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A Brief Guide to the Elements of the Academic Essay

should govern the whole essay (not disappear in places) 2 Motive: the reason which you give at the start of your essay why someone might want or need to read an essay on this topic and to hear your particular thesis argued— why that thesis isn’t just obvious to all why other people might hold other theses on your

PDF	ACADEMIC WRITING Jeffrey R Wilson’s Academic Writing is a no-nonsense guide to the long and complex writing process Packed with concrete examples helpful visuals and practical tips the book is an essential guide for academic writing at the highest level Empowering writers to be creators—not just

What do you need to know about academic writing?
You don’t need to say, for example, that someone gathers a great deal of fascinating evidence and analyzes it in compelling ways that really support his or her thesis. In theory, that’s what all academic writing does. But you would want to note if, say, an author used Wittgenstein’s philosophy to unpack Milton’s poetry.
What is academic essay writing for postgraduates?
Academic Essay Writing for Postgraduates is designed to help you plan, draft and revise the assignments you will be doing for your Master’s degree at Edinburgh. the English grammar and vocabulary used to signal these key elements There are seven Units, each dealing with an important element of academic assignment work at postgraduate level.
How do you write an academic essay?
It is, instead, the “academic lesson.” Don’t try to be all things to all people. Write to a specific academic audience. Your statement of what’s at stake should indicate the academic field to which your argument is making a contribution. Don’t overdo it with the stakes in the introduction: less is more.

Tips for Reading an Assignment Prompt

When you receive a paper assignment, your first step should be to read the assignment prompt carefully to make sure you understand what you are being asked to do. Sometimes your assignment will be open-ended (“write a paper about anything in the course that interests you”). But more often, the instructor will be asking you to do something specific

• Look for action verbs.

Verbs like analyze, compare, discuss, explain, make an argument, propose a solution, trace, or research can help you understand what you’re being asked to do with an assignment. Unless the instructor has specified otherwise, most of your paper assignments at Harvard will ask you to make an argument. So even when the assignment instructions tell you

Asking Analytical Questions

When you write an essay for a course you are taking, you are being asked not only to create a product (the essay) but, more importantly, to go through a process of thinking more deeply about a question or problem related to the course. By writing about a source or collection of sources, you will have the chance to wrestle with some of the ideas tha

Properties of a strong analytical question

strong analytical question speaks to a genuine dilemma presented by your sources. In other words, the question focuses on a real confusion, problem, ambiguity, or gray area, about which readers will conceivably have different reactions, opinions, or ideas. yields an answer that is not obvious. If you ask, "What did this author say about this topic?

How to come up with an analytical question

One useful starting point when you’re trying to identify an analytical question is to look for points of tension in your sources, either within one source or among sources. It can be helpful to think of those points of tension as the moments where you need to stop and think before you can move forward. Here are some examples of where you may find p

Thesis

Your thesis is the central claim in your essay—your main insight or idea about your source or topic. Your thesis should appear early in an academic essay, followed by a logically constructed argument that supports this central claim. A strong thesis is arguable, which means a thoughtful reader could disagree with it and therefore needs your careful

A thesis will generally respond to an analytical question or pose a solution to a problem

that you have framed for your readers (and for yourself). When you frame that question or problem for your readers, you are telling them what is at stake in your argument— why your question matters and why they should care about the answer. If you can explain to your readers why a question or problem is worth addressing, then they will understand w

Descriptive thesis (not arguable)

While Sandel argues that pursuing perfection through genetic engineering would decrease our sense of humility, he claims that the sense of solidarity we would lose is also important. This thesis summarizes several points in Sandel’s argument, but it does not make a claim about how we should understand his argument. A reader who read Sandel’s argume

Broad thesis (arguable, but difficult to support with evidence)

Michael Sandel’s arguments about genetic engineering do not take into consideration all the relevant issues. This is an arguable claim because it would be possible to argue against it by saying that Michael Sandel’s arguments do take all of the relevant issues into consideration. But the claim is too broad. Because the thesis does not specify which

Arguable thesis with normative claim

Given Sandel’s argument against genetic enhancement, we should not allow parents to decide on using Human Growth Hormone for their children. This thesis tells us what we should do about a particular issue discussed in Sandel’s article, but it does not tell us how we should understand Sandel’s argument. writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu

Questions to ask about your thesis

Is the thesis truly arguable? Does it speak to a genuine dilemma in the source, or would most readers automatically agree with it? Is the thesis too obvious? Again, would most or all readers agree with it without needing to see your argument? Is the thesis complex enough to require a whole essay's worth of argument? Is the thesis supportable with e

Introductions

The introduction to an academic essay will generally present an analytical question or problem and then offer an answer to that question (the thesis). Your introduction is also your opportunity to explain to your readers what your essay is about and why they should be interested in reading it. You don’t have to “hook” your readers with a dramati

• Orienting information

When you’re writing an essay, it’s helpful to think about what your reader needs to know in order to follow your argument. Your introduction should include enough information so that readers can understand the context for your thesis. For example, if you are analyzing someone else’s argument, you will need to identify that argument and possibly sum

What Do Introductions Across the Disciplines Have in Common?

While different disciplines have different conventions and expectations, many aspects of strong writing are shared across the disciplines. Below, you’ll find three examples of introductions written for Harvard College courses in different disciplines. While the introductions focus on very different topics, each one contains the key elements of an i

Introduction #2

Thesis. The author explains that her study is going to align with one of the two theories she laid out above. writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu

This is the introduction to a paper written by Eliza Hirsch ‘25 for the course “Why Shakespeare?”

In the first scene of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Barnardo, a sentinel, begs Horatio to “once again let [them] assail [Horatio’s] ears” (1.1.37) with their story of seeing King Hamlet’s ghost for the past two nights. This image of ears being assailed characterizes Barnardo's story as an attack on Horatio’s physical person, with the idiom conflating the p

The Anatomy of a Body Paragraph

When you write strong, clear paragraphs, you are guiding your readers through your argument by showing them how your points fit together to support your thesis. The number of paragraphs in your essay should be determined by the number of steps you need to take to build your argument. To write strong paragraphs, try to focus each paragraph on one ma

Transitions

Transitions help your readers move between ideas within a paragraph, between paragraphs, or between sections of your argument. When you are deciding how to transition from one idea to the next, your goal should be to help readers see how your ideas are connected—and how those ideas connect to the big picture. One useful way to do this is to start w

Sentence pair #1: Ineffective Transition

Some experts argue that focusing on individual actions to combat climate change takes the focus away from the collective action required to keep carbon levels from rising. Change will not be effected, say some others, unless individual actions raise the necessary awareness. While a reader can see the connection between the sentences above, it’s not

Sentence pair #2: Effective Transition

Some experts argue that focusing on individual actions to combat climate change takes the focus away from the collective action required to keep carbon levels from rising. Other experts argue that individual actions are key to raising the awareness necessary to effect change. You can use this same technique to create clear transitions between parag

So, what’s an individual household supposed to do?

The repetition of the word “household” in the new paragraph helps readers see the connection between what has come before (a discussion of whether household actions matter) and what is about to come (a proposal for what types of actions households can take to combat climate change). Sometimes, transitional words can help readers see how ideas are c

Tips for Organizing Your Essay

If you are used to writing essays that are similar to the five-paragraph essay (one claim and then three points that support that claim), it can be daunting to think about how to structure your ideas in a longer essay. Once you’ve established your thesis, you need to think about how you will move your reader through your argument. In some courses,

Strategy #1: Decompose your thesis into paragraphs

A clear, arguable thesis will tell your readers where you are going to end up, but it can also help you figure out how to get them there. Put your thesis at the top of a blank page and then make a list of the points you will need to make to argue that thesis effectively. For example, consider this example from the thesis handout: While Sandel argue

Strategy #2: Use subheadings, even if you remove then later

Scientific papers generally include standard subheadings to delineate different sections of the paper, including “introduction,” “methods,” and “discussion.” Even when you are not required to use subheadings, it can be helpful to put them into an early draft to help you see what you’re written and to begin to think about how your ideas fit together

Strategy #3: Create a reverse outline from your draft

While you may have learned to outline a paper before writing a draft, this step is often difficult because our ideas develop as we write. In some cases, it can be more helpful to write a draft in which you get all of your ideas out and then do a “reverse outline” of what you’ve already written. This doesn’t have to be formal; you can just make a li

Counterargument

When you make an argument in an academic essay, you are writing for an audience that may not agree with you. In fact, your argument is worth making in the first place because your thesis will not be obvious—or obviously correct—to everyone who considers the question you are asking or the topic you’re addressing. Once you figure out what you want to

Example

a complete restatement of all that you have said in your paper. a substantial counterargument that you do not have space to refute; you should introduce counterarguments before your conclusion. an apology for what you have not said. If you need to explain the scope of your paper, you should do this sooner—but don’t apologize for what you have not d

How to Write an Essay: Introduction Paragraph (with Worksheet)

How to Write an Essay: Formulas for 5-Paragraph Essay

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PDF	ACADEMIC ESSAY STRUCTURES & FORMATS The thesis is supported by a series of body paragraphs with sub-points and the essay ends with a conclusion. Below is a visual representation of this structure

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Academic Writing: A Handbook for International Students, Third edition

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