Writing Essays Guide
In this guide, you will find answers to frequently asked questions about essay writing.
What is an essay?
The purpose of writing an essay.
Main tips for researching, planning, and writing an essay.
Academic style and formal language.
Formatting tips to present an essay.
Essay-writing checklist.
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What is an Essay?
An essay (one of the most common types of assignment at university) is a piece of
academic writing generally between 500 and 5000 words long. Thus, an essay is a
written form to cover a certain topic with the help of three main components: different
arguments, evidence, and a writer’s perspective . Generally, essays are more
discursive and less concise than a report. Typically, it consists of several paragraphs
and develops a topic in depth.
Structure of an Essay Involves
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The Purpose of Writing an Essay
The purpose of writing an academic essay is to provide written evidence of your ability
to research a topic, weigh arguments, organize your thoughts, express these thoughts
in a logical, coherent and critical manner, and reach conclusions, which follow from the
evidence and the arguments you put forward.
Remember that not the number of words matters but the quality of the
content you present in your essay.
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Main Tips for Researching, Planning, and Writing an Essay
There is no right or wrong way of approaching an essay; however, there are certain tasks
that should help you produce a good piece of work. Follow these simple 8 steps to
complete the essay without any extra effort.
Step 1: Interpret the question and identify the key topics
The first crucial step is to interpret the question . Question analysis is a crucial part
of the essay writing process; the most common reason why students fail assignments
is that they do not read or analyze the question correctly.
One method of question analysis is the ‘T.A.P. model’. First identify the Topic - what
the main theme is; then the Action(s), i.e. what you have got to do; and finally the
Parameters – the scope or confines of the task.
After identifying the key topic, you can make up a certain “mindmap,” a tool that can
help you to list your thoughts and understand what essential information you need
to make a connection between these points.
Step 2: Organize your time
You need to plan your time carefully. Remember that you have a certain deadline, which
is essential to follow. Also, do not forget that you should have enough time to
● draft an essay;
● conduct research;
● write an essay;
● provide appropriate formatting;
● proofread everything.
Make up a schedule and break the whole task into several steps with a deadline for
each part of the work.
Step 3: Read (do your research, make notes)
Do not start exactly with writing an essay — you should start with research to find
necessary, relevant, and credible information. These sources include
➢ academic texts (books and journals);
➢ government statistics;
➢ newspapers and magazines;
➢ research reports.
Pay attention to the quality of sources; please do not use outdated sources
(published over 8 years ago) unless they are primary sources the tutor asked you to
use.
Step 4: Think (and establish your position)
After reading the sources, analyze and summarize the key ideas and conclusions.
Then write a brief outline of what you would like the essay to say. This will help keep
you on the right track and prevent you from over- or under-writing key sections.
Step 5: Plan (to give your writing structure)
The academic paper should be well-structured. Do not forget to separate the whole essay
into main parts:
● the introduction with the thesis at the end;
● main body involving several paragraphs;
● conclusion with key findings.
Each of these sections has a distinct purpose and is equally important.
Also, outline the key idea for each of the paragraphs. As for the introduction, there
should be an interesting hook at the beginning and a strong thesis at the end. Finally, the
conclusion should summarize the outcomes of the research and the main findings.
Step 6: Writing
You do not have to write the various sections of the essay in the order that they
appear in the final draft. Some people write the introduction last after the main body
of work has been written. On the other hand, if you’ve done plenty of planning, then
writing the introduction first can give you a clear idea where you are going – as can
starting with the conclusion. This might help keep your writing more focused.
One more secret of a good essay is a strong thesis. Some writers believe that writing
a thesis before finishing the whole assignment is a formula for success. Nevertheless, we
recommend writing a thesis at the end of the work. Because everything can be changed
while writing, the written assignment may look a little bit different than it is in your outline.
You can also use this model to keep your argument focused and your paragraphs
structured around a specific point.
Step 7: Referencing
It is important to identify the sources of material you use, whether quoting from
(i.e. using their exact words) or paraphrasing (changing the wording of) the work of
others. Whether you are quoting or paraphrasing the work of others, you must
acknowledge the original author and include the reference, both within the essay and
in an organized list at the end in the ‘reference list’.
The next useful tip is not to overuse citations. Of course, applying the information from
credible sources is vital for a good research paper. Nevertheless, students often forget
that the original ideas should predominate in the written work and place citations almost
in every sentence. Thus, remember that cited information should take not more than
approximately 10% of the whole paper.
Remember that all information taken from the outside source should be
cited. Otherwise, it will count as plagiarism.
Steps 8: Edit and proofread
Finally, proofreading is key to the perfect research paper. It is important to re-read the
essay several times to avoid such unpleasant things as a typo or misspelling of some
words. Proofreading is also essential to understand whether the paper is coherent and
easy for reading or not.
Preferably, proofread your work aloud, as you tend to take more notice of the punctuation,
natural pauses and general sentence structure, compared to when you read silently.
Do not ignore this “boring” procedure, as far as it is the same important as
searching for credible sources or writing a strong thesis.
Academic Style and Formal Language
The primary requirement of academic writing is to adhere to the formal style. Forget
about using colloquial vocabulary, idioms, phrasal verbs, weak words, personal pronouns,
contractions, and other examples of informal writing. Purdue OWL can help with providing
useful advice about writing in an academic tone and also appropriate formatting of the
paper.
The language you use in your essays should not reflect prejudice or discrimination on
the grounds of race, gender, sexuality, religion or ability.
Attempt to be natural and sincere in your writing and avoid the use of
jargon and slang.
Formatting Tips to Present an Essay
Formatting is an inevitable part of the writing assignment. You should be very careful
with instructions, as far as professors often mention the required format of the paper.
● Type essays in 12 point font size with double spacing.
● Choose typefaces and fonts that are clear and easy to read, for example, Times
New Roman or Arial.
● Leave top, bottom, left and right margins of 2.54 cm (the standard default), and
number the pages.
● Ensure that necessary details such as your name, course, and others are all
included on the title/front page.
You can find the templates for papers formatted in the most popular styles in the section
"Templates for papers" in My Lessons.
Essay-writing checklist
Before you submit your work, check it over one more time using the list below:
1. Does the essay answer the question/deal with the topic that was set?
2. Does it cover all the key points and a range of arguments or viewpoints?
3. Have you covered the main points in sufficient depth?
4. Is the essay analytical in style and questioning in approach?
5. Have you developed and sustained the argument throughout the essay?
6. Is the argument logical and realistic?
7. Is the content accurate and relevant? (check if sources are reliable and up to date)
8. Is the material logically arranged?
9. Is there a sense of direction, a reason why one paragraph follows another?
10. Is each main point well supported by examples and arguments?
11. Does it clearly distinguish your ideas from those of others?
12. Do you acknowledge all sources, in the main body and at the end? (check your
referencing)
13. Have you used an appropriate number and range of sources?
14. Is the essay the correct length?
15. Have you included a word count?
16. Have you written the work in an appropriate style, and simply and clearly?
17. Is the grammar, punctuation, and spelling correct? (Spell-check, grammar-check,
and use a dictionary and grammar guide)
18. Have figures and tables been used appropriately and referenced?
19. Is the essay well-presented, with the right spacing, font, font size and cover sheet?
