Essay Guide

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• Introduction
  • Writing essays
  • Essay writing
  • The author
• You, the writer
  • Being a writer
  • Thinking critically, thinking clearly
  • Speaking vs. Writing
  • Why are you writing?
• What tutors want
  • How much is that degree in the window?
  • Academic writing
  • Academic writing: key features
  • Personal or impersonal?
  • What tutors want – 1
  • What tutors want – 2
  • Be prepared to be flexible
• What is an essay
  • Understanding what they want – again
  • Basic definitions
  • Different varieties of essay, different kinds of writing
• Understanding the question
  • Look, it’s my favourite word!
  • Close encounters of the word kind
  • Starting to answer the question: brainstorming
  • Starting to answer the question: after the storm
  • Other ways of getting started
• Reading & researching
  • How not to read
  • You, the reader
  • Choosing your reading
  • How to read: SQ3R
  • How to read: other techniques
  • Reading around the subject
  • Taking notes
• Planning & structure
  • What planning and structure mean and why you need them
  • Planning
  • Introductions: what they do
  • Main bodies: what they do
  • Conclusions: what they do
  • Sentences
  • Paragraphs and links
• Drafting & editing
  • Process, process, process
  • The basics
  • The first draft
  • The second draft
  • Editing – 1: getting your essay into shape
  • Editing – 2: what’s on top & what lies beneath
• Making an argument
  • Are you looking for an argument?
  • Simple definitions
  • More definitions
  • Different types of argument
• Quotes & References
  • Sources & plagiarism
  • Direct quotation, paraphrasing & referencing
  • MLA, APA, Harvard or MHRA?
  • Using the web
  • Setting out and using quotations
• Humanities vs sciences
  • Recognising differences
  • Humanities essays
  • Scientific writing
  • Social & behavioural science writing
• Reports & presentations
  • Beyond the essay
  • Business-style reports
  • Presentations
• Literature Reviews
  • What is a literature review?
  • Why write a literature review?
  • Key points to remember
  • The structure of a literature review
  • How to do a literature search
• Undergraduate Dissertations
  • Introduction
  • What is a dissertation? How is it different from an essay?
  • Getting it down on paper
  • Drafting and rewriting
  • Title
  • Structure
  • Planning your dissertation
  • Planning for length
  • Planning for content
  • Abstracts, tone, unity of style
  • General comments
• Further Help
  • Glossary

Writing essays, dissertations & theses – sciences & social sciences

Robert Barrass, Scientists Must Write: A Guide to Better Writing for Scientists, Engineers and Students (Routledge Study Guides, 2002)

Vernon Booth, Communicating in Science: Writing a Scientific Paper and Speaking at Scientific Meetings (CUP, 1993)

A. Northedge, J. Thomas, A. Lane & A. Peasgood, The Sciences Good Study Guide (OUP, 2004)

Janice R. Matthews, John M. Bowen & Robert M. Matthews, Successful Scientific Writing (CUP, 2000)

Peter Redman, Good Essay Writing: A Social Sciences Guide (OU/SAGE, 2001)

Heather Silyn-Roberts, Writing for Science and Engineering: Papers, Presentations and Reports (Butterworth-Heinemann, 2000)