GUIDELINES FOR ACADEMIC ESSAYS - Langara College.
An academic essay is a piece of writing in a formal style which answers the question or statement posed in the essay title. The essay will be based on your research and, possibly, your own experience. You’ll need to reflect on your findings and present your ideas in an analytical or critical style.
Writing an academic essay means fashioning a coherent set of ideas into an argument. Because essays are essentially linear—they offer one idea at a time—they must present their ideas in the order that makes most sense to a reader. Successfully structuring an essay means attending to a reader's logic.
Essay writing is an important skill for tertiary students. Academic essays can attract a considerable proportion of assessment marks in most degree programs. Therefore, students may require a firm grounding in academic essay writing skills at the start of their first year to assist them to succeed in their university studies.
Good essays come in many forms, and a good essay writer will sometimes ignore some of these guidelines. But to become a good essay writer you would probably do well to start by following them. Please remember that writing an essay involves skills of discussion and argument which differ from those that might be used in the informal setting of a seminar.
Writing a first draft. Reviewing in light of feedback or reflection. Producing a final draft. Take a look at our handy quick guide to essay writing (PDF) for useful tips and techniques for you to apply. You will find a number of great books on essay writing in the Laidlaw Library, Level 1, under Skills E-5.
These guidelines provide help with essay writing. Students might also find it helpful to consult the following (available in the University Library): Nigel Fabb and Alan Durant. How to write Essays, Dissertations and Theses in Literary Studies. London: Longman, 1993. INTRODUCTION While most of you have already had experience of essay writing.
It is helpful to state whether you are writing for a technical or general reader - or any other particular group. This will help your potential readers to decide whether it is worthwhile reading the report. It will also help you to judge the style, language and degree of difficulty to use in writing the report. 2.1.5 The main body of the report.