The process of writing an essay The following procedure is useful when writing an extended essay or assignment. +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | |Task |Skills Needed |Product | |---+-----------------------------+------------------------------+------------------| |1. |Read the question and |thinking academically |Essay subject. | | |understand what you are | | | | |required to do. Think about | | | | |the subject, the purpose and | | | | |the audience. | | | |---+-----------------------------+------------------------------+------------------| |2. |Think about what you know |brainstorming |Diagrams or notes.| | |about the subject. Write it | | | | |down in some way. | | | |---+-----------------------------+------------------------------+------------------| |3. |Go to the library and find |library/research skills |Reading list. | | |relevant books or articles. | | | |---+-----------------------------+------------------------------+------------------| |4. |Find the books on your |reading skills: skimming and |List of materials | | |reading list and study them. |scanning |studied. | |---+-----------------------------+------------------------------+------------------| |5. |Make notes on these books and|reading in detail |Notes. | | |articles. | | | | | |selecting & note-taking | | | |Record full details of the | | | | |materials you use. |paraphrasing/summarising | | |---+-----------------------------+------------------------------+------------------| |6. |Organise your |planning |Essay plan. | | |essay/assignment. | | | | | |organisation | | |---+-----------------------------+------------------------------+------------------| |7. |Type or write your first |writing from notes |First draft. | | |draft. | | | | | |synthesis | | | | | | | | | |writing paragraphs | | | | | | | | | |typing/word-processing | | |---+-----------------------------+------------------------------+------------------| |8. |Discuss your first draft |speaking skills |List of | | |informally with friends, | |revisions/changes.| | |other members of your class |listening skills | | | |and your lecturer if | | | | |possible. |discussion skills | | |---+-----------------------------+------------------------------+------------------| |9. |Revise your first draft, |use of dictionaries & |Second draft. | | |bearing in mind any comments |reference books | | | |that were made in your | | | | |discussions. |writing introduction & | | | | |conclusion | | | |Go back to 2. if necessary | | | | | |quoting/writing a list of | | | |Produce your second draft. |references | | |---+-----------------------------+------------------------------+------------------| |10.|Proofread your draft. |checking for spelling mistakes|Assignment with | | | | |changes marked. | | | |checking punctuation and | | | | |grammar | | | | | | | | | |checking vocabulary use | | | | | | | | | |checking style | | | | | | | | | |checking organisation, | | | | |references etc. | | | | | | | | | |checking for plagiarism | | |---+-----------------------------+------------------------------+------------------| |11.|Produce a final typed |typing/word-processing |Final assignment. | | |version. | | | | | |writing title/contents page | | |---+-----------------------------+------------------------------+------------------| |12.|Check everything. |final check |Hand in. | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ The essay English essays are linear: - they start at the beginning and finish at the end, with every part contributing to the main line of argument, without digressions or repetition. Writers are responsible for making their line of argument clear and presenting it in an orderly fashion so that the reader can follow. Each paragraph discusses one major point and each paragraph should lead directly to the next. The paragraphs are tied together with an introduction and a conclusion. An essay has three main parts 1. An introduction 2. A main body 3. A conclusion 1. The introduction. The introduction consists of two parts: a. It should include a few general statements about the subject to provide a background to your essay and to attract the reader’s attention. It should try to explain why you are writing the essay. It may include a definition of terms in the context of the essay, etc. b. It should also include a statement of the specific subdivisions of the topic and/or indication of how the topic is going to be tackled in order to specifically address the question. It should introduce the central idea or the main purpose of the writing. It should address the question. 2. The main body. The main body consists of one or more paragraphs of ideas and arguments. Each paragraph develops a subdivision of the topic. The paragraphs of the essay contain the main ideas and arguments of the essay together with illustrations or examples. The paragraphs are linked in order to connect the ideas. The purpose of the essay must be made clear and the reader must be able to follow its development. 3. The conclusion. The conclusion includes the writer’s final points. a. It should recall the issues raised in the introduction and draw together the points made in the main body b. and explain the overall significance of the conclusions. What general points can be drawn from the essay as a whole? It should clearly signal to the reader that the essay is finished and leave a clear impression that the purpose of the essay has been achieved, and that the question has been answered. +------------------------------------------+ | I. INTRODUCTION | |------------------------------------------| | | General Statement | | | | Organisation Statement | | |------------------------------------------| | Arrow | |------------------------------------------| | II. MAIN BODY | |------------------------------------------| | | A. Introductory Sentence | | | | Point 1 | | | | Point 2 | | | | Point 3 | | | | ... | | | | Concluding Sentence | | |------------------------------------------| | Arrow | |------------------------------------------| | | B. Introductory Sentence | | | | Point 1 | | | | Point 2 | | | | Point 3 | | | | ... | | | | Concluding Sentence | | |------------------------------------------| | Arrow | |------------------------------------------| | | C. Introductory Sentence | | | | Point 1 | | | | Point 2 | | | | Point 3 | | | | ... | | | | Concluding Sentence | | |------------------------------------------| | Arrow | |------------------------------------------| | III. CONCLUSION | |------------------------------------------| | | Recall issues in introduction; | | | | draw together main points; | | | | final comment. | | +------------------------------------------+ References: A bibliography entry requires the name of the author, the date of publication, the name of the article (if applicable), the name of the publication (with volume number and page numbers) and finally the publisher´s name and city. Example: Abercrombie, D. (1968). Paralanguage. British Journal of Disorders of Communication, 3, 55-59. Barr, P., Clegg, J. & Wallace, C. (1981). Advanced reading skills. London: Longman. Check list Here are some useful questions to ask yourself about your essay: 1. Does the essay deal with the topic that was set? 2. Does the essay answer the question that was set? 3. Does it cover all the main aspects and in sufficient depth? 4. Is the content accurate and relevant? 5. Is everything in the essay relevant to the question? 6. Is the material logically arranged? 7. Is each main point well supported by examples and argument? 8. Is there a clear distinction between your ideas and those of other authors? 9. Have you acknowledged all the sources you have used? 10. Is the length of the essay right for its purpose? 11. Is it written plainly and simply, without clumsy or obscure phrasing? 12. Is the grammar, punctuation and spelling acceptable? 13. Is it neat and legibly written? EXERCISE 1: Instructions: This is a compare and contrast type essay looking at the differences between international education in the USA and Australia. First read the essay and fill in the gaps with suitable words.Then indicate its main parts: introduction, main body, conclusion. Finally analyse the structure of the essay according to the check list.: The Western style of education has gained popularity over 1) ________ last decade. Many foreign students come to countries like Australia 2) ________ 3) ________ USA to study at university 4) ________ improve their employment prospects. In this essay I will briefly compare 5) ________ contrast these two countries in terms of their appeal to foreign students. There are many similarities between 6) ________ two countries. Firstly they both have 7) ________ very multicultural population so it 8) ________ possible to enjoy food from your own country when homesickness arises. Also, as they are both large countries it 9) ________ possible to find an institution in an area with 10) ________ climate that suits you. Another similarity 11) ________ that their tertiary institutions have 12) ________ reputation of quality 13) ________ excellence in academia. On 14) ________ other hand there are some appreciable differences. The main one 15) ________ that education in 16) ________ USA 17) ________ much 18) ________ expensive 19) ________ in Australia. However, many students think that it 20) ________ worth paying 21) ________ extra money as some American universities have 22) ________ world-wide reputation. Furthermore, as 23) ________ USA has 24) ________ much larger population there are 25) ________ wider range of institutions to choose from 26) ________ naturally, 27) ________ wider range of courses. To sum up, America offers 28) ________ choice 29) ________ 30) ________ 31) ________ acknowledged reputation, but at 32) ________ higher cost. Australia offers similar quality but 33) ________ cheaper if you can find 34) ________ course that you want. EXERCISE 2: Correct the following bibliographies: Critical voices on the economy. Survey,. (1980). 25, 38-42. Lipinsky, E. & Bender, R London: (1978).. Longman Longman dictionary of contemporary English. Hughes,J'Inside-out, Outside-in: Which approach is best for the second language learner? , vol.19, no.3, pp159-66.(1986) ', Australian Journal of Reading