...ESSAY WRITING * FROM SUBJECT TO TOPIC * A topic is a narrow branch of the subject ( it is important to have a very specific topic, DO NOT BE BROAD) * IT IS ESSENTIAL TO NARROW DOWN YOU TOPIC * Ex: General Topic: media → Narrowed Topic: Commercials → Even More Narrow: How commercials manipulate their audience → Super narrow: How breakfast cereal commercials manipulate primary school children into eating sugary foods * There is never a limit to how narrow you can get with your topic * The topic determines what area you will discuss, but not the position you will pursue * Begin with a narrow topic before singling out your thesis statement * TECHNIQUES TO NARROWING DOWN YOUR TOPIC * Narrow your topic to a problem or question * Ex: Topic: Medieval architecture → Question: How did the duties and responsibilities of master masons set the stage for their future role as architects of the great cathedrals during the middle ages? * Narrow your topic chronologically * Shift the question slightly to emphasize time period, ex: When did the duties of master masons… * Narrow your topic spatially (ex: a geographical division, or something in relation to someone or something else) * Ex: the Kyoto accord → in North America…in Canada…In parliamentary divisions in Canada * Narrow your topic by dividing and subdividing it * Ex: First...
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...Writing Essays 1. Getting started The worst part about writing an essay can be starting the process. Before you rush into doing a pile of reading, you need to be very clear what your essay is about and what you are actually being asked to do. Typical essay questions: a) How do organizations typically manage stress? Critically evaluate the evidence for the effectiveness of stress management. b) Critically assess the extent to which a Conceptual Framework may guide the accounting standard-setting process. c) Identify and analyse significant developments in technology impacting on IMC. Discuss how such developments might affect international marketers and notions of the audience. The important thing to do when you approach an essay is carefully unpacking the essay question. For example, in question (a) above, you are being asked to do two things. First, to describe how organizations manage stress, and then to examine the evidence regarding the effectiveness of stress management. The first part of the essay, therefore, will be fairly descriptive, and you will be looking to read books and journal articles that discuss the ways that organizations manage stress. Don’t rely too heavily on one book or one particular journal article. Try to read as widely possible and make notes as you do so (see handout on reading and note-taking). The second part of the essay is rather more difficult, and it is here that many students fall down and lose marks. The key...
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...I try to draw an analogy with the process of reading application essays. The bad. Ninety percent of the applications I read contain what I call McEssays - usually five-paragraph essays that consist primarily of abstractions and unsupported generalization. They are technically correct in that they are organized and have the correct sentence structure and spelling, but they are boring. Sort of like a Big Mac. I have nothing against Big Macs, but the one I eat in Charlottesville is not going to be fundamentally different from the one I eat in Paris, Peoria or Palm Springs. I am not going to rave about the quality of a particular Big Mac. The same can be said about the generic essay. If an essay starts out: "I have been a member of the band and it has taught me leadership, perseverance and hard work," I can almost recite the rest of the essay without reading it. Each of the three middle paragraphs gives a bit of support to an abstraction, and the final paragraph restates what has already been said. A McEssay is not wrong, but it is not going to be a positive factor in the admission decision. It will not allow a student to stand out. A student who uses vague abstractions poured into a preset form will end up being interpreted as a vague series of abstractions. A student who uses cliché becomes, in effect, a cliché. If we are what we eat, we are also what we write. Not only does a preset form lead to a generic essay, so does a generic approach to what is perceived as the right topic...
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...CMM 801: Journalism and Communication Theory Academic Essay Writing An essay is best approached as an intellectual argument that develops from the ideas, issues, theories, concepts, methodologies, etc., you have been taught within the module for which it is the final assessment. It is most important therefore – even as you begin and then progress through the module – that you are clear about the fundamental perspectives, values and assumptions underpinning the course’s main themes and topics as they are being presented to you in lectures and seminars. Remember no theory or perspective has the whole picture. All accounts of the world are partial and biased from a particular understanding of how we are human and what society is. Such-and-such a view is only the case under certain conditions. A prime purpose for an essay is to critique particular ideas, pointing out how explanation A might be more useful and valid than B in these circumstances. In the conclusion of your essay, on the other hand, you might want to point out that in other contexts (social, cultural, eras, etc.) there may be other factors that need to be considered. Do these limit or question the weight of claims you have made in the development of your current argument? Key questions before you embark on writing your essay • Have you identified clearly the key issue the essay question wants scrutinised? • Have you checked the command word in the question – e.g. explain means give details about why...
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...Mennesker i verden. How can I write a critical essay? Actually, writing such an article is very simple if you know the main characteristics of an essay. For sure, you have learned how to write the introduction, the body and the conclusion parts. Now, it is time to get familiar with the critical essay which considerably differs from other types of writing that are likely to be assigned during the studying process. Actually, its main goal is to provide an analysis of the article that you wish to work with in the future. Let us summarize the main steps in writing a critical essay and learn a tip or two to perfect your writing skills. 1. Study your topic interest. This gives you an edge to prepare in writing an essay because you can learn more about the article that you wish to “criticize”. In any case, you are still going to read an article before writing a critique about it so you might as well understand clearly what the subject is all about. 2. Look for information. Writing an essay will always involve the search for information. At the very least, looking for other sources of knowledge that are to affirm a notion in an essay is always necessary. 3. Create a thesis statement. Once you have finished with the article in reference, you can create a thesis statement that will serve as the guiding medium for you to write your critical essay. The main philosophy behind it is to make a thesis statement that will present a notion of either you agree with the author’s discussions...
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...Edith Cowan University Academic essay Academic Tip Sheet This academic tip sheet: • explains the academic essay as an academic style of writing; • looks at the structure of an academic essay; • looks at the main types of academic essays; • explains how to write an academic essay; and • provides you with a quick checklist that covers most aspects of writing an academic essay. CRICOS IPC 00279B What is an academic essay? For our purposes, we can define an academic essay as a document that has a defined structure – an introduction, a body and a conclusion. What are the main types of academic essays? If we look at the intent of the academic essay we can define three main types: • Descriptive – describes a subject, e.g.; a person, place or event. • Expository – explains a concept or theory. • Argumentative – presents an argument through reasoning and the use of evidence. 01/08 The argumentative essay Most academic essays will require you to present an argument through reasoning and the use of evidence. In the process of planning and drafting your essay, you will need to respond to the assigned question by thinking, reading and writing your way to a considered position/stance, or thesis statement. The thesis statement is expressed as one or two sentences in the introductory paragraph of your essay, and supported in the body of the essay by a series of topic sentences, one in each paragraph. Each topic sentence is in turn supported by evidence and examples from...
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...Elijah LoBoen Writing the Essay 8:00 AM – 9:15 AM Professor Kellum November 28, 2011 Exercise Three Throughout the many essays that Geoff Dyer has written as a journey for his readers to embark on, I have learned that his purpose in written is add dimensions to a situation that seems one sided. How does he do this? Well, for example, in his essay “Sex in Hotels,” Dyer humorously expends on the action of having sex in a hotel. Immediately, those three words have the connotation of cheap and sleazy, however, Dyer pushes his readers to not think of it as a one-dimensional situation. One must see the action of having sex in a hotel as something classier by examining each and every step of the process. Masturbation, for example, is something that is done in peace in a hotel because it a safe haven where one can do such an action. Normally, it is looked down upon because one is doing it in a setting where is not accepted, however, in the “luxurious hotel,” Dyer comments, is fine. The tension within this author’s writing is less of something I have read, but more of something I have seen on television. For example, on various TV shows like Saturday Night Live, and the Soup, they insert humor into a serious situation in order to explain them and add a new dimension to something that seems like it only has a singular meaning. Dyer, in his collection of essays “Otherwise Known as the Human Condition” attempts to challenge his readers to see past it. Personally, it seemed...
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...How to Write Distinction Essays Every Time: The Six Steps to Academic Essay Writing There are six steps to writing an academic essay. If you follow each of these steps correctly, you will find that you can write university essays that will earn you a distinction (or high distinction) every time. It is simply a matter of understanding what steps to follow, and then completing each of them thoroughly. This article provides an outline and brief description of each of these steps. It is an introduction to a series of articles that will examine each step in more depth. Reading just this article alone will provide you with assistance in learning how to plan, research and write your essays. However, reading all the articles in the series (available on this blog and on our website at http://www.eliteediting.com.au/support.aspx) will allow you to gain a more sophisticated insight into essay writing, and to improve your grades even further. These are the six steps you need to follow to write high quality university essays: 1. Analyse the Question There are generally two types of essays: argumentative essays and explanatory essays. In an argumentative essay, you are expected to put forward an academic argument in answer to the essay question and support your argument with academic sources (references). In an explanatory essay, you are expected to explain or describe a process or topic in answer to an essay question and support your argument with academic sources (references)...
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...Essay writing This study advice sheet explores the process of writing an essay from interpreting the question which has been set to making use of feedback from a tutor on the final piece of work. Why write essays? .... 1 The process …. 1 Understanding the task …. 1 What makes it good? …. 1 Gathering information …. 2 Structure & organisation …. 2 Why write essays? Understanding the value of essay writing will help you to be more confident and positive about tackling it. What reasons are there for writing essays? • consolidates your understanding of the topic • encourages you to think and read widely and deeply • allows you to develop and organise your own ideas through writing • illustrates that you are able to express your thoughts clearly and logically • provides an opportunity for you to get feedback from a tutor The first draft …. 3 Checking & redrafting …. 4 Using feedback …. 4 The essay writing process The following stages are involved in writing an essay: • understanding the task • gathering information • structuring and organising the content • writing the first draft • checking and redrafting What makes a good essay? • answers the question asked • deals with key points and a balanced range of arguments • shows evidence of wide reading • well structured – flows logically from introduction through to conclusion • written in a clear, objective style and well presented • uses references and quotations appropriately Understanding the task Very few essays...
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...WRITING ESSAYS ESSAY * Is a group of paragraphs that attempt to examine a single topic from the writer’s viewpoint. * These several paragraphs work together to present and develop a single idea to inform, educate or persuade a particular audience. * In the early times, essays were done primarily to educate or to instruct the reader’s on moral and civic issues. * Today, essays are more on personal views about issues affecting lifestyles and societal practices. * It has the aim of informing or educating the readers. 2 different kinds of Essay 1. General Essays a.)This general classification is divided into two the Formal and Informal essays. They are different from each other in terms of purpose, subject matter, organization or structure, and style. Aspects of the Essay | Formal Essay | Informal Essay | 1.) Purpose | To educate, to instruct, to inform | To entertain, to comment | 2.) Subject Matter | Serious topics | Light topics that is interesting to the writer | 3.) Organization | Rigid, methodical | Flexible, free | 4.)Tone | Impersonal | Personal | 5.) Style (Language) | Formal, technical | Natural conversational, easy, cheerful | Whichever kind of essay you choose to write, always keep in mind that a true essay is one that gives you the freedom to explore your thoughts and feelings about your chosen topic. * This is why some loosely consider the essay as synonymous to the word theme or composition, a kind of writing activity...
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...Writing Essoy for Tests English Gobi Duigu книг выложен группой vk.com/create_your_english @ Gabi Duigu 2002 All rightsreserved Revised and reprinted2003 Published AcademicEnglishPress by 9/13 ArmstrongStreet NS\f 2062 Cammeray Australia P h : 0 2 9 4 3 76 3 3 0 edu.au email: g.duigu@unsw. Distributed by: Melting Pot Press 10 Grafton Street NS\W2008 Chippendale Australia Ph: (61) 29212 1882 Fax:02 9211 1868 corn.au email:books@elt. ISBN:0-9578996-1-0 книг выложен группой vk.com/create_your_english lntroduction StogeI TheQuestion . . . .3 the L Understonding Question ......3 1.1 The Instructions 1.2 Kev Terms 2. AnolysingtheQuestion... ......7 2 . 1F i n d i n g t h e F o c u s the 2.2 Understanding Context 2.3DefiningtheTerms . ..... '7 ' . . .8 .....10 ldeos ond Presenting Stoge2 Selecting 3, Findingldeos 3 . 1B r a i n s t o r m i n g 3.2 FindingMore Ideas 3.3UsingExamples 3.4The "'s7hatifNot"Situation 3.5 Looking at the Other Side . ldeos 4, Selecting 4 . 1S o l u t i o n s t o P r o b l e m s . .2Evaluation . . 4.3 Classificationof Ideas книг выложен группой vk.com/create_your_english ....r3 ...14 . . . .15 ' '.... '17 '. '.. 'I7 . . .18 ......1e ......19 . . ' .20 . . . . . ' '21 4 . 4 T y p e so f C l a s s i f i c a t i o n 4.5 SelectingRelevantldeas 4.6Levelof Generalisation 4.7 OvergeneralisationsandExaggeration 5, Orgonisingldeos... 5.1 RankingIdeas 5.2Consequences 5.3Comparisons 5.4$ternatives.. 5.5Speculation.. ".... "23 .....25 ... "..26...
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...Basic Essay Formatting Guidelines Essay formatting: An overview of how to write a perfect essay with all the necessary guidelines in an easy to understand format. Essay formatting You can write an essay about a large variety of topics, be it academic or just creative writing. In all this cases the content might vary but the essay formatting will always remain the same regardless. Having the basic essay formatting skills will be crucial in all this cases. These steps should be enough to guide any amateur or professional writer to complete an essay. • Outline: The secret to essay formatting is the outline. Before anything else you should prepare a rough sketch of how your essay should look like. This includes the position and size of the heading, introduction, body and the conclusion of the essay. This will make you to be better prepared when you start your writing. • Think about the topic: Once you have the outline the writer should come up with the necessary material to write the essay i.e the writer should visualize what they are going to write about and the content of their writing. • Conduct Research: No essay can be perfected without proper research no matter what the topic is about. • The format: all essays should follow the following arrangement: 1. The introduction: in this paragraph the writer should introduce the topic to the reader albeit briefly, just to give the reader an idea of what is contained in...
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...Writing a paper or an essay can be a challenge, however, if you follow a four step writing process you will get to the end with ease. (Hammonds 2015) To begin, you must be aware of what it is that you want to convey to the reader. Next you will need to find evidence to support what you are trying to say. The next step is to organize your thoughts in order to connect your research with your message. The final step is to review and make sure that your paper is free of mistakes and errors. If you apply this process each time you have an assignment you will come out on top and the writing process will become second nature to you. The beginning process of writing an essay involves formulating a thesis. Choose a subject topic that is limited enough to fit in to the confines of your paper limit. Once you have chosen your topic, develop your thesis statement and begin your research. Creating an outline can assist you with developing your thoughts. This will help to ensure that you provide adequate information to support what your paper is about. After you have researched and formulated your ideas, you need to connect your thoughts with your research. This can be accomplished by organizing your paper so that it has a smooth flow. You can begin by introducing your topic and using different methods to connect your thesis with your research. Finally, review your paper and make sure that you have no errors, and that your sentence structure is correct and free of grammatical...
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...1 ESSAY WRITING SKILLS © Graham Davey WHAT DO I NEED TO DO TO WRITE A GOOD ESSAY? 1. 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 2. 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 3. 3.1 3.2 4. 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 5. WHAT TO DO BEFORE YOU START ANYTHING Am I familiar with the Assessment Guidelines? Am I certain that I know the Submission Deadline? How much does the mark for my essay contribute to the final mark for this course/module? Do I know what the word limit for this essay is? How many credits do I get for completing this particular course/module successfully? HOW TO PREPARE BEFORE PLANNING & WRITING THE ESSAY What essay titles can I choose from? What references do I need to read? At what level am I writing the essay? What internet resources should I access and use? Can I use my lecture notes as a source of information for my essay? PLANNING YOUR ESSAY How much should I read and when should I begin writing? How can I get the most benefit from my reading? WRITING YOUR ESSAY How should I structure my essay? Am I sure I’m answering the question? How do I write a scholarly essay? How should I present my reference list or bibliography? How should I format my essay? How can I avoid plagiarism? THINGS TO REMMEBER AFTER YOU’VE FINISHED WRITING YOUR ESSAY Essays are arguably the most widely used form of assessment for psychology students. They allow an examiner to assess a student’s factual knowledge, as well as their ability to create logical arguments and critically...
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