When I started university, I was mildly horrified that after writing whatever I wanted in English and History A-Level, that I actually had to find the authors of everything I’d used in my essays whilst tackling a certain topic. Well, this is essay writing at university, and here are a few tips that I picked up from writing many essays over the past three years.

Referencing

Reference as you go along

I think it is so much easier to reference as you go along. You don’t forget which author you got your source from and yes it may interrupt your creative flow, but it saves hours of endless work once you’ve written it. This way, when you’re done, you are officially done and don’t have to go back to add in sources.

Check which referencing system your university or department uses

I had this issue a couple of times where I thought my politics department used Chicago style, but they actually used Harvard. Whoops.

If you’re unsure, reference it

You’re not going to get pulled up for referencing a bit too much, so my advice is if you’re unsure of whether you need to, do it anyway, and avoid getting done for plagiarism.

Writing the actual essay

Sitting down with an essay topic and having no idea where to begin is overwhelming. I used to think essays were a creative flow with no structure. But I soon realised that essays definitely do follow a structure, as they read a lot better this way.

I personally found that researching tips online really helped me throughout my degree and I picked up a lot of things along the way. I am by no means a teacher, nor am I an essay expert, but here is how I went about writing an essay at university.

  1. Choose your topic wisely

If you have a choice, pick an essay question that not only interests you but also has a lot of academic sources. I’ve learned this the hard way. I’ve selected titles that sound great, but then oops. There’s basically no academic research on what I’m trying to argue and my deadline is in 3 days. Academic literature refers to scholarly articles (that have been peer-reviewed), such as books, journal articles, official reports, and documents. This does not include online websites, add these in as an addition, but don’t rely on them (don’t use daily mail or any other tabloids)

Once you’ve chosen (or have been given) your essay question, pick a side and argue it. Never sit on the fence.

  1. Research

Now it’s time to research the question and see if you can build on your ideas from academic studies. I used google scholar, JSTOR, google books and there was also a lot of typing my essay question into google to see if I could find any reputable articles on it. Tended to avoid getting books from the library unless it was really necessary. Lazy girl.

Then, I would open a word document and take notes down from the sources. Make SURE you take note of the author and title of what you’re reading because you don’t want to forget what source you’ve used.

  1. Plan

So, I would have one word document open for taking notes from sources. I would then open a second document for my essay plan.

My plan would typically consist of a thesis, introduction, 3-5 key points, counter argument, conclusion.

I would lay this template out and write my essay around it. Here’s a very fancy screenshot of one of my essay plans from last year x

  1. Thesis and Introduction

A thesis should be your response to the question from your own ideas and what you’ve read. Don’t make it too complicated, it only needs to be 2-4 lines.

Then for the introduction. I typically included some background information about the topic and then outline what you will discuss in this essay. This also doesn’t need to be very long, it’s just to set up your essay and give an overview of what you’ll discuss.

  1. Key Points

Now onto the main bulk of your argument. This will be the longest part of your essay. After I have completed my thesis and introduction, I structured each of my paragraphs like so:

  • Key point
  • Explanation
  • Evidence from sources
  • Develop further
  • Relate back to your question.

Do this for each paragraph and it will keep your reader engaged.

  1. Linking words

Try to keep your writing fluid between each paragraph. Make your transition between one key point to the next one seems natural. Use connecting words such as: moreover, furthermore, in addition to this, as we saw in our earlier example, etc. This will make your writing seem more fluid.

  1. Counter argument

I always believe that it’s helpful to add a small counter-argument towards the end. It shows the reader that you’ve considered the opposing view and how you would respond to it.

Imagine it to be like a courtroom, the defense gives their argument, then the prosecutor comes back with a counter-argument. You have to show that you’re able to respond to any counter-argument to back your initial case. So in your counter, I often start with, “one may argue, *give the counter-argument* however…*back up your initial statement”.

Don’t agree with the counter-argument you’re putting forward, just show that you’ve considered how you would respond to it.

  1. Conclusion

Link it to your thesis. Don’t bring in any new points, remember it’s just a summary. If you’ve any quotes, they’re sometimes a nice way to leave things off. This part doesn’t have to be lengthy. The reader just wants a final summary of your work.

  1. Proofread

Too many times I was in such a rush to finish my deadline (are we seeing a recurring theme of my disorganisation here?) that I didn’t take the time to ask someone to proofread it. Even if it’s your friend sitting beside you in the library or that random lad who keeps tapping his foot against his chair in front of you. Ask anyone to read it quickly. Obviously, if you have the time, get someone to thoroughly read it.

Essays can be frustrating at times, but making a rough template and following some of these steps may help you out in your next assignment.

Let me know how you get on or leave a comment if you have any more tips!

Eilís x