Academic Essays What they look like and how to write one. What is an academic essay? ‘The…academic essay aims to persuade readers of an idea based on evidence.’ (University of Harvard, 2015). Essay writing is an essential part of your nurse training and assessment. It teaches you to:
Respond to a question or a task whilst exploring a variety of topics and ideas
Identify and use credible and reliable resources to evaluate evidence
Present your ideas in a logical sequence, supported by good evidence.
Getting Started An academic essay generally follows a standard structure and logical sequence. However, writing one is not a straightforward, linear process that begins when you write the first word of your introduction and ends with the last full stop of your conclusion.
Essay writing frequently benefits from a layered approach; you will need to work through the steps several times and in several ways before your work is ready to submit. For example, it may be easier to complete your introduction after you have drafted the main body and have developed a clear idea of the direction that your essay will take.
The following guidelines work through an essay structure as will probably appear in the final draft. You do not necessarily need to tackle them in this order. In fact, it might help more if you don’t!
karen.hudson@essex.ac.uk
Planning 1. Start early A good essay is like a fine wine – it takes a long time and several stages of production to achieve a quality finish. You need time to identify and locate evidence, formulate your ideas, let them develop and mature; this process absolutely cannot be rushed at 2am on the day of the deadline!
Staffordshire University has produced an excellent resource to help you to plan your essay. Click on the link below, type in today’s date and the assignment deadline and details for a ready-made planning schedule.
Staffordshire University Assignment Survival Kit Disclaimer: This resource is advisory only – completing your work on time is your responsibility. You may find it more helpful to begin the writing up process at an earlier stage than suggested here.
2. Define the question and evaluate the task
Before you can start your assignment, you need to identify what you need to do.
In your first year of study, your tutors will probably give you detailed guidance in the form of a writing frame. It may include a suggested structure and a recommended word count for each section. If they are very kind, you may also be given sub-headings and a couple of clues about how to tackle each part of the assignment. However, it helps to have a good understanding of the key words that your topic questions might contain. Generally speaking, these include:
Task Words
tell you what you have to do; what task you need to perform Examples: discuss, analyse, evaluate, compare and contrast, state, describe or explain.
Content Words define the essay topic area. These words will help to focus your reading and research to the relevant area. Examples: consent, social influences, assessment, care, reflection.
Limiting Words define the topic area further, guiding you to specific areas within the broader topic. Examples: significant impact, population group, specific identify, specific condition, particular incident, psychological effects.
Linking Words signal to your reader that you are about to develop your argument a little further. Examples: furthermore, nevertheless, however, moreover, in contrast, additionally.
3. Draw up your first essay plan At this level of study, it is not enough simply to write down everything you know about the topic. You need to draw up an initial essay plan.
Your plan may take the form of a writing frame, in which you outline a draft structure and key ideas, or you may prefer to use a mind map.
Either way, your initial plan will be based on what you already know about a topic, along with potential questions, directions for further research and ideas for the evidence that you need to find. As you begin to draft your essay, your plan will probably change. Don’t panic! This is usually a sign of good drafting, not poor planning!
The Literature Search A key feature of academic writing is frequent reference to, and integration of the work of other writers and researchers. You need to do plenty of reading around your topic and learn how to use reliable, academic resources. These will provide the knowledge and evidence that you need to develop your argument fully.
1. Start early
Start your literature search in plenty of time to familiarise yourself with the assignment topic. You need to acquire relevant knowledge and take time to develop a coherent response to new information. From there, you can begin to develop your ideas, evaluate your resources and work out the direction that your essay is going to take. If you are given a reading list as part of your module guide, try to read as many of the suggested items as possible. Use the library and online resources to find an even wider range of relevant material. 2. Develop ‘active reading’ strategies
Active reading simply means reading to understand. It is possible to read and re-read the same page or paragraph and still know nothing more than when you started. This is called ‘passive reading’ and it will not help you at this level! Some good ‘active reading’ strategies are:
Highlight relevant passages – quotes, statistics, case studies or references to further books or articles. You will need to use plenty of these in a full evaluation of the evidence relating to your topic, so choose wisely!
Make notes of what you have read – do this with the topic clearly in mind. Refer back to the key words in the topic to help you decide if a passage is solid evidence, or perhaps a basis for further reflection.
Question the text as you read – is it directly relevant to the topic? Can I use it as supporting evidence for my argument? Can I reflect on it, draw conclusions or make further recommendations?
Test your understanding by explaining what you have read to someone else, and ask them to summarise what you have said.
One very useful active reading strategy is known as SQ3R. The following extract from the Open University’s Active Reading site explains the SQ3R technique:
SQ3R 1. SKIM through the text quickly to get an overall impression. 2. QUESTION. If you are reading it for a particular purpose (for example, to answer an assignment), ask yourself how it helps. Also ask questions of the text: Who? What? Where? When? How? 3. READ. Read the text in a focused and fairly speedy way. 4. REMEMBER. Test your memory - but don't worry if you can't remember much. 5. REVIEW. Read the text in more detail, taking notes. Use your own words.
(Open University, 2013)
Planning It Out Again Once you have done some good research and developed your ideas, it is time to take a second look at your essay plan. Ask yourself:
Do I have sufficient evidence from reliable sources for a thorough evaluation?
Do I want to adjust the scope or pitch of my argument based on my reading?
What is a logical and persuasive order in which to present my points?
Is all my literature relevant – is it worth ditching some of it at this stage?
Is there enough critical analysis (questioning, challenging, asking why, so what, why is this important, what if…?)
Drafting & Structure Your first draft will need further work to bring it to the required standard. This will include structuring your evaluations, deciding which examples and evidence support your conclusions, and which can be discarded. The diagram below (University of Birmingham, 2017) outlines the standard essay structure from introduction to conclusion.
(University of Birmingham, 2017)
Paragraph Structure Essays that earn the highest grades always follow a logical structure, which allows the writing to flow and supports a reasoned line of argument. Using a paragraphing technique known as PEEL will help you to achieve this (Teachstarter, 2015). An overview of the technique and a mapping form are below.
Citation and Referencing The School of Health and Social Care asks students to use Harvard referencing in written work. You may use any interpretation of Harvard, but our recommended guide is Cite Them Right by Richard Pears and Graham Shields. You can access this resource online at www.citethemrightonline.com. If you are not on campus, you will need to access this using your University login details, via the How to Access and Institution Access links.
Additionally, we have written a step-by-step guide to the basics of the School referencing system, which can be found on the Moodle Page HS Literacy: Writing for Academic Purposes
Editing Hopefully, you have left enough time to put the essay to one side for a few days before returning to edit it. It is always helpful to give yourself a break – it allows your ideas to develop further, which in turn, will allow you to bring a fresh perspective to your essay.
Always edit your first draft as a print out on paper. It’s easier to spot errors this way. Check your
spelling,
punctuation,
grammar,
sequencing, referencing and logic. Be especially careful of areas where you have spliced sentences or paragraphs together. It is very easy to add or omit words; a simple ‘not’ can alter the meaning of your entire argument!
Things to check at this stage:
Is my essay logical and persuasive?
Have I included enough evidence to support my argument?
Do I have a clear structure, with effective transition signals between the introduction, main body and conclusion?
Have I answered all the points raised by the essay question?
Have I cited and referenced all my research resources in accordance with the SHHS guidelines?
Have I remained within the word limit, and followed any recommended word counts in the essay guidance?
If you have answered ‘no’ to any of the above, now is the time to address them!
Remember to stay calm at this stage; the ability to find fault with your first drafts is an essential part of your development as an independent learner and academic writer. It does not mean that your first draft was no good, or that your essay is a disaster!
Proofreading You must proofread your final draft before submission. You may decide to return to the editing stage and make further changes before completing a final version. Things to check at this stage include:
Spelling
Grammar
Punctuation
Structure
Sequencing
Logic
Sense and
Referencing
Presentation
Meaning
Useful proofreading strategies include:
Read your work aloud – this feels strange at first, but it really does work
Print out your work and read it in a different place, after a few hours’ rest
Change the font, colour or background
Ask a friend or family member to proof-read it for you. Non-subject specialists can be surprisingly good at questioning jargon, terminology or specific statements that they don’t understand, as long as you have asked them to!
This
photograph
shows
the
state
of
this
publication’s first draft after proofreading by the author and a member of the author’s family. It is not pretty, and that’s OK! Zoom in to see the detail – there was plenty to criticise!
Checklist for Submission Have you:
Evaluated the question and identified the key words? Read a wide range of literature around your topic? Used credible and reliable academic sources? Evaluated the evidence and established your arguments and conclusion? Written and revised your essay plan? Written your first draft and allowed to rest for a few days before returning to redraft?
Quoted, paraphrased and/or summarised your sources correctly, without plagiarism?
Proofread your essay? Asked a friend/family member to proofread your essay? Made any final amendments? Followed all word count, structure, referencing and presentation guidelines? Completed and checked your citations, references and bibliography? Created a reliable electronic (cloud-based?) back up of your work? Established the hand in date and time and ensured that you will meet the deadline?
When you can answer yes to all of the above, you are ready to submit your essay.
Good luck!
Reference List Pears, R., and Shields, G. (2016) Cite Them Right (10th edn.) Basingstoke: Palgrave Online at: www.citethemrightonline.com [Accessed on: 4 October, 2018]
Harvard University (2015) Beginning the Academic Essay Online at: http://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/beginning-academic-essay [Accessed on: 4 October, 2018]
Open University (2013) Active Reading Online at: http://www2.open.ac.uk/students/skillsforstudy/active-reading.php [Accessed on: 6 October 2015] Staffordshire University (2015) ASK – Assignment Survival Kit Online at: http://www.staffs.ac.uk/ask/ [Accessed on: 4 October, 2018]
TeachStarter (2015) PEEL Paragraph Structure: Poster and Worksheet Online at: https://www.teachstarter.com/teaching-resource/peel-paragraph-structure-poster-worksheet/ [Accessed on: 4 October, 2018]
University of Birmingham (2017) A short guide to essay planning and structure Online at: https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/as/libraryservices/library/skills/asc/documents/public/ShortGuide-Essay-Planning.pdf [Accessed on: 4 October, 2018]