Essay writing

An essay should have the structure:

Introduction

• An introduction is a preview of the assignment

• It makes a general statement about the issue, topic or area under discussion

• It sets out the main structure of the assignment

• It sets out your thesis (i.e. point of view)

• Be brief but include all your main ideas

Body

• This is where you assemble the evidence of your research and thinking

• It accounts for most of the marks in any assignment

• You will be assessed on the development and relevance of your information, and any discussion based on that information

• Your research should be carefully acknowledged with in-text referencing

• If the assignment question has more than one part, structure the body into sections that deal with each part of the assignment question

Conclusion

• A conclusion is a review of the assignment

• It sums up the arguments of the whole text

• It makes reference to the key terms of the assignment question

• It reiterates and confirms your thesis

• It may suggest recommendations, or indicate the significance or implications that follow from the conclusion

• There should be no new information in the conclusion

• If you have added something not mentioned in the body, check that it is relevant; if so, include it as a paragraph in the body

Reference list

• Demonstrates that you have researched the area

• Demonstrates that you are enlisting the support of someone’s research to support your own ideas

• Demonstrates what ideas or information you have referred to from someone’s research as distinct from your own

• Demonstrates that you acknowledge and give credit to the work of someone else

• Make sure that you are familiar with the referencing style as prescribed by your faculty

• Only include those references that you have used in your assignment (i.e. those that you have cited in your assignment)

Adapted from the following source:
Morley-Warner, T. 2009, Academic writing is… A guide to writing in a university context, Association for Academic Language and Learning, Sydney.