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ESSAY WRITING GUIDE

What is an essay?
An essay is a relatively short, written assignment on a specific topic.
Essays have four main parts:
1. Introduction to a topic establishing a point of view
2. Body or arguments used to support this point of view
3. Conclusion that finalises the essay and restates the overall point of view.
4. Bibliography that provides a list of the books or other sources of information used for
the essay.
Choose the topic
If you have been given a list of essay topics, ask yourself the following questions to
decide which topic is best
for you:
What are your interests? Does one topic interest you the most?
Do some topics have a lot of information available about them?
Are some of the topics more relevant personally or professionally to you?
Analyse the topic (brainstorming)
Read the essay topic carefully- Find out exactly what the essay question means
(check with lecturer)
Highlight the keywords- If you don’t know some of the meanings of the words, use a
dictionary to find
definitions. Also take note of limiting factors such as dates, country, and word count.
Take note of the instruction words such as ‘compare’, ‘contrast’, ‘evaluate’ or
‘discuss’. These will
give you an idea of how the lecturer wants you to present your essay.
Brainstorm some ideas- Spend 10 minutes writing down thoughts that you have when
reading the
topic. Write down words that are similar to those in the topic question. What do you
know already?
What more do you need to find out?

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Research
Your library is the best place to start searching for information, because it should have
resources
relevant to the course you are studying. Search the library catalogue in your campus
library, using any keywords or phrases that you have found when brainstorming
or analysing the topic. Check the handout on Information Retrieval for tips on how to
locate information.
Think of the types of resources you might need ie. Videos, Legislation, Dictionaries
etc.
Think also of broader subjects that your topic could be under eg. Books on toileting >
look under Child
Development, Routines. If you are having trouble ask Library staff for help in finding
appropriate
resources. Show them your assignment question.
Evaluate resources- if you have found a book, video or other information source,
evaluate.
1. Check that the information is up to date,
2. Read the contents/index/summary to see if it covers the topic you will be writing
about. Also
have a look at the information inside the book
3. Check the author (if it is a well known author or organisation in the field you are
studying in, it
will be a good resource)
4. If in doubt, re-read the topic or speak to your lecturer about appropriate resources
5. If using Web sites, check the handout on Evaluating Web sites for more information
Take notes- Your notes should be brief and summarise what you have read. Ensure
that you only
write down information that is relevant to your topic. Be sure to write down quotes to be
used in your
essay, with the author’s surname, year of publication and page number.

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Also keep a record of the author, title, place, publisher, year of publication, page
numbers,
volume no., web address etc. for your bibliography (it may help to photocopy the
appropriate pages
or print the Web article).
Plan
An essay plan is important for structuring your essay. The following steps can be taken:
Look through your notes and decide which ones you will use in the essay
Write down the most important points/issues you want to present in the essay. Arrange
them in order
of how they should appear in the essay. This can be written in point form under headings,
or any way
you choose. You may also need to include definitions of some words initially and expand
later in the
essay. An example of an essay plan might be:
Introduction
Point 1
Point 2
Point 3 etc.
Conclusion
The Body
Start writing the body of the essay first.
Use your essay plan, and expand on the points you’ve made, using your notes
Keep your sentences short if possible and write in your own words (adding quotes
where necessary to
support your argument).
Try not to include slang, because this can sometimes be hard for others to understand.
Most importantly- don’t forget to reference the sources of information after quotes or
after
summarising of an author’s ideas (Author’s surname, year, page no).
Introduction and Conclusion

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Once you’ve finished the body of the essay, write your introduction (outlining the topic
and your point of view),
and then write your conclusion (summarising or briefly restating your point of view).
These sections of your
essay will be only a paragraph or two long.
Edit and/or rewrite
Once you have completed your first draft, you are ready to edit.
Read through your draft essay, checking that what you have written relates to the topic
and is understandable.
At this stage you can add or remove sentences or words to improve the ease of reading or
make the points
more relevant to your topic.
Then read through your essay again, checking for spelling, punctuation or grammatical
errors; word count and
that quotes have been appropriately referenced.
*Sometimes it helps to read out loud or have someone else read the essay as well.
Bibliography
Every essay should contain a list of resources used in the bibliography. The bibliography
is usually on a
separate page. Check the handout on Referencing for information on how to reference
resources in a
Bibliography.
Presentation
The presentation of your essay depends on the requirements set by your lecturer.
Consider the following:
Type your essay. This is an attractive way of presenting your work, and can help with
editing, checking
spelling/grammar and calculating a word count.
Create a title page containing your name, ID number, course/subject, lecturer and due
date, or if
available, use the standard cover page for your course.

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Use page numbers

Save a copy of your essay on disk, or keep a photocopy

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