An essay (one of the most common types of assignment at
university) is a piece of academic writing generally between 500
and 5000 words long. The word ‘essay’ originally meant a first
attempt or practice, which perhaps suggests some kind of
provisional exploration. Essays are an intellectual exploration of a
topic, involving looking at different arguments and evidence and
developing the writer’s perspective.
An essay is more ‘discursive’ than, say, a report – i.e. the points
are developed in more depth and the language may be a little less
concise. Typically, it will consist of a number of paragraphs that
are not separated by subheadings or broken up by bullet points
(unlike in a report). However, some lecturers may allow or
encourage subdivisions and headings, as this can help both the
writer and the reader with the structure of the content. In that
case, an essay may begin to look more like the preferred format of
some journal articles.
Please note that different courses and programmes at the
Plymouth University have different expectations and assessment
criteria regarding the content and structure of essays. Always
consult your course handbook and/or the module leader if you are
unsure about any points of style or presentation of your essay.
Writing essays
‘Writing Essays’, Learning Development, Plymouth University (2011)
Why write an essay?
The purpose of writing an academic essay is to provide written
evidence of your ability to research a topic, weigh arguments,
organise your thoughts, express these thoughts in a logical,
coherent and critical manner, and reach conclusions which follow
from the evidence and the arguments you put forward. There will
be a constraint on the number of words you can use so, inevitably,
you need to be selective about content.
How to research, plan and write an essay - a 10 step process
Writing an essay, no matter what the topic, is a complex process;
it requires a lot of practice, and unfortunately no formula can
guarantee good written work. There is no right or wrong way of
approaching an essay; however there are certain tasks that
should help you produce a good piece of work.
Step 1: Interpret the question and identify the key topics
The first crucial step is to interpret the question; essays questions
use specific terms and which reveal how the question might be
answered. Question analysis is a crucial part of the essay writing
process; the most common reason why students fail assignments
is because they do not read or analyse the question correctly.
One method of question analysis is the ‘T.A.P. model’. First
identify the Topic -
