One of the first things you’ll notice when you get to University is that a different approach is needed when approaching essays than what would have been expected of you in the past.
Here is a series of tips designed to help you approach writing in academic voice, which, contrary to popular belief, isn’t exclusive to your dissertation or third year project and the sooner you get to grips with it, the better!
1. Planning
In the past you might’ve opened up one book, or two at a push, read a chapter and basically paraphrased it to get your own essay, however you’ll quickly discover that this isn’t a very good idea. You’ll need to approach your question, do some brief research into the specific topics you could use to approach it and build your research around this. Diving in and hoping for the best might not work and you may find you run out of steam half way through.
2. Decide on your Central Argument
Your central argument is what you’ll be trying to convince your reader of throughout and forms the backbone of your argument. Without one your essay will seem wishy washy and lack substance.
You ought to be able to sum up your central argument in a short statement and ensure that the entirety of your essay, each and every paragraph and sentence, is geared towards supporting it to make your writing as focused as possible.
It’s a good idea to put yours on the top of your page (I used to leave mine temporarily in the header) to ensure it’s always kept in mind the whole time you’re writing.
3. Research
Once you’ve got your topic in mind you’ll need to find some specific sources which are relevant to the argument you have in mind, trying primarily journals and books, however not limited to just these two. Try typing in a few key words in your library catalogue or journal database and when you find one vaguely related to your topic clicking a button to the effect of “Similar books” to find those key sources which will add to the strength of the argument you want to make.
4. Organise your References
It saves you a lot of time and hassle if you collect your references as you go instead of frantically trying to find every source you used in your Internet history, which can be a long and agonising process.
So if you’re using an idea or words which aren’t your own copy and paste the information you’ll need (author, title, date, page, publisher, location published etc.) into your bibliography. There’s no need to format it in your University’s chosen style just yet, as long as it’s there all in one place it’ll be easier to organise at the end.
Also, lots of journal databases have an “export citation” button allowing you to click your desired style and copy and paste it neatly straight away, saving you a hell of a lot of time so do use this if it’s there!
5. Writing
By now you should have a good idea of how your essay is going to end up, the arguments you’ll be making, your supporting evidence and the conclusion you’ll be coming to. Next it’s a case of getting it on paper and worded correctly so your argument is as clear, concise and unflawed as possible. This is the bit you really want to take your time over as it ultimately determines the success of your essay.
6. Style
When writing it is very important to write in an appropriate style.
Common traps students fall in to is writing in the same way you’d hear people on the TV or radio speaking in, which is far too casual, trying to copy the style of an academic text, using unnecessarily long words for no reason, which never quite works and usually comes off as sounding pretentious, or writing in the same style as a newspaper or magazine, which is too journalistic.
The best piece of advice I was given was to write for an audience with an above average knowledge of the subject area, for example someone on your course. That way you don’t need to state the obvious (e.g. pointing out that Althusser was a Marxist philosopher) but you do need to fully explain and develop your ideas.
7. Formal Language
Remember an essay is formal and your choice of vocabulary should reflect this without going over the top. It’s the conciseness of your wording which is more important than how many syllables your words have or familiar they are.
Therefore your words should be full form and not abbreviated (e.g. do not as opposed to don’t) and you should avoid casual language like ‘the author didn’t back up his arguments’; instead try ‘his arguments were unsubstantiated’ or ‘uncorroborated’. You’ll need to find a balance between the two to make sure your sentencing is formal but not too wordy.
8. Interrogating the Text
Once you’ve selected a quote you want to use to strength your own argument, make sure you do something with it instead of letting it just say what you’re trying to say in a neater way.
Has the author made an assumption between his argument and conclusion? Has he taken all of the evidence into account? Are other conclusions possible from the same evidence or can you see an obvious flaw?
Being able to use a source critically and shows more sophisticated thinking skills than blindly accepting something just because it’s been published.
9. Does your Essay Match with the Brief/Question?
Of course this will have been at the forefront of your mind throughout the whole process, however once you’ve got your words down stop and ask yourself whether you’ve really answered the question or have you just skirted around the vague subject area?
It’s also worth having a look at the marking specification, are all the elements of a 2:2 or 2:1 essay present and clear? If not how can you make it even clearer that you’ve shown evidence of all of those skills they’re looking for?
10. Proof-Reading
An obvious step in essay writing but I really can’t stress it enough; proof read what you’ve written for spelling and grammar errors you may have let slip through the net. Once you’ve done it, exchange essays with a friend and let them proof read yours whilst you do there’s.
Then, let your essay “rest” for a little while, a couple of days will do but 5-7 is ideal. When you next read it you’ll have forgotten about it a bit and mistakes you may have been reading over, obvious flaws in your argument and sentences which don’t flow correctly will be much easier to spot.