Sometimes, during your student days or for the need of the seminars, you need to write essays. They may be on various topics. You’re ought to know that certain rules should be obeyed. It is advisable to follow them if you want to write a good academic essay. What are those rules? What are the elements that academic essay must contain? We will try to explain these questions below.
The Topics
Even when defined, the essay topics can be quite broad. Therefore, allowing a topic to be narrowed to an acceptable level, will also be acceptable to you. Before you start writing, you should do some research and get an idea of what has been written about the topic so far. Very often, an essay is based on criticism or analysis of other essays, with building its position on those.
Introduction
In the introduction, you should indicate the topic you will be writing about. The attitude you take as you write should also be emphasized. Taking an attitude while writing is the hardest part of writing a well-structured essay.
After all, you should be able to explain in one phrase what your thesis is. The thesis should be as narrow, specific and clear as possible – read more about this here. This part is the only part of the essay where it is allowed to write in the first person, while in the rest it is recommended to write in the third person.
How Will You Organize Your Essay?
Introduction
The announcement of how to organize the essay should follow the introductory thesis. Depending on the size of the essay, you will develop several attitudes to defend your thesis. You can list them. For eg. “Three arguments in defense of the thesis will be presented …”
Then, you proceed to present each particular argument.
Elaboration of the Essay
When developing the essay, the arguments you have presented should be discussed in the order in which they were announced. Each chapter of the essay should start with a topic, repeated argument and your point of view concerning the subject. If you use chapters, give them names to make it easier for anyone who reads your essay. An explanation should follow each argument in the following form:
- facts
- Ideas
- opinions of the authorities in the field, as well as your own opinion
Finally, you should explain in one concise paragraph whether or not the argument “endured” the debate.
Conclusion
Once the arguments have been presented and explained, the essay is nearing the end. That means you should present a conclusion. If the essay is well organized and structured, the arguments are proven and they ultimately support your initial thesis. All you have to do is show the progress that has come from your research on the topic. You can also highlight the possible implications of your essay.
Literature
Academic essays also include literature, where you should list the sources you used when writing your essay. Western universities are known to be very rigid about plagiarism, so pay attention to this detail as well. Therefore, list each source you used. Avoid lengthy quotes and paraphrases. If you are quoting, make it clear and cite the source!
One thing to keep in mind before writing an essay is the length limit if there is any. It is up to you to decide whether to abide by the restrictions, but you should know that restrictions have been introduced for some reason, and that should be respected.
