Essays - how do you write them?

watna

Hi, I think this forum is probably the best place for this. I would class myself as a "non-traditional student" at the moment! If it is not the right place, I apologise.

I'm currently studying extramurally through a University in New Zealand - a bit like the open university. There are no classes or contact hours, it's all done yourself with course work and reading of the set text.

I have a degree in chemistry and after a few years off I'm doing a post-grad course in Business Administration. My first paper is fundamentals of law and I'm finding it quite tough.

My problem is, I have never written an essay at tertiary level before. Although I have a degree I only ever wrote lab reports at university so have no experience of referencing/essay structure etc. I'm struggling a bit with my current assignment as I'm expected to already know how to write at graduate level and I don't!

I have an extramural liaison person who I am going to contact to see if they have a seminar I can attend on essay writing but until then I need to get t
his assigment finished!

Does anyone have any experience of having to pick this up? Any tips or good links? I'm currently doing an essay plan and it's getting on top of me a bit.

Thanks

Tom Dunne

First question - what type of essay? i.e. is it you summarising a topic, or you comparing A vs. B vs. C and giving an opinion as to which is better, or is it something else? In other words, is it a report or an essay?

Flow is important in any such writing. You need to have an introductory piece, the main body and then a summary/conclusion, with one section leading to the other.

The actual format may vary, depending on the institution, so make sure and ask for sample papers from previous students, or at the very least, a template. Typically, you would have headers for each section, with sub-headers where appropriate.

Referencing is critical in any academic paper. A lot of colleges use the Harvard referencing system. Here's a good introduction to it. It is very important to back up any statements you make with a reference to some kind of source. Check with your college what method of referencing they expect you to use.

bindi

There is a few sites on the net worth a look for essay writing. Just do a search for essay writing. I am new to the essay thing but so far my grades have really impressed me. I took a look around on net. Asked the lecturer how he marks it - generally creativity depth of research etc. It all depends on the question but one thing thats worked for me is the following basic thing for each section ie;

a) the intro = Tell them what you are going to say
b) the main body = say it
c) the conclusion = tell them what you've already said.

It sounds stupidly basic but it helps when you keep it to the point.

Bindi

watna wrote: »

Hi, I think this forum is probably the best place for this. I would class myself as a "non-traditional student" at the moment! If it is not the right place, I apologise.

I'm currently studying extramurally through a University in New Zealand - a bit like the open university. There are no classes or contact hours, it's all done yourself with course work and reading of the set text.

I have a degree in chemistry and after a few years off I'm doing a post-grad course in Business Administration. My first paper is fundamentals of law and I'm finding it quite tough.

My problem is, I have never written an essay at tertiary level before. Although I have a degree I only ever wrote lab reports at university so have no experience of referencing/essay structure etc. I'm struggling a bit with my current assignment as I'm expected to already know how to write at graduate level and I don't!

I have an extramural liaison person who I am going to contact to see if they have a seminar I can attend on essay writing but until then I need to get t
his assigment finished!

Does anyone have any experience of having to pick this up? Any tips or good links? I'm currently doing an essay plan and it's getting on top of me a bit.

Thanks

watna

Thanks for the help guys. My writing skills are ok so hopefully it will be fine. It was the referencing that I found really hard. Anyway, I handed it in last week so we'll see how it goes.

I did quite well in my first assignment and I thought it was awful when I handed it in. It's hard not being in lectures with others or having contact with your lecturers. There's an online forum and things that I should start using.