2. General advice on Academic Essay-Writing
★ An essay should have an argument.
★ It should answer a question or a few of them.
★ It should try to prove something.
★ You should formulate the question you will seek to answer in your essay.
★ You should develop a provisional thesis or hypothesis by thinking and
reading.
★ An essay's organization should be designed to present your argument clearly
and persuasively.
3. Planning and organizing and essay
★ You should think about how to organize your paper during the pre-writing
stage.
★ You should ask yourself what type of essay you are going to write or if it
belongs to a specific genre.
★ You should take into account that genres are not fixed, that's why reading
the assignment question carefully for guidance is essential.
★ You must be flexible and ready to come up with any essay structure that
helps you to convince your reader of your position.
4. Planning and organizing and essay
★ The structure of an essay should not be determined by the structure of its
source material.
★ As a potential argument begins to take shape in your mind, you may start to
formalize your thoughts in the form of a tentative plan.
★ Your plan may need to be modified as you critically evaluate your evidence.
★ After completing your first draft, consider using a reserve outline.
★ Just read through your essay, and every time you make a new point,
summarize it in the margin.
5. Advantages of planning Risks of overplanning
★ It helps you to produce a logical
and orderly argument.
★ It's easier to notice whether you
have left anything out
★ It´s allows you to concentrate
on writing issues.
★ It doesn't leave you enough time
to write and revise.
★ It can result in a writing style
that lacks spontaneity.
★ It does not provide enough
opportunity to discover new
ideas.
6. Using thesis statements
★ It makes a definite and limited assertion that needs to be explained and
supported by further discussion.
★ It shows the emphasis and indicates the methodology of your argument.
★ It shows awareness of difficulties and disagreements.
★ Not every paper requires one.
★ Its natural position is at the end of the first paragraph but it is not the
only one.
★ A thesis statement is not one sentence.
7. Introductions and conclusions
A good introduction:
★ Should identify your topic.
★ Provides essential context.
★ Indicates your particular focus in the essay.
★ Engages your readers interest.
★ It could be written in one paragraph but its length depends on the
complexity of your paper.
★ If your essay has a thesis, your thesis statement will typically appear at the
end of the introduction.
8. Introduction and conclusions
A strong conclusion:
★ It will provide a sense of closure to the essay.
★ It will add a stimulus to further thought.
★ It is not a summary of your points
★ It involves critical thinking
★ As with introductions, the length of the conclusion should reflect the length
of the essay.
9. Paragraphs
★ It is a series of related sentences developing a central idea, called the topic.
★ The most effective way to achieve paragraph unity is to express the central
idea in a topic sentence.
★ Illustration in a paragraph supports a general statement by means of
examples, details or relevant quotation.
★ The definition paragraph defines a term, often by drawing distinctions
between the term and other related ones.
★ The analysis or classification paragraph develops a topic by distinguishing
its component parts and discussing each of them separately.
10. Paragraphs
★ A comparison or a contrast paragraph zeroes in on a key similarity or
difference between two positions, sources or ideas.
★ A qualification paragraph acknowledges that what you previously is not
absolutely true or always applicable.
★ The process paragraph involves a step by step description.
★ Very often, a single paragraph will develop by a combination of methods,
★ The best strategy to enhance flow within a paragraph is to show
connections, like for example repeating key words.
11. Paragraphs
★ Strategic use of pronouns keeps the focus on the ideas announced at the
beginning of the paragraph.
★ Specialized linking words can also be powerful tools to put ideas together.
★ Paragraphs are usually between one-third or two-thirds of a page double
spaced.
12. Topic sentence
★ It states the main point of a paragraph.
★ It guides your readers through the argument.
★ It helps you to improve your essay.
★ Topic sentences usually appear at the beginning of paragraphs.
★ Sometimes a transitional sentence or two could come before a topic sentence.
★ Relating it to your thesis can help strengthen the coherence of your essay.
★ Not every paragraph needs one, but most do.
13. Reading and researching
Critical reading:
★ it is to make judgements about how a text is argued.
★ First, you should determine the purpose of the text.
★ Then begin to make judgements about context.
★ Distinguished the kinds of reasoning the text employs.
★ examine the evidence.
★ Evaluate the text.
14. Reading and researching
Research reading:
★ For books, scan the preface, table of contents and index to see the general
outlook and argument.
★ Journal articles usually outline their argument within the first page.
★ Write down complete bibliographical information for each source consulted.
★ If you research on the web, you have to pay attention whether a web page
will be an appropriate source for an academic essay.
15. Using sources
★ Give the reference as soon as you mention the idea you are using.
★ You need to mention authors, pages and dates to show how your ideas are
related to those experts.
★ Common knowledge are facts found in standard reference books.
★ Use quotation marks in the case of copying the author's exact words.
★ use your own words to paraphrase or summarize an idea.
16. Specific types of writing
★ The book review: It evaluates and comment on the work considering specific
issues and theoretical concerns.
★ Literature review: it is an account of what has been published by
researchers . it is a discursive prose not a list or summary of literary works.
★ The comparative essay: It compares at least two items, considering both
similarities and differences.
★ The academic proposal: It shows your theoretical position towards past
work in the area.
17. Style and editing
★ Revising helps you to preview your work and to check details.
★ You may add or delete sentences or paragraphs.
★ You have to check if you have fulfilled the intention of the assignment.
★ Check the organization of your writing.
★ Then, edit your style: word choice, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure
and spelling.
18. English as a second language
Articles:
★ Modifiers located before nouns or noun phrases.
★ THE and A (AN) are the only ones in English.
★ Take into account whether the noun is countable or uncountable, singular or
plural , definite or indefinite.
★ Most proper nouns do not take articles before them, like names of people or
countries.
19. English as a second language
Definite articles: To decide if you should use it, ask yourself
1. If the noun is definite or indefinite.
2. If it is modified.
3. If the noun is generic.
