Essay writing essentials

MARGARET WILSON, TE PUNA AKO LEARNING CENTRE

Welcome! Haere mai! Introduce yourself: name, programme and year of study

Your level of essay writing experience

What would you like to learn about essay writing in this session?

Objectives By the end of this session you’ll be able to:•Identify the various steps in writing an essay assignment•Identify the key features of academic writing •Outline the structure of an essay•Outline the structure of a paragraph•Plan an essay

What is an essay? In pairs, brainstorm words to describe essays (2 minutes)

Academic writing is: Reasoned -critical thinking: how and why

Formal -impersonal, no slang, formal sentence structure

Impartial -gives a balanced view, more than one point of view

Logical -ideas flow logically from one to another: signposts, topic sentences and linked paragraphs

Structured -has a clear structure: beginning, middle and end, and follows the structure of an essay, report, case study

Supported -evidence, examples, referencing

Starting points•Due date•Essay length•Weighting•Marking criteria•Type of research required

•Referencing system•Formatting requirements

Assignment planning

Try the assignment calculator http://www.1.unitec.ac.nz/library2/rpc/rpc_result.php

Or use the handout Working backwards from deadlines

Whatever you do make sure you PLAN AHEAD

Planning/research/analysis

Writing

How time is spent in the essay writing process

Analysis/research Writing

Steps in assignment writingAnalyse the

question

Brainstorm ideas (make a plan of

attack)

Find relevant sources/read/make

notes

Make an essay plan

Write drafts

Revise/proofread

Steps in assignment writingAnalyse the

question

Brainstorm ideas (make a plan of

attack)

Find relevant sources/read/make

notes

Make an essay plan

Write drafts

Revise/proofread

Analysing assignment questions It is important to give the lecturer exactly what he/she asks for.

If you misunderstand one word in a question it can be enough to throw your assignment off track.

It helps to pick out the instruction words, the conditions of any instructions and the key content words.

Analysing questions Instructions words tell you how to answer the question. For example: discuss, identify, compare, evaluate

Conditions make an instruction more specific. For example: Identify two…; Refer to class work….; Include examples…; Outline briefly…

Key content words give the topic areas that need to be covered in an assignment

An essay question from nursing

Define the role of Primary Health Care in New Zealand and give examples. Describe the role of the PHC nurse including an ecomap. Identify two health issues that can be related to PHC. (1500 words)

Essay structure

Introduction (10%)

Body

Conclusion (10%)

References

The introduction Introduce the topic Comment briefly on its importance State essay’s main argument or main issues that will be discussed State how you intend to answer your question Usually one paragraph

Body Written in paragraphs Provides evidence/examples Links to other paragraphs Section/paragraph headings???

Conclusion Briefly summarises the main points Restates your central argument Refers back to the topic May highlight future implications May make suggestions or recommendations Usually one paragraph

References

A list of all the sources you used

(APA style?)

Planning the question Define the role of Primary Health Care in New Zealand and give examples. Describe the role of the PHC nurse including an ecomap. Identify two health issues that can be related to PHC. (1500 words)

Primary Health care(1500 words)

Introduction(150 words)

Definition(150 words)

Examples in NZ (300

words)

Role PHC nurse(400 words)

AdvocacyEducation

Ecomap

Two issues(350) words

Diet

Smoking

Conclusion(150 words)

References

 

Primary health care

1500 words

I. Introduction (150 words)

II. Role of a PHC nurse (400 words)

A. Education

B. Advocacy

III. ecomap

IV. Definition (150 words)

A. Examples in New Zealand (300 words)

V. Two issues (350 words)

A. Smoking

B. Diet

VI. Conclusion (150 words)

VII. List of references

Linear outline

Essay question What is student success and how can you as an expert teacher help students to achieve it? Consider how you would enrich the student experience by practices that assist 3 of the following - retention, engagement, inclusion and digital teaching. Illustrate your points from your own practice. (2000 words)

Introduction –

Expert teaching can effectively contribute to student learning (Ramsden, 1992) and can therefore help students achieve their personal and life goals. Providing high quality teaching and learning experiences to facilitate student achievement should be the central aim of all tertiary teachers. Increasingly, the goal of improving student learning outcomes in areas such as persistence, retention and completion is receiving more attention from governments and policy makers alike (Zepke & Leach, 2007). This growing attention is arguably leading to a greater emphasis on accountability and requires tertiary educators to focus even more closely on their own practice and how they support students to be successful. This essay focuses on student success and the ways I can enrich the student experience in three areas – engagement, retention, and digital teaching. This discussion will include reference to my current teaching practice. It will also reflect on areas where I could improve my future practice.

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Academic writing is logical and structured

An important feature of an essay is that it is logical. One of the ways of achieving a logical piece of writing is by having your writing organised in clear paragraphs.

An essay is made up of a series of related paragraphs which are linked.

For example, the first paragraph about enriching student experience (in the body) might begin, The first area of student experience that will be addressed is engagement.

The next paragraph could continue, While engagement is important, the area of retention is equally important.

The following paragraph could begin Digital teaching is yet another important area to address.

Critical thinking It involves:

Asking questions

Weighing up different views (strengths and weaknesses)

Considering all sides of an issue

Looking for relationships or connections

Looking for bias

Self-evaluation – thinking about your thinking and making sure that you are not jumping to conclusions

Essay exampleoCheck out the Study Toolbox academic writing resources (including an essay example)

ALSO:

oQUT Study Well has some good essay resources. Follow the links under writing at:

http://www.studywell.library.qut.edu.au/index.jsp

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Workshop summary

Discuss with the person next to you two things you learned about essay writing today.

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Ways to write a good essay… Analyse the question and give yourself time to think about it

Brainstorm possible ideas - Use this a starting point for your research

Plan your answer before you begin writing

Think about the audience of your essay (marker)

Have a clear structure and think about how you link ideas

Write in paragraphs

Include reference to the work of other writers and reference this

Ask questions

Allow yourself time to edit and proofread

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Kia kaha!

Good luck with your essay writing!

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