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LUMS Learning Development

General Essay Writing Advice

Introduction

.    Within an introduction, it is good practice to include a brief description of the topic, followed by how your essay will specifically address/approach the question. Depending on the type of essay, you could also include some specific examples or case studies that your essay will focus on specifically if this is appropriate.

Argumentation and integrating source material

.    To develop a strong argument in your writing you need to read around your topic in depth so you get an overall picture of the different perspectives, debates and views.

.    Try to avoid superficial points and always go into as much depth as possible with detailed examples i.e. the ‘why’ needs addressing – it might be appropriate to include less points but go into more detail with each one (quality over quantity).

.    Avoid being vague with your points and don’t bring in new concepts without any explanation or citations to show the source of the information. This is a MUST in academic writing.

.    Try to paraphrase the ideas you take from your academic literature in your own words as much as possible and show your interpretation of them.

.    When using a direct quote it must be integrated into the sentence so that it flows naturally – avoid starting a sentence with a direct quote.

Academic Writing Style and structure

.     Ensure you are clear and to the point and that there is a logical flow of your ideas and argument in your writing

.    Try to be more critical than descriptive in your writing for example make judgements, analyse, evaluate, interpret and discuss your ideas and evidence.

.    Try to use academic phrasing when introducing your points and source material, have a look at the Manchester University Phrasebank for ideas and examples:

http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/

.    When structuring your writing, you need to include signposting at the beginning of

paragraphs so the reader knows what kind of point you are about to make i.e. a similar one, a counter one, an example etc. Have a look at this as a starting point:

https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/as/libraryservices/library/asc/documents/public/Short- Guide-Signposting.pdf

.     Include a line space in between your paragraphs

Conclusion

.    The conclusion is usually one concise paragraph at the end of your essay.

.    Generally a conclusion in an essay spells out how your essay has answered the question, making clear what your key idea/argument is and how you have arrived at this.

.    The conclusion should never be a ‘surprise’, it should be clear to the reader what your conclusion is likely to be after reading the other parts of the essay.

Referencing

. Please familiarise yourself with the LUMS Referencing Guidance document, it is important

that you understand why we need to reference at university and how to do it correctly:

https://modules.lancaster.ac.uk/mod/resource/view.php?id=890618

.    Always ensure you have included in-text citations correctly and that they include all the  necessary information i.e. surname of author or company name, year of publication and potentially a page number (see more information in the referencing guide above).

.     You essay will always benefit from reading widely and reading more academic sources of

information – your reference list is your chance to showoff how much scholarly reading you have done and will give your essay weight in terms of the argument you have presented.

.    Website material unless it is for a specific example should always be used with caution especially blog type websites.

Writing approach:

.     Reflect on your essay writing approach – are you reading around the topic enough to form a thoughtful and reasoned argument with lots of academic sources and illustrative examples   to back up these points?

.    Are you planning in enough detail before you start writing? Do you know what your overall argument is? What are the key points that you are going to make in order to get your argument across? Have you structured your points in the most logical way? Is it clear for the reader to see?

.     If you want to discuss your writing approach in more depth then please get in touch with the Learning Development team atlearningdevelopmentlums@lanacster.ac.uk