Essay writing is a major assessment item for most of the study programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Thus, it is essential for you to master academic writing skills so that you can convey your ideas and arguments clearly and effectively to your readers, notably course instructors.
This guide will share useful information about writing an academic essay and what you should be focused on at different stages of writing.
This guide will share useful information about writing an academic essay and what you should be focused on at different stages of writing.
In most cases, an academic essay is a piece of writing in which you have to identify your position / stance on a research topic by presenting your arguments with evidence.
An academic essay usually consists of the following parts:
(The evidence can be facts, figures, definitions, theories, statements from influential figures of a profession / field etc. You may refer to Resource Evaluation for selecting relevant and reliable sources of information to support your arguments in the essay.)
- Raise counterarguments, if appropriate, to outline opposing views and then rebuke these views with solid evidence
(The aim is to prove that your arguments are more credible and persuasive, and hence strengthen your position / stance.)
(You may make a prediction about the future of the issue discussed based on your investigation and/or suggest other relevant issues worthy of consideration to prompt your readers to conduct further research.)
- Abstract (Subject to instructors’ requirement):
- Introduction:
- Literature Review (Subject to instructors’ requirement):
- Main Body:
(The evidence can be facts, figures, definitions, theories, statements from influential figures of a profession / field etc. You may refer to Resource Evaluation for selecting relevant and reliable sources of information to support your arguments in the essay.)
- Raise counterarguments, if appropriate, to outline opposing views and then rebuke these views with solid evidence
(The aim is to prove that your arguments are more credible and persuasive, and hence strengthen your position / stance.)
- Conclusion:
(You may make a prediction about the future of the issue discussed based on your investigation and/or suggest other relevant issues worthy of consideration to prompt your readers to conduct further research.)
The following information outlines a 4-stage process of essay writing.
(You could work out a brief but clear outline on what you are going to cover in the essay or make a mind map to visually note down your ideas.)
- Organize the ideas in different paragraphs and present them in a logical flow that consists of introduction, body paragraphs and conclusion
(Subject to instructors’ requirement, literature review may be needed and has to be placed between the introduction and the body paragraphs)
- Get your draft written as quickly as possible
(Do not worry about writing poorly at the first attempt as you will certainly need to modify your draft several times afterwards)
- Rewrite or polish the sentences that cannot clearly convey your ideas and arguments to readers
- Make sure that there are no grammatical errors and misspelled words in the entire essay
- Please be fully aware that referencing is an integral part of academic writing and relates to the issue of academic integrity. Failure to do so will likely receive an academic penalty.
- Stage 1: Planning
(You could work out a brief but clear outline on what you are going to cover in the essay or make a mind map to visually note down your ideas.)
- Stage 2: Drafting
- Organize the ideas in different paragraphs and present them in a logical flow that consists of introduction, body paragraphs and conclusion
(Subject to instructors’ requirement, literature review may be needed and has to be placed between the introduction and the body paragraphs)
- Get your draft written as quickly as possible
(Do not worry about writing poorly at the first attempt as you will certainly need to modify your draft several times afterwards)
- Stage 3: Editing / Proofreading
- Rewrite or polish the sentences that cannot clearly convey your ideas and arguments to readers
- Make sure that there are no grammatical errors and misspelled words in the entire essay
- Stage 4: Referencing
- Please be fully aware that referencing is an integral part of academic writing and relates to the issue of academic integrity. Failure to do so will likely receive an academic penalty.
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Call no.: LB2369 .G747 2019 |
| ISBN: 9781352005226 Publication Year: 2019 Book |
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Greetham, B. (2019). How to write your undergraduate dissertation (3rd ed.). Red Globe Press.
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Call no.: LB2369 .L54 2018 |
| ISBN: 9780226430911 Publication Year: 2018 Book |
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Lipson, C. (2018). How to write a BA thesis: A practical guide from your first ideas to your finished paper (2nd ed.). University of Chicago Press.
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Call no.: LB2369 .T82 2019 |
| ISBN: 9780226430263 Publication Year: 2019 Book |
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Turabian, K. L. (2019). Student's guide to writing college papers (5th ed.). University of Chicago Press.
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Call no.: PE1404 .G74 2021 |
| ISBN: 9781352011043 Publication Year: 2021 Book |
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Greetham, B. (2021). How to write your literature review. Red Globe Press.
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ISBN: 9781003031680 Publication Year: 2023 eBook |
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Thomson, P. (2023). Refining your academic writing: Strategies for reading, revising and rewriting. Routledge.
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The webpage providers information about conducting research using primary source (e.g surveys, interviews) and secondary source (e.g. books, journal articles) methods. It also offers tips on how to write literature review and evaluate sources for credibility.
Produced by the Harvard University, the website provides detailed instructions on essay writing, such as constructing a thesis, developing topic sentences and making counter-arguments.
The webpage offers important notes and tips to help students write a professional academic paper, such as how to make a clear and concise thesis statement, the proper use of transitional words, and ways to improve sentence clarity and variation.
Produced by the University of Manchester, the website offers numerous examples of phrases that assist students in writing academic papers. The examples are categorized according to various writing purposes, such as describing trends, making comparisons and offering critical claims.
Produced by the Harvard University, the website provides detailed instructions on essay writing, such as constructing a thesis, developing topic sentences and making counter-arguments.
The webpage offers important notes and tips to help students write a professional academic paper, such as how to make a clear and concise thesis statement, the proper use of transitional words, and ways to improve sentence clarity and variation.
Produced by the University of Manchester, the website offers numerous examples of phrases that assist students in writing academic papers. The examples are categorized according to various writing purposes, such as describing trends, making comparisons and offering critical claims.
