UNIVERSITY OF ANTIOQUIA

ENGINEERING FACULTY
General Guidelines for Writing a Good Essay
Start with an Argument
First, make sure you have an argument or thesis that directs the essay. By an argument, I
mean a clearly stated position in response to an assertion, question, or statement that I issued,
backed by reasons supported by evidence. For example, do you agree or disagree with one of
the topic statements?
Second, do not accept everything in lectures and the readings at face value. I may disagree
on key points with parts of the readings, and you may disagree with one or all of them. What
matters is that you ground your disagreements in clear reasons.
Third, you must provide evidence-based reasons. You should analyze the readings and
arguments that we have considered in class and form reasoned conclusions, by which I mean
“a conclusion for which you have a reason based on available evidence.” The following
statement lacks evidence-based reasons:
“Representative democracy doesn’t work because people are stupid.”
While it is possible that this true, the statement fails to explain how stupidity impair
democracy and offers no evidence that this is the case. It is an assertion without an evidence-
based reason. By contrast the following statement, while debatable, is based on evidence-
based reasons:
“Democracy cannot work effectively if people are easily misled by advertising, as the
video The Persuaders argued, because people will not evaluate candidates’ positions on
issues accurately.
Scope of the Essay
The essay cannot cover all aspect of a topic. What matters is how you focus the essay.
Consider the top two or three reasons in favor of your position, and the leading objections to
them. Do not focus on trivial items; consider the elements that the authors emphasized and
that we discussed in lecture.
Be wary of back-tracking – discussing items from a previous weeks more than the readings
and lecture for the week before the essay is due. To me, the essay will read as if you didn’t
bother to do the reading for the week.
Do Not Ignore Counter-arguments

Material compiled by Malcolm Peñaranda for the University of Antioquia’s Engineering Faculty.
© 2014, University of Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia (South America).
Always address obvious counter-arguments to your thesis. For example, if you think that the
“penumbras” of rights do not exist, you should discuss why this approach to liberty is
flawed.
Examples vs. Research
These are not research essays. There is no need to do new research to get a good grade on
them (indeed, you may get a poor grade by failing to discuss the class readings sufficiently).
Extra-class sources may supplement but newer substitute class readings and discussions.
You should, however, use examples to illustrate your arguments. They can be drawn from
the readings, lecture, periodicals, or from work in other courses.

It is essential to explain why the example is relevant. Detailed stories are unnecessary, but
you should write a sentence or two showing how the example relates to your claim. (E.g.,
“Tolerance for free speech has varied over time. The “clear and present danger” test was
replaced by a “grave and probable danger” rule and then an incitement test.”)
Be Clear Rather Than Clever
Do not try to toss around jargon that you do not understand or use a three-syllable word
when a one-syllable word will do. For example, the statement “An epistemological
pessimism characterizes Mill’s justification for the emancipation of elocutions” is better
replaced by the sentence, “Free speech is necessary because we cannot know which views
are really true or false, according to Mill.”
Do Not Plagiarize!
Do not plagiarize. Do not plagiarize. Do not plagiarize. Do not plagiarize...
Citations
When it is clear from the context of the sentence, cite the page number parenthetically, as I
have done above. You may use footnotes or in-text citations (I prefer that you not use
endnotes since I hate flipping back and forth). When citing outside sources, use either the
Modern Language Association or Note style. This Dartmouth website provides examples:
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~sources/contents.html
The Spell-Checker May Deceive You
I do not want to read about the “pubic” interest in the “Untied” States. Print a draft to
proofread, or have a friend proof-read it. An essay with many misspelled words and
grammatical errors will be down-graded. I have to be able to understand what you
are saying.
 

Material compiled by Malcolm Peñaranda for the University of Antioquia’s Engineering Faculty.
© 2014, University of Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia (South America).
Use Quotations and Block Quotes Sparingly
The purpose of this paper is to show that you have understood the readings. Simply
copying what the authors have written does not demonstrate this. Do not fill your
paper with direct quotations from the readings.

Any dolt can copy out of the book, so do not use block quotes like this extensively.
 
Guide Your Argument with Headers
You might consider using headers (the text above this sentence is a header) to
guide your argument. The header should be concise. You should not break
questions down into sub-questions in your essay. You should be writing coherent
essays, but you may use headers as a way of outlining your arguments. If you have
a talent for writing good segues, then headers may be redundant.
 
Abjure Diatribes, Polemics, and Rants
Discuss one of the topics that I assigned. Do not pen a screed against injustice or
idiocy in American politics that you have been wanting to write. If you want to make
a political statement, submit an op-ed to a campus paper or journal, start a blog,
write your legislator, or hold a rally. But raging against the machine to me will neither
gain you a good grade nor advance your cause because even if you persuade me to
accept your views, I have no power to alter the course of history. Yet.  
 
Avoid Profanity and Glibness
Profanity –  the seven words (and many others) you can’t say on the radio –  does
not sound as clever in written work as it does in a comedian’s monologue or my
lectures. Unless you are Rowan Atkinson (and you are not), be wary of using
sarcasm in essays. Being glib may make your essay appear poorly reasoned. A dry
paper that has good evidence and arguments will do better than a colorful paper that
places style over substance.
 
Keep Conclusions Concise
Make sure that your conclusion actually concludes the paper. You should simply be
summarizing the argument of your paper in the last paragraph. Do not raise new
topics in the last paragraph. If it was relevant, you should have discussed it in the
body of the paper.
 
Material compiled by Malcolm Peñaranda for the University of Antioquia’s Engineering Faculty.
© 2014, University of Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia (South America).
 How to Write an Essay: 10 Easy Steps
I believe that nothing completely satisfies an imaginative writer but copious and continuous
draughts of unmitigated praise, always provided it is accompanied by a large and increasing
sale of his works
-Frederick Locker-Lampson
Why is writing an essay so Learning how to write an essay doesn't have
frustrating? to involve so much trial and error.
Learning how to write an essay can be a
maddening, exasperating process, but it
doesn't have to be. If you know the steps and
understand what to do, writing can be easy
and even fun.
This site, "How To Write an Essay: 10 Easy
Steps," offers a ten-step process that teaches
students how to write an essay. Links to the
writing steps are found on the left, and
additional writing resources are located
across the top.
Brief Overview of the 10 Essay Writing Steps
Below are brief summaries of each of the ten steps to writing an essay. Select the links for
more info on any particular step, or use the blue navigation bar on the left to proceed through
the writing steps. How To Write an Essay can be viewed sequentially, as if going through ten
sequential steps in an essay writing process, or can be explored by individual topic.
1. Research: Begin the essay writing process by researching your topic, making yourself an
expert. Utilize the internet, the academic databases, and the library. Take notes and immerse
yourself in the words of great thinkers.
2. Analysis: Now that you have a good knowledge base, start analyzing the arguments of the
essays you're reading. Clearly define the claims, write out the reasons, the evidence. Look
for weaknesses of logic, and also strengths. Learning how to write an essay begins by
learning how to analyze essays written by
others.
3. Brainstorming: Your essay will require
insight of your own, genuine essay-writing
brilliance. Ask yourself a dozen questions
and answer them. Meditate with a pen in
your hand. Take walks and think and think
until you come up with original insights to
write about.
4. Thesis: Pick your best idea and pin it
down in a clear assertion that you can write
Material compiled by Malcolm Peñaranda for the University of Antioquia’s Engineering Faculty.
© 2014, University of Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia (South America).
your entire essay around. Your thesis is your main point, summed up in a concise sentence
that lets the reader know where you're going, and why. It's practically impossible to write a
good essay without a clear thesis.
5. Outline: Sketch out your essay before straightway writing it out. Use one-line sentences to
describe paragraphs, and bullet points to describe what each paragraph will contain. Play
with the essay's order. Map out the structure of your argument, and make sure each
paragraph is unified.
6. Introduction: Now sit down and write the essay. The introduction should grab the reader's
attention, set up the issue, and lead in to your thesis. Your intro is merely a buildup of the
issue, a stage of bringing your reader into the essay's argument.
(Note: The title and first paragraph are probably the most important elements in your essay.
This is an essay-writing point that doesn't always sink in within the context of the classroom.
In the first paragraph you either hook the reader's interest or lose it. Of course your teacher,
who's getting paid to teach you how to write an essay, will read the essay you've written
regardless, but in the real world, readers make up their minds about whether or not to read
your essay by glancing at the title alone.)
7. Paragraphs: Each individual paragraph should be focused on a single idea that supports
your thesis. Begin paragraphs with topic sentences, support assertions with evidence, and
expound your ideas in the clearest, most sensible way you can. Speak to your reader as if he
or she were sitting in front of you. In other words, instead of writing the essay, try talking the
essay.
8. Conclusion: Gracefully exit your essay by making a quick wrap-up sentence, and then end
on some memorable thought, perhaps a quotation, or an interesting twist of logic, or some
call to action. Is there something you want the reader to walk away and do? Let him or her
know exactly what.
9. MLA Style: Format your essay according to the correct guidelines for citation. All
borrowed ideas and quotations should be correctly cited in the body of your text, followed up
with a Works Cited (references) page listing the details of your sources.
10. Language: You're not done writing your essay until you've polished your language by
correcting the grammar, making sentences flow, incoporating rhythm, emphasis, adjusting
the formality, giving it a level-headed tone, and making other intuitive edits. Proofread until
it reads just how you want it to sound. Writing an essay can be tedious, but you don't want to
bungle the hours of conceptual work you've put into writing your essay by leaving a few
slippy misppallings and pourly wordedd phrazies..

Material compiled by Malcolm Peñaranda for the University of Antioquia’s Engineering Faculty.
© 2014, University of Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia (South America).