How to write essays?

I hate essays as much as the next person, but with a little structure and thought they aren't so bad.. The steps I always follow are: 1. Brief intro/summary of essay; 2. Catchy (usually controversial) quote which is entirely relevant to the area (either positive or negtive) -i.e. 'It was said by...that'...'. This essay sets to examine... it is argued that ...'s notion/idea/statement that...(refer back to quote) is correct/incorrect .' 3. Main body -I always try not to go over too much historical info and only encorporate if it adds anything -e.g. 'recent deleopments have seen a move away from a ... approach', where I may ...  Read the complete review

How to write an A level essay: 1. Work out what the question is asking 2. Plan a structured answer 3. Re-read and edit Begin by deciphering the question. If it contains a quote do you need to refer to this in the essay or is it there to 'set the mood'? Generally you only need refer directly to the quote if the question says "with reference to the quote..." or words to that effect. Underline the key words in the question. Are you required to 'outline' (basically this means describe) or 'discuss' (this means describe and analyse and evaluate) or 'evaluate' which means you need to write about strengths and weakness ...  Read the complete review

I am currently writing an essay on a comparison between 2 punk bands. Its quite difficult and Im only half way through including the footnotes! How sad. Anyway, I thought I would write how Im writing it for a bit of a break. Decide on which title out of the choices. Think about what books/articles there are you could use. Do you have enough research to back up your own opinions. First I do all the research. I write down all the interesting quotes i find in journal articles, magazines, books and listen to a lot of recordings. I put these all in a file so I can go back to them later. I write it all out by hand as reading it in my ...  Read the complete review

If I answer the question, how to write a good essay perhaps someone will let me know how to do well in an exam? I could get a first for all most every essay I write, but its thirds all the way in exams. In my course we often get an essay guide but the actual topic of the essay can be choosen with those guidelines. In this instance I pick my topic very early on. I base my choice on these three things, in this order - Something that fits the criterai well, Something that I can get plenty of information on, but that is specific enough to fit the word count, Something that interests me. Once I have picked my topic I try and stick it out, ...  Read the complete review

I wrote this advice for my students, who are undergraduates doing philosophy/politics. I think most of it would be useful for any humanity/essay-based subject, particularly in the first half, while the latter suggests argumentative techniques - though I guess some of them could be employed in history, some literature studies, etc. 1. Writing Essays (the basics) Philosophy essays generally require you to develop a line of argument. It isn’t enough simply to report what other people have said – you need to take a stance on the question (though it needn’t be an extreme one, sometimes fence sitting is ok). Think carefully about what the ...  Read the complete review