This document provides advice on academic writing and essay composition. It discusses including an introductory paragraph stating the topic, main body paragraphs with clearly stated points and examples, and a concluding paragraph summarizing the main ideas. Essays should have a clear argument, thesis statement, and organization. The writing process involves pre-writing, writing, and revision stages. Academic writing requires critical reading to determine a text's thesis, context, evidence, and argument. Proper citation and avoiding plagiarism is also covered.

1. ADVICE ON ACADEMIC
WRITING
DELGADO AYELÉN
LEE IV – ISFD N°18

2. GENERAL ADVICE ON ACADEMIC ESSAY-
WRITING
A GOOD ESSAY SHOULD CONSIST OF:
AN INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH IN WHICH YOU CLEARLY STATE THE TOPIC TO BE
DISCUSSED;
A MAIN BODY, IN WHICH POINTS ARE CLEARLY STATED IN SEPARATE PARAGRAPHS AND
EXEMPLIFIED OR JUSTIFIED: AND
A CLOSING PARAGRAPH SUMMARIZING THE MAIN POINTS OF THE ESSAY, IN WHICH YOU
STATE/RESTATE YOUR OPINION, AND/OR GIVE A BALANCED CONSIDERATION OF THE
TOPIC.

3.  AN ESSAY SHOULD HAVE AN ARGUMENT.
 IT SHOULD HAVE A THESIS STATEMENT OR HYPOTHESIS.
 AN ESSAY SHOULD PRESENT A CLEAR ARGUMENT TO PERSUADE
THE READERS.
 AN ESSAY SHOULD EXPRESS YOUR OWN THINKING, NOT
ANOTHER PERSON’S IDEAS. INVEST YOUR RESEARCH TIME IN
UNDERSTANDING YOUR SOURCES AND INTEGRATING THEM INTO
YOUR OWN THINKING.
 IT SHOULD HAVE A CLEAR ORGANIZATION.

4. METHODS ON COMPOSING AN ESSAY
Three stages
Pre-writing
stage
Writing stage
Revision stage
• Planning
and
organizing
• Reading
and
researching
• Writing
strategies.
• Using sources.
• Editing
and
polishing

6. THE BEST TIME TO THINK ABOUT HOW TO ORGANIZE YOUR PAPER IS DURING THE PRE-
WRITING STAGE. MOST UNIVERSITY ESSAYS ARE ARGUMENTATIVE, AND THERE IS NO SET
PATTERN FOR THE SHAPE OF AN ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY. TO CONVINCE YOUR READER OF
THE VALIDITY OF YOUR POSITION, THE ORGANIZATION OF YOUR TEXT SHOULD BE CLEAR.
 USING THESIS STATEMENTS: WHEN YOU ARE ASKED TO WRITE AN ESSAY THAT CREATES AN
ARGUMENT, THE READER WILL PROBABLY EXPECT A CLEAR STATEMENT OF YOUR POSITION.
TYPICALLY, THIS SUMMARY STATEMENT COMES IN THE FIRST PARAGRAPH OF THE ESSAY, THOUGH
THERE IS NO RULE ABOUT THE POSITION.

7. Introductions and conclusions play a special role in an
academic essay, and they frequently demand much attention
as a writer. A good introduction should identify a topic,
provide essential context, and indicate a particular focus in
the essay. It also needs to engage readers' interest. A strong
conclusion will provide a sense of closure to the essay.
Paragraphs are as long or as short as needed for the five-
paragraphs requirement. Each paragraph must begin with a
topic sentence that is related to the thesis statement.
Paragraphs generally end with a conclusion that summarize
the points contained in the topic sentence. Paragraphs may
end with a transitional sentence that anticipates the topic of
the next paragraph.
A topic sentence states the main point of a paragraph: it serves
as a mini-thesis for the paragraph. It usually appear at the very
beginning of paragraphs. In essays, the connection is usually
between the last paragraph and the current one. Use a topic
sentence to show how your paragraph contributes to the
development of your argument by moving it that one extra step
forward. Sometimes a paragraph helps to develop the same point
as in the previous paragraph, and so a new topic sentence would
be redundant. And sometimes the evidence in your paragraph
makes your point so effectively that your topic sentence can
remain implicit

9. CRITICAL READING TOWARDS CRITICAL
WRITING
CRITICAL WRITING DEPENDS ON CRITICAL READING. TO READ CRITICALLY IS TO MAKE
JUDGEMENTS ABOUT HOW A TEXT IS ARGUED:
DETERMINE THE THESIS OF THE TEXT
PAY ATTENTION TO THE CONTEXT
EXAMINE DE EVIDENCE
HIGHLIGHT ARGUMENT
TAKE NOTES
SKIM AND SCAN
IMPORTANT
Do not write too much, your
reading should be an
expression on your own. The
judgments and
interpretations you make of
the texts you read are the
first steps towards
formulating your own
approach.

10. HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF READING
BE AWARE OF THE STRUCTURE OF THE TEXT AS YOU READ.
KNOW WHAT KIND OF IDEAS YOU NEED TO RECORD.
CONSIDER TO MAINTAIN AN APPROPRIATE LENGTH FOR THE TEXT.

11. RESEARCH USING INTERNET
ON THE INTERNET ANYONE CAN PUT ANYTHING THEY WANT ON A WEBSITE
BECAUSE THERE IS NO REVIEW. FOR THIS REASON YOU NEED TO:
CROSS-CHECK INFORMATION FROM THE NET AGAINST INFORMATION FROM
THE LIBRARY.
KNOW YOUR SUBJECT DIRECTORIES AND SEARCH ENGINES.
KEEP A DETAILED RECORD OF THE SITES USED.

12. SKIMMING SCANNING
 Read carefully the introductory
paragraph (try to predict)
 Read one or two sentences of
each paragraph and the
concluding sentences.
 In between keep your eyes
moving.
 Read carefully the concluding
paragraph.
 State the specific information you are
looking for.
 Try to anticipate how the answer will
appear and what clues you might use
to help you locate the answer.
 Use headings and any other aids that
will help you identify which sections
might contain the information you are
looking for.
 Selectively read and skip through
sections of the passage.

14. HOW NOT TO PLAGIARIZE
WHAT EXACTLY DO I HAVE TO DOCUMENT?
WITH EXPERIENCE READING ACADEMIC PROSE, YOU’LL SOON GET USED TO THE WAYS
WRITERS IN YOUR FIELD REFER TO THEIR SOURCES.
 QUOTATIONS, PARAPHRASES, OR SUMMARIES: IF YOU USE THE AUTHOR’S EXACT WORDS,
ENCLOSE THEM IN QUOTATION MARKS, OR INDENT PASSAGES OF MORE THAN FOUR
LINES.
 SPECIFIC FACTS USED AS EVIDENCE FOR YOUR ARGUMENT OR INTERPRETATION.
 DISTINCTIVE OR AUTHORITATIVE IDEAS, WHETHER YOU AGREE WITH THEM OR NOT: THE
WAY YOU INTRODUCE A REFERENCE CAN INDICATE YOUR ATTITUDE AND LEAD INTO
YOUR OWN ARGUMENT.

15. HOW MUCH SHOULD I QUOTE?
YOU SHOULD QUOTE IF THE LANGUAGE OF THE PASSAGE IS POWERFUL, IF YOU WISH TO
CONFIRM YOUR CREDIBILITY OF YOUR ARGUMENT, AND IF THE PASSAGE ALLOWS FURTHER
ANALYSIS. BUT IF THE PASSAGE DOES NOT DESERVE TO BE QUOTED, YOU SHOULD
PARAPHRASE IT OR SUMMARIZE IT. QUOTATIONS COME FROM SOMEWHERE AND YOUR
READER WILL WANT TO KNOW FROM WHERE. IF YOUR QUOTATION IS LONGER THAN FOUR
LINES DO NOT PLACE IT IN QUOTATION MARKS BUT AS A BLOCK QUOTATION AND THEN
ANALYZE IT.

16. HOW TO QUOTE PROPERLY
THE FOCUS OF YOUR ESSAY SHOULD BE ON YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE TOPIC. IF YOU
INCLUDE TOO MUCH QUOTATION IN YOUR ESSAY, YOU WILL CROWD OUT YOUR OWN
IDEAS. SO, CONSIDER QUOTING A PASSAGE FROM ONE OF YOUR SOURCES IF:
• 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.

18. REVISING AND EDITING
REVISING GIVES YOU THE CHANCE TO PREVIEW YOUR WORK ON BEHALF OF THE EVENTUAL READER.
REVISION IS MUCH MORE THAN PROOFREADING, THOUGH IN THE FINAL EDITING STAGE IT INVOLVES
SOME CHECKING OF DETAILS. GOOD REVISION AND EDITING CAN TRANSFORM A MEDIOCRE FIRST
DRAFT INTO AN EXCELLENT FINAL PAPER. IT’S MORE WORK, BUT LEADS TO REAL SATISFACTION WHEN
YOU FIND YOU’VE SAID WHAT YOU WANTED.
SOME STEPS TO BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT:
 FIRST CHECK WHETHER YOU HAVE FULFILLED THE INTENTION OF THE ASSIGNMENT
 THEN LOOK AT OVERALL ORGANIZATION
 FINALLY POLISH AND EDIT YOUR STYLE BY MOVING TO SMALLER MATTERS SUCH AS WORD CHOICE,
SENTENCE STRUCTURE, GRAMMAR, PUNCTUATION, AND SPELLING.

19. REVISE
Errors
grammar
Punctuati
on
Style
Punctuation
Faultly
parallelism
Passive
voice
When to
use it
When to
avoid it
SPELLING

20. BIBLIOGRAPHY
 UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO. WRITING ADVISE
HTTP://ADVICE.WRITING.UTORONTO.CA/