How To Improve Your Essay Writing Quickly

How To Improve Your Essay Writing Quickly Choose relevant points only, ones that most reveal the theme or help to make a convincing and interesting argument. In the main body of the essay every paragraph should demonstrate both knowledge and critical evaluation. Your tutors will be keen to help you learn and progress. You also need to check spelling, sentence structure and punctuation. Correct all of these on your first draft unless you are making drastic changes which require a significant amount of rewriting. If you choose to use a printed copy of your writing, you might find it useful to use a different pen so that the corrections and alterations are clearly visible. Quality of Written Communication - writing clearly and succinctly with appropriate use of paragraphs, spelling and grammar. All sources referenced accurately and in line with APA guidelines. At undergraduate level, more so than at A-Level, you will need to demonstrate evidence of further reading. If there is a word count for your essay try to devote 10% of this to your introduction. When you are writing an evaluation paragraph use the PEC system. It is more appropriate to use original content to demonstrate your understanding. Each paragraph should have a purpose / theme, and make a number of points - which need to be support by high quality evidence. Be clear why each point is is relevant to the argument. It would be useful at the beginning of each paragraph if you explicitly outlined the theme being discussed (.e.g. cognitive development, social development etc.). It is best to structure your essay according to key themes. Themes are illustrated and developed through a number of points . sensible ordering of material, to support and the development of ideas and the development of argument. The middle part of the essay must fulfil the promises made in your introduction, and must support your final conclusions. Failure to meet either or both of these requirements will irritate your reader, and will demonstrate a lack of self-critique and of editing. In an analytical structure you are required to break the topic into its different components and discuss these in separate paragraphs or sections, demonstrating balance where possible. Before you start, it is important to understand what type of essay you are required to write. The language of the question, especially the directive words, will indicate the type of essay and suggest an appropriate structure to follow in your essay. More information on directive words is contained in the QUT cite|write booklet . Logically structured body paragraphs which include supporting evidence from academic sources. Lectures are supposed to be a pointer and guide for your further reading. By reading, we mean published, peer-reviewed literature; Wikipedia does not count! Other websites should not be cited in essays, but you can use them to further your understanding and get lists of peer-reviewed literature to read. Finally, make sure you read carefully any feedback you are given on your essays. Check sentence structure, spelling and punctuation as you revise. Essays are usually written in a discursive style, bringing together ideas, evidence and arguments to address a specific problem or question. Examples of this type of essay include compare, compare and contrast or differentiate questions. In this structure the similarities and/or differences between two or more items, for example, theories or models, are discussed paragraph by paragraph. Shorter words are often preferable to longer words, unless there is some specific vocabulary that you need to include to demonstrate your skill. Short to middle length sentences are almost always preferable to longer ones. And over-long paragraphs tend to demonstrate that you are not clear about the specific points you are making. Of course, these are general points, and there may be some occasions, or some subject areas, where long paragraphs are appropriate. A different pattern would be to use a paragraph to present and describe an idea/piece of evidence/quote/stage of argument, then to use the subsequent paragraph to explain its relevance. Your assignment task may require you to make a recommendation about the suitability of the items you are comparing. Sentences giving further explanation and providing evidence from both the literature and the data, e.g. the case study to support the topic sentence . Examples of this include questions which ask you to discuss, analyse, investigate, explore or review.