ARTSANDHUMANITIESSTUDENTS’COUNCIL ARTSANDHUMANITIESSTUDENTS’COUNCIL
ESSAY ESSAY WRITING WRITING GUIDE GUIDE
GUIDING GUIDING PRINCIPLES PRINCIPLES FORARTS& FORARTS&
HUMANITIES HUMANITIES
INTRODUCTION paragraph
Yourintroductionshouldoutlinewhatyouressayisaboutusingatopicsentence andtheargumenttheessaymakesusingathesisstatement.
BODY paragraphs
Bodyparagraphsshouldgenerallyincludethesefiveessentialcomponents (WritingSupportCentre):
1) TOPIC SENTENCE: Tells your reader the key idea you will be focusing on throughouttheparagraph.Mayalsoexpandtoincludebackgroundinformation.
2) CONTEXT: Provide context before introducing your evidence so as to not confusethereader.
3) EVIDENCE: Maylooklikeaquoteorparaphrasing,
4) EXPLANATION: Explainthesignificanceoftheevidencetoyourreaders --whydoestheevidencematter?
5) CONNECTION: Wrap up each paragraph by answering the question “How doestheevidenceproveyourthesis?”
Remember--unlessotherwisestatedbyyourinstructor,youcanhaveasmanybody paragraphsasyouneed!
CONCLUSION paragraph
Your conclusion should recapitulate your key points & thesis statement. Avoid being repetitive. It may go slightly beyond what has already been stated to comment on the subject from a real world perspective or provide recommendationsforfurtheraction.
THESIS statement
WHATDOESAGOODTHESISSTATEMENTLOOKLIKE?
Argumentative,analytical,andfocused(WritingSupportCentre).
Specific to the text(s) or subject & debatable: it must be an idea that needs to be argued for. If your thesis is beyond debate, then you are stating the obviousandthereisnoneedtopersuadeanyoneofanything(Schuurman).
Sufficiently complex to sustain the required length of the essay. If you find that you tend to run out of things to say, your thesis is probably too simplistic.Thesolutiontothisproblemiscloser,deeperreading&thinking.
Does NOT list the three points that will form the topic sentences of your three body paragraphs. For one thing, you might not have three body paragraphs. You might have four or seven or eleven, depending on the required length of youressay.
Sets out what the essay will argue as one integrated statement, rather than as a list of separate points. This integrated statement does not have to be contained in one sentence. If the paper is long & the thesis is highly complex, itmayrequireseveralsentencestounpackfully.
Let your thesis determine the structure of your essay, not the other way around.
Do get started on writing by brainstorming ideas about the text(s); see how many different points you come up with & how they relate to one another.
Don’t begin with a set number of paragraphs (one intro, three body, one conclusion)&thentrytoforceyourideasintothisstructure.
PROFESSOR PROFESSOR TIPS TIPS
AARA suksi
Carefully read the assignment and to clarify any questions they have about itwiththeinstructor.
It’s so important to start early & to sketch out a plan for the work–it always showswhenanessayiswrittenatthelastminute.
Some instructors are willing to read a draft well before the due date & to offerfeedback.
Avoidalotofgeneralizingintheintroduction.
Most first paragraphs we read could be deleted–get straight to the point with averyclearandfocussedintroduction.
JOEL faflak
Useastaggeredscheduleforwritingassignments.
A more organic approach to the mechanical structure taught in high school.
Develop your own critical voice & let that dictate the structure & flow of an essay–nottheotherwayaround.
Read, read, read: gaining awareness of how others frame their ideas, effectiveornot.
Determine what’s effective phrasing, word choice, syntax, sentence structure,etc.
ANNE schuurman
In an English essay, the thesis is usually (but not always) interpretative. In other words, the thesis is usually an argument about what a text (or texts) means.
Avoidmakingclaimsaboutthingsthatyoucan’tsupportwithproof.
The only proof you have access to when you’re writing an English essay is whatisinthetext(s).
AI USAGE
ai usage
WHY USING AI WILL NOT HELP YOU TO WRITE A GOOD ESSAY & WILL NOT HELP YOU TO GET A BETTER GRADE (ACCORDING TO THE UNDERGRADUATE CHAIR OF ENGLISH AND WRITING STUDIES, ANNE SCHUURMAN):
A strong essay is a performance in writing of good, careful, insightful READING. There is no generative AI model out there right now that can read in this way. Large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT can write in a way that sounds very much like human writing, but they cannot read in a way that even approximates human reading. What they do, instead, is find & predict patterns – patterns in the prompt you feed them & patterns in the dataavailableontheinternet.
Consequently, LLMs can perform a lot of writing tasks very well, but one thing they are hopelessly bad at is writing essays. Writing generated by LLMsforessays:
Isfullofinaccuracies;
Isfullofclichés;
Lacks the kind of imaginative links & associations between texts & ideasthatdemonstrateexcellenceinhumanthinkingandwriting;
Lacks the kind of nuance & perception of fine distinctions between words & ideas that demonstrate excellence in human thinking and writing;
Lacks the close analysis of text that is the minimum for a passing gradeintheArts&Humanities,especiallyEnglish. Unless the assignment instructions tell you that you are supposed to use AI for some part of the assignment, the use of AI in Arts & Humanities courses is not allowed & will be treated as plagiarism. But, even more important, the use of AI robs you of the learning that happens when you struggle through a writing assignment, using your own brain & working throughyourownideas.
STUDENT STUDENT TIPS TIPS
FROMYOURARTS&HUMANITIESSOPH FROMYOURARTS&HUMANITIESSOPH TEAM,DEPARTMENTREPRESENTATIVES, TEAM,DEPARTMENTREPRESENTATIVES, &AHSCEXECUTIVES &AHSCEXECUTIVES
“OUTLINEPOINTSBEFOREWRITINGYOURESSAY! STARTADRAFTBYJOTTINGNOTESFOREACHPART OFTHEESSAY,THENONASEPARATEDOCCOPYAND PASTEITONTOTHEFINALBUTASYOUGOTHROUGH CHANGEITINTOFULLSENTENCES.ADDYOUR QUOTATIONS&WHATEVERELSEISNEEDED.”
“FORMACOHESIVETHESISBEFOREYOUSO MUCHASBEGINWRITINGYOURACTUALESSAY–ITDOESNEEDTOBESPECIFICENOUGHTO RNARROWDOWNTHEEXTENTOFYOUR ESEARCH,ARGUMENTS,&DIRECTNESS.”
“IFYOU’RESTUCK,FINDSOMEONEWHOCANHELP
YOU.INTHEVERYLEAST,YOUCANLOOKFORSOME PROOFREADING.YOUCANASKPROFESSORS,TAS, MENTORS,LIBRARYRESOURCES,&MORETOHELP YOUOUTWHENEVERYOUNEED.”
“INCORPORATEYOURRESOURCESINTO SENTENCES! +DOAROUGHDRAFT.ITSUCKS;NOONE WANTSTODOIT.YET,YOUHAVETO.”
“UNDERSTANDWHICHWAYYOURESSAYNEEDSTOBE WRITTEN:WILLITBEPERSUASIVE,PASSIVE, ARGUMENTATIVE?PICKAWRITING‘VOICE’THATYOU CANSTICKTOTHROUGHOUTTHEENTIREPAPER.”
“IFYOU’REAPERFECTIONIST...DON'TBEHUNGUPON MAKINGYOURFIRSTDRAFTPERFECT.JOTDOWN YOURTHOUGHT,KEEPGOING,&MAKEITSOUND FANCYLATER!”
“GETTOTHELIBRARY,SEARCHYOURKEYWORDSONTHE LIBRARYSITE,FINDADOZENBOOKSTHATARESEMI-RELEVANT, &GOCRAZY.ANNOTATE,WRITEDOWNQUOTES.HAVINGTHAT PHYSICALBOOKINFRONTOFMEHELPSSOMUCHTOFIND MEANINGFULMATERIAL,TOGIVEATTENTIONTOMATERIALTHAT YOUMIGHTNOTHAVEBEENABLETOFINDONLINE.”
“USEAVARIETYOFSENTENCETYPES,&DON’T BEAFRAIDTOUSEABITOFTONE,YOUAREN’T EMOTIONLESS.AVOIDCONTRACTIONS,BE SPECIFICINYOUREXAMPLES,&REMEMBERTO CITEYOURSOURCES!”
ADDITIONAL ADDITIONAL RESOURCES RESOURCES
ADDITIONAL
resources
THEWRITINGSUPPORTCENTREATWESTERNLIBRARIES
Hand outs cover topics such as English & French Grammar Style, as well ascitationstyles.
Gives feedback on written work through 50-minute one-on-one appointmentswithawritingadvisor. Hostswritingseminars.
CITATIONS
CheckoutseveralStyleGuidesonPurdueOWL.
PLAGIARISM
Getadviceonhowtoavoidplagiarism.
RESEARCHSUPPORT
GethelpwithresearchwithWesternLibraries!
EMAILETIQUETTE
Learnhowtowriteaprofessionalemail!
CREATIVEWRITING
Getin-touchwithyourstudentwriter-in-residenceforadvice.
PUBLICATIONS
Share your work with one of our departmental committees: the Coterie, Iconoclast,ortheGenderStudiesStudentCollective.
Get your creative & academic work published by submitting to AHSC publications!
from academics
A NOTE
DEARARTS&HUMANITIESSTUDENTS,
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING OUR GUIDE ON ESSAY WRITING! FIRST OF ALL, WE WANT TO THANK THE STUDENTS OF A&H WHO CONTRIBUTED TO THIS GUIDE: THE 2024-2025 A&H SOPH TEAM, THE AHSC EXECUTIVE TEAM, & THE DEPARTMENT REPRESENTATIVES. WE WOULD ALSO LIKE TO EXTEND OUR GRATITUDE TO THE PROFESSORS WHO CONTRIBUTED: ANNE SCHUURMAN, JOEL FAFLAK, & AARA SUKSI. WE COULD NOT HAVE CREATED THISWITHOUTYOURHELP!
SECOND, WE WANT TO REMIND YOU: EVERY INSTRUCTOR WILL HAVE THEIR OWN EXPECTATIONS! THIS GUIDE IS A GENERAL OVERVIEW OF WHAT AN ACADEMIC PAPER MAY LOOK LIKE AT THE UNIVERSITY-LEVEL, BUT THE EXPECTATIONS & DIRECTIONS OF YOUR PROFESSOR ARE WHAT ULTIMATELY IMPACTYOURSUCCESS.
BESTOFLUCKONYOURESSAYS;YOU’VEGOTTHIS!
CHEERS,
Jadyn Smith VPACADEMICS
Tunajjina Mahboob AVPACADEMICS
