Essay planning and writing

During your course you will be asked to produce a variety of written assignments. The most common will be an essay.
Here are a few guidelines to help you.

• Understand the question

  For a written assignment you will likely be given a title or a question to answer. The first step
  is to make sure you understand the question so you know what you need to write about. Look for
  COMMAND WORDS such as: SUMMARISE, COMPARE, DISCUSS, CONTRAST, DESCRIBE, ANALYSE, EXAMINE,
  JUSTIFY, EVALUATE, OUTLINE. These words indicate what you need to do.

• Research

  You should pull together all the information you need to answer the question. This may require
  you to do some research as well as look back through your class notes and any hand-outs given to
  you or posted on Learnzone to help you complete the assignment. Pull together your research and
  notes and organise them so they are together and easily at hand when it comes to writing your
  essay.

• Create a plan

  Create a plan for your essay which demonstrates how you will answer the question based on your
  research. Use whatever style of plan that works for you. It might be a list of bullet points, a
  mind-map or a flow chart. Whichever approach you take, think carefully about the key points you wish
  to make in your essay and what would be the logical order to put it in.

• Begin a first draft

  Write a rough draft of your essay using your plan and the information you have found to answer the
  question. This first draft might simply be taking your notes and turning them into paragraphs.

• Writing paragraphs
  If you struggle with writing concise paragraphs why not try using PEE, PEEL or PESEL as a guide to help
  you improve. You may recognise some of these from school or you may have learnt a similar technique.
  Following a system like this can help you build confidence in writing concise paragraphs and allow you
  to develop your essay writing style.

  PEE
  Point – make a point
  Evidence – provide evidence to support the point
  Explain –
  explain the point
  or
  PEEL
  Point – make a point
  Evidence – provide evidence
  to support the point
  Explain – explain that point
  Link – connect the paragraph to what will
  follow next
  or
  PESEL
  Point – make a point
  Explain – explain the
  point
  Support – support the point with evidence, reasoning or examples
  Evaluate – evaluate the
  point
  Link – connect the paragraph to what will follow next

• Writing in third person
  Depending on the type of assignment you are writing will depend whether you write in first or third
  person. Academic writing is formal in tone therefore meant to be objective. This means the focus should
  be on the writing rather than the writer. Therefore it should be “This essay will” rather than “My essay
  will”. It is always best to check with your tutor which one you should be using.
• Structuring your assignment
  With your draft written, you can begin to edit this work into a completed essay. Think carefully about
  the structure you use which will vary depending on the assignment you have been given. The basic
  structure for any essay is:

  Introduction
  Explain what the essay is about showing clearly how this will answer the essay
  question/title

  Main body
  Clearly laid out paragraphs for each key point of your argument

  Conclusion
  Summarise the main points of the essay and how it has met the essay
  question/title. This should never contain new material.

  Depending on the type of assignment you have been given will depend on what structure you use. Some
  examples might be:

  1. Introduction – Arguments for – Arguments against – ConclusionIntroduction – 1st Argument for – 1st argument against – 2nd argument for – 2nd argument
     against – Conclusion

     Introduction – Strengths – Weaknesses – Targets – Conclusion

     Introduction – 1st Point – Critique of 1st point – 2nd Point – Critique of 2nd point –
     Conclusion

• Proofread your work
  It is very important to proofread your assignments before handing it in. Proofreading is the process of
  reading a passage of text to find errors and make corrections.

  Have a look at, ‘A guide to proofreading’ for some useful tips to help you proof read your work.

• Asking for advice
  If you are ever in doubt on what the essay is asking you to do, the style or structure you should use,
  it is always best to ask for some help. You can always ask your tutor/learning coach/academic tutor for
  advice as well as seek help from the librarian, Anysia.