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Writing Essays
common problems
and how to overcome them
Relevance
1. Straying off the subject in question is a common problem. There are several simple solutions.
2. Always write out the question accurately
and in full on both your notes and your essay script.
3. Plan your essays carefully, consult the wording, and relate each part of
your argument to the topic(s) in question.
4. At each stage of the argument, you should keep asking
yourself 'Is this relevant?', 'Am I answering the
question?', 'Does this relate directly to the subject I
have been asked to discuss?'
5. Each paragraph should contain just
one idea or topic which is announced in its first
sentence. This idea or topic should be directly related
to the question or the subject you have been asked to
discuss.
6. If you introduce a separate issue in order to illustrate some
part of your argument, make sure that you return to
the original subject as soon as possible. Part of your
discussion should explain why and how this secondary
issue is relevant.
Writing Essays is a best-seller - now in its sixth edition. It covers all aspects of essay writing, from analysing questions to the presentation of a finished assignment. Clear guidance notes may be used as a study programme, or a source of reference. Also includes five sample essays. Easy-access notes and clear presentation - suitable for students at all levels.
Signposting
1. Unless you have been asked to do so, there is no need to 'signpost' your argument.
2. That is, you do not need to use expressions such as:
'Later in this essay I will be discussing...'
'Let us now go on to consider...'
'As I demonstrated earlier...'
'We will now turn to evaluate another example...'
3. Just state clearly the point of your arguments and
leave them to speak for themselves.
4. In a well-planned essay, this progression should be self-evident from the
arrangement of your work.
5. A sound essay plan and a coherent structure will
reveal the logic of your argument and the relationship
of its parts.
6. Each new topic should be clearly identified or
defined as soon as you begin dealing with it. This
statement will provide all the indication needed of your
intentions.
7. If you wish to some light indication of structure, it is
perfectly acceptable to use formulations such as
'The first reason ... The second...'
'On one hand ... on the other...'
'However, the main argument against this is...'
8. The conventions on signposting may vary slightly
from one subject to another. In some of the sciences it
is necessary to announce in advance what you will be
writing about.
Commenting on the process
1. Your essay represents the results of your efforts.
There is no need to comment on the manner in which you have worked.
2. Your tutor doesn't need to know in what order
you assembled your evidence, or what difficulties you
encountered during its composition.
3. You might wish to argue that the question
raises a certain number of difficulties or crucial issues.
This is acceptable - so long as you say what they are.
4. You should then go on to discuss their relevance to the
subject in question, and maybe even suggest some
answers to them.
Posing questions
1. Do not present your argument in the form of questions.
2. Remember - you are supposed to be answering a question.
3. Avoid formulations such as:
Was she so overwhelmed at the thought of a 'new brave' husband that she shot him? In considering his cowardice, had Macomber removed his weapon - his weakness?
Your own argument
1. Do not use quotation from the text as a substitute for your own argument.
2. That is, don't present your answer to the question as a mixture of your own remarks, woven together with quotations.
3. Here is an example:
The poem describes a journey 'from rich industrial shadows' through crowded urban environments to a place of 'loneliness' where 'silence stands/like heat'.
Referencing
1. Quotations from a text should be followed by page references - as in the following example:
These literary devices include simile, such as the description of the lion as 'like some super-rhino' (p.94) and the...
2. You should not include the reference as part of your text, as in the following example:
These literary devices include simile, such as the description of the lion on page ninety-four when it is described as 'like some super-rhino' and the other instance on page fifty-six when it is...
Creating structure
1. Essays should have a clear structure. This should be created in a firm essay plan.
2. Good structure is a persuasive or logical sequence of the parts in an essay.
3. The order of parts is often determined by the nature of the subject. This order might be created by:
- logical progression
- increasing significance
- equal significance
- chronological order
- narrative sequence
- category groupings
4. You can generate the parts of your essay by deciding which topics you will cover in your answer.
5. Each of these topics should be discussed separately - usually in at least one paragraph on its own.
6. If there is no natural order for your topics, you could deal with the smaller, less important items first. This leaves the larger, more important issues until the end of the essay.
Richard Marggraf Turley, Writing Essays: A guide for students in English and the humanities, London: Routledge, 2000, pp.145, ISBN 0415230136
This is a lively and amusing guide to the basics of essay writing. Close examination of real examples, which shows how writing can be improved by careful editing and re-drafting. It deals with structure, how to incorporate and use quotations from critics, plus spelling, good style, and presentation. Also includes library skills and the use of computers, plus writing essays under exam conditions.
 Full review HERE
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