout their life. 2 Give
an account of the problems and disabilities that
a person with bipolar illness may experience
throughout their life. 3 Describe and discuss
the reasons why bipolar affective disorder is
regarded as a mental illness rather than
representing normal emotional states. Are there
circumstances where it could be seen as adaptive
rather than pathological?