Writing

Lynne Kerfoot

Centre for Study Skills and Access

Overview

• Breaking down essay writing into manageable parts

• Planning your essay• Writing paragraphs• Introductions• Conclusions

Planning

• Write an outline plan for your essay

• Try using a mind map

Mind map

Maggots and

medicine

Advantages

Resistance

History

Modern use

How they work

Cost effective

( long term)

Expensive (short term)

Combats superbugs

Less antibiotics

Squemish

Seems primitiveCombats

superbugs

vs antibiotics

Necrotic tissue

Enzyme

Digests

Wars

1930s, 1940's

Mind maps1. Take a large sheet of paper. 2. Put the essay question in the middle. 3. Put sub-topics around the centre. 4. Add details to each sub-topic:

relevant points, ideas, explanations, evidence etc.

5. Make connections where theories/evidence or ideas are related.

Activity – mind map

Linear plan

• A mind map will give you an overview of the essay.

• You now need to think about how you will present these ideas in your essay.

• Creating a linear plan will help to order the information in your essay.

Linear plan

Think: • How will the information fit into

paragraphs?

• How can you order the material to present your argument in a clear and convincing way?

Linear plan

Title: “The use of maggots in medicine”Paragraph Topic1. Introduction.2. How they work.3. History.4 Modern use.5. Resistance. 6. Advantages.7. Evaluation 8. Conclusion.

Activity – linear plans

Writing paragraphs• Paragraphs often have: • an introductory component (topic

sentence)• a main body• a summarising component (often the

closing sentence).

• Paragraphs should focus on one area. They should not begin with one topic and end with another.

Paragraphs: the topic sentence

• Introduces the central theme of the paragraph

• Is often the first sentence of the paragraph.

Paragraphs: the main body

• The topic should be discussed fully. May include, for example: • A definition of terms used in the paragraph • A description of the topic • Analysis of the topic • Examples and illustrations • Examination and/or evaluation of causes

and effects

Paragraphs: the summarising component

The final sentences in a paragraph often sum up the ideas presented in the paragraph and/or lead on to the following paragraphs.

Essays – general structure

• Introduction

• Main body

• Conclusion

Writing an introduction

• Should refer to the essay title and talk about the topic in general terms.

• Should be about 1/10 of your total essay.

You may:• Define and limit the scope of the

essay.

• Outline how and in what order you’re going to tackle the issues.

ConclusionsYou may:• summarise your main points and show

how they relate to each other • draw general conclusions • comment on the significance of those

conclusions • briefly restate your argument and link

back to the central question raised in the title.

Conclusions

Try not to:

• ‘go off’ in a new direction

• throw in any comments that are not related to the title

• express any new ideas

Summary

• Planning your essay– Mind maps– Linear plans

• Writing paragraphs• Introductions• Conclusions