Writing Essays and Assignments
Layout and Language
Whether you are handwriting or typing your essay, it's important to give some thought to the layout of your text on the page. No one likes to see huge clumps of writing with no breaks and lots of long sentences they need to wade through!
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If you have a good grasp of the subject material, then you should be able to write your essay answer with clarity and coherence.
Use short sentences, ideally interspersed with longer sentences to produce a more polished style and flow.
Leave a margin between the edge of the page and your writing so that teachers can include feedback, and so that your writing isn't unnaturally and thinly stretched across the page.
Leave lines between paragraphs.
Take a look at text books and academic journals to see how text is laid out and sentence structure is used in formal writing. This is a good way to learn and compare appropriate layout.
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If you have made a good plan, then you should also have very little problem with layout as you can use the plan to give you an idea of how to break up your paragraphs. For a 1,500 word essay, you might break it down as:
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Introduction - 1 paragraph
Point 1 - 1 paragraph.
Point 2 - 1 paragraph.
Point 3 - 1 paragraph.
Conclusion - 1 paragraph
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This is a nice, five-paragraph essay layout which is evenly split between its points. If your essay is more than 1,500 words, you will just be adding extra Point paragraphs between the introduction and conclusion. For a longer coursework assignment, you may want to split points from counter-arguments, but make sure you link the counter-argument back to the original point before moving on. Ideally, your paragraphs should flow into each other.
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Language
It's better to use simple and straightforward language, although you should, of course, be using formal written language, rather than a spoken or colloquial (slang) style of language; for instance, do not use '&' instead of 'and'!
Try to avoid contractions in your own writing such as "can't" or "don't", instead using the full versions ("cannot", "do not"), although if you are including a quote, you do not need to change someone else's words - just make sure you use quotation marks [" "].
Avoid using personal pronouns, such as 'I', 'you or 'we'. Unless the essay specifically asks for your opinions, you should not be giving or even implying them (e.g. "I believe Hamlet is not mad..."). Likewise, avoid addressing the reader as if you understand or know what they know (e.g. "You can clearly see that Hamlet is not mad."), and don't include them with you in suggesting that you all agree with each other (e.g. "We can see that Hamlet is not mad"). A few typical examples with some suggested alternatives would be:
| Avoid | Possible alternative... |
| I will make the argument that Hamlet is mad. | This essay will argue that Hamlet is mad. |
| In my opinion, Hamlet is mad because... | It could be argued that Hamlet is mad because... |
| You can clearly see here that Hamlet is mad. | This evidence clearly shows that Hamlet is mad. |
| We can see from this that Hamlet is probably mad. | It is therefore possible to conclude that Hamlet is mad. |
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Try to avoid starting sentences with coordinating conjunctions, such as "and", "but", so" and "or". If possible, connect sentences that start with these words to the previous sentence or, if the sentence is getting too long, try replacing them with the following:
"And" = "Additionally" or "Moreover" (you can use these instead of "Also" as well)
"But" = "Nevertheless" or "However"
"So" = "therefore" or "thus"
"Or" = "Alternatively", "Instead", "Otherwise", or "On the other hand"
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Make sure you are using the right punctuation. Use full stops and commas appropriately - commas create short pauses within sentences, while full stops finish the sentence. Always make sure you use capital letters at the start of sentences and for the start of any proper nouns (names of people, places or organisations). If you're not sure how to use semi-colons, then don't use them! Make sure you do include a question mark [?] after a question.
Use scientific and technical words appropriately - again read your text books, academic journals, or just use a dictionary to check your understanding.