You are on page 1of 10

WHAT MAKES

A GOOD ACADEMIC ESSAY

Parlin Pardede
FKIP-UKI (2009)
MAJOR FEATURES OF
A GOOD ESSAY

• Compatibility of The Piece Of


Writing To Its Audience and
Purpose
• Formal Structure
• Coherence and Cohesion
• Clarity and accuracy of Expression/
Language
COMPATIBILITY OF THE PIECE OF WRITING
TO ITS AUDIENCE AND PURPOSE

• All writing is written for a reason and to a


particular audience.
• So, suit your essay with your purpose
(Selling a product? Defending Ideas?
Explaining a subject? Providing fun?) and
audience (A lecturer? Primary- school
pupil? Professionals?)
FORMAL STRUCTURE
TITLE

INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH

DISCUSSING PARAGRAPH (1)

MAIN BODY
DISCUSSING PARAGRAPH (2)

DISCUSSING PARAGRAPH (3)

CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH

BIBLIOGRAPHY
FORMAL STRUCTURE

……. …… …………………The three top qualities of a good leader are that he shou

nization or group he leads, a leader should be willing to serve his followers. …

MAIN
y of a good leader is that he should have a vision. …………………………………

BODY
unication skill is the third quality a good leader must posses. …………………
PARAGRAPHS
– A paragraph should be at least 1/3 to 1/2 of a page in length (6-12
sentences), but not too long or the reader will get lost. No one-
sentence paragraphs! They give the impression that you are
highly ‘passionate but feeble’.
– The first paragraph must announce clearly the thesis of the essay. It
can (optionally) provide background or bold statement to attract
reader’s eagerness to read, or definition of unfamiliar terms to
use.
– It should state the topic sentence, near the beginning, that
announces the theme of the paragraph. The paragraph should
not deviate from this theme or introduce any new themes.
– The first sentence of each paragraph should somehow be linked to,
or contrast with, the last sentence of the previous paragraph.
– The last paragraph is optional. It functions to sum up the
discussion and/or present conclusion.

Coherence and Cohesion

• All topics and details should be


relevant with the thesis.
• Use comprehensive ideas.
• Use proper references and conjunction
to relate one point to another.
(COHESION)
Clarity and accuracy
of Expression / Language

• Use the correct form of language, i.e.


language without error in grammar,
punctuation and spelling.
• Use effective sentences.
• Use the most appropriate diction.
• Apply the conventions of quoting and
referencing.


Stylistic Conventions
of Academic Writing

• Written in the third person. Academic writing must be


objective; the focus is not on the writer, but on the
topic and ideas being communicated;
• Avoiding abbreviations and slang, both of which may be
highly culture-specific. The focus is clear, formal-
register language which will be unambiguous
regardless of the variety language used by the target
reader. Similarly, one should also write out numbers,
currency designators, units of measurement, etc., in
full.

THAT’S ALL
&
GOOD LUCK!

You might also like