How to Write a Good Essay - 2018

The Real Questions: Purpose, Audience and Context

When asked to write an essay, students often get ‘hung up’ on formal details. They come to
their teachers and ask anxious questions like:

- How many paragraphs should my essay have?

- What order should my paragraphs be in?
- Am I allowed to use the first person (“I”) or is that too informal?
- Should I outline all my key points in the introduction?
- How many pieces of evidence should I include in each paragraph?
- Does my first sentence need to state my thesis? Can I use two sentences?
- What is the right font size, margin width and spacing to use?
- What is the right style and format to use for references and bibliography?

It is understandable for students to get worried about questions like this. Over the years,
their teachers have given them some helpful ‘templates’ or ‘formulas’ to help them compose
a well-structured essay.

As a result, the students have got the impression that the only way to write a good essay is
to perfectly follow a strict ‘recipe’. But this isn’t really true. We don’t judge a meal by how
closely the cook followed the recipe. We judge it by whether it is good to eat. In the same
way, we don’t judge an essay by whether it strictly follows a structural template. We judge it
by whether it gets across its ideas clearly.

So there is no single recipe or template for good essay-writing. Good writers choose and
adjust their form and structure to suit the ideas they are trying to get across. The answer to
all of the common student questions listed above is the same: ‘it depends’.

What does it depend on? It depends on why you are writing (your purpose), who you are
writing for (your audience) and in what circumstances your work will be read (your context).

So the really important questions for any essay-writer to keep in mind aren’t nitpicking formal
questions like those above. Instead, you need to ask yourself the following ‘big picture’
questions:

1. What’s the point? This is the analysis issue: what is your ‘angle’ on the topic you
will be writing about?
2. Who says? This is the validity issue: on what evidence (data, literature) are you
basing your claims about the topic?
3. What’s new? This is the value-added issue: what do you contribute that the
reader doesn’t already know?
4. Who cares? This is the significance issue, the most important issue of all, the one
that swallows up all the others. Why is this essay worth reading? Why is your
viewpoint important?

Good essays, in any subject, on any topic, need to be written with a mind to these issues.
How to Write a Good Essay - 2018

Writing as a Process

Inexperienced cooks need recipes. They follow the recipe steps obsessively because they
don’t really understand what they are doing. But to become a masterchef you need to go
beyond recipe-following. You need to try out your own techniques and invent your own
dishes.

How do amateur cooks become good cooks and – eventually – skilled chefs? They taste as
they go and they ask for feedback from diners and fellow chefs. They try things out, keep
what works and change what doesn’t. They experiment, adjust and refine.

It is the same with essay-writing. Hardly anybody can just sit down and write a good essay
first time round. A good essay is the last of a series of drafts.

Probably the most important thing that students need to understand about writing is that it is
process with three distinct phases:
- pre-writing (thinking, brainstorming, mindmapping, freewriting);
- drafting (writing, reading, checking, seeking feedback and revising); and
- editing (polishing the minor details).

The Curse of the Expert

Good writing is writing that considers the reader. Bad writing is writing that is hostile or
unwelcoming to the reader. A lot of writing goes wrong because it isn’t built on an
understanding of the reader’s point of view. We become ‘too close’ to our own writing and
forget all the ways that it might confuse others or create misconceptions. As a result, our
message doesn’t get through.

This failure to communicate is sometimes called the ‘curse of the expert’. It affects anyone
who has knowledge and is trying to pass it on to others who do not have knowledge.
Basically, the ‘curse’ boils down to the idea that once we know something we forget what it is
like not to know it. When it comes to essay-writing, we are the ‘expert’ in our own ideas.
What we are saying makes sense to us; and so we assume that it will also make sense to
others. Often, we are wrong about this.

The main way to overcome the curse of the expert is to get out of your own head, to try to
read and revise your own work through the eyes of your reader. One basic trick that many
writers use is to put the work aside for a while between drafting and revising. Write each
draft, leave it for a day or two and then come back to reread it. Ask yourself reflective
questions like: “What did I mean by this?”; “How does this conclusion follow from the claims
How to Write a Good Essay - 2018

that came before it?”; “What is the main idea in this paragraph?; and “What idiot wrote this
rubbish?”

Another key trick for getting distance from your writing is to read your own drafts back to
yourself – aloud. Often what looks okay on the page sounds wrong to our ears. If you find
that you stumble over your words as you read a particular sentence, that is often a sign that
your writing has gone wrong somehow. Make a note and revise.

As you read your writing with ‘fresh eyes’ you will identify problems in your argument and
written expression. In effect, you will be able to give yourself feedback.

In addition to giving yourself critical feedback, try to get feedback from others. No, parents
and peers aren’t experts on your topic – but that is exactly why you should be asking them
for their input. They will tell you what does and doesn’t make sense to them. Don’t be ruled
by their feedback – their ideas may not be as good as yours – but recognise that their
perspective has some validity.

They say…/I say… Taking a Position

A lot of advice to students gives the impression that a good essay is just a series of logical
statements. But this misses a crucial point – essays don’t exist in isolation. They are always
written for a reason. If your reason for making a claim isn’t clear, your reader might
understand the claim but they will not ‘get the point’.

The main reason people write essays is to respond to other people’s ideas. You should aim
to show, not just that you can speak your own view, but also that you have listened to the
views of others. You should think of your essay as expressing your contribution to a larger
conversation.

A basic ‘script’ or ‘template’ for any essay is: “They say… /I say…” Good essays will include
other people’s voices (quotes from articles, statistical evidence, experimental findings, public
opinion surveys, etc.) and then build on those other voices – either by agreeing and adding
or by disagreeing and challenging. For example:

- Although many students dislike wearing uniform, I have come to realise that uniforms make life
at school a lot easier in a whole range of ways…

- The 18th century philosopher Jeremy Bentham argues that it is human nature to seek pleasure
and avoid pain. Bentham is correct up to a point, but he ignores other important human
motivations…

- Atkins, Smyth and Collini, among others, have shown convincing evidence that high school
teachers transform the lives of their students. This essay will add to their work by
demonstrating that the impact of the high school teacher, important as it is, depends on the
earlier effectiveness of the primary school teacher…

Another way of putting this is to say that an essay should not give an ‘opinion’; it should take
a ‘position’. Opinions and positions are two different things:

- Our opinions are usually fairly vague and ‘half-baked’: we know what we believe, but
we might struggle to say why, exactly, we believe it. By contrast, we should be able
to give clear reasons for our position, as we would in a public debate.
- Most of our opinions are ‘inherited’ and unexamined. When we take a position on an
issue, however, we need to question our own assumptions and hold back from quick
judgements as a jury in a court case would.
How to Write a Good Essay - 2018

- When we give an opinion, we might not pay much attention to different points of view.
When we take a position, however, we are entering into a public conversation. We
have to acknowledge competing perspectives, and be prepared to defend our own
position against others who take opposing perspectives.
- An opinion is a starting point; but we need to ‘think our way into’ a position.

The ‘voice’ you use when writing an essay should reflect the fact that you are taking a
position – just as you adjust your tone and vocabulary when speaking in public.

An Opinion Can… A Position Should…

Be Personal Be Impartial

Ignore Alternative Opinions Acknowledge Opposing Positions

Include Categorical Statements Use Qualified Statements

Be Unverifiable Be Verifiable

Be Unsupported by Evidence Be Supported by Evidence

Thesis Formation: Making a Claim

Every essay you write should have a clear and sustained thesis. The thesis should be
expressed in the form of an interesting, debatable and supportable claim or proposition. A
proposition is a statement that links together two or more ideas.
You should think of your essay as ‘building a case’ to support your overall claim. By the end
of the essay, you want to have persuaded your reader to accept the validity of your thesis.
The nature of your thesis should be guided by the question. Not all essay questions are the
same. The nature of the claim you should make, and the sort of reasons you should give to
support your claim, depend upon the type of question you have been asked.
Before you start writing any essay, you should stop and ask yourself: What exactly does this
question want me to do?
The part of the essay question which will help you to answer this question is called the
‘directive word’ or ‘command term’.
Some of the most commonly used command terms in essays are defined below:
- Analyse: Identify components and the relationship between them; draw out and
relate implications
- Discuss: Identify issues and provide points for and/or against
- Explain: Relate cause and effect; make the relationships between things evident;
provide why and/or how
- Evaluate: Make a judgement based on criteria; determine the value of.
How to Write a Good Essay - 2018

This competition requires you to write a discussion essay. Your thesis will need to identify an
issue (i.e. a topic of controversy, something people might disagree about), to consider
different sides of that issue and to argue your own preferred position on that issue.
You will have written a good discussion essay if the reader gets the sense that you have
thought critically about the issue and presented a balanced judgement.
You will not have written a good discussion essay if you:
- only consider points on one side of the argument;
- fail to offer a judgement of your own.

Writing a Complex Thesis: Some Possible Structures

An essay needs to be controlled by a thesis statement that engages with the complexity of
the issue it explores. In other words, it shouldn't simply take the form 'X is Y', e.g.

Education is a force that can change the world for the better.

At a minimum, it needs to pass the 'how and why' test, by saying 'X is Y because...'

Education is a force that can change the world for the better because it gives people
the tools they need to understand the present and imagine a better future.

Ideally, it should also pass the 'so what?' test: 'X is Y because... and this is important
because...'

Education is a force that can change the world for the better because it gives people
the tools they need to understand the present and imagine a better future. As
historical study reveals, most of the great social reforms of the past have been
prompted by improvements in access to learning and it is likely that this will remain
true into the future.

You should also experiment with constructing a thesis using the form, 'X is Y, but also...'

Education, in some times and places, can be a force for change, but it is also one of
the most important ways that societies maintain their stability.

You can also build complexity in by constructing a 'concessive' thesis statement, i.e. one that
concedes the strength of one side of the argument but ultimately argues for the other.
'Although X, Y '.

Although schools can be places which stifle change by enforcing conformity, a true
education is one which allows the learner to adopt a critical perspective on her own society
and begin to challenge its rules and values.

The ‘Although X, Y’ and ‘X is Y, but also Z’ structures are particularly useful for responding to
‘discuss’ essay questions, which require you to recognise both sides of a claim or issue.
How to Write a Good Essay - 2018

Structuring your Essay

An essay has three parts: an introduction, a body and a conclusion. It therefore follows a
well-known piece of advice to anyone who has to teach somebody else:

 “Tell ’Em What You’re Gonna Tell ’Em”: The Introduction serves as an ‘advance
organiser’. It briefly describes the argument you are about to make in detail.
 “Tell ’Em”: The body sets out your argument.
 “Tell ’Em What You Told ’Em”: The conclusion recaps the argument you have just
made and pulls together the main ideas.

The Introduction (1 paragraph)

Your first paragraph is the introduction. It should make your claim and then provide a brief
outline of the case you will make to support this claim.
1) Your essay should begin with a clear and concise thesis statement: one or two
sentences that set out your main claim in response to the question. Your thesis statement
should use keywords from the question, but it should not just re-state the question: it must
be debatable – i.e., it should make a claim that is specific enough that it could be disagreed
with. Don’t waffle here – be bold. You can complicate and qualify your thesis statement later
on in the essay.
2) The remainder of the introduction (2-4 sentences) should provide a brief outline of the
main points you will make in support of your thesis statement throughout the body of your
essay. You should introduce the texts you will be using at this point, but you should not
begin to discuss techniques from the text at this point, just give the headlines – the analysis
will come later.

CHECKLIST FOR WRITING A THESIS STATEMENT:

 Do I answer the question?
 Have I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose?
 Does my thesis pass the 'So What?' test?( If a reader's first response is, "So
what?" then you need to clarify, to forge a relationship, or to connect to a
larger issue.)
 Does my essay support my thesis specifically and without wandering? (If
your thesis and the body of your essay do not seem to go together, one of
them has to change. Remember, always reassess and revise your writing as
necessary.)
 Does my thesis pass the how or why test?(If a reader's first response is
"how? or why? your thesis may be too open-ended and lack guidance for the
reader. See what you can add to give the reader a better take on your position
right from the beginning.)

The Body (3 - 6 paragraphs)

The body of your essay is where you start to build your argument, piece by piece, until you
have a coherent, ‘watertight’ case that convinces the marker that your main claim in answer
to the question is a valid one.
How to Write a Good Essay - 2018

Body Paragraphs
Each paragraph in the body of your essay should deal with a single, distinct idea. It needs to:
i) present your idea;
ii) give examples of this idea
iii) explain why this idea helps to make your main claim.
It should therefore be structured as a mini-essay in its own right, with a:

 A Topic Sentence at the beginning which introduces the idea you will argue in the
paragraph (Guess What?) [1 sentence]
 Examples and evidence that you have selected, analysed and explained to show
how they make your case (Prove It!) [3-5 sentences]
 A concluding sentence which explains why the foregoing helps to support your main
claim in answer to the question. (So What?) [1 sentence]

Transition terms
The body of your essay should provide a systematic and logical working-through of the main
points of evidence you are using to support your thesis. You should help your reader by
using ‘signpost’ words to signal how your argument progresses from one idea to the next.
This could be as crude as beginning each paragraph “Firstly,..”, “Secondly…”, etc. but there
are more elegant ‘transitions’ to help you ‘signpost’ the thrilling twists and turns of your
breathtaking analysis:

 To ADD more evidence to the same general effect (“AND”):

o Furthermore, then, in addition, plus, too, moreover, additionally, as well as,
first, second, third (etc.), along with, including, similarly, last but not least….

 To CHANGE DIRECTION or to consider ALTERNATIVE VIEWS (“BUT”):

o On the other hand, however, and yet, on the contrary, conversely, although,
then again, whereas, even though, despite…

 To CONCLUDE (“SO”):
o In conclusion, therefore, to sum up, finally, overall, in total, in summary, as a
result of, lastly, ultimately, consequently, hence, thus…

Using Quotes:
Your body paragraphs are where you will provide close reading of evidence from the text.
That doesn’t mean that your paragraphs should take the form of a big chunk of quotation,
topped and tailed with a sentence or two in your own words. Sources should only ever be
quoted to support your own analysis, not to replace it. Paraphrases and brief, punchy quotes
are more effective.
The evidence you include in your essay must not be left to speak for itself. You need to
make it clear that this is your work. To help make it clear, use words and phrases that signal
how you are actively using the source you are quoting. You are trying to create the effect of
density: lots of your weighty and original ideas in a small area.
How to Write a Good Essay - 2018

The Conclusion (1 paragraph)

The conclusion should summarise the argument that you have presented, reinforce or echo
the thesis that you presented in the introduction and – ideally – offering a closing synthesis
which draws out the overarching themes in the various points you have discussed in the
body of your essay (rather than just relisting the points.)
Your conclusion must NOT introduce any new arguments or evidence.

References
References allow you to indicate the sources you have used in writing an essay or thesis.
They contain essential information that backs up the arguments in your essay and they
provide further information for the curious reader. When you read articles and want to know
more, the first thing you do is checking the footnotes or the bibliography, because these
provide valuable further resources that could be useful for your own research.

Similarly, indicating your own sources in your essays provides information to the reader on
the sources you have used. By using references you can demonstrate that you have
conducted research for your paper.

Any formal essay should clearly identify all the sources that the writer has drawn upon in
developing their ideas. If you have read a book or article or blogpost and it has shaped your
thinking, you need to include it in your bibliography or reference list, even if you have not
directly quoted its words.

Be specific in your references. When you refer to an article or a book chapter, you need to
provide the number of the page from which the information you are using. When you quote
from a source, you also need to indicate the page number of the citation you use in your
paper.

For more detailed advice on using referencing, see the Online Writing Lab at Purdue
University, the internet’s most useful collection of academic writing resources.

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/