GUIDE TO ESSAY PLANNING

1. Begin with the essay title. Make sure you understand it. The verb or verbs in
the title are most important as these tell you how to approach or treat the
subject. The following words are examples of verbs commonly seen in academic
essay assignments: analyse; consider; evaluate; discuss; outline; explain; justify.
raw a circle around the verb!s" in the title. #f you are not sure what some words
mean$ check their de%nition in a dictionary.
&. 'ow %nd the main topic in the title. (nderline it.
). *heck to see if there are any other key words or phrases that need to be
highlighted.
+. ,ome students %nd brainstorming at this point very useful. ,it down with a
blank sheet of paper. #n the centre of the page write down the assignment
-uestion. #n the space around the title$ write all the words$ phrases$ -uestions
and issues associated with it. These can come out in any order. #t doesn.t
matter what you write now as you can reject ideas later. This process activates
your thoughts and helps you to engage with the -uestion.
If this approach doesn't help and you fnd it difcult to get started, try
explaining to another student, a friend or relative what you consider the essay to
be about. Tell the how you are going to approach it. !ncourage the to as"
you #uestions about the title.
/. #n order to focus your attention during the information gathering phase$ you
could ask yourself some -uestions about the main topic. 0our search for answers
to these -uestions will focus your attention and may stop you gathering material
that is not relevant to the task.
1. (nless you have been told otherwise$ stick to this simple structure for your
essay2
3 #ntroduction !divided into paragraphs if necessary"
B Main body !divided into sections and paragraphs"
* *onclusion !divided into paragraphs if necessary"
4ist of references
3t this point it is useful to think about the balance of your essay. 'ext to points 3$
B$ and * above$ you can write down the approximate number words you are
going to write. 5emember$ references are not included in the total number of
words.
3s a rough guide$ the introduction and conclusion should each be about one
tenth of the total number of words. The main body will account for the rest. 6or
example$ in a &777 word assignment$ the introduction and conclusion would each
be about &77 words. Therefore$ the main body would be about 1177 words.
The main body is divided into sections or themes$ each one addressing an aspect
of the title. 8ach section or theme is futher sub9divided into paragraphs. #n our
example$ if the main body were divided into + sections of e-ual importance they
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would all be approximately +77 words long : with the text broken into paragraphs
of varying lengths. eciding in advance how your essay will be balanced and
which order your paragraphs will appear may stop you writing too much or too
little on each set of ideas.
;. 'ow create an essay outline. o this on one side of 3+ paper. Make headings
and sub9headings using key words to show the order of the points you want to
make. #t is worth spending a while getting this part right as the rest of the essay
will <ow from it. 0ou should expect to modify your outline a few times while you
are gathering material and doing research but once you begin to write you
should be con%dent that you have included all the main points and you should
not make any more signi%cant changes. (se your essay outline to guide your
writing. #f it is a good outline it will stop you from going o= on a tangent or from
missing important points.
Introduction : brie<y explains the purpose and content of the essay. ,ays how
you intend to answer the -uestion. e%nes terms and outlines the background to
your subject.
Main Body : consists of sections divided into paragraphs. 8ach section
addresses a signi%cant aspect of the title with each paragraph addressing one
idea within that section. ,upport your ideas with references to other work and
some -uotations. 8ach paragraph should begin with a sentence which introduces
the main idea >of that paragraph?. The following sentences should support the
lead sentence. @hen you are ready to write about a di=erent idea related to that
section$ close your paragraph and start a new one. @hen you are moving from
one section to another$ use words in the closing or opening paragraph to show
that you are moving on to a new theme.
Conclusion : summarises the key ideas you have expanded in the main body
and answers the -uestion. Take care not to introduce any new ideas in the
conclusion.
Thin a!out th"s" stat"#"nts $h"n you !"%in to dra&t your "ssay'
(se a new paragraph for each new idea within a section.
on.t assume too much. 8xplain obscure references.
Balance your main points. ecide if all points need e-ual attention.
Think about structure. Move from general to speci%c points$ strongest
argument to weakest argument$ causes to conse-uences$ important to less
important$ or simply structure ideas chronologically.
E("n $ith an outlin" &or your $ritin% you #ay ha(" di)culty %"ttin% start"d'
*"r" ar" so#" id"as $hich #ay h"l+'
,tart in the middle or at the end. 0ou do not have to write your essay in the same
way that you would write a story. #f you are re-uired to draw on experience or use
case studies$ you will probably %nd this the easiest bit to write$ so do it %rst. This may
encourage you to continue.
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#f you good keyboard skills you may %nd that using a word9processor makes writing
less tiring. 0ou can use the edit facility to delete text or move text around until you
have it in the order you want.
@hen writing in long9hand$ make a rough draft using every other line on the paper.
This makes your work easier to edit.
6ocus on one section or paragraph of the essay at a time. #f you write a little and
often you will eventually complete the task but it might not seem such a chore.
5emind yourself that it isn.t going to be perfect %rst time. 0ou should always expect
to write at least one rough draft.
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