1. Researching, Writing and Presenting Information - A How To Guide: Writing an Essay

An essay is an extended piece of writing that presents a structured argument or a discussion of a topic. An essay can be written on any topic.  

Before you even start writing an essay, you need to know what you want to say.  This is the brainstorming and planning part of the process. Read the Brainstorming and Planning Guide to help you generate ideas and organise your thinking on your topic. 

Before you start writing your essay, consider these general guidelines:

• Develop a structured and logical presentation of your argument.
• Understand exactly what your point of view is and list the points you want to make before you begin.
• Deal with your points one at a time.
• Conduct research so that you can support your points with evidence.

• Read the question carefully.
• Analyse the command terms (use the glossary in the Curriculum Guide to assist).
• Re-write the question in you own words as simply and directly as possible while still keeping the central meaning.

At this point you should fully understand the question and have a clear idea of what you are required to do. If you are still uncertain, ask your teacher for help.

1. Brainstorm: write down as many ideas as you can think of in relation to the topic (Use the Brainstorming and Planning Guide for help).
2. Sort out these ideas into some kind of logical order – similar ideas together, contrasting ideas and so forth.
3. Clarify your opinion by writing it down in a concise statement which answers the question. This will form the basis of your opening paragraph and line of argument.
4. Using the ideas you have written down, write a plan which clearly sets out this line of thought.
5. Order your main ideas into paragraphs which progressively and logically reveal your line of thinking.

Essays should be clear and contain no surprises: tell the reader what you are going to write about and then write about it. Use the following information to help you structure your essay:

Introductory Paragraph

In the introduction, you should let your reader know what you are going to discuss, including your answer to the question or your point of view on the topic. 
 

You should explain your main points and introduce anything relevant (for example, the book title and author in English essays or the time period and key historical views in History essays). 

To write an effective introductory paragraph:

• Present your main idea/thesis.
• Introduce your main points using general ideas; do not include details or use quotations and examples.
• Avoid using obvious phrases such as ‘In this essay I’m going to write about …’

Body of the Essay

In the body paragraphs, you should present your main points. Include one point per paragraph, which you expand on and explain with evidence. Make sure you finish each paragraph with a clear statement linking back to your overall answer, or the point of this paragraph.

The TEEL guide below may be useful to help structure your paragraphs.

In the body of your essay:

• Each paragraph must contain one central idea about the topic, which must be clearly stated in the topic sentence.
• All information related to the central idea must be in that paragraph.
• Clearly show how the point is related to the topic.
• Write the final sentence so that it clinches your point and/or links to your next paragraph.
• Cover all the points mentioned in your introductory paragraph.

A note on using evidence:

• Evidence should include detailed explanations, examples and quotations.
• Don't end or start your paragraph with evidence - the evidence is supporting your point, it is not your point. 
• If you use quotations, you need to use quotation marks and reference appropriately using the St Clare's College Referencing Guide. 
• Reference ideas or arguments presented by other people, not just the direct quotations. This includes examples and information that you paraphrase.
• Direct quotations do not contribute to your word count, so these can be a good way of proving your point, while also saving a few words. 
• Check the St Clare's College Referencing Guide for examples on how to use quotations and paraphrase.

Concluding Paragraph

The conclusion is your last chance to convince your reader that your overall answer is convincing. You must briefly summarise the main points of your argument showing what you have proved and draw conclusions in relation to the topic. Do not introduce new issues or ideas; avoid simply repeating yourself. Avoid using 'In conclusion' or similar phrases as it is clear this is a conclusion as it is your last paragraph (and it's a waste of words).  

A conclusion is effective when it:

• sounds finished.
• links back to the introduction.
• summarises the content of the body of your essay, drawing together the main points.
• gives a final evaluation of the facts/issues/point of view involved.

• Write a rough draft first. Be prepared to be critical of your own efforts and to re-write passages more clearly and concisely if possible. Make sure you have kept to the topic or questions assigned to you and that everything you have said is related to the topic.
• Develop a sense of the logical progression of your argument as the essay develops towards the conclusion. Your line of argument should be absolutely clear to the reader.
• Provide sound and convincing evidence/ justification for each point.
• Use the preferred Harvard System of Referencing as shown in the LibGuide - Harvard Referencing Guide.
• Use questions sparingly: try not to include unnecessary wording. Choose extracts which are authoritative and which prove the point you are making. They should be concise.

Observe the following conventions:

• Use italics for titles of written texts other than poems and short stories.
• Use inverted commas for titles of poems, films and short stories.
• Avoid using abbreviations, especially “etc”.
• Avoid using contractions eg. use “do not” rather than “don’t”.
• Avoid using “you”.
• Avoid changing tense; the convention is to write in the present tense.
• Remember, quote is a verb; quotation is a noun. Use them correctly.

You should aim to have:

• an original approach without jargon, cliché or tautology
• a consistent argument which follows through a hypothesis
• a balance of personal opinion and supporting evidence from texts
• a clear, concise, precise style.

Use this list of questions to help you.

• Does your opening paragraph introduce your topic?
• Have you answered the question?
• Have you made it clear how all of your points are related to the topic?
• Is the evidence you have used appropriate and convincing?
• Are quotations set out and referenced correctly using the St Clare's College Referencing Guide? Is your Bibliography?
• Have you proofread your work using the 'Effective Proofreading Checklist? (found under the 'Effective Proofreading Skills' tab)

Links for Years 7 - 9

Links for Years 10 -12