Essays
The essential approach to writing essays is:
- analyse the question
- consider what you already know about the topic
- read background information and then narrow down your reading to suit your topic
- highlight important information and useful quotes you want to incorporate, noting reference details as you go.
Plan before you write
If you don't know what you want to say, don't write yet. When you are not clear about your topic, or are in a rush, it is tempting to just start writing. In most cases, what you write is a confusion of ideas and bits and pieces of other people's work. The essay will not flow and you are not likely to get high marks.
It is essential that you take the time to plan before you write. You should plan what you will say in your introduction, the main points you will make in each paragraph and finally how you will conclude.
Academic essays in Australia
If you have not studied at tertiary level in Australia, you may need to adjust your essay writing style to that which is expected in Australian universities. It may be quite different to what you are used to.
Below is a guide to the elements of a good, clear academic essay (Australian style).
The introduction
The introduction must begin by introducing the reader to your topic, broadly at first but becoming more focused as it continues. The last sentence of the introduction should show the reader what the essay will cover and how it is organised. This is called the thesis statement. Your lecturers may first look at your thesis statement to get an idea of what your essay is about.
Example
Despite the current economic recession and period of high unemployment, it has been estimated that two million new recruits will be needed by the hotel and catering industry over the next three years to address skill shortages and staff losses (Afiya 1992). Staffing in this industry has always been problematic. The hotel and catering industry suffers a poor image, with low pay, long hours, and awkward shifts. Inadequate training also poses a problem. This essay goes on to analyse these problems and to suggest ways that they can be overcome.
(adapted from Williams, K. 1995. Writing Essays. Oxford: The Oxford Center for Staff Development)
In the above example, it is clear that in the body of the essay, the author will:
- look in detail at the problems of poor image, low pay, long hours, awkward shifts and inadequate training, and
- provide suggestions for overcoming these problems.
Anything other than this would be off the topic and should not be included.
The body of the essay
In the body of the essay you should cover everything in your thesis statement.
Each paragraph should contain one main idea, which should be clearly indicated in a topic sentence, usually the first sentence of the paragraph. The rest of the paragraph should elaborate on, provide support for and possibly give an example of that main idea.
Your lecturer is looking to see what you have to say on the topic, ie, how widely have you read? How have you made sense of what other people have written? Academic referencing will help to indicate to your lecturer how much research you have done and your ability to be critical of other work in the field.
The conclusion
Your conclusion should draw together the main points you have made in your essay. There is no need to elaborate further on these points (the conclusion should only re-state them). No new information should be included in a conclusion.
A conclusion is like the ending to a movie - no matter how good the movie, a bad ending leaves you disappointed. Spend time on your conclusion to make sure it 'wraps up' your essay and does not disappoint.