St Andrew's Cathedral School Library

Module D - Essay writing

This phrase may conjure up images of horror and tedium but like any piece of writing, if you follow the steps and be prepared to make an effort you will be rewarded.

If you know the steps and understand what to do, writing can be easy and even fun.

The following outline of essay writing was adapted especially for senior students at St Andrew’s Cathedral School . There are links (underlined of course) to further material and exercises. Please open the links and read the data and also complete the tasks.

Lessons 1 and 2- Introducing an essay and its parts

Read the material below which forms a basic overview of essay writing. Open the links and complete the set tasks.

What is an essay?

An essay is simply a written argument. It follows a particular structure and has particular language features. That’s all there is to it. I’ve not met any young person who isn’t good at arguing. It’s a strength of character to be able to argue a point through convincingly and it is also a way to build resilience. Just replicate this in written form.

What is the purpose of an essay?

The purpose of an essay it to take part in the academic debate about a topic. Your essay will contribute new insights into your topic of discussion and it will be written in the writer’s own voice.

So what?

That means an essay must:

·        present a thesis  (argument)

·        develop this thesis

·        have evidence

·        analyse material

Steps to writing an essay:

Analyse the question

Research

Analysis

Brainstorming

Thesis

Outline/Plan

Writing:

Introduction

Paragraphs/Body

Conclusion

Language - Editing/Proofreading

Steps to writing an essay – a more detailed approach:

1. Analyse the question. Underline the key words. Dwell upon them. Write out the question in a simplified form. Good candidates also challenge the set question (especially when absolutes are used: ‘all’, ‘never’ ‘everyone’). Is the set question valid under all circumstances? When/how/how often are there variations? This is particularly important when essays use high order thinking verbs like evaluate, discuss, compare and contrast, assess, analyse, qualify, validate and explain. There is no link for this step.

2. Research: Begin the essay writing process by researching your topic, making yourself an expert. Utilize the internet, online databases (such as ProQuest and e-library) and books, magazines and newspapers from various libraries. Take notes and immerse yourself in the words of great thinkers. This is the most important step in the writing process. You cannot have a good essay without a sound knowledge of the content whatever the subject matter or topic.

Open the following link and read sections 1a and 1c.

http://www.aucegypt.edu/academic/writers/research.htm

Write down quotations and interesting points

As you read about your topic, keep a piece of paper and pen handy to write down interesting quotations you find. Make sure you write down the source and transcribe quotations accurately. I recommend handwriting the quotations to ensure that you don't overuse them, because if you have to handwrite the quotations, you'll probably only use quotations sparingly, as you should. On the other hand, if you're surfing through  websites, you may just want to cut and paste snippets here and there along with their URLs into a Word file, and then later go back and evaluate the sources. It si essential that you do not skimp on the process of evaluating sites. See Module C to revise how to do this.

With print sources, you might put a post it note or flag beside interesting or important points. Write questions or other thoughts in the margins as well if you own the book. Or write your notes directly onto a fresh sheet of paper/word document. Use one piece of paper for each resource. Make sure you have recorded all bibliographic material. Whatever your system, be sure to annotate the text you read. If reading online, see if you can download the document, and then use Word's Reviewing toolbar to add notes or the highlighter tool to highlight key passages.

Read Widely

You'll need to read widely in order to gather data on your topic. As you integrate research, take a little from a lot -- that is, quote briefly from a wide variety of sources and/or show a breadth of knowledge about the topic. This is the best advice there is about researching. Too many quotations from one source, however reliable the source, will make your essay seem unoriginal and borrowed. Too few sources and you may come off sounding inexperienced. Lot of small quotations or references from numerous sources,  will present you as a credible writer..

3. Analysis: Now that you have a good knowledge base, start analysing the arguments of the material you're reading. Clearly define the key points, write out the reasons and  the evidence. Look for weaknesses of logic, and also strengths. Think about which ones you agree with or which you have the most reliable and varied information for. Think about a thesis but do not choose it yet. The link below has a helpful list of strategies to help you do this.

http://www.aucegypt.edu/academic/writers/analysis.htm

4. Brainstorming: Your essay will require insight of your own. There are various ways you can brainstorm which you learnt about in Module A. Undertake some brainstorming about the topic, based on what you know and have read about.

Use the following site as a revision exercise if you want to (ie this link is optional)

http://www.aucegypt.edu/academic/writers/brainstorming.htm

5. Thesis: Select your strongest idea and focus it into in a clear assertion that you can base your entire essay on. Your thesis is your main point, summed up in a concise sentence that lets the reader know where you're going, and why. It's practically impossible to write a good essay without a clear thesis. This is the second most important step. Your thesis must answer the set question.

Complete this exercise to practice identifying and writing good theses.

http://www.aucegypt.edu/academic/writers/practice/practice_thesis.htm

The following site is an optional extra resource.

http://www.schrag.info/teaching/thesis.html

6. Outline: Plan your essay before writing it out. Write out your thesis. Use topic sentences (one-line sentences) to describe paragraphs, and bullet points to identify what each paragraph will contain. Think about the sequence of arguments. Next work out the structure of your argument. Make sure each paragraph is unified, links to the next paragraph and develops the central thesis.

1. Introduction: Now sit down and write the essay. The introduction should grab the reader's attention, present the thesis, and outline your key points (which in turn become the topic sentences for the remaining paragraphs of your essay). Note that PDHPE essays do not have an introduction. Introductions should be concise especially in music, art and the sciences where you have a very short exam time for writing them. Here are two introductions for prepared essays with associated activities.

* Identify the thesis for this essay.

* Write the topic sentences that flow from the following introduction.

The effects of alcohol consumption on physical and mental health have been documented by many studies. One area, which is receiving increasing attention, is alcohol consumption in pregnancy, as health professionals and pregnant women are requesting firm facts about the effects of maternal alcohol consumption. While some studies have revealed that alcohol consumption by pregnant women causes damage to unborn babies, other studies show that this is not necessarily true, as there seems to be several variables involved. This essay argues that the excessive consumption of alcohol by pregnant women during pregnancy may damage the health of an un-born baby. It will demonstrate this first by showing that infants born from mothers who drank excessively during pregnancy suffer a variety of symptoms, including low birth weight, mild facial deformity, heart murmurs, ear problems, hyperactivity and low intelligence. Secondly, it will show that the trimester in which maternal drinking occurs also affects the probability of abnormalities occurring.  Therefore, although alcohol intake may cause damage in pregnancy, the effects are variable. It is difficult to predict the susceptibility of women and their unborn children to the effects of alcohol.

Here is a second introduction that answers the question below. Print the introduction and cut out the accompanying annotations. Paste the annotations next to the appropriate part of the introduction. Draw a line linking them for extra clarity.

To what extent is the downfall of Othello his own fault?

Othello is a classic Shakespearian tragedy in which a great and noble character falls from glory, power and success. Othello’s fall is due mainly to his own personality flaws and his inability to withstand the machinations of Iago. Whilst Iago is a cunning, subversive and loathsome character who manipulates Othello’s feelings and actions from the very beginning of the play, Othello’s previous military skill, his intelligence and good sense and breeding should have prevented him from falling prey to Iago. Additionally, Othello’s extreme jealousy is a significant factor in his downfall. Thus, Othello’s demise is mostly of his own doing.

2. Paragraphs: Each individual paragraph should be focused on a single idea that supports your thesis. Begin paragraphs with topic sentences, support assertions with evidence, and explain your ideas in the clearest, most sensible way you can. Speak to your reader/responder as if he or she were sitting in front of you. You must have detailed and well supported information in the body of your essay. You must show a thorough knowledge of the subject matter. This applies to all subjects in the HSC and the area of greatest improvement needed by SACS students.

Here is an example of how to build up a paragraph from a topic sentence. The example comes from English- based on a text called The Dreamers.

Developing Your Topic Sentence

Once you have a clear topic sentence you need to develop it by supporting details. These details are best provided by examples, evidence and/or use of quotations from the text.   It is important to use connective words and phrases to tie your paragraph together. Every sentence must be relevant and add something to the central idea contained within the topic sentence.

Topic Sentence:

Jack Davis represents the character of Dolly Wallitch as a caring, loving and responsible mother.

Supporting details:

The play provides ample evidence of her care and love for the members of her family and her sense of responsibility as a mother. Dolly. She is a loving and dutiful niece to Uncle Worru and it is she rather than her husband Roy who brings Worru home from hospital. It is Dolly who goes to get her son Peter from goal. It is Dolly who ensures that there is food for her children Meena and Shane. It is Dolly who struggles to keep her family functioning despite the lack of support from her husband, drunkenness and hopelessness (Roy and Eli) of the adult males.     

All that is needed now to finalise the paragraph is some textual references and a comment on these.