/ Product

11 Ways on How to Make

the GBE Exam Essay do
the Hard Work for You
Rather than Working
Hard at Making the Essay
Work

1. Every essay needs an in introduction, every good

essay needs great introduction?
In the first sentence of any introduction you should be looking for a high
impact start in order to grab the reader’s attention. Here are some
possible options to consider as suggested by Professor Dunleavy from the
LSE..

A Memorable Quotation: One possible option that can be effective is the

use of a short quotation from some learned thinker. This is also a
convenient way of helping you overcome the pressure of starting from a
blank sheet of paper. Try not to pick an anodyne quote but choose
something that is striking or even funny, a quote that is potentially
memorable.

A Memorable Event or Anecdote: Another possible way of starting an

introduction is by recalling an arresting incident, event or anecdote which
represents in a dramatic fashion the main themes and ideas of your
essay.
Posing a Question or Paradox: As well as detailing dramatic events, you
can achieve an interesting opening gambit by posing a question, a
problem or even a paradox that will lead to what you intend to cover in
your essay or you can make a general statement or observation relevant
to the essay title.
After achieving a high impact start, your introduction should now be
concerned with the mundane task of outlining the central themes or
arguments of your essay.

Context Summary: Part of letting readers know what your essay is about also
means establishing the essay's context. This can include a summary of
particular schools of thought or a short overview of previous research that is
relevant to the essay. When you determine your context, you narrow your
topic and take a big step towards focusing your essay. You should also look
to outline the main issues raised by the question. This should not be a cue for
you to discuss the concepts or ideas in the question at great length. Rather it
needs to be established, in concise fashion, that you understand what the
question means.

2. Description is Important but not too much

description – and stick to the question
There are two common faults that lecturers encounter when marking essays:
too much description in essays and essays that do not answer or address the
question properly. Description does have its place in essay writing. You will
often need to describe something before you analyse it. But an important rule
of thumb is to include as much description as is needed for the analysis to
make sense. Ultimately, analysis – as we have already mentioned - is what
you will get marks for. Of course, a muddled analysis that has no relevance to
the question will receive few marks. Make sure that you answer the question.
Keep reviewing and reading through the essay, checking that you are
remaining on track throughout the essay. If there’s something interesting that
you want to include, but which is not directly relevant to the main argument or
theme of the essay, put it in a footnote.

3. How analysis is the key to Doing well

When it comes to awarding marks to essays lecturers will tend to give higher
marks to those essays that not only attempt to answer the question directly
but do so using analysis and argument. Writing good essays really boils
down to a very simple equation: the more analysis you do, the more praise
(and probably marks) you are likely to receive from the marker. It’s as simple
as that. Well not quite, for there are skills, practices and strategies that you
will need to develop and master in order to write analytical essays – see
points 3, 4, 5, 6 below....

2
 4. Good analysis depends on a (support) structure
If you are going to put together a decent analysis, this requires a strong and
coherent structure. The organisation of the written material into major
components or sections can be referred to as the macrostructure. You need
to organise the macrostructure of your essay so that it flows from one sub-
section or argument to the next in a logical order. Each part should build
upon, or at least reasonably follow on from, the previous parts. It is very
obvious when particular ideas and themes do not fit together well. This
principle holds not only for the overall structure of the essay (the
macrostructure) but also how sentences are put together within paragraphs
(microstructure). We mention this in more detail in the section below on style.

5. Making use of evidence

One sure way of impressing the person marking your essay is by using
evidence effectively. When making a point or argument in an essay, it is
always important to provide supporting evidence. To obtain such evidence,
you will have to consult various sources and employ them in such a way that
answers the question directly. Without such supporting evidence, the central
arguments of your essay will read more like a stream of consciousness than
well argued and informed essay. You will come across as having done limited
preparation (reading and research for the essay).

Remember: Use examples that are most relevant to the question you are
attempting to answer. It is not possible to select every piece of evidence you
come across.

6. Is being Critical the same as Attacking?

If you are critical of a person you show your disapproval. This is not the way
the word is used here in relation to essay writing. A critical approach means
you examine an issue carefully in the way described below. To be more
critical in your interpretation of a book, do not take what it says as necessarily
true. Think about and evaluate the truth of what it says. Just as argument, in
relation to academic writing like essays, does not mean a squabble, so
'critical' does not mean attacking.

Something is critical if it is characterised by careful analysis: as a sound

critical estimate of the problem. Critical implies an attempt at objective
judgment, so as to determine both merits and faults.

But there is a deeper meaning to it than this. Following Kant: criticism is

questioning what we know in order to discover the truth. It is contrasted with
dogmatism, which just lays down what is true, and with scepticism which just
denies that we can know anything.

3
 7. The optimum number of sources (books, articles,
chapters) that should be used in writing a really
good essay is…
The question I have been most frequently asked by the students when it
comes to assessment essays is this: ‘how many sources should I use to write
essay x, y or z’. I can understand why this question is asked with such
frequency: different academics have different expectations about sources. But
my reply is very simple: Use enough references that will allow you to answer
the question as fully and comprehensively as possible within the word limit.
And NO it is not a case of more references = more marks. QUALITY use of
references matters more than quantity! I firmly believe this. One of the key
features of quality is close and deep reading of the recommended sources,
showing a subtle and accurate understanding of the author’s key ideas and
arguments.

You can write a perfectly good and excellent essay by sticking to the reading I
recommend on page 2 of all the lecture notes, which highlight the relevant
seminar reading and sources from the Reading Articles folder in FstRg that
pertain to the subject matter of the lecture.

Be aware that not all the topics have seminar reading included (cyberethics
for example). In such cases, stick to the sources that have been
recommended in the relevant lecture notes and which have been uploaded on
FstRg in the Reading Articles folder for that particular subject.

You do not necessarily have to go beyond the recommended reading in the

lecture handout. So, sticking to the reading already available on FstRg is fine
– you can definitely write a first class essay by doing so. In addition, the essay
attempts to assess how well you can handle the key recommended reading
for the module. That said, you are more than welcome to research extra
references – if you so desire.

BUT…very often concerns about sources (though important) do detract from

what I think is the key to writing a really good essay – see the next point…

8. The key to a Good Essay: Good writing…

It is a common assumption that the person marking your essay will prioritise
substance over style. A great idea or argument is a great idea no matter how

4
it is expressed in writing. Wrong. A decent business/management essay not
only has good ideas, but is also well written.

The style in which you write is a lot more important than you think.

David Gauntlet suggests that ‘If your essay is badly-written, you will be losing
marks. And, in the outside world, you would be losing readers (whether you
are writing books or company reports and letters...or even job applications!).
It is very important to write in a crisp, clear style, with good sentence
construction and proper punctuation.’ Needless to say, speling mistackes also
fale to imppress [sic] – make sure to use the spell checker. Just one short
word about the presentation of your essays. It is not compulsory to type
essays. But if you decide to present a handwritten essay it might appear that
you are prepared to settle for something lower than the highest professional
standard.

9. If I had one tip on how to write really well it

would be…
The sentence acts like DNA in the world of prose and writing; it determines
everything about prose – the style, quality of writing, whether the writing
makes sense and so on. Being able to write well and stylishly depends on
putting together a decent sentence. With writing sentences in our essays we
are faced with a fundamental challenge: the challenge is that we have to
strike a balance between clear and active sounding sentences and the need
for cohesion in our prose, that is, those features which organise various
sentences into a single unified whole. There are various ways of achieving
this balance but Joseph M. Williams, a former professor from the University of
Chicago’s Department of English, provides a couple of very useful tips. I’ll
paraphrase these below: Begin a sentence with familiar material, end a
sentence with the newest material: It is harder to begin a sentence than it is
to end it well. For the purposes of cohesion, the start of a sentence should
refer to the preceding one.

10. Edit out Waffle

Don’t use superfluous words, phrases or sentences. If a sentence means the
same thing with a word taken out, take it out. The same applies to whole
phrases and sentences within the wider context of a paragraph. Using words
and phrases which don’t add anything to what you’re saying will mean that
your examiners will conclude that (a) you don’t have enough to say to meet
the required essay length, and that (b) you are trying to hide this by means of
a slow, repetitive and boring writing style. Which is not clever. Furthermore,
by not inflating an essay with space-filling nonsense, such a writer has got
room for lots of analysis, which, as we established above, is good news for
your ‘mark balance’.’ The key to ironing out waffle - edit once, edit twice,
edit possibly three times. And try editing on paper rather than on screen –
it’s easier to spot mistakes.

5
 11. And finally…References
There are various ways of writing references. Some of them involve using
footnotes, or endnotes. Or there is the ‘Harvard’ system of referencing, which
is straightforward, and widely-used by publishers and academics – below is
an explanation of how to use the Harvard system. Whichever system you
choose be consistent and stick to it.

The Harvard reference system explained

The Harvard system is quite straightforward. After you quote or paraphrase
something, you cite the author’s last name, the year of publication, and the
page reference, in brackets. For example:

The academic community was stunned into silence when it was realised that
human resource management was first practiced by organised crime
syndicates (Corleone, 2000, p. 34).

Moreover, if you have referenced an item which is not taken from the original
source but is quoted in a chapter or article you have read, go through the
same in-text reference. But at the end of the reference you write ‘cited in’
followed by the source (author, date of publication and page reference) from
where the actual quotation or paraphrase was found in the first place. For
instance:

Capone acknowledges that the management of people in the work organisation

is easier with a ‘kind word as well as a gun’ than with ‘just a kind word’
(Capone, 1922, p. 54, cited in Corleone, 2000, p. 289).

At the end of the essay you then include a ‘References’ section which must
include every item you’ve referred to in the essay. List these references
alphabetically, using the author’s surname. If there are two or more works by
an author published in the same year, distinguish them as 2000a, 2000b, and
so on. Different references included at the end of an essay are written in the
following style:

Type of Example of reference:

reference:
Book Corleone, Michael (2010) Human Resource Management in
‘Family’ Businesses (New York: Sollozzo Books).

6
Article in book Soprano, Tony (1990a), ‘The disposal business: a critical analysis’,
in Ralph Cifaretto (ed.), Keeping Ahead in the Contemporary
Business World (New Jersey: Bada Bing Publishers).
Article in journal Soprano, Tony (1990b), ‘Managers and employees in family-
owned businesses: the cut and thrust of SMEs’, New Jersey
Management Review, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 32-44.

Explaining the article reference: This means that an article

by Tony Soprano called ‘Managers and employees in family-
owned businesses: the cut and thrust of SMEs’ was published
in the journal New Jersey Management Review, volume 11,
number 1, on pages 32 to 44. This issue of the journal was
published in 1990. The piece is listed here as ‘(1990b)’ as this
was the second of two articles that we referenced by Tony
Soprano published in 1990.
Article from a Carter, Meg (2003), ‘Big Issue Inc’, The Guardian, Monday
newspaper November 3, 2003, Society Guardian, p. 3.
Article from the Wherever possible, identify the author and always state the date
internet you visited the site, so you can have a reference like this:

Gow, David (2003), ‘CBI warns on retirement at 65’, at

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,3604,1076346,00.html
(accessed: 03 November 2003).

If you can’t state the author, have a reference like this:

Press Association (2003), ‘Deal ends wildcat postal strikes’, at

http://www.guardian.co.uk/post/story/0,11489,1076626,00.html
(accessed: Monday November 3, 2003).
The Harvard system is easy to use, relatively simple to produce, and the
reader doesn’t need to keep stopping to look up references in footnotes.
Instead, as you write your essay you can use footnotes for extra bits of
information which are surplus to requirements in the main body of the essay,
such as extra details about the subject, or interesting quotes. However,
remember that when writing footnotes, just as when you are writing the main
body of the essay, you should draw out the relevance of the material you are
using. Use them to enhance the impact of your argument.

What is Being Looked for in Assignments: Some

Guidance and Marking Criteria
In our marking of the assignments we attempt to be fair and thorough. As part
of this process, it is important that students are made aware of the mechanics
of assessment. An important element of this, on our part as the academics

7
running this module is to be explicit and transparent and up front about the
sort of criteria we will be using when assessing your work. Marking is not a
purely subjective process. There are certain ‘objective’ standards that are
important when reading over a student’s written work. However, we do not
expect perfection (there is no such thing) or a standard so high that it is
practically impossible to attain. That said, we do expect a reasonable and
decent standard across the various key criteria used for marking – see below:

A. Use of Relevant Reading Sources

 Use sources recommended in the module and sources covered in the
lecture and seminar reading.
 Not the number of sources cited (articles, books etc.) but how well
sources are used and understood (quality NOT quantity).
 Accurate interpretation of authors’ views contained within written
sources (articles, chapters etc.).
 YOU WILL LOSE FOR MAKING LIMITED USE OF ACADEMIC AND
OTHER RELEVANT SOURCES
 YOU WILL BE MARKED DOWN (IE LOSE MARKS) FOR MAKING
EXCESSIVE USE OF SOURCES NOT RECOMMENDED OR
COVERED IN THE LECTURE AND SEMINAR READING.

B. Effective use of Evidence

 Using and selecting relevant evidence
 Precise integration of supporting sources into an answer
 Free of irrelevant material (for example avoid anecdotal evidence)
 Use of a consistent referencing system
 YOU WILL BE MARKED DOWN FOR EXCESSIVE PARAPHRASING
AND FOR PLAGIARISM (this includes self-plagiarism and copying
another student’s work)
←
← B. Structure and Development of the Answer
 A clear and coherent essay structure
 Logically structured argument
 Logical flow of ideas within and between paragraphs
 Effective paragraphing with clear focused topic sentences
 A proper introduction which explicitly addresses the question and how
it will be answered
 Sufficient description or a clear summary of those ideas/theories/issues
which are central to the question.
 YOU WILL LOSE MARKS FOR NOT ANSWERING THE QUESTION
DIRECTLY
 YOU WILL LOSE MARKS FOR INCOHERENT STRUCTURE

C. Academic Writing Style

 Language appropriately clear
 Generalizations qualified when appropriate
 Appropriate use of both specialized and general vocabulary
 Coherent and lean sentences, not over long and unwieldy

8
  Make sure that you edit your work before submission – give yourself
time to read over and make corrections to your text
 YOU WILL LOSE MARKS FOR UNCLEAR WRITING AND POOR
USE OF ENGLISH


D. Grammatical Correctness
 Accurate sentence structure
 Correct punctuation, which is used effectively to develop
 sentence structures and convey meaning
 Appropriate tense choice