How To Write An Academic Essay

How To Write An Academic Essay Read the abstract and ask yourself if the content of the article is likely to be relevant to your essay. Another option is to use an internet academic search engine such as Google Scholar. N.B. Make sure you are logged in to the library at your educational institution, so that you can use the full database capacities linked to Google Scholar. Once you are happy with your brainstorm you can use it to plan your essay. Always save each draft as a separate file; then you can see how your essay develops and improves. Sometimes an essay will begin with a direct quote to draw readers into the essay. Scope â€" where you outline what exactly is going to be covered in relation to your argument. View the text description of the above body paragraph example. Before you begin your essay, have a look at the Massey University assignment planning calculator. View a text version of the above proofreading and editing your essay considerations. Proofreading has a micro-focus on the details of your essay, such as formatting, grammar and punctuation. Your lecturers will want to hear your ‘voice’ as they read your essay. View a text version of the redrafting your essay diagram above. Lambert exemplified that chocolate consumption alone unlikely to precipitate obesity. Note the narrow focus of medical benefits (i.e. only considering magnesium) due to the short length of the essay. Issue â€" whether chocolate is a healthy food is questionable. The first sentence links the conclusion to the discussion in the previous paragraph. No specific correlation found in literature (Beckett, 2008; Lambert, 2009). Note the findings show that there is no clear relationship between chocolate and obesity â€" an issue flagged in the introduction. Typified by Mellor’s findings â€" adults showed no weight increase after chocolate controlled diet. Plans can be structured/restructured at any time during the planning process. A plan is a physical outline of the way you intend to conceptualise, structure and present your ideas. Planning is an ongoing process, from when you receive the essay title to when you submit your final draft. Do the same thing for all the points that need academic references to support them. You can then add examples and references to make your paragraph stronger. Concluding sentenceThe Concluding Sentence should echo the main point of the paragraph and function as a bridge to the next paragraph.N.B. Paragraphs should be balanced â€" keep to the ‘no less than 3 sentences per paragraph’ rule. Elaboration and examplesElaboration of the main point should add more detailed information in relation to the topic sentence. The last sentence is a broad statement relating to the significance of the argument. Directive or Instructional words tell you how to approach the essay. End with a broad statement relating to the significance of your argument. Your paragraphs should link together â€" use connective words, both within and between paragraphs, to keep a sense of cohesion and linkage. Your paragraphs should be balanced â€" keep to the rule of no less than 3 sentences per paragraph. However, if you are doing a group work assignment and your lecturer has asked you to work together and submit the assignment jointly, that is not collusion. Collusion, like plagiarism, has an element of dishonesty in it. People who collude do so secretly, as they know that the lecturer would not be happy. Plagiarism means using someone else’s words, ideas or diagrams without acknowledgement. Here is the final version of the chocolate essay. You can also download a PDF version of the chocolate essay. As you can see from the assignment planning calculator, if you only start your essay a few days before the due date, you will have to do things too quickly. You also need to consider the length of your essay. In a 2000 word essay you can cover more points than in a 1000 word one! In example B, answering the question fully involves looking closely at the directive word Discuss and analysing its exact meaning.