ESSAYS: writing at university

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ESSAYS writing at university
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What can you expect to be different?

• essays count!
• choice of title
• longer than you are used to

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What can you expect to be different?

• wide and independent reading
• analysis and and evaluation - a critical approach
• you are developing an argument with supporting
  evidence, not presenting facts or information

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What can you expect to be different?

• You have to acknowledge all the sources you have
  used, even if you have summarised or paraphrased
  the ideas
• You have to give a citation within your essay AND
  in a separate reference list at the end
• Quotations must be shown with and the page
  number

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• The reference has to include all the details of
  author, date, title, place, publisher
• Internet sources must be referenced, giving the
  full URL and the date you accessed it

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To recap

• an essay presents an argument
• independent reading and thinking
• referencing conventions are very important

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Exploring the Essay

• 1. What is the topic, focus and instruction in
  this essay title?
• 2. Look at the introductory paragraphs (A B).
  What is the central argument or main idea of the
  essay?

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• 3. Signpost language guides the reader through a
  text. Underline all the signposting in paragraph
  B.

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The purpose of this essay is to examine the key
reasons for Bushs fall, focussing on foreign
policy. It begins with a thumbnail sketch of
his far-from-humble background and political
credentials. Then it highlights three major
crises, all of which tested his calibre during
the first crucial year as president in China,
Panama, and the former Soviet Union. It then
shows how he squandered his immense popularity
following the 1991 Gulf War. Finally, it
suggests that the much-vaunted concept of a new
world order, which Bush introduced early in his
term, heightened the publics expectations of a
grand strategy that never transpired, implying
that the electorate weighed the man against the
rhetoric, and found him wanting.
Notwithstanding Colin Campbells wry observation
that Ronald Reagan was a tough act for the
amiable Bush to follow, the essays main
argument is that while he possessed vast
experience
B.
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• 4. Take one paragraph and try identify the main
  topic. Is there a topic sentence?
• 5. How does she link her ideas within and between
  the paragraphs?

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• F. From then on, Bush was an easy target. In
  February his visit to a grocers convention in
  Florida made national news when he was apparently
  dazzled by the latest by checkout scanning
  technology. While the story was flawed and hotly
  contested by the administration as slack
  journalism, .the message on the front page of
  The New York Times was that the President only
  months previously the conquering hero was so
  out-of-touch that he had no idea how the modern
  supermarket worked. And, in the midst of
  economic recession, that was what mattered.
  Never the best of communicators by his own
  admission - and lacking Reagans warmth and
  charisma, Bush was unable to convince them
  otherwise. The media war was lost, almost before
  the campaign had begun. Furthermore, the new
  world order had failed to materialise the public
  were led to expect three further speeches
  detailing the new world order, but they never
  came.

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• 6. What sorts of evidence has she used to support
  her argument?

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7. How has the writer has incorporated other
writers material and ideas?

• What referencing system has she used? What do you
  notice in the footnotes about the referencing of
  quotations and websites?
• Note her use of quotation marks (single and
  double)
• There is one example of poor referencing can you
  find it?

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• The next slide shows how part of para E would
  look if the Harvard system of referencing had
  been used instead of footnotes

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• By the 1988 election campaign he had become a
  serious embarrassment, not only for his dubious
  business connections ..but by detailing to
  reporters his covert activities as an agent of
  the US government dating back to 1976, when Bush
  was head of the CIA (Brown 1994 pp 526-533).
  According to political researcher Seyom Brown,
  Bush weathered the storm by taking to the moral
  high ground, denying any early knowledge of the
  dictators drugs dealings, and formulating a
  robust anti-Noriega policy. Earlier sanctions
  .. Bushs reaction, however, was typically
  reserved and the tentatively US-backed Panamanian
  military coup so inept that Secretary of State
  James Baker called it a comic-opera failed
  (Baker 1995 p186).

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• 8. A history essay needs to include lots of
  factual information. Find examples of sentences
  or phrases which show that the writer is actually
  analysing or evaluating the information not just
  describing what happened.

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• However, the contrast with Bush Snrs own
  performance as president from 1988 to 1992 could
  not have been starker
• the key reasons three major crises
• It was a valid enough argument but not easily
  understood in .
• At first glance, Browns scathing dismissal of
  Bushs statesmanship as shallow and plastic may
  appear harsh. However, .

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Some points to remember

• clear intro
• explain your purpose, make your main argument
  explicit and give clear signposting so that the
  reader understands how the essay is structured
• develop your argument
• clear paragraphing one topic per paragraph
• use solid evidence to support your points
• signal the links between ideas clearly
• present your conclusion
• spell out how your essay has answered the
  question, making clear what your key
  idea/argument is and how you have arrived at this

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• analyse and evaluate, dont just describe or
  report develop your own viewpoint
• answer the question with a well-argued response
  dont just write all you know on the topic!
• reference your sources very carefully

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Useful sites on essay writing

• Effective Learning/SLDC website Uni home page gt
  current students gt learning support
• http//www.lancs.ac.uk/depts/celt/sldc/materials.
  htm
• http//www.uefap.co.uk excellent, esp for
  international students on all aspects of academic
  writing

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• http//owl.english.purdue.edu (American English)
• http//www.phrasebank.man.ac.uk (useful phrases
  for academic writing)

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Guidance on referencing

• Always consult your course/module handbook or vle
  because conventions vary from department to
  department
• http//www.uefap.co.uk/writing/
• Follow links for Referencing and also
  Citation
• http//www.brad.ac.uk/acad/management/external/els
  /pdf/refandbib.pdf
• A highly recommended and comprehensive guide.

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Ask ELLVIS
https//luvle.lancs.ac.uk/CELT/ELLVIS.nsf/