Essay Guideline

Writing assignments are not the exclusive domain of English classes. Most subjects these days require a certain amount of writing in project work and examinations. Yet, if English is not one of your best subjects and you daydreamed your way through lectures on “how to write”, and writing basics such as punctuation and grammar; what are you to do? Say a prayer and hope for the best? Wing your way through poorly written essay after poorly written essay? Or better yet, sigh and wish the whole writing thing would just go away?

Not only are these options unnecessary, all three will drag your marks down and make learning your subject that much harder. Writing can be relatively easy if you remember three easy points.

1. Planning
2. Structure: beginnings, middles and ends
3. Edit, edit, edit

Planning

Start with reading the question. Sounds silly, doesn’t it? But if you don’t get this part right you may as well throw salt over your shoulder for good luck. The way the question is written is important. It tells you

a) what you need to be doing - discussing, arguing,

b) how you need to do it - provide examples, source other writers, and

3) what you need to be writing about. Make sure you understand what is required of you before you start.

With the question out of the way, plan how you’re going to answer it. This includes research and knowing your subject. The better you know what you’re writing about the more convincing you will be. If you need a bibliography, this is the time to start one. If you’ll need to do more than surf the web for information, plan in a visit to the local library or museum. Figure out how long the assignment is likely to take and give yourself plenty of time to complete it. Make notes on the subject and develop your argument according to the question requirements and general essay structure. All that’s left after that is to write your essay, article, or report.

Structure

The beginning is your introduction. It should be strong, answer the set question and introduce your “arguments”. The first sentence should have impact - this is what I’m going to say and this is how I’m going to say it. Be decisive and to the point. To get rid of any words that slow it down, read it out loud [or at least mouth the words] and you’ll quickly notice the ones that don’t sound right. Any that trip the tongue need to be edited out or written in another way. Any word that is repeated also needs to be looked at. Wordiness and repetition will bog your work down and make it harder to understand. Remember, good strong sentences that don’t trip the tongue or get lost in a mish-mash of words.

Your arguments are the middle, or the meat, of your essay. Each requires its own paragraph [at the least] with its own beginning, middle and end [introduce your case, state your case, end your case. Essay structure in miniature form]. Be clear and concise. That is, make sure what you are writing is answering the question. Check each paragraph against your introduction and the question to ensure you are staying on track. Keep your arguments separate, new argument equals a new paragraph. To keep the essay tight and clear, read it out loud. If you find that the end of the paragraph is discussing something entirely different from the beginning then you are mixing your subjects. Keeping it all neat, tidy and boxed makes it easier to read and understand, and shows that you understand your topic. Note that this is not the time or place to think “outside the box” and introduce radical chains of thought. Write only to answer the question and do not waffle. Tell the teacher or lecturer what it is they want to hear.

Conclusions sum up the introduction so keep a copy of what you’ve already said next to you and refer to it constantly. Your end needs to be as strong as your beginning. State what the argument was, how you met those arguments and finish with how that proves your argument. Avoid terms such as, “In conclusion,” and “Therefore” if you can as these have now reached the stage of clich

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Often students are asked to review their peers essays and term papers. Why? This is a learning process for both the writer and readers in many ways. First, it gives the writer a real audience and a chance to hear what others think about their essay. Readers can say what they like and dislike about the essay. It gives the student a chance to make corrections before the instructor sees the essay. The reader can point out different mistakes and make suggestions about the essay or research paper. It is important for the student to remember that not all suggestions have to be accepted. Good peer review takes time and effort. It is important to begin the essay early so the reviewer has time to review it properly. The purpose of peer reviews is to improve editing skills and have someone point out the strengths and weaknesses of an essay.

Students who review the works of others are benefited by learning how to read essays with a critical mind. Students who critique others learn to critique their own work. This is beneficial as they learn to read and search for mistakes they see in essays by other students.

Often instructors distribute suggestions and questions to search for while reviewing essays of students. Here are some suggested questions for peer reviewing:

- What is the main idea?

- What is the thesis? Is the thesis in the first paragraph? Is the thesis clear?

- Is a hook used in the first paragraph? What type of hook?

- Does the essay support the thesis? What types of evidence is used? Does the evidence have relevance? Does the evidence have credibility?

- Is the essay organized? Why? Why not?

- Look at each paragraph and see if the main idea supports the thesis.

- Is the essay too wordy?

- Is there supporting evidence for each of the main topic sentences?

- Are transitions used between paragraphs?

- What are the main strengths of the essay?

- What are the weaknesses?

- Are any of the words spelled incorrectly?

- Check the grammar and punctuation.

Use specific words to describe the problems in the essay. What needs to be changed? What can be added to make a better essay? When you finish reading the essay do you have questions? Write these down. If you had problems understanding a point jot this down in the margin of the essay. Let the writer know what you like about the essay.

While it is important to note changes that need to be made on the essay, it is also important to be positive. What did you like about the essay? What were the strengths of the essay? Did you like the hook? Think about positive comments to make about the essay even if you think it is the worse essay that you have ever read. It is also important to use negative comments even if it is your best friend who wrote the essay. Remember any comments you make may make a difference in the final essay and the grade the student makes on the essay. Failing to be honest about the essay can hurt the writer. In fact, professional writers usually have a critique group review their articles and they want the truth because editors often “reject” an article for mistakes. While teachers may not reject the article, they may give the student a bad grade. Think of honest comments and be objective.

Peer reviews are important because students doing the peer reviews learn how to be more objective about their essays. Peer reviews help students to get a better grade because they can rewrite their custom essays and term papers. Remember to be honest, objective, and kind.

Tamara Olsa is a professional academic writer and editor at CustomPapers.com.

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Many of you are thanking the “test gods” because you just found out that your final exam is a multiple choice with some true and false, but others are down in the dumps because they are having an essay exam. Don’t fret — Professor Cram is here to help you out.

Most people fear the essay exam because they are required to write about things they may not know, but actually the opposite is true. Essays are an opportunity to speak about what you do know. Most essay exams will have several questions to choose from and if you have been attending and participating in class then there ought to be something in the exam questions that you know a little about. Before we start on writing the essay, though, let’s back up a bit and look at how best to prepare for an essay exam.

To properly prepare for a killer essay exam, first review your materials (class notes, textbook, assigned reading) and pick out key ideas, such as areas to compare and contrast or significant events. Take these key ideas and develop outlines for each one, consisting of a thesis statement and at least three to four logical statements that support your thesis statement. Back up each of these statements with supporting evidence. (This may sound like a lot of work but, after all, proper studying is work.) Print these out and use them as a study sheet to review before your test.

Remember, the goal of an essay exam is to find out how well you can communicate your understanding of a particular subject. Many exams are “compare and contrast” varieties, or demand descriptions of certain significant events, but they all want you to take a position and defend it. Success or failure on the test, in turn, depends on how well you defend your statements with supporting evidence.

When the essay questions are passed out during exam time, take time to read through each question and mark the ones you are interested in answering. For each one, write out a quick outline including a thesis statement.

Your whole essay depends on your thesis statement and it should come directly from the question your instructor presented. The opening paragraph should include your thesis, your position, and how you are going to defend your position. It should be a concise version of your outline. Once you have written the first paragraph it is time for the rest to follow.

Take a deep breath and then begin to write your essay according to your outline. It is important to stay focused on defending your thesis statement. Instructors can see right through rambling gibberish. Most instructors already have certain points they will be looking for in your essay, but don’t worry — stick with what you know and can defend.

After you have completed the first draft of your essay, stop and re-read it. Look for fragmented sentences and misspellings, and make your corrections. Add in a few words or statements if you think of more, but remember that a concise well written essay is always better than a lot of ramblings and no support.

The key to writing essay for exams is preparation and a calm attitude. Instructors are not necessarily looking for you to be an expert on the issue but they do want you to present a precise logical answer.

Proof is in the Pudding, Express yourself!

Brian Shannon - CEO/President of The Smartacus Corporation and College-Cram.com

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