Essay writing

• Literacy
• Further Education (Key Stage 5)

Essay writing

Learning objectives:

• Explore what an essay is
• Use a 10-step process to research, plan and write an essay
• Evaluate work using an essay writing checklist

What is an essay?

• 500 - 5000 words long
• 'essai' (Middle French) - a trial or an attempt. 
• Essays are an intellectual exploration of a topic, involving looking at different arguments and evidence and developing the writer’s perspective.
• Always consult course handbook/teacher for expectations on content and structure of essays. 

Why write an essay?

• 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
• Reach conclusions which follow from the evidence and the arguments you put forward

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 key topics

Step 2: Organise your time

You need to plan your time carefully, find out when the essay is due and work backwards, allowing sufficient time for proofreading and re-drafting. You will need to spend at least half your time on research and gathering information, and the other half on writing.

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Step 3: Read and make notes

Using active reading strategies

Step 4: Think (and establish your position)

• Think about what conclusions your reading has led you to draw. Then write a brief outline of what you would like the essay to say. 
• Keep this outline to hand and refer to it on a regular basis. 
• This will help keep you on the right track and prevent you from over- or under-writing key sections.

Step 5: Plan (to give your writing structure)

Step 6: Writing the essay

Which statements are true and which are false?

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Step 7: Referencing

• It is important to identify the sources of material you use, whether quoting from (i.e. using their exact words) or paraphrasing (changing the wording of) the work of others. 
• What is plagiarism?

Steps 8 and 9: Draft (redraft) and refine (edit and proofread)

Complete the 2 gap-filling exercises to review why these steps are important. 

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Step 10: Review marker's feedback

Why is this important?

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Common errors in structure and argument

Card matching activity: Match the 5 most common errors to short explanations of what you can do to avoid them. 

Evaluate work using an essay writing checklist

Create your own 5, 10 or 15 point checklist to help you ensure you have written a quality essay.