Essay Writing: Tertiary Essay Writing - Pt. 1

Essays are a common form of assessment in many tertiary-level disciplines. The ability to construct good essays involves understanding the process and the conventions of essay writing.

This article looks at ten common steps involved in essay writing. The more experience you get in writing essays, the more comfortable you will become with this genre. However, even an experienced essay writer needs to be deliberate and thorough in order to write a well-constructed essay.

1. TIME MANAGEMENT

A 2000–3000 word essay should be started three to four weeks (or earlier) before the due date. This  allows time for topic analysis, planning and research, writing the first draft, revision and presentation. Plan to spend about 50% of your time on analysis, research and planning, 25% on developing a draft, and 25% on revising, editing, referencing and proofreading.

For example, if you expect to spend 30 hours preparing a 2000-word essay, 15 hours would be spent analysing the question, finding relevant material, reading and note-taking. This would leave 7.5 hours to prepare the first draft and another 7.5 hours to revise, edit and proofread your work.

You may need to spend more (or less) than 30 hours to prepare a 2000-word paper – the example above is only a rough guide. The main thing is that you allow yourself enough time to be thorough in the planning, writing and editing stages; otherwise, you won't be able to achieve your best!

It is also a good idea to get someone else to read over your essay for any language or logical inconsistencies of which you might not be aware. You should allow some time for this, as well as time to consider any changes suggested by the person who has read over your work.

2. CHOOSING A TOPIC

After scheduling time to research and write your essay, the next step is to choose an essay topic. A list of questions or topics is often provided by the lecturer. When choosing one, you should take into account:

What interests you most?

The best way to stay motivated is to do what most interests you. Choose a topic you want to explore in more depth. Also consider whether a deeper understanding of a topic might benefit you.

What resources are available?

It is good to do a little preliminary research on the topic(s). See whether there are enough resources (books and journal articles) on the topic of your choice. If everyone is doing the same question, it may be difficult to access library holdings for some time! You can, however, borrow from other tertiary libraries if you need to. And don't forget journal databases!

What do you know already?

It makes sense to choose a topic about which you already have some ideas. This way you can think about potential arguments that can go into the paper even before you start your research and you can also build on knowledge you already have. On the other hand, if you have the time, you might want to broaden your horizons and choose a topic you are not familiar with.

3. ANALYSING THE QUESTION

When preparing to answer an essay question, it is important that you understand it well. Sometimes students misunderstand the essay question, or address only part of what is being asked. You are expected to write a tightly structured argument focused on the question or topic. So before you start, you need to carefully analyze the question.

First make sure that you fully understand the question. Check the meaning of any word you do not understand in a general or specialist subject dictionary. You might also need to consider that there are more specific uses of these words in your lectures and readings.

A good technique can be to copy the essay question out on a blank piece of paper and to separate and number – or colour-code – the parts of the question. Underline key words and identify their function as described below. Once you have done that, you can rephrase the question in your own words.

What to Look For?

You should look for three kinds of words when analysing your essay question:

·         Process or directive words

·         Content words and phrases

·         Limiting words and phrases

Process or Directive Words

Directive words tell you what you are required to do – for example: discuss, critically analyse, compare. It is important to understand the meaning of these words so that your essay will answer the question and address the topic.

Here are some examples of common directive words:

Directive word	Definition
Account for	Give a justified            explanation of why and            how something is the case.
Analyse	Divide into parts or elements to discover the nature  of something.  Describe the function and relationships of the parts to identify possible problems or weaknesses.
Argue	Make a            case for accepting or rejecting a position by systematically giving reasons and            evidence for or against it. Demonstrate            that you are aware of opposing viewpoints and provide grounds        for rejecting them.
Assess	Examine from different viewpoints, weighing up strengths and weaknesses. Make a            considered judgment.
Comment on	Provide an informed and supported viewpoint.
Compare	Identify characteristics that are similar. Also stress differences where relevant.
Contrast / Differentiate / Distinguish	Identify characteristics that are different.      Emphasize similarities where  appropriate.
Critical(ly) / Criticize  / Critique	Analyze systematically from   different perspectives and identify positive aspects as well as limitations. Draw conclusions from the analysis and express an informed judgment.  This does not mean to criticize in only negative terms!
Define	Determine essential qualities.  State concise and clear meanings, but omit details. Mark the limits of the definition and emphasize differences to similar  items or objects.
Describe	Characterize, recount and relate systematically.
Discuss	Analyze and critically examine in detail. Consider pros and cons in order to come to a supported assessment and conclusion.
Evaluate	Assess
Examine	Investigate closely, paying attention to detail and considering implications.
Explain	Make something clear by elaborating on it. Give reasons            and try to analyze causes.
Illustrate	Explain and clarify by the use of concrete examples, data, diagrams, etc.
Interpret	Explain something and make  its meaning explicit. Give your own judgment.
Justify	Show adequate grounds for decisions            or conclusions.
List	Present in an ordered way.
Outline	Present            the principal features and how they relate to each other in a logical order. Include all main points and omit details.
Review	Survey and examine critically and comprehensively. Comment on controversial aspects.
State	Present            the main points briefly and clearly. Omit details    and examples.
Summarize	Give a short and clear description of  the main points.

Content Words and Phrases

Content words establish the general focus of the question and define the field or subject area of the topic. The content words or phrases are underlined in the following examples:

·         Discuss the development of French opera.

·         Outline Piaget's theory of development.

·         Explain George Herbert Mead's theory on the development of the self. How can

sociologists use it to understand the self and society?

Limiting Words and Phrases

Look for words that limit the scope of the topic and make the question more manageable.

For example:

·         Discuss two perspectives on…

·         How relevant is this to Australian society?

·         What is the crucial variable?

·         Outline the major causes of...

·         How can sociologists use this concept to understand the self and society?

It is often necessary for you to limit the question yourself. If the question is very generally worded, limiting its scope will enable you to write in more depth about a particular aspect. For example, the following topic is very broad and could form the basis of a doctoral thesis as easily as a 2000-word essay:

Discuss and analyse the roles of women in society in the period 1000-1350.

It would be appropriate to limit this question by indicating your focus, for example, on peasant women, or aristocratic women, nuns, women heads of state, women in paid work, women in service, women in England or China or France, or women whose lives have been extensively documented.

If you decide to limit your discussion in this way, always check with your tutor/lecturer. In your introduction, state how you have limited the question and your justification for doing so. For example: 'This paper focuses on the lives of peasant women since they were the largest group in society.'

This is a good example of a topic that does not explicitly direct you to form an argument. Although you may feel you can write descriptively about the women, you still need to develop an argument relating to the question. For instance, how could you account for changes over time, or between women from different regions or countries? Can you analyse the roles women played in the context of the prevailing social order? Can you formulate an argument about the contribution of the women to the economic wealth or religious life of the community?

Once you have a good idea of what the question requires you to do, of its scope and

its focus, you can then think about how you might answer this question given what you

already know. This step is called brainstorming.

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