Essays

Approaching the Essay As a student you will almost certainly have to produce essays during your course. Some will be written during term time and contribute to course work assessment, others will be answers to questions set in formal examinations. An essay is usually defined as a continuous piece of writing ranging in length from at least 500 words to about 5,000 words for a special or extended essay. But this booklet is not just about 'writing' essays, it's about the various stages you need to consider when producing an essay and about the ways in which producing an essay helps you to learn. The time given to each of these stages will of course vary according to the conditions surrounding any particular essay. Let's look at the first stage -which is approaching the essay. Why write essays?

If we understand the value of doing something, it usually helps to make us feel more positive and confident about the task. So what is the value of writing an essay? Here are someideas - you might think of more. It forces you to organizeyour own thinking and develop your own point of view onissues. In one sense, writing is the crucial step which helpsyou get to grips with new ideas and new experiences. Withoutthat step, it's very difficult or impossible to know how muchyou've really understood. Expressing yourself - ideas, newinformation, or whatever, in written form, really is a life skill-which you will need in almost every area of work. Essaywriting gives you practice and develop that skill. If it's aterm time essay, you can see it as giving you practice for writingunder exam conditions. And don't forget that the essayprovides very useful revision material.

Lastly, it gives you a chance to get feedback from yourtutor about their assessment of how much you've understoodand how well you are able to communicate this. With yourtutor's help, you can identify areas of strength and weaknessso you know where to concentrate your energies next time.So, approach your essay positively. It can be a very valuable learning opportunity Course conventions? Of course, you mustalso check out any particular requirements your course ordepartment might have for that particular essay. How longshould it be? Should it be presented in a particular way -typed,for example? If you know the answers to these questions, itwill help you to feel more confident about the task. Writtenversus spoken one last point in this preliminary stage is toremember that there is a difference between written andspoken communications. You must select your words morecarefully and make your meaning absolutely clear. Rememberyou won't be beside your reader to explain any difficult orobscure points.

It's more important too, to have a sequence of logical stepsso that your reader can follow your train of thought. Anyemphasis has to be conveyed through vocabulary, sentencerhythm or punctuation. And because your reader can go athis own pace, even go back, if necessary, writing can be muchmore concentrated than speech. All this has been about thegeneral framework in which you approach your essay. Nowwe'll go to the next stage which is to examine the task. 2 Whatis the Question? Understanding the question you need toexamine the precise wording of the question, in order to decideexactly what you are being asked to do. You will also need toconsider the assumptions behind the question and theimplications that arise from the question's statement orassumptions.

Does the topic require general treatment or specificreference to certain aspects? Are your own experiences andopinions worth expressing - or should you refer only to theknowledge of others? Key words It is often useful at this stageto underline what you think are the key words in the way inwhich the question is worded. Look for the vital words orphrases which will determine the style and structure of theanswer you will write. A list of the key directive wordsfrequently found in essay titles is given below and this mighthelp you understand what is being asked of you in anassignment. Some terms frequently used in essay questions:Compare Look for similarities and differences between;perhaps reach a conclusion about which is preferable.

Contrast set in opposition in order to bring out difference Criticize Give your judgment about the merit of theories oropinions or about the truth of facts; back your judgment by adiscussion of evidence or reasoning involved. Define Set downthe precise meaning of a word or phrase. In some cases it maybe necessary or desirable to examine different possible or oftenused definitions. Describe Give a detailed or graphic accountof. Discuss Investigate or examine by argument, sift anddebate; give reasons for and against. Also examine theimplications. Evaluate Make an appraisal of the worth ofsomething, in the light of its truth or usefulness. Include, to alesser degree, your personal opinion. Explain Make plain interpret and account for; give reasons for. Illustrate Use afigure or diagram to explain or clarify, or make clear by theuse of concrete examples. Interpret Expound the meaning ofmake clear and explicit, usually giving your own judgment also. Justify Show adequate grounds for decisions orconclusions; answer the main objections likely to make to them.

Outline Give the main features, or general principles, of asubject, omitting minor details and emphasizing structure and arrangement. Relate (a) Narrate - more usual in examinations.(b) Show how things are connected to each other, and to whatextent they are alike, or affect each other. Review Make asurvey of, examining the subject carefully. State Present in abrief, clear form. Summarise Give a concise account of thechief points of a matter, omitting details and examples. TraceFollow the development or history of a topic from some pointof origin. Scope of the question two other points to note: youwill need to see how many parts there are to the question andwhat weight you will need to give to each. And what are thelimits of the topic?

It is very important at this stage to realize that you are notembarking upon a piece of open-ended research. You must berigorously selective both in your approach to collecting materialand to the writing up - choosing only material that is relevantto the answering of this question. Ask Remember - if you'restill unsure, you have other sources who might be able tohelp. Your student colleagues might also find it useful to discussexactly what the question requires. If you're still in doubt,ask your tutor. After all, s/he set the question and won't bekeen to see you waste a lot of valuable time throughmisunderstanding. Once you feel confident that youunderstand what is required of you, you're ready to move onto the third stage, collecting the material.