The document provides an overview of the key elements of writing an academic essay, including definitions, structure, research strategies, and writing techniques. It discusses that an essay presents a thesis supported by evidence, and is generally composed of an introduction with a thesis statement, body paragraphs to develop the argument, and a conclusion to summarize. Other topics covered include developing paragraphs, using topic sentences, incorporating sources through quotes and citations, revising for organization and style, and specific essay components like introductions and conclusions.

2. An essay is an extended piece of writing
that presents and supports a thesis or
proposition. The word ‘essay’ derives
from the Latin word ‘exagium’, meaning
the presentation of a case.
WHAT IS AN ESSAY?

3.  Mainly by three parts:
 An introduction, where the argument (thesis statement) is
exposed.
 Body paragraphs, where the argument is developed
throughout.
 Conclusion, where the argument is summarized and also the
place where the writer invites reader to think further.
HOW IS IT COMPOSED?

4.  Answers to one or more related questions.
 Tries to prove something (by the development of a thesis) by
reasoning and evidence such as quotations, citations or apt
examples.
WHAT DOES THE ARGUMENT DO?

5.  Think of possible questions your essay may answer.
 Develop a hypothesis ( a supposition provisionally accepted)
and also think what can be said against it.
 Think of a possible title.
 Some more tips:
 Start writing early.
 Write what you consider the readiest part (and not lineally
from beginning to end).
 Keep an overall purpose and organization in mind.
 Revise extensively and intensively (the whole and small units
like sentences and words).
 Proofread your piece.
HOW CAN YOU START?

6.  Generally placed in the first paragraph (introduction).
 Show a clear position, making a definite and limited assertion
that needs to be explained and supported.
 Show the emphasis and indicates the methodology of the
argument.
 Show awareness of difficulties and disagreements.
 May be more than one sentence long.
THESES STATEMENTS

7.  Do not need topic sentences.
 Identify the topic.
 Provide essential context
 Indicate a particular focus
 Need to engage the reader’s interest
INTRODUCTIONS

8.  When writing them:
 If necessary, leave the production of it for a later stage.
 Avoid generalizations, rather get to the point quickly.
 Theses statements are placed within introductions.
 How to capture readers’ attention and to flash out
intros:
 Mention or cite: statistics, quotations, misperceptions,
background information, brief narrative or anecdote.
 Explain: key scientific concepts (in science papers).
 Refer to: relevant literature.
 Define: a term (essential to the understanding of the
paper)

9.  Do not need topic sentences.
 Provide a sense of closure.
 Place concepts again but in a wider context.
 Add a stimulus for further thought.
 Are usually one paragraph long.
 When writing them:
 Summarize using fresh language.
 Remind the reader how much the evidence contributes to the
thesis.
 Try to convey some closing thoughts.
 Broaden the focus at the end so as to leave something to think
about.
CONCLUSIONS

10.  How to write interesting effective conclusions:
 Warn readers about consequences.
 Recommend a course of action.
 Use quotations or experts’ opinions.
 Use startling statistic, facts or visual images.
 Add a relevant narrative (if the essay is about personal
life).
 Go back to what has been mentioned in the
introduction adding further insight from the body.

11.  Provide thematic unity as they are composed by related
sentences developing a central idea.
 Are made of a topic sentence whose function is to unify ideas
and supporting sentences as well.
 Should be broken into two or more if they are too long.
PARAGRAPHS

12.  Development of ideas by using different methods:
 Illustration paragraphs.
 Definition paragraphs.
 Analysis/classification paragraphs.
 Comparison/contrast paragraphs.
 Qualification paragraphs.
 Process paragraphs.
 A single paragraph will develop by a combination of these
methods.
 Making ideas flow (within and between paragraphs) by:
 The deliberate repetition of key words, synonyms.
 The use of pronouns (it, they, this, etc.).
 The use of linking words to reinforce, change and conclude
ideas.

13.  State the main point of a paragraph.
 Usually appear at the very beginning of paragraphs.
 Coming up with a good topic sentence:
 By asking yourself:
 what goes on in the paragraph.
 why certain information is included.
 why the paragraph is important to the context of the
argument.
 By relating topic sentences to the thesis statement
 By taking a key word from the thesis statement (explicit
echo).
TOPIC SENTENCES

14.  CRITICAL READING TOWARDS CRITICAL WRITING
 Reading critically is being able to make judgements about
HOW a text is argued. This means a writer should not only
look for information but rather look for ways of thinking about
the subject matter.
 Steps to find ways of thinking:
 Determine the central claims/ purpose of the text.
 Make some judgements about context.
 Distinguish the kind of reasoning in the text.
 Examine the evidence.
 Evaluate.
READING AND RESEARCHING

15.  Follow these three principles:
 KNOW what kind of ideas you need to record.
 Make a preliminary list of topics you expect to find.
 Choose a component you are interested in and formulate a new
question.
 Look for facts, theories, people’s opinions.
 Review commonly known facts about the topic.
 DO NOT write down too much.
 Compress your ideas or paraphrase.
 Copy exactly when quoting only.
 LABEL your notes intelligently.
 Record bibliographical information in a master list.
 Put notes on separate cards.
TAKING NOTES FROM RESEARCH
READING

16.  Aspects to consider when visiting a website:
 Authority
 Affiliation
 Audience level
 Currency
 Context reliability/accuracy
RESEARCHING USING THE INTERNET

17.  What for? To orient yourself what is important in the reading.
 Basic method:
 Read the title.
 Think about the subject matter.
 Think of the author.
 Think of the place of publication.
 Think of the audience and its expectations.
 Think of the date of publication and its significance.
 Read chapter titles or headings.
PREVIEWING A TEXT

18.  SKIMMING
 To get a sense of a text overall logical progression.
 To help focus on certain places.
 Techniques:
 Read carefully the introductory paragraph.
 Read the first and concluding sentence of each paragraph.
 Read carefully the concluding paragraph.
 Read through the text.
 Adjust your focus (look up for words you need to know or
those that are repeated several times).
READING STRATEGIES

19.  SCANNING
 It is skimming with a more tightly focused purpose.
 To locate a particular fact or figure.
 To see if the subject searched is mentioned.
READING STRATEGIES

20.  SUMMARIZING
 Two aims:
 Reproduce overarching ideas, identifying general concepts.
 Express these ideas using precise, specific language.
 Methods:
 Focus on the writer’s thesis.
 Omit ideas that are not central.
 Omit minor details.
 Avoid writing opinions.
 Divide into sections and write one or two sentences to cover
each section.
 Quote the author’s words.
READING STRATEGIES

21.  How not to plagiarize
 Integrate
acknowledgments into
the writing.
 Keep mentioning
authors, pages and
dates (though ideas are
in your own words).
 Do not paste passages,
rather summarize.
 What to document
exactly
 Quotations, paraphrases,
summaries.
 Specific facts used as
evidence
 Distinctive or
authoritative ideas
(whether you agree with
them or not).
USING SOURCES

22.  Establish details of punctuation, typeface, indentation.
 Endnotes/footnotes with superscript numbers (In humanities and science
disciplines)
 They are indented or single-spaced (but with a blank line between notes).
 They are used to not interrupt the flow of the text.
 When a source is referred to for the second time, notes can be shortened.
 If the reference is of two books by the same author, the book title is
shortened.
 Listing webpage as a source
 Write down the date you read it and the URL
 Parentheses
 Between them, you give page or line numbers of text.
COMMON STANDARD DOCUMENTATION
FORMATS

23. CITATION FORMATS:MLA SYSTEM
 Uses the parenthetical in-texts citations of author and page,
with all the sources cited in the “Works Cited”.
 Basic constituents of any source:
 Author, title of source. Title of container, Other contributors,
Version, Number, Publisher, Publication Date, Location.

24.  Uses only initials for authors’ given names, no quotation
marks or angle brackets, minimal capitalization for titles of
books and articles, and italics for volume numbers as well as
journal titles.
 Basic constituents of any source:
 Author,(date). Title of source. Location.
CITATION FORMATS: APA SYSTEM

25.  Consider:
 If the language of the passage is elegant or powerful or
memorable.
 If it is to confirm the credibility by enlisting support of an
authority.
 If the passage is worthily further analysis.
 If it is to argue with somebody else’s position in detail.
 Quotations can be identified:
 By introducing them with a full sentence before the reference to
demonstrate it is significant within your argument.
 By writing common phrases and verbs such as insist, argue,
claim, etc.
 If they are long, write a full sentence plus a colon and then add
the block quotation (i.e. a separate indented paragraph).
USING QUOTATIONS

26.  Annotated bibliography
 The abstract
 The book review/ article critique
 The literature review
 The comparative essay
 The admission letter
 The application letter/résumés
 The academic proposal
 The lab report
SPECIFIC TYPES OF WRITING

27.  Start large, end small:
 Is the intention of the assignment fulfilled?
 Is the kind of thinking performed the one asked?
 Is the genre of the piece the one called?
 Which concepts and methods did you deal with?
 Is the evidence given adequate?
REVISING AND EDITING

28.  Overall organization:
 Does the introduction make clear where the rest of the paper
is headed?
 Is each section in the right place fulfilling their purposes?
 Are connections shown between the paragraphs?
 When reading the conclusion, is it predictable the question
thought behind?
REVISING AND EDITING

29.  Polish and edit your style by checking:
 Word choice.
 Sentence structure.
 Grammar.
 Punctuation.
 Spelling.
 Appearance:
 Include a cover page
 Write the number of pages
 Double space the text
 Leave margin (2.5cm)
 Use standard font (12 size)
 Cite the references in a list
 Cite the bibliography consulted on a separate page at the end.
REVISING AND EDITING

30. BIBLIOGRAPHY
 Silber, C. A. (n.d.). Some General Advice on Academic Essay -Writing. Retrieved from University
of Toronto website: https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/general/general -advice/
 Procter, M. (n.d.). Understanding Essay Topics: A Checklist. Retrieved from University of
Toronto website: https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/general/essay -topics/
 Plotnick, J. (n.d.). Organizing an Essay. Retrieved from University of Toronto website:
https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/planning/organizing/
 Procter, M. (n.d.). Using Thesis Statements. Retrieved from University of Toronto website:
https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/planning/thesis -statements/
 Freedman, L. & Plotnick, J. (n.d.). Introductions and Conclusions. Retrieved from University of
Toronto website: https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/planning/intros -and-conclusions/
 Procter, M. ,Writing Support & Visvis, V. (n.d.). Paragraphs. Retrieved from University of
Toronto website: https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/planning/paragraphs/
 Hall, J. & Plotnick, J. (n.d.). Using Topic Sentences. Retrieved from University of Toronto
website: https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/planning/topic -sentences/
 Knott, D. & New College Writing Centre ( n.d.). Critical Reading Towards Critical Writing.
Retrieved from University of Toronto website:
https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/researching/critical -reading/
 Procter, M. & Writing Support (n.d.). How to Get the Most Out of Reading. Retrieved from
University of Toronto website: https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/researching/get -the-most-from-
reading/
 Procter, M & Writing Support (n.d.). Taking Notes from Research Reading. Retrieved from
University of Toronto website: https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/researching/notes -from-
research/
 Brock MacDonald, W., Academic Skills Centre, Seel, J & UTM Library (n.d.). Research Using
the Internet. Retrieved from University of Toronto website:
https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/researching/research -using-internet/

31. BIBLIOGRAPHY
 Freedman, L., English Language Learning, Arts & Science ( n.d.). Previewing. Retrieved from
University of Toronto website: https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/researching/preview/
 Freedman, L., English Language Learning, Arts & Science ( n.d.). Skimming and Scanning.
Retrieved from University of Toronto website:
https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/researching/skim -and-scan/
 Freedman, L., English Language Learning, Arts & Science ( n.d.). Summarizing. Retrieved from
University of Toronto website: https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/researching/summarize/
 Procter, M & Writing Support (n.d.). How Not to Plagiarize. Retrieved from University of
Toronto website: https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/using -sources/how-not-to-plagiarize/
 Procter, M & Writing Support (n.d.). Standard Documentation Formats. Retrieved from
University of Toronto website: https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/using -sources/documentation/
 Plotnick, J & University College Writing Centre ( n.d.). Using Quotations. Retrieved from
University of Toronto website: https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/using -sources/quotations/
 Procter, M & Writing Support (n.d.). Revising And Editing. Retrieved from University of
Toronto website: https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/revising/revising -and-editing/
 Curtin University. (April 30, 2015). What is an essay?. Retrieved from
https://utica.libguides.com/c.php?g=291672&p=1943026