Tips to write an Academic Essay

1. Tips to write an Academic Essay

2. PRE- WRITING
STAGE

3. Planning
Planning helps you to produce
a logical and orderly argument that your readers can
follow.
What type of essay am I
going to be writing?
Does it belong to a
specific genre?

4. Types of Writing
• Book review
• Literature Review
• Abstract
• Comparative
Essay
• History
• Literature
• Philosophy Essay
• Sciences
• Admission Letters
• Application Letters
• Academic Proposal
• Lab Report
• Oral Presentations

5. Research reading
Things to take into consideration while making
notes:
Review the commonly known facts about your
topic.
Try making a preliminary list of the subtopics you
would expect to find in your reading.
Choose a component or angle that interests you.
facts and theories that help answer your
question, and other people’s opinions about
whether specific answers are good ones.

6. WRITING STAGE

7. Some General Advice
An essay should have an argument.
Formulate question(s) you will seek to answer
in your essay. Next, develop by thinking,
reading, and jotting a provisional thesis
or hypothesis.
An essay’s organization should be designed to
present your argument clearly and
persuasively.

8. Understanding Essay Topics: A
Checklist
Note the Key terms
Note which concepts or methods the topic
asks you to use.
ask yourself questions about the specific
topic.
formulate a tentative thesis statement at a
fairly early stage.

9. Thesis Statements
• It makes a definite and limited assertion that
needs to be explained and supported by
further discussion.
• It shows the emphasis and indicates the
methodology of your argument.
• It shows awareness of difficulties and
disagreements.

10. Paragraph
What is a paragraph?
• A paragraph is a series of related sentences
developing a central idea, called the topic.
• Probably the most effective way to achieve
paragraph unity is to express the central idea of
the paragraph in a topic sentence.
• Often, the body paragraph demonstrates and
develops your topic sentence through an
ordered, logical progression of ideas.

11. Topic Senteces
• Topic sentences state the main point of a
paragraph.
• They do not need to be at the beginning at the
paragraph.
• Not every paragraph needs to have a topic
sentence.

12. Types of paragraphs
Definition paragraph (it defines a term)
Analysis or classification paragraph (develops a topic
by distinguishing its component parts and discussing each of
these parts separately)
Comparison or a contrast paragraph (shows
similarity or difference between two sources, positions, or ideas)
Qualification paragraph (acknowledges that what you
previously asserted is not absolutely true or always applicable.)
Process paragraph (involves a straightforward step-by-
step description.)

13. Introduction
 Use statistics
 Quote an expert
 Mention a common misperception that your thesis
will argue against.
 Give some background information.
 Use a brief narrative or anecdote that exemplifies
your reason for choosing the topic.
 define a term that is possibly unfamiliar to your
audience but is central to understanding the essay.

14. Conclusion
If your essay deals with a contemporary problem,
warn readers of the possible consequences of
not attending to the problem.
Use an apt quotation or expert opinion to lend
authority to the conclusion you have reached.
Return to an anecdote, example, or quotation
that you introduced in your introduction, but add
further insight that derives from the body of your
essay.
Recommend a specific course of action.

15. How Not to Plagiarize
• Give the reference as soon as you’ve mentioned the
idea you’re using, not just at the end of the paragraph.
• Keep mentioning authors and pages and dates to show
how your ideas are related to those of the experts. It’s
sensible to use your own words because that saves
space and lets you connect ideas smoothly.
• Always write down the author, title and publication
information (including the specific identifying
information for online publications) so you can attach
names and dates to specific ideas.

16. Using Quotations
Consider quoting a passage from one of your sources if any of the following
conditions holds:
• The language of the passage is particularly elegant or powerful or
memorable.
• You wish to confirm the credibility of your argument by enlisting the
support of an authority on your topic.
• The passage is worthy of further analysis.
• You wish to argue with someone else’s position in considerable detail.
If an argument or a factual account from one of your sources is particularly
relevant to your paper but does not deserve to be quoted verbatim, consider
• paraphrasing
• summarizing
Verbs to introduce a quotation:
Argues – writes – points out - concludes – comments – notes – mantains-
suggests – insists – states – claims – reveals – explains – says - demonstrates

17. REVISING AND
EDITING STAGE

18. Revising And Editing
• First check whether you have fulfilled the intention of
the assignment.
• Then look at overall organization.
• polish and edit your style by moving to smaller matters
such as word choice, sentence structure, grammar,
punctuation, and spelling.
Hit Parade Of Errors In Grammar, Punctuation, and Style
• Faulty agreement
• Sentence fragments
• Run-on [fused] Sentences
• Overuse of Passive Voice
• Faulty Parallelism
• Vague Pronouns
• Dangling Modifiers
• Squinting or Misplaced Modifiers
• Mixed or Dead Metaphors
• Faulty Word Choice [Faulty
Diction]

19. Appearance
• Include a cover page giving the title of your
paper, the name of the course, your name, the
date, and the instructor’s name.
• Number your pages in the top right-hand corner.
• Double-space your text, including indented
quotations, footnotes, and reference lists.
• Use a standard font in twelve-point size.
• Put the reference list or bibliography on a
separate page at the end.
• Staple your pages.

20. Bibliography
• Prof. C. A. Silber "Some General Advice on Academic Essay-Writing“, Writing at the University of
Toronto, https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/general/general-advice/
• Jerry Plotnick, "Organizing an Essay" Writing at the University of Toronto,
https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/planning/organizing/
• Margaret Procter, , "Using Thesis Statements", Writing at the University of Toronto,
https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/planning/thesis-statements/
• Leora Freedman and Jerry Plotnick, "Introductions and Conclusions", Writing at the University of
Toronto, https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/planning/intros-and-conclusions/
• Jerry Hall and Jerry Plotnick, "Using Topic Sentences", Writing at the University of Toronto,
https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/planning/topic-sentences/
• Margaret Procter, "How Not to Plagiarize",Writing at the University of Toronto,
https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/using-sources/how-not-to-plagiarize/
• Jerry Plotnick, "Using Quotations" Writing at the University of Toronto,
https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/using-sources/quotations/.
• Margaret Procter, "Revisiong and Editing",Writing at the University of Toronto,
https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/revising/revising-and-editing/