Transcript Guide to essay writing

Guide to essay writing
Katharine Betts
Sociology [email protected]
Introduction & overview: essay features

The universal & essential
1. Argument
The particular &
important
2. Evidence
1. Presentation
3. Adequate research
2. Form of documentation
4. Clear expression
3. Style

5. Using feedback
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The universal and essential features
of essays
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1 An argument
Your informed opinion

Did the Tampa help the Coalition win in 2001?

Are socially anxious people more likely to use
email than the phone?

Are computers useful to people with
disabilities?
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Housing Management and Policy course
Simplified examples

How have changes in the operating environment for
social housing affected your agency’s organisational
structure and operating procedures?

Do the concepts of organisational culture and
subculture help explain how an organisation works (or
doesn't work)? Use examples from your agency.

How does the skills shortage affect your agency’s
capacity to do its job effectively?
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Ways of telling students about arguments

An informed opinion

A thesis

A logically linked sequence of points establishing a
more general proposition

A piece of writing with an introduction, a middle and a
conclusion

A piece of writing with a structure

‘An essay must have a unity’
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Example: Why did Labor win in 2007?
Answer: There were many reasons why Labor won the
2007 election but the main one was voter dissatisfaction
with the Work Choices legislation.
It’s a reasoned argument —plausible AND considers
alternatives.
It’s grounded in the evidence — you have some facts to
back up your claims.
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2 Evidence
An informed opinion is based on reason and evidence.
What sort of evidence counts?
 Relevant
 Other people must be able to check it
Adequate research means looking for evidence for and
against your argument.
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Documentation
Telling readers about your evidence
Helping them find it
Two main styles of referencing
 Harvard
 Numbered footnotes
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3 Enough reading––how much research is adequate?
Working on an argument means
1.
Developing your ideas
2.
Looking for evidence to test these ideas
How much is enough?
You’ve read enough when you can support your argument
and show you’ve considered alternative arguments.
A rule of thumb
Read (and use) between six and 15 sources for a
3000 word essay.
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4 Clear expression
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4 Clear expression — why is this often a problem?
Language registers

Formal
 In discussions yesterday, the Federal Cabinet focused on the
formulation of amendments to workers’ compensation
legislation.

Standard
 Cabinet yesterday discussed how to word changes to the
laws on workers’ compensation.

Informal
 Yesterday, Canberra pollies worked on the new workers’
comp laws.
Source: Style Manual (2002: 52)
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Clear expression in the standard register
How to achieve it—specific advice:

Write drafts.
1.
Think about paragraphs.
2.
Use short sentences.
3.
Use finite verbs.
4.
If there’s risk of ambiguity, use nouns instead of pronouns.
5.
Use the active voice.
6.
Give concrete examples.
7.
Redraft and cut out needless words.
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4.1 Paragraphs and topic sentences

One idea, one paragraph: eg why might Labor have
won the 2007 Australian election?
 Dissatisfaction with the war in Iraq.
 The voters had lost interest in the culture wars, which had
served the Coalition so well in previous elections.
 Work Choices legislation.

Don’t make a paragraph too long. Even if you are still
on the same idea start a new one after 200 words.
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Paragraphing—one idea one paragraph

Break up long paragraphs (one idea, several paras is
fine, one para with two or more is not)

Introduce paragraphs with topic sentences
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Topic sentence for para on Iraq war

Australia has been involved in the Iraq war since it
began in March 2003. At first, this involvement
was a supported by many voters, most of whom
believed the story of weapons of mass destruction
[reference]…. But by early 2007 the war seemed
to have dragged on far too long and to have done
little to reduce the threat of terrorism. Indeed
many believed it had increased the threat
[reference]. However, dissatisfaction with the war
was not a first-order issue in the minds of most
voters [reference]. …
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Phrases to link new paras to former ones

Linking phrases for the start of new paragraphs
“The literature points to [or Table 1 shows] at least three
reasons why …..
“First there is…
“Second there is… “
“As we have seen ….”
“Despite Brown’s findings on improved affordability (2006:35)
median rents did not fall in …”
“There are still many economists who oppose…”
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More linking phrases
“Others, such as Smith and Wilson (2010) have stressed the
disadvantages of….”
“Nevertheless, there is something odd about the claim that…”
“Soros (2003) is another supporter of the view that…”
“These facts suggest that stimulus spending…”
“In short, the distinction between X and Y is not helpful in this….”
“Theories explaining the decrease in housing affordability are so
diverse that….
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Summary on paragraphing

One idea one paragraph.

More than one paragraph for one idea is OK; two or
more ideas is not.

Start a new paragraph after 200 words.

Introduce paragraphs with a topic sentence.

Link paragraphs—look at how other writers do this.

Tip: You can use authors’ topic sentences for speed
reading.
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4.2 Short sentences
A sentence contains a subject and a finite verb (and often
an object as well).
We hold the sentence in short-term memory and think
about it before we move on.
If it’s too long the short-term memory can’t cope.
Cabinet yesterday discussed how to word changes to the
laws on workers’ compensation.
(13 words — comfort level is up to around 20 words.)
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Examples: long and short sentences
[The authors begin by arguing that private companies can impose negative
externalities, such as pollution, on society.]
“Given the free market rules of the emerging global economy and
the limitations that concern for national competitiveness is placing
on the power of individual governments to impose regulation on
their internal, let alone international, markets, we need to
understand much better the actual and potential, positive and
negative influence companies have on society and what motivates
them to manage these ‘externalities’ in the widest possible social
interest.” (68 words)
(C. Marsden and J. Andriof, ‘Towards an understanding of corporate citizenship and how to influence
it’, Citizenship Studies, vol. 2, no. 2, 1998, p. 330)
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Short-sentence version
The free-market rules of the emerging global economy limit governments’ power
to regulate national and international markets.
Governments’ own concern to maintain national competitiveness adds to these
limits.
But what are the positive and negative influences private companies have on
society, actual and potential?
We need to know, and we also we need to understand much better what
motivates them to manage these externalities in the widest possible social
interest.
(71 words, 4 sentences)
Finite verbs are underlined — see 4.3
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4.3 Finite verbs

Cabinet yesterday discussed how to word changes to the laws on workers’
compensation.
Cabinet [subject] yesterday [adverb of time] discussed [verb] how to… [object - noun phrase]
Make sure your sentences have a finite verb.
Finite verbs can stand by themselves.
Cabinet yesterday discussed changes.
Non-finite verbs can’t. For example:
Cabinet yesterday to discuss changes. (infinitive form of verb)
Cabinet yesterday discussing changes. (present participle form of verb)
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4.4 Confusing pronouns, clear nouns or noun phrases

The students wrote the essays. They [pronoun] were
influential.
 The students [noun] were influential.

This [pronoun] proved controversial.
 The change to the youth allowance [noun phrase] proved
controversial.
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4.5 Active and passive voice

The active voice shows who is doing what.

The passive voice hides who is doing what.
With the active voice the subject is the doer of the action.
Baathist insurgents killed 36 Iraqis.
With the passive voice the subject suffers the action (and
it’s not clear who’s done it)
Thirty-six Iraqis were killed.
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The active voice
Passive to active

Amendments to the workers’ compensation laws were
discussed. (Passive voice)

Cabinet discussed amendments to the workers’
compensation laws. (Active voice)

The law was passed. (Passive voice)

The Gillard Government passed the law. (Active voice)
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4.6 Give concrete examples
The rules of the global market limit national
governments’ power. For example, the World Trade
Organisation may say that, if a government insists that
imported tuna be caught in a dolphin-friendly fashion,
this is just a restraint on free trade.
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4.7 Cut out needless words
Given the free market rules of the emerging global economy and
the limitations that concern for national competitiveness is placing
on the power of individual governments to impose regulation on
their internal, let alone international, markets, we need to
understand much better the actual and potential, positive and
negative influence companies have on society and what motivates
them to manage these ‘externalities’ in the widest possible social
interest.
(One sentence, 68 words)
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Cut out needless words cont.
The free market rules of the emerging global economy limit governments’ power
to regulate national and international markets.
Governments’ own concern to maintain national competitiveness adds to these
limits.
But what are the positive and negative influences private companies have on
society, actual and potential?
We need to know, and we also we need to understand much better what
motivates them to manage these externalities in the widest possible social
interest.
(71 words, 4 sentences)
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Four short sentences under the chopper
The free market rules of the emerging global economy The global market limits
governments’ power to regulate the economy national and international markets
Governments’ as does their own concern to maintain national competitiveness.
adds to these limits.
But what are the positive and negative influences external effects do private
companies have on society, actual and potential produce?
We need to know, and we also we need to understand much better what and
what might motivates them to manage these externalities these in the widest
possible social interest for the common good.
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Four short sentences reduced to two
The global market limits governments’ power to regulate
the economy, as does their own desire to maintain
national competitiveness.
But what external effects do private companies produce,
and what might motivate them to manage these for the
common good?
(39 words, 2 sentences)
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Short sentences conquer confusion.
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4 Clear expression—summary
1.
Planned paragraphs
2.
Short sentences
3.
Finite verbs
4.
Clear pronouns
5.
Active voice
6.
Concrete examples
7.
No needless words
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General advice
 Practice
 Read
as much good writing as you can
 Look
for feedback
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5 Using feedback —The essential and the important
Universal & essential––comments about

The argument

Clear English

Referencing – insufficient or incomplete

Breadth of reading
Particular & important––comments
about
 Presentation
 Format of references
 Style
Less important––comments about
Spelling
 Apostrophes

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The particular and important
features of essays
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1 Presentation—one set of rules

Cover sheet

4cm left-hand margin

Numbered pages

A4 paper, typed, double-spaced or set in space and a
half

Line between paragraphs

List of references on a separate page
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2 The form of documentation

Harvard system
 In the text (Author, date: page/s), plus full bibliographic
details in the list of references

Numbered footnotes
 Footnote marker refers reader to full bibliographic details
plus page number/s
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3 Using the first person— style

For?
 Helps the student develop their own argument.

Against?
 Students may not realise they need evidence as well as their
own opinion.
[If we say “Don’t use it”, students may slip into using the passive voice. “It is
generally believed…” rather than “I think…”]
Expressing your opinion without using the first person

I think Labor won the election for the following three reasons.

Labor won the election for the following three reasons.
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Using subheadings—style

For?
 Helps clarify the argument

Against?
 Interrupts the flow of the argument
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Spelling and minor aspects of grammar
Proofread your final draft.
Take apostrophes seriously.
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