The world wide web is awash with not-so-helpful essay writing advice, making it tricky for students to get the advice they require when writing essays. So our experts that are academic written the following tips so that you can utilise before and whilst crafting your essay, to make certain your writing hits the mark.
Comprehend the question
This could, during the face of it, seem like somewhat advice that is banal but simple fact is the fact that failing to properly understand the question set is one of, if you don’t the most frequent reason behind a disappointing grade with regards to essay writing. Have you been being asked to critically evaluate something? Compare and contrast? Analyse a particular circumstance? Assess the usefulness of a particular concept?
These are a number of the common phrases found in essay questions, and every indicates a different group of expectations. You have to gain an understanding not only of said theory, but also other common approaches if you are asked to critically evaluate a particular theoretical approach, for instance. They must all be weighed against one another, highlighting the relative strengths and weaknesses of every theory and, importantly, you need to come to a well-justified and conclusion that is confident. Could be the theory good? What are its flaws? Just how can it be improved?
If you are asked to gauge the usefulness of something, however, you don’t necessarily need to go into just as much critical depth. Yes, you should still acknowledge alternative approaches, and yes, you ought to still note some strengths and weaknesses – but the majority of the job must emphasise the concepts practical usefulness. Possibly the approach that is best is to locate one, or a couple of, case studies where in actuality the theory has been utilized – the thing that was the end result of this? Does the effective use of the theory reveal any shortcomings that are particular or strengths?
“Compare and that is contrast, meanwhile, are essentially a hybrid for the above – you need to take a vital approach and measure the literature, but your focus has to remain solidly on the theories which you have now been asked to compare and contrast. It is critical to show which you understand both (or all) core theories in great depth, both on a applied and theoretical level.
In essence, the wording of the essay question shall inform you the way the essay ought to be written. It will indicate where in fact the focus of one’s essay should lie while you research and write.
Plan and schedule
Knowing the question is the initial step, however it is incredibly important that you make efficient use of the available time. Students often underestimate the amount of work necessary to write a great essay, which leads to a few things: (1) late nights in the library, and (2) a disappointing grade. If you want to achieve a beneficial mark, you need to start making plans for your essay as soon as you get the essay question. The next table may be a aid that is useful
| Step | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Understand the question | (Insert date) |
| Map the essay chapters | (Insert date) |
| Collect articles | (Insert date) |
| Read and take notes | (Insert date) |
| Start writing | (Insert date) |
| Finish draft that is firstInsert date) | |
| Proofread | (Insert date) |
| Hand in | (Insert date) |
By setting deadlines that you won’t be left with too much work right before your hand-in date for yourself and committing to stick to them, you are ensuring. It’s also important that you leave time, ideally a few days, between finishing your first draft and proofreading.
Be critical
Perfect theories and academic approaches are rare – the majority that is clear of, arguments, and studies have flaws. Being descriptive is okay that you are able to leverage critical reasoning in your dealing with academic materials if you are looking to scrape a pass, but for a higher grade you need to show. What are the limitations for the theories you are drawing on? How have these been dealt with into the literature? How do they impact the quality of arguments presented, also to what extent do they limit our comprehension of what you are actually studying? What alternate explanations might offer depth that is additional?
Critical thinking is what could make your essay be noticeable. It shows the marker throughout your studies, but actually engaging with theories in an academic manner that you are not simply repeating the arguments that have been fed to you. A good method to practice this will be to pay for careful attention when reading literature reviews in published articles – you will find that authors don’t simply summarise previous studies, but offer a critique resulting in a gap because of their own research.
Structure, flow while focusing
The way you present your argument is almost as important due to the fact argument itself, which is why it is imperative that your particular essay follows a logical structure. A vintage word of advice is always to “tell them what you are actually planning to tell them, then inform them, and let them know that which you told them” – this, in essence, summarises the core introduction, main body, and conclusion structure of your essay.
Having a definite and structure that is logical help make sure that your essay stays focused, and does not stray from the question being answered. Each section, paragraph, and sentence should add value into the argument you might be presenting. As you are writing, it’s good to take one step back and ask yourself “what value does this sentence/section add? How exactly does it link to my argument that is overarching?” That you can’t answer that question, there is a high risk that you have strayed from your core argument, and you may want to reconsider the path you are taking if you find.
You should also ensure that all the different areas of your essay fit together as a cohesive and logical whole, and that the transition from one argument to the next is fluid. Students often treat essays as lists of arguments, presenting one following the other with little to no consideration for how they fit together, which inevitably leads to a reduced grade. Be sure to tell your reader why you might be transitioning from one argument to another, why they’ve been in this particular order, and how each argument helps shed light on a specific aspect of what you are actually discussing.
If you should be still not one hundred percent sure, most commonly it is smart to skip to the conclusion – this usually contains an in depth summary of this study, which will help see whether you really need to browse the article as a whole. You don’t want to spend time reading through and endless number of articles in order to find that they aren’t actually relevant. Once you’ve identified a couple of solid articles, you should (a) go through their bibliographies and take note of who they are citing, since these articles will probably be of value for your own research; and (b) check into Google Scholar to see who has got cited them. To do this, simply input the true name associated with the article when you look at the essay writer search bar and hit enter. In the results, click “cited by” – this will return a list of most of the articles which have cited the publication you looked for.
It’s important that you haven’t engaged with the wider literature that you don’t rely too heavily on one or a couple of texts, as this indicates to the marker. You ought to be particularly careful in making use of course books (in other words. “introduction to management” and the like), as these are essentially summaries of other people’s work.
Quoting, paraphrasing and plagiarism
Academic writing requires a careful balance between novel argument, and drawing on arguments presented by others. Writing a totally ‘novel’ essay, without drawing for a passing fancy source, indicates that you haven’t produced a novel argument that you haven’t made yourself familiar with what has already been published; citing someone for every point made suggests. As a result, it’s important you are making a statement of fact, or drawing on arguments, frameworks, and theories presented by other academics that you provide evidence (a credible citation) when. These, in turn, should offer the novel that is overarching that you yourself are making.