Essay Writing Guide
Once
you finish reading this article you will experience a new light of
determination, confidence and positive attitude towards expressing your
views on paper or in front of an audience. Some of the most significant
factors or you can say X factors for writing brilliant essays are described in
this article in a more lucid way which includes factors such as propose of
essay, preparing for essay , mistakes to avoid, organizing your essay, writing
style, understating Bibliography and last but not the least understanding
Plagiarism. Please do share your views in the below given comment system.
The purpose of an essay
One
never realizes how confused one is until the moment comes when she/he has to
express her/his views either on paper or in front of an audience. Confronting
this confusion, reading widely in order to throw some light on what initially
seems like terribly complex issues, and then trying to organize one’s thoughts
in the form of a well structured and intelligible text are all essential steps
of any decent educational experience. In fact it constitutes the first
tentative step toward original scholarship. An essay is, by definition, an
original piece of work. It is not an ‘executive summary’ of what others have
written. Nor is it a text which paraphrases other people’s words.
It is a
well-informed, thoroughly researched, statement of the author’s perspective on
some specific topic. Its purpose is twofold: To inform the interested reader on
some literature but also (and this is crucial) to express an original
interpretation of that literature. Writing an essay is (or ought to be) a
transformative experience: On the one hand, the author ‘shapes’ her/his text
and, at once, her/his act of writing the essay ‘shapes’ her/his views. The
essay that is about to be written will not reflect your current thoughts but,
instead, it will reflect the thoughts that you will be developing while writing
the essay. In short, good essay writing involves a dialectical relationship
between author and text. In this sense, all essays are (or ought to be) original
pieces of work; even if they are surveys of how Swiss watchmakers manufacture
particular cogs!
Preparatory reading
When
facing the challenge of composing an original essay, one needs to read as much
of what others have written on that theme (or even beyond that narrow theme).
Of course, every decision to act is founded on a prior decision to stop
thinking about it (or, in this case, to stop reading!). So, allocate a certain
amount of time to reading as widely on the topic as possible, but also know when
to stop in order to take stock and start learning your essay. During this first
phase of researching the essay, make use of all available resources - e.g.
CR-Roms like Econlit, Google, University Library catalogues. Also consult notes
that you may have kept from relevant lectures, seminars etc.
There
are various opinions about the best method of synthesizing your own views with
the knowledge derived from the works of other authors. Some authors find it
useful to keep brief notes while reading the literature which they then consult
while drawing up their essay’s plan. Others believe in writing an early draft,
then reading further books and articles and finally proceeding to complete the
essay. Which method is best depends partly on the topic (and your familiarity
with it) and partly on your personal style and preference. Do experiment with
various methods and select the one that suits you best.
X Factors to be
considered while writing essay.
(A) Relevance
If you
are writing an essay based on a title supplied to you by a lecturer or an
editor, read the essay title repeatedly! Avoid the mistake of seeing only a
small part of the title while losing sight of its totality (or specificity).
Essays should address the question/title wholeheartedly. Equally important they
should be relevant in the way they apply analytical ideas to the specified
question/title. Particularly to be deplored is the tendency of some students to
see a particular phrase in the question (eg. international trade, perfect
competition, Hume’s epistemology etc.) and then to write down everything they
know on the subject. The mark of the intellectual is a capacity to be choosy;
to select only those tools, arguments, quotations which are most useful in
handling a particular issue or question. Be systematic and economic in your use
of arguments and models alike.
(B) Quotations and the influence of others
An
essay should not be constructed around a series of quotations from other
authors, even if the quotations are acknowledged (if they are not this is called
plagiarism - see section on plagiarism below). It is your essay and it should
be based on your assessment of the topic in question.
(C) Second-guessing, high school influences and how to minimize
your readers’ boredom
University
students (at all levels; from undergraduate to PhD level) often try to imagine
what their teachers think and then attempt to write an essay that will conform
to the lecturers’ (or, more generally, readers’) ideas. This is a crucial
mistake for two reasons. First, you are unlikely to guess correctly your
reader’s beliefs. And even if you do, it is only by a fluke that you will
manage to express them in a manner that will not make your readers cringe.
Secondly, it does not matter! One thing your lecturers (and, more generally, your
readers) loathe is to read a second rate version of what they believe. Put
bluntly, your readers are most likely to get mightily bored if you pander to
their prejudices.
What
readers really crave (even if they are not aware of it) is a well-constructed
essay which makes some good points that they would not have made (or thought
about). It is only then that your essay impresses. Another pet hate of
discerning readers is the attempt by many students to serve them a warmed up
essay; an essay that was written in a different context (e.g. at the
undergraduate level), mildly modified for the current purposes. Such essays,
even if perfectly good in the past, will be received with little enthusiasm by
your current readership. So, if you really want to impress try not to bore your
readers by rehashed essays or pathetic attempts to write what you anticipate
others want you to write: Read widely, think carefully and be creative!
(D) Avoid sloganeering - construct arguments with a transparent
logical structure
An essay
can be original, opinionated, fresh and, at the same time, pretty atrocious!
One example that comes to mind is essays in which the author unleashes an
avalanche of opinions without however substantiating them. The reader should be
able to follow your logic easily and trace the foundation of your complete
argument to bedrock of axioms (which of course are beyond discussion). In this
sense, you should try to ensure that your reader cannot fault your logic and
will disagree with you only to the extent that she/he doubts your axioms.
You
should beware of moments when an intelligent reader wonders: “How did she/he
get from argument A to argument B?” If your reader gets to this point, it means
that the logical structure of your essay is not evident and, thus, that your
text is either a bad essay or a piece of unsubstantiated propaganda.
(E) Organization
Clear
and logical organization is a characteristic of every good essay. An
unsystematic presentation suggests that you are not capable of organizing your thoughts
in an orderly fashion. Conversely a well-organized essay (eg. one with a
beginning, a middle and an end; one that offers a response to the
question/title made up of arguments which support one another) is suggestive of
an ability to deal systematically with economic and social issues. Therefore it
is always worthwhile to establish the general framework of the essay before you
begin writing it. This normally means that your argument must be sub divided
into a number of sections. Though the content of the sections is for you to
determine, here is a general suggestion:
Introduction:
Essay
topics are often open to several interpretations/approaches and it is important
to establish your own interpretation/approach at the outset. At the very least,
give your reader a reason to read on and a hint of what might come (as well as
why it might be exciting!).
Development of the mainstream approach to the topic:
Perhaps
you can begin by outlining what the current literature would have to say on the
matter (ie. the mainstream view). This does not mean that you must reproduce it
(in any case there is no room for such reproduction). What you are expected to
do is distil the essence of the argument in the literature in a few well chosen
and structured paragraphs (which must be your own). Of course to be able to
produce this synopsis you must know/understand the literature very well.
Counter-arguments On every topic in the social sciences
there are many different views.
Show
that you are aware of a wide variety of views on your theme and then evaluate
their merits and demerits.
Conclusion:
Finish
off by stating (and substantiating) your view.
(F) Length
Stay
well within the word limit. Remember: Constraints liberate! For if you force
yourself to express complex arguments in fewer words, you are effectively
forcing yourself to get to the essence of the arguments.
(G) Style/prose
It is
important to develop your own prose. However it is equally important to try to
write as clearly as possible. To this effect, pay attention to your grammar, syntax and use of language. No one likes reading ill constructed sentences. No one has ever been impressed by a long series of spelling errors, bad grammar and sloppy prose. If in doubt always write short sentences. And once you finish writing, leave the essay on your shelf for a while and then re-read it trying to see it as a stranger would. Then edit it accordingly. Always re-read your paper in hard copy - not on your computer’s screen: Bad prose hits you more painfully when on paper (at least this has been my experience).
write as clearly as possible. To this effect, pay attention to your grammar, syntax and use of language. No one likes reading ill constructed sentences. No one has ever been impressed by a long series of spelling errors, bad grammar and sloppy prose. If in doubt always write short sentences. And once you finish writing, leave the essay on your shelf for a while and then re-read it trying to see it as a stranger would. Then edit it accordingly. Always re-read your paper in hard copy - not on your computer’s screen: Bad prose hits you more painfully when on paper (at least this has been my experience).
(H) Definitions
If you
are to use diagrams and/or equations, you must define your symbols properly.
Thus beware that you will not be able to reproduce much geometry/algebra
without wasting all your space (i.e. the word limit) on them. For this reason
it is better to lead with the ideas; that is, even though mathematics helps us
understand difficult concepts, in the context of an essay there is no argument
that cannot be expressed effectively in words
(I) Bibliography
Always
use the Harvard system of referencing. Your essays must include a bibliography
of all the references which were used while researching the essay. Include all
your sources. Each entry in your bibliography should be in alphabetical order
by the author’s surname and must include all relevant information. However, we
consider it somewhat dishonest (although many authors do it!) to list in your
bibliography sources that you have not consulted personally.
So, if
you have read in a book published by Arrow in 1964 that Hicks had said such and
such in another book (which you did not consult) in 1933, you should list
Arrow’s book but not Hicks’ in your bibliography. Instead, you should write (in
your essay) something like this: “Hicks (1933) argued such and such - quoted in
Arrow (1964)”, and then add Arrow’s book in your bibliography.
(J) Quotations
You are
expected to use the Harvard system of referencing. All references that you make
to ideas, authors, models etc. in order to support your case should be
acknowledged within the text of your essay. E.g. if you have read something on
p.540 in a book by Sugden published in 1995 which made you think of Schelling’s
1960 book, refer to it in the following form:“In a manner that resembles
Schelling (1960), Sudgen (1995:540) argues,there is a sense in which agents
focus on particular solutions in the presence of multiple candidates…” At the
end of the essay, under ‘Bibliography’ you should then list all the references
in the text like the above in alphabetical order.
(L) Footnotes
There
are two situations where footnotes can be used:
·
When an author’s exact
words are used to make a point. Then you may, if you wish to save space in your
main text, place this quotation in a footnote. Make sure that after the
quotation you acknowledge the source; eg. Sugden (1995) and that you list that reference
in your bibliography at the end.
·
When you want to make a
point that is not part of your main argument -eg. In reference to Keynes work
The General Theory you want to avoid confusion by stressing that you are not
referring to his other work the Treatise on Money.
(M) Plagiarism
Please
read this section carefully as it refers to a matter of great importance. If
you have used ideas, diagrams, expressions etc. from some book or article, you
must refer to them. If you do not you will be left open to the charge of
plagiarism. What is PLAGIARISM? It is the unacknowledged use of other authors’,
including other students’ work. Those who steal others’ ideas and present them
as their own have no place in this Program. If such unacknowledged material is
detected in your essay, your essay will be given a zero immediately and you
will be referred to the Doctoral Studies Committee for further action.
Furthermore
two essays containing identical or highly similar components (and thus
indicating that one student copied from another) will both be given a mark of
zero and both students will face disciplinary procedures. No defense will be
accepted on the basis that someone else copied from you (rather than vice
versa) - even if you claim that you were not aware of the fact that your essay
was copied by someone else. Thus if you are thinking about letting someone copy
your essay, know that we will treat you both as plagiarists. And if you are
contemplating copying someone else’s essay, know that not only are you putting yourself
at risk but also you are placing the other person in a similar position.
