1. Introduction:
Every module you take at MIST and especially in University will have a set of specifically designed objectives or learning outcomes. Academic essays are one of the most commonly used means by which we assess whether objectives have been met. The aim of this guide is to help you write and prepare such pieces of work.
As a student going to higher education you may be unsure what is expected of an academic essay. This guide contains information and advice about planning, writing and presenting essays, and should enable you to use and develop your skills, and focus your energy more effectively. Other guides concerning report writing, oral presentations and practical work are also available, and we trust the combination of these guides will enable you to approach your work with confidence.
2. What is an academic essay?
The academic essay is a form of writing that contributes to the process of student learning. Academic essays are used to enable students to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of a topic in a field of study or discipline in language that is clear, unambiguous, neutral in tone, and that does not resort unduly to emotional expression or sentiment. In these latter points at least, the academic essay should be distinguished from creative forms of composition as well as from journalism. An academic essay is also expected to make use of the knowledge gathered by previous academics and writers, and to follow a clear set of conventions in acknowledging the original source of this knowledge. Typically an academic essay is a form of communication with which you will demonstrate the required competencies to your tutor. More specifically it:
- involves the presentation of a structured argument, written in clear English with due regard to scholarly conventions;
- is the product of considered thought and research which is both critical and objective. In this context critical means being prepared to go back to first principles and to examine the assumptions behind, and built into, arguments. Criticism is both an attitude and a practice;
- is a particular form of writing that focuses on a particular issue or topic your tutor considers of significance;
3. Essays and assessment criteria:
At MIST as well as at universities in the UK, we use the term assessment criteria when listing the qualities we are looking for in student academic work. The assessment criteria are published by your subject teachers. Establishing the criteria required should be your first task in planning and writing an essay. Teachers will expect you to use your essays to demonstrate or present the following:
(i) knowledge and understanding (e.g. accuracy; breadth; ability to make things ‘relevant’ for the argument at hand; ability to put things into appropriate contexts);
(ii) use of sources and evidence (e.g. the ability to incorporate evidence that supports your argument; elegant and critical handling of secondary sources and their discussion; critical detachment from your sources ‑ making sources ‘work’ for the particular context for which you are using them);
(iii) analysis (e.g. the ability to explore a given argument in depth; ability to identify and discuss the presuppositions and implications of a problem; logical reasoning, step‑by‑step build‑up of your argument guided by logical necessity; coherence; cogency; ‘originality’ and ‘cleverness’);
(iv) structure of argument (e.g. the ability to organise your thoughts in a conclusive way; a sense of progression from introduction to conclusion; coherent presentation from the definition of the problem to its analysis and to your conclusions; ability to ‘captivate’ your reader by keeping his/her interest);
(v) style (e.g. linguistic range and precision; elegance and appropriateness of style ‑ register; appropriate use of technical terms; clear syntax; efficient use of rhetoric);
(vi) scholarship (e.g. evidence of further reading; use of a range of secondary sources; adequacy and consistency of referencing and use of footnotes; appropriate use of quotations where necessary and effective, or paraphrasing with referencing; accuracy and consistency of bibliography and bibliographical details).
The assessment criteria translate into award and graduation classifications, with appropriate descriptions of different standards of performance. Thus, these general qualities can offer a checklist of do’s (and by implication, don’ts). You will find that you should:
(i) display sophistication and originality;
(ii) be ‘knowledgeable’ and comprehensive, whilst remaining in control of complex arguments;
(iii) do your own research and integrate it critically into the argument; use your sources effectively while safeguarding your own independence and critical detachment;
(iv) be analytical, subtle and self‑aware, by looking into the assumptions that lie behind matters (including the task you are given);
(v) look (self‑)critically at the effectiveness and structure of your own argument, thereby working to anticipate the reader’s interests and problems/objections;
(vi) write in a way that would be understood by a less-informed reader, be economical with your words, always re‑read and improve upon your writing. Use a dictionary, a thesaurus and a grammar/stylistics handbook, and trying reading aloud to check consistency of style;
(vii) be scrupulously accurate about your sources, including examples of paraphrasing and the lifting of general ideas as definitions. Note down all bibliographic details at the time, and always double-check your quotations.
4. Some practical advice about writing essays: a step-by-step guide
Writing an essay, rather like most forms of writing, does not begin when you lay your finger on the computer keyboard to key in your final draft of the essay. Writing begins, conservatively, at the moment you start to think about what you are going to write about. However, it is useful to think of the writing process as comprising several phases. Here is some advice on what these phases are, and how you might work through them:
(i) always allow enough time for planning and rereading your essay. In the writing of essays to deadline, time management is one of the most important skills;
(ii) read the questions very carefully and try to understand their implications and what they actually ask you to ‘do’ (e.g. “Is Billy Elliot a political film?”: is asking you to evaluate the various possibilities suggested and to demonstrate their problematical nature, i.e. Billy Elliot is a political film, yes, but... ‑ what does ‘political’ mean in this context, according to the film?
(iii) address the question. Start by defining what you understand the question to mean and how you propose to answer it. Typically you might begin by dismantling the essay question and then put its conceptual components together again in a different form.
How, for example would you tackle the following? “How does the film Billy Elliot address the relationship between ‘art’ and ‘popular culture’?” Remember, we are not yet at the writing stage but the thinking stage of your work. You might:
- begin by investigating the contemporary understanding and practices associated with both ‘art’ and ‘the popular’;
- proceed by putting these two conceptual components together by asking ‘what is the relation between art and popular culture in general?’;
- refer these components back to the concrete example of Billy Elliot;
- (in an advanced essay) consider how the film connects with the conceptual/theoretical debate around art and popular culture.
(iv) what next? Thinking about your essay, planning your essay, note-taking etc do not take place as discrete activities. Essay writing is a constant process of interaction and development. The order of what follows is not, therefore, fixed;
(v) try brainstorming everything you know about the subject. Many regard this as an essential preliminary activity. Some scholars record their thoughts in the form of a list, usefully done on a PC or index cards or post-its so they can be re-ordered as required. Other scholars record their thoughts as a mind map.
It is possible to do a mind map with very little knowledge or research of the subject, but simply by breaking down the question further. The mind map can be developed as you begin to carry out research. Mind maps may be useful because they may help you break down the task of essay writing into manageable pieces of information that are less daunting. They may also begin to direct the research you undertake so that you can develop a more focussed idea of the sorts of information you are looking for. This brings the added advantage that you will already have begun to structure your essay. Some people like to prepare a very wide divergent list or mind map initially by including everything they know on a topic. This may be followed by a more focused convergent map based on knowledge gained from preliminary research that is relevant to the question.
(vi) Proceed to the stage of planning your writing. Again, you might want to visualize the plan, emphasising its dynamic components and stressing the inter‑relatedness of points;
(vii) think about finding research material that matches. Think about places where you might find relevant material and organize your research accordingly. (See section on resources which follows). Try to be precise in your choice of key words, but do think laterally and be prepared to try alternative words too;
(viii) adjust your plan according to your findings and spell out an argument in a few sentences, where one progresses from the other (e.g. Billy Elliot plays a role in the formation of (social, sexual, etc.) identity as a symbolic construction Þ this can be demonstrated through a reading of some film scenes Þ the symbolic constructions of masculinity and class are ambiguous and are part of a contemporary cultural politics, etc.);
(ix) keep thinking! Ask yourself: 'where can I find relevant material for this question or the implied issues of this question?' Collect reading or other research material, start reading/evaluating and make notes. Constantly assess and channel information into possible lines of argument until you find you’ve got enough material;
(x) do take notes, but consider the relevance of notes as you jot them down.
All note taking involves reading, but not all reading is the same sort of activity. Think very carefully about what your goals are before you begin to read. At the very least, you should undertake a preliminary review of what it is you are about to start to read; an important skill often called scanning. A good place to start scanning a book is its contents page – which should help guide you to the most relevant chapters. If you are unsure if the book is going to be pertinent, and you can’t tell from chapter headings, read the introduction which will tell you what the book is about and who it is aimed at. Other useful places to look are the first and last chapters, and the ends of chapters often have summaries. If the book has an index, you should make use of this too. Check the index both for subjects and for the names of other relevant authors and academics. Again, keep make notes of any relevant information you find.
In addition to making notes of the content of the book etc, paying particular attention to pages, paragraphs, quotes and so on, you should also note publishing details including the name of the author(s), publisher and date and place of publication, all of which are needed for the reference section of, or footnotes to, your essay. This will help you when start to write your essay, as well as help when you have to list your sources. In making notes you might use index cards or open files on your computer. You can record and file your notes under sub-heads: for instance, in an essay about public service broadcasting, you might have sub-heads ‘Arguments in favour of PSB’ and ‘Arguments against PSB’. You can list all the references to evidence or individuals’ views under each sub-head so that when you come to write the essay, you can clearly see where to find supporting research for whatever argument or case you are proposing.
Please note that if you suffer from some form of dyslexia this may affect your note-taking ability. Please see the Disability Officer for assistance;
(xi) Write up the parts of your argument. Typically you might:
- Begin by defining what you understand the question to mean & how you propose to answer it;
- State clearly what your main proposition is;
- Define your terms and parameters, ie, contextualise your proposition;
- Outline your arguments/points/theories in favour of your proposition (with supporting evidence)
- Outline your arguments/points/theories against your proposition;
- Summarise your argument and develop your conclusion. You do not have to decide in favour of one side of the argument. The answer may lie between two viewpoints, indeed there may be more than two viewpoints, indeed there might be more than one viewpoint or no 'viewpoint' at all.
However, you need not write the essay in the order in which it finally appears. You might write the main body of your essay, then think about conclusions might be drawn from its findings. It is common practice to write or rewrite your introduction afterwards.
(xii) develop the habits of academic style. Avoid the use of first person ('I', 'we') by using impersonal and ‘factual’ phrases instead. Always check the completeness and logic of your sentences and punctuation. Check grammar and spelling. Avoid frequent mistakes like its/it’s; ‘ei’ or ‘ie’ e.g. perceive, retrieve; affect/effect; practice/practise; they’re/their. Remember, however, that the Word spellcheck function's default position is 'American English'. You might keep a list near your PC of your common errors, with a list of corrections. In general, beware of homonyms ‑ same sounding words, e.g. complement/compliment). Enjoy the pleasures to be found in using good dictionaries.
(xiii) use paragraphs for every step of your argument; make sure, however, that the paragraphs are adequately linked, which may be done by using connective sentences, signalling to the reader what is going to follow. This enables the reader to follow your train of thought. Let’s imagine you have been putting forward points in favour of public service broadcasting.
You might use phrases at the beginning of paragraphs such as:
- ‘One of the main arguments in favour of PSB is...’
- ‘According to Thompson (2002) another powerful reason to support PSB is...’
- ‘Furthermore, Scannell (1991: 317) suggested that.’
- ‘In addition, Paterson (2002) has argued...’
Now you might wish to put forward some points against the idea of PSB surviving in the future. It isn’t helpful if you launch into these without signalling that you are going to do so. Therefore, give your tutor a sign you are going to change tack. For example:
- ‘While there is a weighty body of opinion in favour of PSB, there are a number of reasons why it may not be appropriate in the future. These may be less to do with its desirability or otherwise and more to do with technological changes. Naylor et al (2000: 138) list the first of these as...’
- ‘As well as the above changes, Pilger (1994) has argued...’
- ‘It is also important to point out that..’
- ‘Finally,...’
(xiv) Never submit the first draft of your essay for assessment. Check referencing, quotations and write your bibliography. Perform spell and grammar checks. Return to the essay after some time and re‑read it ‘as if it wasn’t your own’, make necessary amendments and read again. Print the essay double spaced with page numbers, name and student number at the top of first page and in the header section of each subsequent page. Keep a disk copy and hand in at least one copy with an appropriate cover sheet and include the name of your group teacher;
(xv) for the final version increase the reader‑friendliness of your work by using 12 point type with an approved font; Times New Roman is invariably acceptable. Leave sufficient space for annotations in the margins. Perform and publish a word count.
5. Resources for essays:
Higher education ‑ apart from the acquisition of specialised skills and forms of knowledge ‑ is about integrating theory and practice and developing techniques of research and analytical evaluation. Lectures, seminars and tutorials will usually provide you with a list of ‘further reading’ for you to explore. So, your own initiative in finding out more and exploring matters at greater depth will become more and more important throughout the your scheme or programme.
Apart from developing the academic ‘habits’ to which we have already introduced you, you should increase the general range of sources you use for your research. Here follows a list of important sources.
- lectures - lectures provide an introduction to a topic. At degree level, lectures are viewed as a starting point from which students go on to further study the subject. Lectures are not the end point!
- reading lists - module tutors provide these, but always look for more e.g. at the end of books and journal articles;
- newspapers - in particular (I am using the British Newspapers and resources), The Guardian’s Media section on a Monday can be very relevant. Also, most broadsheet newspapers are now available on-line (see below) so that you can do a search of relevant articles. The library has newspapers on counter-reference for 2 weeks and keeps them for approximately 2 months;
- library search - search the library for additional books and journals and make use of the excellent support our librarians can give you. Remember, as a MIST student, you have borrowing rights not only at MIST but at the Epoka University too. And do not forget that Tirana City has an important library collection as well as the University of Tirana and the British Council.
- magazines - although magazines do not normally constitute 'academic' sources some magazines, such as Sight and Sound and New Statesmen do contain authoritative articles. Remember, too if you are writing, say an essay on advertising, there are a number of magazines covering this field such as Campaign in the British Council library;
- journals - the libraries have a good supply of academic journals. It is a good habit to peruse the recent acquisitions on a weekly basis. Students do not tend to make good use of journals. However, they constitute an enormously valuable source of contemporary material;
- World Wide Web/The Internet - has the capacity to provide a useful resource, although it is your own responsibility to ensure that the information you draw from the Web is reliable (much of it isn’t). You are normally better to stick to the Websites of universities and relevant organisations. The BBC and many national newspapers also have good web-sites. The Faculty of Media web page will direct you to some important sites and note too that some academic papers can be found in on-line journals.
Any questions? Ask your English or ICT teachers for help!
