ESSAY WRITING NOTES
GENERAL COMMENTS
• The following notes are issues that we will discuss in the study skills session on ‘essay writing’. I hope that they will aid you in your essay writing.
• It is often useful to view the Unit in its entirety before you chose to select a topic to write your essay on. Remind yourself of the 10 lectures and how they relate to one another. The Unit topics inter-relate and it is important that you demonstrate your ability to synthesise ideas and topics in your answers.
• Below are some ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ for essay writing success.
DO
• Remember to consult the marking scale in the Handbook. This will give you an indication of what is required at different levels.
• Make sure you read the precise wording of the Q and tailor the response accordingly.
• Do not write the answer with the unit convener in mind. Essay scripts are moderated by two internal (School for Policy Studies) academics and potentially one external academic examiner. Your responses will potentially need to make sense to all three.
• Reference your material using the Harvard system. Check your course handbook for details. Be consistent in your referencing. This is extremely important.
• Your referenced material must be relevant to the course. Find your own sources by all means but stay within the topic area.
• Be careful about using internet sources. If you use them you need to demonstrate their credibility and reference accordingly. See guidelines in course handbook.
• Define and describe terms. Assume the reader knows nothing and take them through the piece. This does not have to be too detailed but just a line or two setting out key terms. E.g. if you introduce New Public Management or Street Level Bureaucrats then define and describe it briefly, preferably making reference to an academic source for credibility.
• You can get good grades from a purely theoretical piece but it is challenging and you must be comfortable with the literature. One way to demonstrate your understanding of how theoretical issues and concepts relate to contemporary society is to discuss real life examples/case studies. Use these to illustrate and bring to life the theoretical issues you might raise. But remember – do not be too descriptive. The marker does not need to know all the details of, for example, the tax system in China. What they will want to see is how YOU interpret these events in light of appropriate theory.
• Make sure you have a clear structure and flow. The elements and concepts you use must hang together coherently.
• Attention to grammar, punctuation and language is essential. Sloppy presentation makes drafts a difficult read and affects grades undoubtedly.
• Decide what key points you are trying to make and ‘nail it’. Ensure that the marker is clear about your focus and direction.
• Make sure you pay attention to ‘CRITICAL ANALYSIS’. Leave yourself the space to be analytical. Ask the What? How? Why? Who? in your answers. Really pull the issues apart and explore them from different angles - this is critical analysis. Do not take theory, policy examples, government statements, evidence-based policy at face value. Pull it apart and explore it in light of your new knowledge of the policy process.
• Show initiative and be inventive in how you respond to the Qs.
• Have an introductory paragraph that sets out how you intend to answer the Q. This essay will explore x. In doing so it will look at x, y, z. Let the reader know what to expect and then deliver it.
DON’T
• Jump from point to point without a logical flow.
• Try to cover too much ground. You do not have to include everything about e.g. ‘governance’. You can focus your response as long as you tell the marker up front how you intend to answer the Q.
• Over-rely on one or two sources. Vary your sources to demonstrate your wider reading and knowledge of the course. You need to use your sources well. Avoid disjointed ‘snippets’ just for the sake of putting in another reference.
• Make sweeping statements without evidence or reference to theory. Your statements should be evidenced to give them credibility.
• Copy the format of the lecture.
• Copy the format of a book/article.
GOOD LUCK 