Essay Guide

Display Menu

• 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, writing essays, dissertations & theses – general & humanities

John Clanchy, How to Write Essays: A Practical Guide for Students (Addison Wesley/Longman, 1992)

Phyllis Creme & Mary R. Lea, Writing at University: A Guide for Students (Oxford University Press, 1997)

Peter Elbow, Writing with Power: Techniques for Mastering the Writing Process (Galaxy Books/Oxford University Press, 1981)

Nigel Fabb & Alan Durant, How to Write Essays, Dissertations & Theses in Literary Studies (Longman, 1993)

Linda Flower, Problem Solving Strategies For Writing (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 2000)

Bryan Greetham, How to Write Better Essays (Palgrave Study Guide, 2001)

Brendan Hennessey, Writing An Essay (How To Books, 1996)

Andrea Lunsford & Robert Connors, Easywriter: A Pocket Guide (Bedford/St Martins, 1997)

Richard Marggraf-Turley,Writing Essays: A Guide for Students in English and the Humanities (Routledge, 2000)

Pam Peters, Strategies for Student Writers (Wiley, 1985)

David Roberts, The Student’s Guide to Writing Essays (Kogan Page Student Guides, 1997)

Rebecca Stott, Anna Snaith & Rick Rylance, Making Your Case: A Practical Guide to Essay Writing (Longman Speak-Write, 2001)

George Watson, Writing A Thesis: A Guide to Long Essays and Dissertations (Longman, 1997)