How to Write a Good Essay – 1) Analysing or decoding the ...



How to Write a Good Essay – 1) Analysing or decoding the question.

In order to produce a good essay it is essential that you understand the question. To help you think about how you should approach the essay you should identify the content, the focus and the task.

The content - the subject area you will be writing about.

The focus - is a particular stance or viewpoint you are being asked to consider

The task(s) - what you are being asked to do. There can be more that one task. See Commonly used task words and their meaning.

Example essay question

Question: Assess the extent to which climate change is impacting on the design and construction of domestic buildings.

Highlight the important content words

To what extent is climate change impacting on the design and construction of domestic buildings.

Identify the main area of focus

Climate change

This is often what you use to introduce your essay

Identify the task

Assess the extent...

Make a judgement on whether there has or has not been an impact level, and if so what this has been (you need to give both viewpoints if possible).

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|2) Planning and Starting your Essay |

|The process of analysing the question allows you to start planning your essay. It allows you to think about: |

|what will be included in your essay - the key topic and areas you need to focus upon |

|what essential information you will need |

|identifying areas you already know something about |

|any terms that will require to be defined |

|complex theories & discussions that will require specific attention |

|the questions you should have in mind when you start reading for your essay |

|This together with supportive reading will lead to a draft outline of your answer. |

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| |

|3) Reading Your Essay |

|Having identified the main topic and specific areas, use these to identify and select relevant material. Most importantly |

|you need to master the Library and learn about finding information. |

|You cannot afford to spend too long on reading for your essay as you need to leave adequate time for writing. However, when |

|reading you should ensure that you: |

|Use a range of materials, which present different viewpoints and opposing arguments |

|Have a clear focus and stick to your topic. |

|Read purposefully. Do not read whole books or articles (look at abstracts/summaries/introductions/conclusions to see if |

|relevant). Focus on what you need to extract from the books and journals. |

|Take notes, think critically and read with the question in mind. |

|For example: |

|What are the author's main findings? |

|Are they well supported by evidence? |

|Are there any weaknesses in a theory? |

|What do other studies have to say about the subject? |

|Are you convinced by the arguments presented? - why do you think the arguments are sound or why not? |

|Make notes |

|For each article or book you read develop the habit of noting the information you will need for your bibliography; i.e. |

|author, title, date, publisher, place of publication. This will help you organise your references. |

|Write the notes in your own words. This will help you avoid plagiarism. When you are using the Internet also note the date |

|you have accessed the information. |

|Think about using a scrap book approach where you collect information under different headings. Finally cut and paste it |

|into your essay. |

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| |

|4) Structuring Your Essay |

| |

|Having undertaken appropriate research and having worked out a draft outline for your essay, you are now at the point where |

|you are ready to start writing. |

|The essay should be produced in a particular structure, which has three main parts: |

|An introduction |

|A main body |

|A conclusion |

|The essay should be in continuous prose. It should not contain lists or bullet points nor (generally) sub-headings. |

|The Introduction |

|You might want to start with a general overview statement. That may include a definition of the main terms, a quotation from|

|a leading source or some facts and figures. You could then map out the key stages in your essay outlining what is to be |

|discussed later. The introduction is usually no more than 10% of the overall word count. Do not just repeat the question. |

|Main body |

|In this section you will develop your key arguments and discuss different points of view, drawing comparisons between |

|different ideas and pointing to conflicting opinions. These ideas must be supported by evidence so make sure sources are |

|correctly referenced. Use paragraphs to develop ideas. Each paragraph should include an opening statement, which signposts |

|to your reader the topic being addressed. Indicate when you are moving on to a different stage of your argument or new area |

|by providing a 'signpost', e.g. 'Nevertheless...', 'An alternative viewpoint is provided by...', 'However Clark |

|explains...'. |

|Your aim is to produce a coherent piece of work, that progresses logically and tells a story that ultimately answers the |

|question. |

|Conclusion |

|The conclusion is where you draw together the main strands of your arguments and highlight key points. It should be a |

|summary of what has gone before, demonstrating that you have addressed the question and written a relevant answer. No new |

|information should be introduced in your conclusion. It will usually be 10-15% of the word count. |

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| |

|Features of Academic Writing |

|The emphasis in academic writing is on facts and interpretation of the facts. These should be presented in a logical way |

|using an academic writing style. |

|Some Academic Writing Tips: |

| |

|Use straightforward language. |

| |

|Take care with grammar and sentence construction. Avoid using a note-style of writing. |

|Try not to use pompous language. For example: use "find out" rather than "endeavour to ascertain" - try not to use jargon or|

|clichés |

| |

|Provide definitions. |

|Include explanations of technical or unusual terms, unless you can reasonably expect your reader to know them. |

| |

|Use impersonal language. |

|Essays and reports should be written in the third person singular. Avoid personal terms such as 'I' or 'We'; the word 'It' |

|should be used instead: |

|For example: |

|"I decided to interview the Tourism Planning Officer..." should read |

|"It was decided to interview the Tourism Planning Officer..." |

|The only exceptions to this convention may be where you are asked to link theory to your own professional practice. |

| |

|Be precise. |

|Avoid using terms that lack a precise meaning such as 'nice', 'good' or 'excellent'. One person's idea of what is meant by |

|'good' is not necessarily another's. |

| |

|Be concise and to the point. For example: Use 'Now' or "Currently' instead of phrases like 'At the time of writing' or 'At |

|this point in time'. |

| |

|Try not to make generalizations. |

|For example: "Everyone agrees that cold calling does not produce results". |

|While this may be true you can only make such statements if supported with evidence. Instead you should write: |

|'According to the Mori Report (2000), cold calling does not produce results'. |

| |

|Use cautious language. |

|This means that statements cannot easily be challenged: |

|'Cold calling may not produce results'. |

| |

|Use appropriate verb tenses. |

|Reports often use the present tense in the Introduction and the past tense when discussing findings.For example: |

|Introduction: 'This report examines..' Findings: 'Results showed that..' |

| |

|Be careful when using Acronyms. |

|The use of acronyms is allowed provided that the first time you write the letters you also write the words out in full. |

|For example: Curriculum Vitae (C.V.) |

| |

|Ensure you are linking points together. When using a lead sentence make sure that the points that follow on link to this: |

|Incorrect Example: |

|This style of CV creates the opportunity to: |

|Can highlight skills and achievements |

|Identifies personal attributes |

|Correct Example: |

|This style of CV creates the opportunity to: |

|Highlight skills and achievements |

|Identify personal attributes |

| |

|Other writing pitfalls to avoid: |

| |

|Do not address the reader directly or use questions For example: 'Does this mean that some strategies are better than |

|others?' |

| |

|Be careful not to use redundant phrases. For example: 'various differences'. |

|Various implies different so both words are not required. |

| |

|Do not start sentences with linking words. Such as: but, and, or yet. |

| |

|Avoid using contractions. For example:'they're' for 'they are'.'etc' and 'ie' should also be avoided. |

| |

|Avoid making negative statements. For example:'Calling firms directly should not be discouraged'. This can obscure the |

|meaning. Instead write positive statements. |

|'Calling firms directly should be encouraged'. |

| |

|Try to avoid making sentences overlong and complicated. |

|Wordiness and padding can obscure meaning. |

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| |

|Plagiarism |

|What is plagiarism? |

|Plagiarism is defined in the Assessment Regulations as 'the deliberate and substantial unacknowledged incorporation in a |

|student’s work of material derived from the work (published or unpublished) of another'. |

|In other words it means passing someone else’s work off as you own. This includes material from books, journals and the web,|

|as well as from your friends or others. |

|The University regards plagiarism as a very serious offence and you’re strongly advised to study the Assessment Regulations |

|in full. The regulations are summarised in the plagiarism guide. |

|Examples of plagiarism include: |

|the extensive use of another person's material without reference or acknowledgement, |

|the summarising of another person's work by simply changing a few words or altering the order or presentation without |

|acknowledgement, |

|the substantial and unauthorised use of the ideas of another person without acknowledgement of the source, |

|copying the work of another student with or without that student's knowledge or agreement, |

|deliberate use of commissioned material and presented as the student's own work. |

|How is plagiarism detected? |

|The most common trigger is a change in the student's writing style and syntactic (word arrangement) structure. |

|How can I be sure what plagiarism is? |

|Try this exercise. Adapted from A Guide for Writing Research Papers Based on Modern Language Association (MLA) Documentation|

|(Capital Community College) |

|Four students read the following text and used it in their essays in slightly different ways. Which would count as |

|plagiarism? |

|Elaine Tyler May's (1997, ‘Barren in the Promised Land : Childless Americans and the Pursuit of Happiness’ Harvard |

|University Press |

|‘Because women's wages often continue to reflect the fiction that men earn the family wage, single mothers rarely earn |

|enough to support themselves and their children adequately. And because work is still organized around the assumption that |

|mothers stay home with children, even though few mothers can afford to do so, child-care facilities in the United States |

|remain woefully inadequate’ |

|Example: |

|Student A wrote: |

|Since women's wages often continue to reflect the mistaken notion that men are the main wage earners in the family, single |

|mothers rarely make enough to support themselves and their children very well. Also, because work is still based on the |

|assumption that mothers stay home with children, facilities for child care remain woefully inadequate in the United States. |

| |

|Verdict: Plagiarism. |

|There is too much direct borrowing in sentence structure and wording. The writer changes some words, drops one phrase, and |

|adds some new language, but the overall text closely resembles May's. There is no acknowledgment (citation) of it being |

|May’s work. |

|However, even if May were acknowledged this is still plagiarising because the lack of quotation marks indicates that it is |

|paraphrased and in the students's own words. |

|Student B wrote: |

|By and large, our economy still operates on the mistaken notion that men are the main breadwinners in the family. Thus, |

|women continue to earn lower wages than men. This means, in effect, that many single mothers cannot earn a decent living. |

|Furthermore, adequate day care is not available in the USA because of the mistaken assumption that mothers remain at home |

|with their children. |

|Verdict: Plagiarism. |

|It shows good paraphrasing of wording and sentence structure, but May's original ideas are not acknowledged. Some of May's |

|points are common knowledge (women earn less than men, many single mothers live in poverty), but May uses this common |

|knowledge to make a specific and original point and her original conception of this idea is not acknowledged. |

| |

|Student C wrote: |

|As Elaine Tyler May (1997, p.588) points out, ‘women's wages often continue to reflect the fiction that men earn the family |

|wage’. Thus many single mothers cannot support themselves and their children adequately. Furthermore, since work is based on|

|the assumption that mothers stay home with children, facilities for day care in this country are still ‘woefully |

|inadequate.’ |

| |

|Verdict: Borderline plagiarism. |

|Although the writer now cites May and so it is closer to telling the truth about the text's relationship to the source, it |

|continues to borrow too much language. |

| |

|Student D wrote: |

|Women today still earn less than men — so much less that many single mothers and their children live near or below the |

|poverty line. Elaine Tyler May (1997, p.588) argues that this situation stems in part from ‘the fiction that men earn the |

|family wage’ May further suggests that the American workplace still operates on the assumption that mothers with children |

|stay home to care for them. |

|Verdict: No plagiarism. |

|The writer makes use of the common knowledge in May's work, but acknowledges May's original conclusion and does not try to |

|pass it off as his or her own. The quotation is properly cited, as is a later paraphrase of another of May's ideas. |

|Written by The Effective Learning Service |

|Referencing |

|What does referencing include? |

| |

|Citing: acknowledging within your text the document from which you have obtained information. |

|References - list (usually at the back of a piece of work) that includes all documents referred to in your writing. |

|Bibliography - list of works consulted by not necessarily referred to in the text. |

|Why reference? |

|Honest and professional citation of references provides the framework for sound written research. It allows the reader to |

|verify quotations and data and consult the sources used. Referencing ensures that plagiarism is avoided and demonstrates the|

|range of reading undertaken. Plagiarism is when you use someone's ideas, thoughts and words without acknowledge the source. |

|References are required when you: |

|Quote - use someone's exact words |

|Summarise - sum up someone else's arguments or ideas |

|Paraphrase - put another author's material into your own words |

|Copy - use illustrations such as: diagrams, tables, charts or maps |

|When writing academic assignments you are expected to refer to ideas and material produced by others; sources of information|

|used will vary and may include: theories, viewpoints, research, diagrams and statistics. You are required to acknowledge the|

|author of each source: |

|because you must acknowledge the sources you have used to establish your arguments and criticisms |

|to enable other people to identify and trace the sources you have used for your ideas. |

|There are two principal components to citing references: |

|the way you acknowledge the sources you have used to establish your arguments and criticisms in the text. |

|the way you list your sources at the end of your work to enable identification, i.e. the reference list or bibiography. |

|Referencing systems |

| |

|There are two main systems of linking references in the text to the full bibliographical details at the end of your work. |

|Numeric (sometimes called Vancouver or Footnote) |

|Harvard |

|Numeric System – in the text |

|Cited publications are numbered in the order in which they are first referred to in the text. |

|They are identified either in brackets or as a superscript number: |

|‘In a recent study, Smith (5)...’ or |

|‘In a recent study, Smith5...' |

|Harvard System – in the text |

|Cited publications are referred to in the text by giving the author's name and year of publication, in either of the forms |

|shown below (depending on the sentence structure): |

|In a recent study, Smith (2002) ... |

|In a recent study (Smith, 2002) ... |

| |

|Introducing quotations |

| |

|Short quotations (exact words from a source) can be incorporated into the text using single quotation marks and by providing|

|the relevant page number: |

|McIntosh (2001, p.23) noted that 'students' academic work was enhanced by citing sources correctly'. |

|Longer quotations are indented and single line spacing is used. No quotation marks are required, and the author's name and |

|date added at the end. |

|When diagrams, graphs or illustrations are used sources should be referenced in the same way as quotations. (Author's name, |

|date of publication) |

|Some rules regarding the use of quotations |

|Quotes must be shown exactly as the writer has produced the work including any grammatical or spelling errors. You can |

|include the word 'sic' in square brackets [sic] after the quoted material if there are any errors. This indicates to the |

|reader that the error is the writer's and not yours. |

|Quotes should be used sparingly to make significant points and should be integrated well within the text. |

|If you leave words out of a direct quotations use three dots to mark the omitted words: |

|You do not 'have to use complete quotations... any unnecessary words can be omitted' |

|You can 'add words [which assist in] making the meaning clearer. ' |

|When you do this put your own additional words in square brackets, as above. This device can also be used to ensure your |

|writing remains grammatically correct when using quotations. |

|Citing references in the text |

| |

|Reporting verbs |

|When introducing references into the text (citing) you should choose suitable reporting verbs as these can: |

|strengthen the arguments you are presenting |

|assist the reader in understanding why the source is relevant |

|Ways of introducing references into text |

|References can be introduced into the text in various ways and certain rules apply. Students should cite all sources they |

|refer to; ideally this information should be integrated into the text so that it does not break up the flow of the writing. |

|When the author's name occurs naturally in the sentence put the year in round brackets. |

|Piaget (1999) has argued that.... |

| |

|When you refer to work by the same author in the same year differentiate by adding letters after the date: 'a' for first, |

|'b' for second and so on. |

|In his first article Jones (1997a) suggests ... |

|Jones (1997b) also argued that.................. |

| |

|When the author's name does not occur naturally in the sentence place both the surname and publication date in round |

|brackets. |

|It is acceptable to use both short and long quotes in academic assignments. (Harris & Jones, 2001) |

|Note above: When a work is by two or three authors and their names are in brackets, join them using an ampersand (&). When |

|the names are incorporated into the text use 'and': |

|Harris and Jones (2001) have commented on ....... |

| |

|When the author is unknown use 'Anon': |

|It has been argued (Anon, 1995) that.... |

|Note: Be careful of using unauthored pieces of work. |

|When there is no author, for example: in a newspaper article, then the name of the paper can be used instead. |

|A recent study describes...... (The Herald, 1998, p4) |

|Note: Most newspaper articles are unauthored. |

|When there are three or more authors use: 'et al': |

|An additional theory was developed (Hughes et al, 2002) supporting the teaching methods identified above. |

|Note: Except for Psychology where all the authors are quoted. |

|When you read the source in another text refer to the primary source and link by using the words 'cited in': |

|Burnham (1888 cited in Smith 2000 p.30) pointed out that ......... (In your bibliography list both sources where possible) |

| |

|Referencing at the back |

| |

|Both systems, the Harvard and Numeric, require you to identify the author(s), the date of publication, the name of the book |

|or journal etc. |

|In the Numeric System: |

|they are numbered in the order they are quoted in the text |

|the date of publication goes at the very end of a book reference and after the journal's title and before the volume or part|

| |

|Examples: |

|Book |

|Walsh, M. Models and critical pathways in clinical nursing: conceptual frameworks for care planning (2nd ed). London: |

|Bailliere Tindall, 1998. |

|Journal |

|Dening, F. Patient controlled analgesia. British Journal of Nursing, 1993, Vol.2, (5), pp. 274-277. |

|Online |

|Scottish Executive. (2002). Coronary heart disease and stroke: strategy for Scotland. |

|[online]. 3 September. Available from: [Accessed 8 October 2003] |

|RefWorks |

|For larger projects you might find RefWorks (Athens registration required) useful. This is a Web-based citation and |

|bibliography management tool that lets you import references directly from some online databases, as well as creating them |

|manually. You can use these references in writing papers and to automatically create a bibliography. |

|Sample reference list |

| |

|These references accord with the Harvard System. |

|Remember: In the Numeric System the date is placed right at the end of a book reference and for journals after the journal |

|title. |

|Note: date is in a different place in the Numeric system) |

|Baird, K (2002) The Scottish Hip Fracture Audit: one hospital’s experience. Journal of Orthopaedic Nursing, Vol. 6 (2), pp. |

|79-85. |

|Blow, W.T. (2003) The biological basis for nursing: mental health. London: Routledge. |

|Donovan, P. (2003) Insights into maternal health In: Grandis, S., Long, G., Glasper E.A., Donovan, P. Foundation studies for|

|nursing using enquiry based learning. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, pp15-47. |

|Hart, C. (2001) Doing a literature search. London: Sage. |

|Holzworth, R.& Wills, C. (1999) Nurses' judgements regarding seclusion and restraint of psychiatric patients: a social |

|judgement analysis. Research in Nursing and Health. vol.22, 189–201 cited in Lowe, T., Wellman, N., Taylor, R. (2003) |

|Limit-setting and decision-making in the management of aggression. Journal of Advanced Nursing. Vol.41(2), pp 154-61. |

|Kerr, S. & Watson, H. (2003) A review of service users views of residential and non residential alcohol service provision. |

|Royal College of Nurses Research Society Annual International Research Conference. April 10-12, Manchester. |

|Kropp, L., Mann, S., Drain, J., Galea, G., Lumley, S.,(2003) Setting up a satellite bone harvesting service to supply |

|cancellous bone graft. British Journal of Orthopaedic Nursing. |

|Vol. 7 (2), pp. 70-72. |

|Martin, C.R., Thompson, D.R. (2000) Design and Analysis of Clinical Nursing Research Studies [online]. London: Routledge. |

|Available from: [Accessed 1st May 2003]. |

|Scotland on Sunday (2003) Mums pay £2000 for their own midwife. Scotland on Sunday. March 30 p.7. |

|Scottish Executive (2003) Supporting people, supporting independent living. Edinburgh HMSO, 2003. |

|Upenieks VV. (2002a) Assessing differences in job satisfaction of nurses in magnet and nonmagnet hospitals. Journal of |

|Nursing Administration. Vol. 32(11), pp.564-576. |

|Upenieks VV. (2002b) What constitutes successful nurse leadership? A qualitative approach utilizing Kanter's theory of |

|organizational behaviour. Journal of Nursing Administration. Vol. 32(12), pp.622-632. |

|Verdu, J. (2003) Can a decision tree help nurses to grade and treat pressure ulcers? Journal of Wound Care. Vol.12 (2), pp. |

|45-50. |

|Walsh, N., Roe, B., Huntington, J. (2003) Delivering a different kind of Primary Care? Nurses working in personal medical |

|service pilots Journal of Clinical Nursing [online], Vol.12 (3). Available from: |

| [Accessed 1st May 2003]. |

|Written by The Effective Learning Service |

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