Writing Essays

Compiled by Western Institute of TAFE Libraries

What is an essay?

An essay is written in order to:

analyse a topic closely
develop a point of view in relation to that topic
persuade your reader that the point of view you have developed is well supported by the ideas and information you present

Essays have three main parts:

The initial statement of your point of view – the introduction
The argument or arguments which are presented to support this point of view - the body
The summary of the arguments and the restatement of the overall point of view - the conclusion

Writing the essay

When preparing an essay you may undertake a number of different activities:

analysing the question
making an initial plan
locating resources
reading and noting
writing the first draft
revising and redrafting

You may find that you move backwards and forwards among these activities.

Analysing the question

Analysing the question enables you to keep your essay on the topic by identifying the important parts of the essay question. There are three main parts to an essay question which you need to identify:

Task words - such as ‘analyse’, ‘discuss’, ‘compare’
Information words -this part of the question describes what content you will focus on in the essay
Limit words -there are two kinds of limits in essay questions

1. a limit to the question eg. confining the essay to a particular place, time or group
2. a limit set on the length and time for the essay

When analysing a question first identify the task word or words. For example, if you were set the question:

Discuss the impact of either television or the internet on children and teenagers in Australia.
(1000 words, due 22nd May)

The task word is ‘discuss’ which here means ‘consider and interpret’

The information words can then be identified by asking ‘discuss what’? to which the response is ‘the impact’

The limit words are:

children and young people in Australia’
1000 words due 22nd May

Making an initial plan

Once you have analysed the question you can make an initial plan for your essay. This enables you to begin to clarify the point of view you will argue and to identify more accurately the kind of information and resources you will need. You make an initial plan by plotting your question analysis onto the three essay stages. For the example essay question above, your plan might look as follows:

Introduction

(Approximately 10% of the total word length specified for the assignment)

television or internet – what have you chosen
a general statement about the type and size of the impact or effect on Australia’s children and teenagers

Body

(Approximately 80% of the total length)

the impact of the technology on children and the consequences
the impact of the technology on teenagers and the consequences

Conclusion

(Approximately 10% of total length)

restate your judgment about the type and size of the impact of the technology on the groups
comment on consequences and implications for the future

Locating resources

When researching an essay you need to read both widely and selectively. The resources you will need depend on your essay task. You will look for information in the library or consult reading lists, professional associations and the internet and so on.

Reading and noting

When you are reading and noting to prepare for an essay, it is important to do this selectively. This means that you only read and note information and ideas that are relevant to your essay. When you are taking notes remember to record all the relevant bibliographic information about the items you are noting.

Writing the first draft

When you are ready to begin drafting your essay, go back to your initial plan. Do you need to change it?

Next write the body of the essay. Each main idea that you want to communicate becomes a paragraph in your essay. Use the first sentence of each paragraph (the topic sentence) to state clearly the main point you want to make in that paragraph. Other sentences in the paragraph then expand on this topic sentence by giving evidence to support it, explaining it more fully and/or giving examples.

When you have finished drafting the body write the introduction. The introduction may contain:

a brief background to the topic
a statement of your point of view in response to the topic
a preview or outline of how you will present and support this point of view in your essay
the definition of important terms

Finally write the conclusion. The conclusion may include:

a summary of the arguments presented in the body and how these relate to the essay question
a restatement of the main point of view presented in the introduction in response to the topic
the implications of this view or what might happen as a result

Revising and redrafting

When revising your essay you might consider whether:

you have clearly and explicitly answered the essay question
all ideas are properly referenced and the reference list follows an accepted referencing system
you have checked the spelling, grammar and punctuation

Essay writing enables you to develop and extend your thinking about the ideas in your courses. So improving your essay writing technique will help you not only to express those ideas more clearly but also to develop and clarify your thinking about those ideas.

Basic steps in writing an essay – a checklist

Analyse the question and define key terms
Establish your argument/point of view
Research the topic
Takes notes from your readings
Write your plan and organise you ideas
Write your first draft to include your introduction, body and conclusion
Set aside the drafts for a day or two then re-read and make changes
Have someone else read the easy
Do a final edit
Complete you reference and bibliography
Completed – hand it in

Adapted from:

Marshall, L. & Rowland, F. 1993 2nd ed. A guide to learning independently. Longman, Milton, QLD.
Peters, P. 1985. Strategies for student writers. Wiley & Sons, Melbourne.
http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/learningconnection/ July 2005