Essay writing instructions

Di Tommaso, Caldirola, Montagna, Sanchini, Perna

 The essay should answer this
statement:
Exam “How the course has made you reflect
on your choice to become a doctor”.

Written Essay The essay must refer to at least ONE TOPIC from EACH
MODULE of the course (History of medicine , Bioethics,
Psychology, Pedagogy) and must contain both your
personal opinions (motivation, idea, thoughts, personal
research and reflections) as well as the compulsory
literature uploaded on the LMS platform.
 Essay structure 1/2

INTRODUCTION
• Provide information about the chosen issues related to each module.
Which topics have you decided to speak about?
Why have you chosen to discuss them?
Why do you think they are important for your future profession?

• Briefly provide a “game plan” that explains to the reader how you propose to proceed in
the thesis (“Body”)
Provide an idea of the flow between the different sections of speech, using linking words that will guide the
reader in the evolution of the discussion. Examples of linking words are: first of all, furthermore, moreover
etc...
 Essay structure 2/2

Body
The body of the text represents your thesis (What).
Split the body of the text into paragraphs that develop the thesis, each through a main idea (content
provided in class) supported by the compulsory bibliography, facts, examples from lectures or slides, personal
experiences/ideas.
Each paragraph (module) should contain a brief description of the lesson/topic chosen using the literature,
and personal discussion (also through personal research of other literature)

Conclusion - Summarize some key points you have learnt

 Brainstorming

• Introduction: Which topics have been of interest to me? Why is it

worth studying these topics as a future doctor? How do I want to
organize my discussion?

• Body: What is the background information needed to understand and

discuss my topics? What are the distintive elements of the topic I
chose? What evidence will support my arguments? What
examples/situations can support and argue my discussion?

• Conclusion: What are my take home messages? Did writing this essay
give birth to new questions? is it possible to identify a change in the
way you view the medical profession and a development in you since
the beginning of the year?
Documentation
• You must include footnotes and include the bibliography at
the end of the paper.
https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide
/citation-guide-1.html (Chicago style guide)
• Essays will be checked for plagiarism. If any form of
plagiarism is found, students will fail the exam, no matter
what it is written in the text
https://smallseotools.com/plagiarism-checker/
 Suggestions

• Contents: topics may be unrelated

• Style: first person is recommended
• Count words: The essay must be 1000 (minimum) 1500 (maximum) words long.
An essay with a superior number of words (maximum 200 words) will be
accepted, an essay of less than 1000 words will be rejected.
Assessment
criteria of the
essay
The deadline of the submission
must be met (July 28th)
 Guidelines for the presentation
• Deadline: you must submit the essay by July 28th to the following e-mail address:
medicaldoctoressay@hunimed.eu
• The email should include Name-Surname registration number and degree program

Essay layout
• At the top left at the beginning of the document put your first name, surname, registration
number and degree program
• Body type: New Times Roman; font 12; single line-spacing
• Registration of the examination on MyPortal is mandatory
• Students will receive the result of their essay on MyPortal on October 29th
Teachers
• Prof. Licia Montagna licia.montagna@hunimed.eu
• Prof. Luca Di Tommaso luca.di_tommaso@hunimed.eu

• Prof. Virginia Sanchini virginia.sanchini@unimi.it

• Prof. Daniela Caldirola daniela.caldirola@hunimed.eu

• Prof. Giampaolo Perna giampaolo.perna@hunimed.eu