Writing an essay

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Table of contents
Whatisanessay?
HowNOTtowriteanessay
Howisanessaystructured?
10stepstoastrongessay
1.Scrutinisethequestion
2.Brainstormyourideas
3.Researchyourtopic
4.Establishathesisstatement
5.Dothemath
6.Outlinebeforeyouwrite
7.Writeparagraphbyparagraph
8.Lastly,introductionsandconclusions
9.Editandpolish
10.Reviewwithafinalchecklist

What is an essay?
Anessayisapieceofwritingthatmethodicallyanalysesandevaluatesatopicorissue.Fundamentally,anessayisdesignedtogetyouracademic
opiniononaparticularmatter.
Manystudentsgetconfusedabouttheword'opinion'inacademicwriting,andthinkthatacademicwritingshouldjuststicktoreportingthefactsand
forgetaboutopinionaltogether.However,thereareimportantdifferencesbetweenanacademicopinionandapersonalopinion,andit'simportantto
graspthesewhenyou'reputtingtogetheranessay:
AcademicopinionORargument,stance,position,thesis,
claim
Determinedby:

Conductingresearch,examiningevidence,evenhandedly
consideringissues

Characterisedby: Objectivityguidedbylogicandrationalthinking

Isitdefendable?

Yesyoucandefendorsupportanacademicargumentby
citingcredibleevidenceandlayingoutareasonedargument

Personalopinion
Gutfeelings,personalexperiences,ownworldview
Subjectivityguidedbyemotions,personalexperiencesand
individualcharacter
Hmmm,it'shardtosaythatoneperson's'gutfeeling'or
worldviewisanymorevalidthananother's,sopersonal
opinionsareveryhardtodefendandvalidateobjectively

Writingagreatessayisnotaboutsimplysurveyingandretellingexistingideas.Instead,agoodessaytakesintoaccountvariousopinionsandpoints
ofviewandputsforwardanargumentthatreflectsthewriter'sinformedopinion.Beforeyoubeginplanninganyessay,then,itscrucialtohavea
clearideaofwhatyouthinkaboutyourtopicyouneedtohaveaposition,argument,orclearstanceonatopic,thatyoudefendwithevidenceand
argument.Thisiswhat'scalledyourthesisstatement.
Rememberthat'learning'atuniversitydoesnotsimplyinvolve
memorisingnewideas,butformingyourownideasinresponse
towhatexpertsinthefieldhavesaid.

How NOT to write an essay

Braceyourself:thismaysoundfamiliar.
Manystudentswhoarebeingintroducedtoacomplexnewareaofstudyputtogetheressaysusingthefollowingmethod:
1. Theysiftthroughresourcesandlocateinteresting,pertinentideasthatrelatetothemesorkeywordsinthequestion
2. Theywritetheseideasout,mainlyinquotationform,andthenshufflethemarounduntiltheyreinanorderthatseemsto'flow'
3. Theyconstructa'story','narrative'or'discussion'aroundthesequotations
4. Theyfinallyconcludewithaparagraphaboutwhattheythink.
Unfortunately,thisisntaparticularlyeffectivewayofachievingtheaimsofanessay.Ifyoudothis,thenyoullfindyourpapersimplywanders
betweenquoteswithoutaclearpurpose.TheHarvardwebsitecallsthesewalkthroughessays,inwhichyouactmainlylikeatourguidewalking
yourreaderthroughtheterrainofyourtopic,pointingout'whosaidwhat'.
Theresultofthisprocessisusuallyanessaythat:
doesnotdirectlyanswerthesetquestion,butsimplytalksarounditsthemes
isnotcohesive,asithasnoclearaim,argument,orthesis
ispoorlystructured,asquotesaregroupedtogethersimplyaccordingtotheme,ratherthangroupedtogether
strategicallytomakeaseriesofspecificargumentsorpointsthatresponddirectlytothesetquestion

How is an essay structured?

Anessayisaverystructuredpieceofwritingwithmanyconventionsthatdistinguishitfromothergenresandstyles,suchasreports,creativewriting
piecesorreflectivejournalentries.
Allessaysshouldconsistofthreeparts:theintroduction,thebody,andtheconclusion.Together,theintroductionandtheconclusionactasaframe
fortheessay,whiletherealworkisdoneinthebody.
Theintroductionisusuallythefirstparagraph(inessayslongerthan2000words,itmayincludethesecondparagraphalso).Itinformsthereader
aboutthetopicoftheessay,explainswhythediscussionintheessayisanimportantonetohave,andprovidesamapoftheessaysargument.
Thebodyoftheessayconsistsofalltheparagraphsbetweentheintroductionandtheconclusion.Thebodyiswheretheargumentoftheessayis
actuallylaidout.
Theessay'sconclusionisusuallythefinalparagraph(again,inlongeressays,itmaybetwoparagraphs).Itdrawstogetherandsummarisesthe
essaysargument.
Whilesomelecturersmayspecifychangestothetypicalessayformat,allessaysaregenerallyboundbythefollowingsetofguidelinesorrules:
1.Essaysdonotincludesubheadings,unlesstheyareverylong,e.g.5000+words.
2.Essaysdonotincludedotpointstheyaremadeupentirelyofprose.
3.Essaysaremadeupofparagraphs,whichshouldbeclearlydistinguishedbyeither:
indentingthefirstlineofeachparagraph(pressTabwhenyoubeginanew
paragraph),or
leavinganextrablanklinebetweeneachparagraph.
4.Essaysshouldadheretothewordcount,however,avariationof10%isusually
acceptable.Forexample,a2000wordessaycouldbeanywherefrom18002200
words.
5.EssaysshouldbeprintedinblackinkonwhiteA4paperononesideofthepaper
only.Essaysshouldalsobestapledinthetoplefthandcorneronlyandshouldnotbe
placedinplasticsleeves.
6.Essaysshoulduseaplainlegiblefontofreasonablesize(e.g.TimesNewRomanor
Arialin12point).Donotbetemptedtousefancyfontsastheyareverytiringfor
lecturerseyes.
7.Essaysmusthaveeither1.5ordoublelinespacing(yourlecturerwillusually
specify).InMSWord,gotoFormat,thenParagraph,thenLineSpacing,andselect
either1.5orDouble).Thisisforeaseofreadinganditalsocreatesspacesfor
commentsandcorrections.
8.Essaysshouldhaveagenerousmargin(atleast2.5cmallround).Thisalsocreates
roomforcomments.
9.Essaypagesshouldbenumberedconsecutively(inMSWord,gotoInsert,thenPage
Numbers).
10.Essaysareargumentative,notprettydontusepictures(e.g.MSClipArt)onyour
coverpageorinthebodyoftheessaywiththeaimofenhancingtheappearanceor
presentation.Picturesshouldonlybeusediftheywillbereferredtoaspartofyour
argument.
11.Essaysdonotuseformattingtoemphasisewords,likeitalics,boldingor
underlining.Yourchoiceofsuitablewords,phrasesandevidenceshouldbeenoughto
provideaclearandconvincingargument.
12.EssaysmustincludeeitheraReferenceListoraBibliography.

10 steps to a strong essay

Thereare10stepsyoucanfollowtowriteastrongessay:
1. Scrutinisethequestion
2. Brainstormyourideas
3. Researchyourtopic
4. Establishathesisstatement
5. Dothemath
6. Outlinebeforeyouwrite
7. Writeparagraphbyparagraph
8. Lastly,introductionsandconclusions
9. Editandpolish
10. Reviewwithafinalchecklist
Clickonthelinksontheleftforinformationabouteachstep

1. Scrutinise the question

Whenyourlecturersitsdowntomarkyouressay,theveryfirstthings/hewilllookatiswhetherornotyouhaveansweredthequestiondirectlyand
comprehensively.Itdoesnotmatterhowdazzlingyourideasareorhowsharpyourwritingisyourlecturerhasaskedyouaspecificquestionfora
reason,andifyouhavenotansweredit,youarelikelytobemarkeddownconsiderably.Thismeansthatthefirststageinwritinganyessayshould
alwaysbetoscrutinisethequestionanddissectitcarefullysoyoucanworkoutexactlywhatitisyouarebeingaskedtodo.
Anyessayquestionwillcontainatleasttwocrucialingredients:
1. Informationaboutthecontentthatyouaresupposedtocover
Forexample,Vygotsky'stheoriesonchilddevelopment,orsystemsofgovernancein
Europe
2. Oneormoreverbs,ordirectionwords,thattellyouwhattodowiththatcontent
Forexample,analyseit,explainit,discussitordescribeit.
Letsworkwiththefollowingessayquestionasanexampleofjusthowmuchinformationanessayquestioncontains:
Workplacediversityisnowrecognisedasanimportantfeatureinorganisations,especiallyin
multiculturalnationslikeAustralia.Whatcommunicationproblemsmightariseinaculturally
diverseworkplace,andhowcanmanagersbestdealwiththem?
Verybroadly,thisisaquestionaboutcommunication.Morespecifically,though,itisaquestionaboutcommunicationproblems,andparticularly
thosethatariseinaculturallydiverseworkplace.
Butwhatarewebeingaskedtosayaboutthistopicinouressays?
Fromlookingatthequestionclosely,wecanseethatwerereallybeingaskedtotalkabouttwothings.Thefirstishighlightedhere:
Workplacediversityisnowrecognisedasanimportantfeatureinorganisations,especiallyin
multiculturalnationslikeAustralia.Whatcommunicationproblemsmightariseinaculturally
diverseworkplace,andhowcanmanagersbestdealwiththem?
Thelecturerisclearlyaskingustoidentifyandperhapsbrieflyoutlinethekindsofcommunicationproblemsthatmightariseinaculturallydiverse
workplace.Noticethatthelecturerhasnotusedtermsherelikeexamineoranalysethisisagoodindicationthatinthispartoftheessay,lotsofdetail
isprobablynotrequired.
Ifwelookattheessayquestionagain,wecanseeasecondparttothequestion,highlightedhere:

Workplacediversityisnowrecognisedasanimportantfeatureinorganisations,especiallyin
multiculturalnationslikeAustralia.Whatcommunicationproblemsmightariseinaculturally
diverseworkplace,andhowcanmanagersbestdealwiththem?
Here,thelecturerisaskingustolookattheareaofmanagementtofindoutwhatstrategiesortechniquesmanagerscanusetodealwiththe
communicationproblemswediscussedinthefirstpartofouressay.
Thereissomethingmoretothisquestion,however,thatitwouldbedangeroustooverlook.Thewordbestsuggeststhatthelecturerdoesntsimply
wantustoexplaintherangeofstrategiesavailabletomanagers,butwantsustoevaluatewhichstrategyorcombinationofstrategiesisthemost
effectivefordealingwiththeseproblems.Thiswillinvolveplentyofcriticalthinkingonourpartaswewillhavetolookcarefullyatthestrengthsand
weaknessesofeachstrategytoconstructaninformedargumentaboutwhichisbest.Noticethatthisprocessofanalyzingthequestionmethodically
helpedusdeterminethefollowing:
Wecanlookforrelevantinformationinboththecommunicationandthemanagementsections
ofthelibraryandthedatabases
Thefirstpartofouressayinwhichweoutlinethepossiblerangeofcommunicationproblems
islikelytoberelativelybriefperhapsathirdofthewordcountwiththemainfocusonthe
secondpartofthequestion
Weneedtoresearchallthepossiblestrategiesthatmanagersmightuseinthiscontext
Weneedtothinkverycarefullysothatwecanconfidentlyrecommendthebeststrategy
Weneedtomovebeyonddescriptionorreportinginthesecondpartoftheessayinorderto
evaluatetheprosandconsofeachstrategyandmakeaconvincingargumentaboutthestrategy
werecommend
Onceyouareclearonhowyouneedtoapproachyourtopic,youcanbegintoplanyourresearchandyourdiscussion.

2. Brainstorm your ideas

Beforeyoucandeterminewhatpointsyouwanttomakeinyouressay,youneedtodosomebrainstormingandsomeresearchtomakesureyouhave
agoodideaofalltheissuesrelevanttoyourtopiconlythencanyouselectthemostimportantones.
Itslikelythat,fromyourreadings,lecturesandtutorials,youwillhaveafairideaofthegroundyouneedtocover,soyoucanprobablystartto
brainstormstraightaway,beforeyouevensetfootinalibrary.Thefirstthingtodo,then,isthink:
Whatarethevariousissues/problemsthatcharacteriseyourtopic?
Whattheoriesorexamplesofresearchrelatetoyourtopic?
Whatquestionsarisewhenthinkingaboutyourtopic?
Whattrickyorcontentioustermsneedtobedefinedwithinyourtopicarea?

Manystudentsfindthat,initially,somesortofspraydiagramor

helpsthemtothinkoutthemanyfacetsoftheirtopic.This,inturn,canhelpthemdecidewhichareatheyneedtofocusontomaketheiranalysis
sufficientlydeep.Atthisstage,trynottothinkaboutwhatyouressaywilllooklike.Rather,concentrateonteasingouteverypossibleangleof
discussionsoyoucanmakeconsciouschoicesaboutwhattoincludeinthefinalpiece.

3. Research your topic

Onceyouhavethoughtoutallthefacetsofyourtopic,andidentifiedallthequestionsyouneedtoanswer,youcanbegintoresearch.Ofcourse,as
yourresearchcontinues,yourareaofdiscussionwilloftenshiftslightlyorbecomemorerefined,inresponsetowhatyoufindintheliterature.Thisis
good!Infact,itshowsthatyouareextendingtheboundsofyourunderstanding.
Thereisacomprehensivesectiononthiswebsiteaboutresearchingthatcontainsstepby
stepadviceaboutwhere,whatandhowtoresearchforassignmentsatuniversity.

4. Establish a thesis statement

SowhatisathesisstatementandhowdoIcomeupwithone?
Athesisstatementisusually12sentencesandisashort,condensedversionofyourresponsetotheessayquestion.Inotherwords,itisyouranswer
tothequestionexpressedin12sentences.
Itiscommonforstudents,whenstatingtheaimofanessay,tosimplyrephrasethequestionandsaythattheessaywill"examine"it.It'smuch
stronger,however,tosuggestwhatyouranswertothequestionmightbe.Yourthesisstatementshouldthereforetaketheformofaclaim,argument,
orassertionthatyoucan(andwill)defendwithevidenceandargumentinthebodyoftheessay.Itshouldnotsimplyrestatethequestionandpresent
abroadtopicthatyouwill'explore'.Forexample:
Possibleopeningphrases
Rephrasingthe
question

Examples

"Thisessaywilllookat...[thequestionrephrased]" Thisessaywillexaminewhatcommunicationproblems
mightariseinaculturallydiverseworkplace,andoffer
"Thisessayexplores...[rephrasethequestion]"
suggestionsabouthowmanagerscanbestdealwiththem.
"Thisessayexamines...[thequestion]"

"Thisessaywillarguethat..."
Presentinga
thesisstatement

"Thisessaysuggeststhat..."
"Thisessayassertsthat..."

Thisessaywilloutlinethemaincommunicationproblems
thatcanariseinculturallydiverseworkplaces,focussing
particularlyonthetwomostcommon:thosearisingfrom
genderroleexpectations,andthoserelatingtobody
language.Afterexaminingthecauses,thisessaywill
evaluatearangeofmanagementstrategiesandsuggestthat
acombinationofculturalawarenesstraining,andafocus
onworkplacecultureoffersthebestapproach.

Itisworthestablishingatentativethesisstatementbeforeyoubegintoresearch,asitprovidesfocusandhelpsyoudeterminewhatisrelevanttothe
discussionandwhatisnot.Youcanalwaysadjustitasyougoalong,andasyouuncovernewinformation.
Todeterminewhatyourthesisstatementisgoingtobe,themainthingyouneedtodoisthink.Thinkaboutyourquestion,andconsiderwhatyour
answermightbeifyouwereaskedtoansweritpromptly,inatutorialdiscussion,forexample.Agoodplacetobeginisconsidering'bothsides',or,
thevaryingopinionsheldbyexpertsonyourtopic:
'ItisashamethatevenincontemporaryAustralia,raceandethnicityhavethepowertoaffecttheoutcomesofaperson'slife'.
Criticallyevaluatethisstatement.
Evidencesupportingthisstatement:certaingroupsareassociatedwithhigherunemployment,attainlowerlevelsofeducation,
performbelowaverageatuniversity,havelowerlifeexpectancy...
Evidenceagainstthisstatement:manysuccessfulpeopleinAustraliaaren'twhite,anddonothaveaEuropeanculturalbackground
Perhapstheissueisacomplexone,andyourthoughtsarebeginningtolooksomethinglikethis
Perhapsraceorethnicitydosometimesaffectpeople'sopportunities...
...buttheydonthavetodetermineaperson'slifeoutcomescompletely...
...butthenagain,howdifficultisittoovercomebothovertandcovertracism...?
Fromthesenotesandideas,determineathesisstatement:oneortwosentencesthatsummariseclearlywhatyouthinkaboutyourtopic.Forexample:
WhatNOTtodo:
Thisessaywillevaluatewhetherornotaperson'sraceorethnicityhavethepowertoaffecttheirlifeoutcomesinAustralia.
Thisismuchstronger:
Thisessaywillsuggestthatwhileone'sskincolourorculturalbackgroundcannotdictatelifeoutcomesentirely,theycan,tovarying
degrees,affectpeople'saccesstocertainlifeimprovingservices,suchaseducationandhealthcare,whichinturn,affectslife
outcomes.ThisisparticularlythecaseforAboriginalAustralians,whowillformasubstantialfocusofthisessay.
Throughoutyourinitialplanningandresearchingphase,makesureyouconstantlyconsideryourownthoughtsinrelationtowhatyouarereadingand
thequestionyouvebeenaskedtoanswer.Notethesethoughtsdownasyouresearchandread,bothinthemarginsofallyourtextsandonseparate
sheetsofpaper(takealookatthereadingandnotetakingsectionforfurtheradvicehere).Yourreactionstothetextsyouengagewitharethe
beginningsofyourowncriticalopinion:yourthesisstatement.
Thethesisstatementisalsocruciallateron,whenyouneedtodecideonthe
argumentativeaimofeachparagraphinyouressay.

5. Do the math
Q.Whymightwewanttodomathinpreparationforanessay?
A.Bydeterminingroughlyhowmanyparagraphswehavetoworkwith,wecan
determineroughlyhowmanypointswewillbeabletomakeintheessay.Thiswillhelp
usfocusonthemostimportantonesandalsohelpavoidstunted(short)orwaffley
(long)paragraphs.
Asageneralrule:
IntroductionsandConclusionseachconsumeabout10%ofthewordcount=20%total
Anacademicparagraphissomewherebetween100and200words=150wordsonaverage(seetheboxbelow)
Soinanessayof1500words,theintroductionwillberoughly150wordsandtheconclusionwillbeanother150words...
Thatleavesuswithabout1200words,and8bodyparagraphs.Soif1paragraph=1point,thenwecancontributeabout8pointstoprovingthethesis
statement.Thequestionthenbecomes:

Whatarethose8pointsgoingtobe?
Thereasonanacademicparagraphissomewherebetween100and200wordsisthatithasquiteaspecificseriesofjobsto
doanditcanrarelycompleteallthesejobsinlessthan100words.Whileintroductionsandconclusionsareabitofan
exception,anacademicparagraphfromthebodyofanessayshouldcontainthefollowingelements:
Atopicsentencethatgivesthereaderanideaofthetopicoftheparagraph
Citationofevidenceorreferencetoexpertopinion
Discussionofthatevidenceoropinion,clearlyindicatingitsrelevancetoyourargumentandtopic

6. Outline before you write

Bynowyoushouldhave:
donethebulkofyourresearch
developedyourargument,orthesisstatement
'donethemath'tocalculateroughlyhowmayparagraphsyouressaywillcontain
Itisatthispointthatyouneedtowriteanoutlinebeforeyousitdowntowritetheessay.
Foreachparagraphinyouressay:
establishthetopicandtheargumentativepoint
writeoutadotpointedplanforhowitwillunfold
determinewhatevidenceand/orresourcesyouwillincorporatetosupportyourpoint
Ifyouthinkofyouressayasa'body',theoutlineistheskeletonthatoffersanoverallstructure.Asyouwrite,youthenslowly'fleshout'thatbody,
addingmeattotheskeletonstepbystep.
Considerthesampleoutlineforthefollowingessaytopic:

Workplacediversityisnowrecognisedasanimportantfeatureinorganisations,
especiallyinmulticulturalnationslikeAustralia.Whatcommunicationproblems
mightariseinaculturallydiverseworkplace,andhowcanmanagersbestdealwith
them?
Introduction
1.Discussgeneralcommunicationproblemsintheworkplace
Bodylanguage(Barker&Lloyd2007)
Genderexpectations(Barker2003)
Powerimbalances(Taylor&Sweet2009)

2.Discusshowthesethreemainproblemsareexacerbatedbyculturaldifferences
Bodylanguage(Smith2006)
Genderexpectations(Barker&Lloyd2007)
Powerimbalances(BrownandWood2009)

3.EvaluatethesuccessofWorkplaceculturaltrainingprograms
Canraiseawarenessofissues(Taylor&Sweet2009)
Canallowemployeestodiscussissuesfaced(Barker2003)
However,canstigmatiseemployeeswhofeel'different'(BrownandWood2009)

4.EvaluatethesuccessofWorkplacecommunicationtraining
Focussesnotoncultural'difference',butonsuccessfulcommunicationtechniques(Brown
andWood2009)
Avoidsstigmatisingemployees(BrownandWood2009)
However,maynotaddresskeyissues(BrownandWood2009)

5....
6....
7....
8.
Conclusion
Overall,themostsuccessfulapproachestocombattingthemaincommunicationproblems
thatoccurinculturallydiverseworkplaceswilltakeintoaccount...

7. Write paragraph by paragraph

Iftherewereasingleskillwhich,ifmastered,couldhelpmostofustoimprove
ourwritingimmediately,itwouldbetheskillofparagraphing.Theparagraphis
thebasicunitofargument....[and]teacherswillsensewhetherornottheir
studentshaveanargumentlargelyonthebasisofwhetherthethoughtsintheir
essayshavebeensusceptibletoorganisationintoparagraphs

Osland,Boyd,McKennaandSalusinsky,WritinginAustralia:a
compositioncoursefortertiarystudents,p.103.

Theparagraphisthefundamentalbuildingblockofacademicwriting,andparticularlyoftheessay.Theparagraphallowsustoputforwardonepoint
andsupportthatpointwithevidenceandreasoneddiscussion.Ifyourparagraphsarenotworkingwelltomaketheirpoints,noamountoffancy
footworkintheintroductionandconclusionwillsavetheessay.
Thereisanothergoodreasonforcomingtotermswithparagraphs:ratherthanthinkingaboutyouressayas1500words,thinkaboutitasroughly10
paragraphs,or10points.Youcanthenworkonthemonebyone.Suddenly,theprocessofputtingtogetheranessaycanbetackledinsteps,and
doesn'tseemsodaunting!
TheGoldenRuleofacademicparagraphs
Begintheparagraphwithasentenceinyourownwords:a'topicsentence'.Thisisusuallythemostgeneralsentenceintheparagraph,offeringan
overviewofthepointbeingaddressed.Italsoframesthereferencesyoucite,allowingyourreadertointerprettheirrelevanceandsignificance.
Eachparagraphshouldhaveitsownjobitshouldberesponsibleforonepointthatcontributestothemaintopic:
Aconcepttoexplainanddiscuss
Anargumenttomake
Apointtodebate
Thesentencesthatfollowshouldunfoldlogicallyfromthatfirstsentence.Theyshouldbe:
unitedinasinglecause:unpacking,explainingandsupportingthetopicsentence
coherenteachsentenceshouldflowonlogicallyandsmoothlyfromthepreviousone
completethemainpointshouldbeisfullyillustratedanddevelopedwithsufficientevidence&references.
Topicsentence12sentences
Likeanintroductiontotheparagraphwhich:
outlinesthetopictobediscussed
clearlydemonstratesthelinktothemaintopicoftheessay
Bodysentences310sentences
Discussevidencetosupportpoint:
examplesofrelevantresearch
relevanttheories
makeanynecessarycriticalcomments
Conclusion(notalwaysneeded)12sentences
summarisestheresearchyou'vejustdiscussed
clarifieshowithelpstoanswerthequestionyou'retryingtoanswer
Forfurtheradviceonwritinggoodparagraphs,clickhere.

8. Lastly, introductions and conclusions

Eachstudentwillprefertoworkontheirintroductionandconclusionatadifferentstageinthewritingprocess.Someliketostarttheintroduction
first,otherswillwriteitslowlyastheyconstructthebody,whileothersleaveboththeintroductionandtheconclusionuntiltheend.Butwhenever
youbegintowritethem,theintroductionandtheconclusionshouldbethelastpartsyoufinalise.Bothofthesesectionsworkassummariesofyour
essay,soyouneedtowaituntilthebodyiscompletedbeforeyoucangiveanaccurateoverviewofwhatyou'vewritten.
Whatshouldanintroductiondo?
Theintroductiontomostessayswrittenatuniversityshouldberoughly10%ofthetotalwordcount.Agoodintroductionshouldalsodothe
following:
discussthebroadercontextinwhichthemainissueislocated
outlinethescopeanddirectionofthepaper
identifythefocus,orpointofviewofthediscussion/argument
providea'map'ofthemaintopicsaddressedbytheessay

givinga
reallifeexampleofthekindofthingyouaregoingtowriteaboutthat
containsunusualorcolourfuldetailsbeginningwitharelevantquotation
(fromanywhereexceptadrytextbook),orbeginningwithsomestartling
statisticsthatindicatethesignificanceofthetopic.
Inaddition,agoodintroductionshouldtrytoalertthereadersinterestthereadershouldbekeentoreadyouressay!Youmighttry:

Sampleessayquestionandintroduction
Workplacediversityisnowrecognisedasanimportantfeatureinorganisations,especiallyinmulticulturalnationslikeAustralia.
Whatcommunicationproblemsmightariseinaculturallydiverseworkplace,andhowcanmanagersbestdealwiththem?
Discussthebroadercontextin
whichthemainissueislocated

Significanceoftopic
Scopeanddirectionofthepaper

Focusandmap
Mainargument,orthesis

TheAustralianworkforceisamorediverseplacenowthanatanyothertimeinthenation's
history.Certainly,Australia'smulticulturallandscapecontributestothisdiversity,butthe
workforceisalsodiverseintermsofgender,age,sexuality,ability/disabilityandreligious
beliefs.WhilethisdiversityhasthecapacitytocontributemuchtothegoalsofAustralian
workplaces,itcanresultinproblemsifemployeeshavedifficultycommunicatingwithand
relatingtooneanother.
Relationshipsbetweenemployeeswithsuchvariedbackgroundsneedtobecarefullynurtured
andmaintainedtoensurethatemployeesfeelvaluedandrespectedatwork,andtheworkplace
functionseffectively.
Itisimportant,then,formanagersinparticulartounderstandwhatkindsofcommunication
problemscanariseindiverseworkplaces,andhowtobestdealwiththem.
Thisessaywillfocusparticularlyonculturallydiverseworkplaces,andwillfirstlyidentifythe
maincommunicationproblemsthatcanarise.Itwillthenfocusdiscussiononthetwomost
common:thosearisingfromgenderroleexpectations,andthoserelatingtobodylanguage.
Afterexaminingthecauses,thisessaywillevaluatearangeofmanagementstrategiesand
suggestthatacombinationofculturalawarenesstraining,andafocusonworkplaceculture
offersthebestapproach.

Theintroductionshouldalsolineupwellwiththeconclusion,somakesureyoulookatthemsidebysidewhenyou'vefinishedwritingtomakesure
yourconclusiondoes,infact,bringclosuretotheissuesraisedintheintroduction.
Whatshouldaconclusiondo?
Theconclusion,liketheintroduction,shouldberoughly10%ofthetotalwordcount.Whilethereareanumberofthingsagoodconclusionshould
do,thereareanumberofthingsitshouldavoid:
rephrasingtheintroduction:weshouldknowmoreattheendoftheessaythanwedidatthebeginning,sobemoredetailedandspecificinthe
conclusion
simplyretellingthereaderthepointsthatweremadeintheessaywhatdoallthepointsmeanwhenconsideredtogether,morebroadly?
endingwithalongquote,ormanycitationsfromothersourcestheconclusionshouldconcludeyouressay
focussingonaminorpoint
introducingnewideas
Instead,agoodconclusionshould:
drawtogetherallthepointsthatwerediscussedandconsiderthe'sum'oftheirmeaning,or,theiroverallsignificance
bringclosuretothemainissuediscussed
bealogicalendingtowhathasalreadybeendiscussed
makesuggestionsforhowthetopicneedstobefurtherinvestigated,orspeculateonwhatislikelytohappeninthefuture
Sampleessayquestionandconclusion
Workplacediversityisnowrecognisedasanimportantfeatureinorganisations,especiallyinmulticulturalnationslikeAustralia.
Whatcommunicationproblemsmightariseinaculturallydiverseworkplace,andhowcanmanagersbestdealwiththem?
Providealogicalendingtowhat
hasbeendiscussed,reflectingthe
pointsmadeintheintroduction

Maintaininggoodrelationshipsbetweenemployeesinculturallydiverseworkplacescanbe
challenging,butitistooimportanttobelefttochance.Whenmanagersoverlookthe
importanceofbuildinggoodworkplacecommunicationtofocussimplyonmanagingstaff
behavioursonworkrelatedtasks,staffcanfeelundervaluedandexcluded,whichislikelyto


Bringclosuretothemainissue,
butbemorespecificthaninthe
introduction

Howshouldthisissuebefurther
investigated?

resultinalossofjobsatisfactionandproductivity.Asthisessayhasdemonstrated,themain
communicationproblemsthatarisefromculturallydiversecontextsstemfromdifferencesin
genderroleexpectationsacrosscultures,anddifferencesinthemeaningsofbodylanguage.
Problemstendtoarisewhenstaffmakeassumptionsabouthowotherswillact,andthentake
offensewhenexpectationsarenotmet.Whileculturalawarenesstraininghastraditionally
beenthestrategyusedtoeducatestaffaboutgeneralculturaldifferences,thisshouldnotbe
relieduponasthesolestrategy,asitcanleadstafftoassumethatcertaingeneralised
differencesexistbetweencultures,leadingtostereotypingandreinforcingafocuson
'difference'.Instead,thistrainingshouldbeusedonlytocomplementthebuildingofa
workplacecultureinwhichstaffaregivenformalisedopportunitiestospeakopenlyabout
theirconcernsandideas.Thenatureoftheseopportunitiesshouldbecarefullyconsidered,as
theyshouldvarydependingonthesizeofaworkplace,andthenatureoftheorganisation.So
researchintopreciselyhowtofaciliatethesekindsofconversationsinparticular
organisationaltypeswouldbeworthwhile.

9. Edit and polish

Thereare5basicstepstoeffectiveediting:
1. gaincriticaldistance
2. printoutyourpaper
3. thinkBIG
4. thinkmediumtimetoreadoutloud
5. thinksmall
1.Gaincriticaldistance

Wheneditingyourownwork,youneedtotrytoapproachyourpaperasthereaderwill.Thereaderdoesntknowwhatyoure
thinking,orwhatyouretryingtosay.You,ontheotherhand,havealltheideasinyourhead,sowhenyoutrytoedityourownwork,
yourbrainfillsinallthepeskygapsinyoursentences,andyoumissglaringproblemsthatthereaderwillpickup.Toeditwell:
aimtofinishyourdraftaboutaweekbeforetheduedate
ifyouarestrappedfortimeandplantowriteyourwholepaperinjustoneday,
thatsokayjustmakethatonedayaweekbeforetheduedate,insteadoftheday
before!
Then,donottouchorlookatyourdraftuntiladayortwobeforeyourpaperisdue.

Whathappensinthatoneweekperiodiscrucial:youforgetwhatyouweretryingtosay.Yourbrainlosesitscapacitytofillinallthe
holesinyourargumentandskimoverthespellingandgrammarmistakes.Whenyouthenreturntoyourdraft,youhavefresheyes
andwillpickuploadsmoremistakesthanyouwouldhavedonebefore.Ifyoucantspendawholeweeknotlookingatyourpaper,at
leastplanaheadsoyoucanleaveitaloneforaday.
2.Printoutyourpaper

Printingontopapermakesformuchmoreeffectiveeditingbecauseitallowsyouto:
seeeverypageatthesametime,makingitmucheasiertoseestructuralproblems
skimmoreeffectively,helpingyoucombattheurgetogetboggeddownindetails
getclosertothatreaderlypositionthatissocrucialtosuccessfulediting.

Makesureyoualsomoveawayfromyourcomputer.Thishelpsyouresistthetemptationtoeditasyouread.
3.ThinkBIG

Theorderinwhichyouanalyseaspectsofyourwritingisveryimportant.Youneedtocheckthereallyimportantissuesbeforeyou
getcaughtupinpickingoverrelativelyminorproblems.ThinkingBIGaddressesissuesthatarecrucialtothesuccessofyourpaper.
Thesethingsare:
Thebasicingredientsofyourpaper,orthemainideas:content
Theorderinwhichyouveputthiscontenttogether:structure

Tosuccessfullyaddressbigpictureissues,youneedtodoaskimread.Thatis,youneedtoreadtogetthebasicgistofthepaper
withoutgettingboggeddownindetails,orsmallpicturestuff.Thatwillcomelater.Asyouskimyourpaper,haveyourtopicclearlyin
mindandthinkhonestlyaboutthefollowingquestions:
Doestheessaydirectlyaddressthesetquestion?
Haseverypartofthequestionbeenanswered?
Doestheessayhaveaclearfocusandapointofview?
Doeseachparagraphscontentcoveranimportantpartofthetopic?
Doeseachparagraphcontributesomethingcrucialtomyaim?
Regardingstructure:amIleadingmyreaderthroughtheideasinthemost
effective/clearestwaypossible?

Often,atthisstage,itsverydifficulttoanswerthesequestionshonestlyiftheanswertoanyofthesequestionsisno,fixingthe
problemcanbetimeconsuming.Thatiswhyitsimportanttoleaveyourselfplentyoftimetoedit.Ifyouneedtomakesignificant
changestoimproveyourpaper,atleastyouhavetime.Considerthiswhenyouplanyourtimeframe.
4.Thinkmediumtimetoreadoutloud

Onceyouhaveskimreadandyouarehappywiththebasiccontentandstructure,nowyoucanmoveontothinkingmedium.Medium
issuesareveryimportanttothesuccessofyourpaper.Thisisthepointwhereyoulookat:
theclarityofyourexplanations,and
youruseofevidence

Atthisstage,trynottolookatpunctuationandspelling.Workyourwaythrougheachparagraphonebyoneandconsiderthe
following:
Intheintroduction:
Isthereathesisstatement(astatementofthemainpointofyouressay)?
Doesthisthesisstatementdirectlyaddressthequestion?
Isabriefessaymapincluded?

Inthebodyparagraphs:
Isthemainideaintroduceddirectly?
Aretheimportantconceptsdiscussedclearly?
Doestheevidenceproviderelevantandcrediblesupport?
HaveIreferencedallthecitedmaterialaccurately?
DothesentencesflowcoherentlyorhaveIwedgedsomeillfittingconcepts
sidebyside?

Intheconclusion:
Isthereabriefsummaryofthemainpoints?
Hasapositionbeenexpressedortheessayquestionanswered?
Doestheconclusionfollowlogicallyfromthebodyofyouressay?
Doestheconclusionproperlyavoidintroducinganynewideasorinformation?

Itisoftenatthismediumstagethatstudentsfinditdifficulttoassesstheirownwork.Theideasprobablysoundclearinyourmind,
buttoyourreader,theymaywellnot.Inordertotrytogetfurtherintoareaderlyposition,itisatthisstagethatreadingoutloudis
veryuseful.Readingyourworkoutloud,whileenvisaginganaudiencesittinginfrontofyou,makesyoumuchmoreawareofany
pointsatwhichyouarebeingunclear.Anytimeyouhavetopauseorstumble,itslikelythatthereisaproblemthatyouneedto
check.
5.Thinksmall

Onceyouarehappywiththeclarityandstrengthofyourparagraphs,thinksmall.Thismeansspellingandgrammar.Whilethese
issuesareimportant,theymainlyaffectyourcredibilityandshould,asaresult,bedeprioritisedinfavourofmoreimportantissues.
Afterall,yourlecturerwillnotcarethatyourspellingandgrammarareperfectifhalfyourpaperdoesnotaddressthequestion.
Spellingandgrammarmightholdyoubackfromaslightlyhighergrade,whileissuesofstructureandcontentcanoftenholdyouback
fromapass.Itsusefultorunaspellingandgrammarcheck,butthetechniqueofreadingoutloudcanalsobeusefulforpickingup
sentencesinwhichgrammarneedswork.

10. Review with a final checklist

1

Havethebigissuesbeenchecked?

Havethemediumissuesbeenchecked?

Havethesmallissuesbeenchecked?
Font:

isthefontplain,legibleandagoodsize?
Isthefontconsistentthroughouttheessay?
Arepagenumbersincluded?
Linespacing:

doesitadheretothatdictatedintheunitoutline?
ifitsnotspecified,isiteither1.5ordouble?

Isthereferencelistcompleteandaccurate?

Istherelevantcoversheetattachedandfilledin?

Istheessaysavedonacomputerandisthereanextraprintedcopy,just
incasethesavedcopygetslost,deletedordestroyed?