Handout in English for Academic and Professional Purposes

WRITING STRATEGIES

Writing Process
Good academic writing requires effective planning, drafting, and revision.

The writing process looks different for everyone, but there are five basic steps that will help you
structure your time when writing any kind of text.

Step 1: Prewriting
Before you start writing, you need to decide exactly what you’ll write about and do the necessary
research.

Coming up with a topic

If you have to come up with your own topic for an assignment, think of what you’ve covered in class—is
there a particular area that intrigued, interested, or even confused you? Topics that left you with
additional questions are perfect, as these are questions you can explore in your writing.

The scope of your topics depends on what type of text you’re writing—for example, an essay,
a research paper or a dissertation. Don’t pick anything too ambitious to cover within the word
count, or too limited for you to find much to say.

Narrow down your idea to a specific argument or question. For example, an appropriate topic for an
essay might be narrowed down like this:

Narrowing down a topic  19th-century literature  Novels in the romantic period  The novels of
Jane Austen  The theme of theater in Mansfield Park

Doing the research

Once you know your topic, it’s time to search for relevant sources and gather the information you need.
This process varies according to your field of study and the scope of the assignment. It might involve:

 Searching for primary and secondary sources.

 Reading the relevant texts closely (e.g. for literary analysis).
 Collecting data using relevant research methods (e.g. experiments, interviews
or surveys)

From a writing perspective, the important thing is to take plenty of notes while you do the research.
Keep track of the titles, authors, publication dates, and relevant quotations from your sources; the data
you gathered; and your initial analysis or interpretation of the questions you’re addressing.
Step 2: Planning and outlining
Especially in academic writing, it’s important to use a logical structure to convey information
effectively. It’s far better to plan this out in advance than to try to work out your structure once you’ve
already begun writing.

Creating an essay outline is a useful way to plan out your structure before you start writing. This
should help you work out the main ideas you want to focus on and how you’ll organize them. The
outline doesn’t have to be final—it’s okay if your structure changes throughout the writing process.

Use bullet points or numbering to make your structure clear at a glance. Even for a short text that won’t
use headings, it’s useful to summarize what you’ll discuss in each paragraph.

Step 3: Writing a first draft

Once you have a clear idea of your structure, it’s time to produce a full first draft.

This process can be quite non-linear. For example, it’s reasonable to begin writing with the main body of
the text, saving the introduction for later once you have a clearer idea of the text you’re introducing.

To give structure to your writing, use your outline as a framework. Make sure that each paragraph has
a clear central focus that relates to your overall argument.

Hover over the parts of the example, from a literary analysis essay on Mansfield Park, to see how a
paragraph is constructed.

The character of Mrs. Norris provides another example of the performance of morals
in Mansfield Park. Early in the novel, she is described in scathing terms as one who
knows “how to dictate liberality to others: but her love of money was equal to her love
of directing” (p. 7). This hypocrisy does not interfere with her self-conceit as “the most
liberal-minded sister and aunt in the world” (p. 7). Mrs. Norris is strongly concerned
with appearing charitable, but unwilling to make any personal sacrifices to accomplish
this. Instead, she stage-manages the charitable actions of others, never acknowledging
that her schemes do not put her own time or money on the line. In this way, Austen
again shows us a character whose morally upright behavior is fundamentally a
performance—for whom the goal of doing good is less important than the goal of
seeming good.

When you move onto a different topic, start a new paragraph. Use appropriate transition words and
phrases to show the connections between your ideas.

The goal at this stage is to get a draft completed, not to make everything perfect as you go along. Once
you have a full draft in front of you, you’ll have a clearer idea of where improvement is needed.
Give yourself a first draft deadline that leaves you a reasonable length of time to revise, edit, and
proofread before the final deadline. For a longer text like a dissertation, you and your supervisor might
agree on deadlines for individual chapters.

Step 4: Redrafting and revising

Now it’s time to look critically at your first draft and find potential areas for improvement. Redrafting
means substantially adding or removing content, while revising involves making changes to structure
and reformulating arguments.

Evaluating the first draft

It can be difficult to look objectively at your own writing. Your perspective might be positively or
negatively biased—especially if you try to assess your work shortly after finishing it.

It’s best to leave your work alone for at least a day or two after completing the first draft. Come back
after a break to evaluate it with fresh eyes; you’ll spot things you wouldn’t have otherwise.

When evaluating your writing at this stage, you’re mainly looking for larger issues such as changes to
your arguments or structure. Starting with bigger concerns saves you time—there’s no point perfecting
the grammar of something you end up cutting out anyway.

Right now, you’re looking for:

 Arguments that are unclear or illogical.

 Areas where information would be better presented in a different order.
 Passages where additional information or explanation is needed.
 Passages that are irrelevant to your overall argument.

For example, in our paper on Mansfield Park, we might realize the argument would be stronger with
more direct consideration of the protagonist Fanny Price, and decide to try to find space for this in
paragraph IV.

For some assignments, you’ll receive feedback on your first draft from a supervisor or peer. Be sure to
pay close attention to what they tell you, as their advice will usually give you a clearer sense of which
aspects of your text need improvement.

Redrafting and revising

Once you’ve decided where changes are needed, make the big changes first, as these are likely to have
knock-on effects on the rest. Depending on what your text needs, this step might involve:

 Making changes to your overall argument.

 Reordering the text.
 Cutting parts of the text.
 Adding new text.
You can go back and forth between writing, redrafting and revising several times until you have a final
draft that you’re happy with.

Think about what changes you can realistically accomplish in the time you have. If you are running low
on time, you don’t want to leave your text in a messy state halfway through redrafting, so make sure to
prioritize the most important changes.

Step 5: Editing and proofreading

Editing focuses on local concerns like clarity and sentence structure. Proofreading involves reading the
text closely to remove typos and ensure stylistic consistency.

Editing for grammar and clarity

When editing, you want to ensure your text is clear, concise, and grammatically correct. You’re looking
out for:

 Grammatical errors.
 Ambiguous phrasings.
 Redundancy and repetition.

Proofreading for small mistakes and typos

When proofreading, first look out for typos in your text:

 Spelling errors.
 Missing words.
 Confused word choices.
 Punctuation errors.
 Missing or excess spaces.

Use your word processor’s built-in spell check, but don’t expect to find 100% of issues in this way. Read
through your text line by line, watching out for problem areas highlighted by the software but also for
any other issues it might have missed.

Proofreading for stylistic consistency

There are several issues in academic writing where you can choose between multiple different
standards. For example:

 Whether you use the serial comma.

 Whether you use American or British spellings and punctuation.
 Where you use numerals vs. words for numbers.
 How you capitalize your titles and headings.
Unless you’re given specific guidance on these issues, it’s your choice which standards you follow. The
important thing is to consistently follow one standard for each issue. For example, don’t use a mixture
of American and British spellings in your paper.

Additionally, you will probably be provided with specific guidelines for issues related to format (how
your text is presented on the page) and citations (how you acknowledge your sources). Always follow
these instructions carefully.
How long is an essay?
The length of an academic essay varies depending on your level and subject of study, departmental
guidelines, and specific course requirements. In general, an essay is a shorter piece of writing than
a research paper or thesis.

In most cases, your assignment will include clear guidelines on the number of words or pages you are
expected to write. Often this will be a range rather than an exact number (for example, 2500–3000
words, or 10–12 pages). If you’re not sure, always check with your instructor.

In this article you’ll find some general guidelines for the length of different types of essay. But keep in
mind that quality is more important than quantity – focus on making a strong argument or analysis, not
on hitting a specific word count.

Essay length guidelines

Average
Type of essay word count Essay content
range

High school essay 300–1000 In high school you are often asked to write a 5-paragraph essay,
words composed of an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a
conclusion.

College admission 200–650 College applications require a short personal essay to express your
essay words interests and motivations. This generally has a strict word limit.

Undergraduate 1500–5000 The length and content of essay assignments in college varies
college essay words depending on the institution, department, course level, and syllabus.

Graduate school 500–1000 Graduate school applications usually require a longer personal
admission essay words statement and/or statement of purpose detailing your academic
achievements and motivations.

Graduate school 2500–6000 Graduate-level assignments vary by institution and discipline, but are
essay words likely to include longer essays or research papers.

How long is each part of an essay?

In an academic essay, the main body should always take up the most space. This is where you make
your arguments, give your evidence, and develop your ideas.

The introduction should be proportional to the essay’s length. In an essay under 3000 words, the
introduction is usually just one paragraph. In longer and more complex essays, you might need to lay out
the background and introduce your argument over two or three paragraphs.
The conclusion of an essay is often a single paragraph, even in longer essays. It doesn’t have to
summarize every step of your essay, but should tie together your main points in a concise, convincing
way.

Can I go under the suggested length?

You should always aim to meet the minimum length given in your assignment. If you are struggling to
reach the word count:

 Add more evidence and examples to each paragraph to clarify or strengthen your points.
 Make sure you have fully explained or analyzed each example, and try to develop your points in
more detail.
 Address a different aspect of your topic in a new paragraph. This might involve revising your
thesis statement to make a more ambitious argument.
 Don’t use filler. Adding unnecessary words or complicated sentences will make your essay
weaker and your argument less clear.
 Don’t fixate on an exact number. Your marker probably won’t care about 50 or 100 words – it’s
more important that your argument is convincing and adequately developed for an essay of the
suggested length.

Can I go over the suggested length?

In some cases, you are allowed to exceed the upper word limit by 10% – so for an assignment of 2500–
3000 words, you could write an absolute maximum of 3300 words. However, the rules depend on your
course and institution, so always check with your instructor if you’re unsure.

Only exceed the word count if it’s really necessary to complete your argument. Longer essays take
longer to grade, so avoid annoying your marker with extra work! If you are struggling to edit down:

 Check that every paragraph is relevant to your argument, and cut out irrelevant or out-of-
place information.
 Make sure each paragraph focuses on one point and doesn’t meander.
 Cut out filler words and make sure each sentence is clear, concise, and related to the
paragraph’s point.
 Don’t cut anything that is necessary to the logic of your argument. If you remove a paragraph,
make sure to revise your transitions and fit all your points together.
 Don’t sacrifice the introduction or conclusion. These paragraphs are crucial to an effective
essay –make sure you leave enough space to thoroughly introduce your topic and decisively
wrap up your argument.

Choosing your essay topic

If you haven’t been given a specific topic for your essay or paper, the first step is coming up with ideas
and deciding what you want to write about. Generating ideas is the least methodical and most creative
step in academic writing.

There are infinite ways to generate ideas, but no sure-fire way to come up with a good one. This article
outlines some tips and techniques for choosing a topic – use the ones that work best for you.

Understanding the assignment

First, you need to determine the scope of what you can write about. Make sure you understand the
assignment you’ve been given, and make sure you know the answers to these questions:

 What is the required length of the paper (in words or pages)?

 What is the deadline?
 Should the paper relate to what you’ve studied in class?
 Do you have to do your own research and use sources that haven’t been taught in class?
 Are there any constraints on the subject matter or approach?

The length and deadline of the assignment determine how complex your topic can be. The prompt
might tell you write a certain type of essay, or it might give you a broad subject area and hint at the kind
of approach you should take.

Example: Expository essay promptChoose a historically significant invention and explain the key events
and processes that contributed to its development.

This prompt gives us a very general subject. It doesn’t ask for a specific type of essay, but the
word explain suggests that an expository essay is the most appropriate response.

Example: Argumentative essay promptWhat was the most important invention of the 20th century, and
why? Support your argument with evidence from a range of sources.

This prompt takes a different approach to the same subject. It asks a question that requires you to take
a strong position. This is an argumentative essay that requires you to use evidence from sources to
support your argument.

Techniques for generating topic ideas

Getting started is often the hardest part. Try these 3 simple strategies to help get your
mind moving.

Talk it out
Discussing ideas with a teacher, friend or fellow student often helps you find new avenues to approach
the ideas you have and helps you uncover ideas you might not have considered.

Brainstorm
Write down as many ideas as you can and make point form notes on them as you go. When you feel
you’ve written down the obvious things that relate to an idea, move on to a new one, or explore a
related idea in more depth.

You can also cluster related ideas together and draw connections between them on the page.

Free write
This strategy is similar to brainstorming, but it is faster and less reflective. Give yourself a broad topic to
write about. Then, on a pad of paper or a word processor, write continuously for two or three minutes.
Don’t stop, not even for a moment.

Write down anything that comes to mind, no matter how nonsensical it seems, as long as it somehow
relates to the topic you began with. If you need to, time yourself to make sure you write for a few
minutes straight.

When you’ve finished, read through what you’ve written and identify any useful ideas that have come
out of the exercise.

Structure of an Essay
The basic structure of an essay always consists of an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. But for
many students, the most difficult part of structuring an essay is deciding how to organize information
within the body.

This article provides useful templates and tips to help you outline your essay, make decisions about your
structure, and organize your text logically.

Parts of an essay
The three parts that make up all essays are described in the table below.

Part Content

Introduction  Presents your topic

 Provides background

 Gives your thesis statement

Body  Core arguments and analysis

 Presents evidence (e.g. quotes)

Part Content

 One main point per paragraph

 Each paragraph starts with a topic sentence

 All paragraphs relate to your thesis

Conclusion  Ties together your main points

 Shows why your argument matters

Order of information
You’ll also have to consider how to present information within the body. There are a few general
principles that can guide you here.

The first is that your argument should move from the simplest claim to the most complex. The body of
a good argumentative essay often begins with simple and widely accepted claims, and then moves
towards more complex and contentious ones.

For example, you might begin by describing a generally accepted philosophical concept, and then apply
it to a new topic. The grounding in the general concept will allow the reader to understand your unique
application of it.

The second principle is that background information should appear towards the beginning of your
essay. General background is presented in the introduction. If you have additional background to
present, this information will usually come at the start of the body.

The third principle is that everything in your essay should be relevant to the thesis. Ask yourself
whether each piece of information advances your argument or provides necessary background. And
make sure that the text clearly expresses each piece of information’s relevance.

The sections below present several organizational templates for essays: the chronological approach, the
compare-and-contrast approach, and the problems-methods-solutions approach.

Chronological structure
The chronological approach (sometimes called the cause-and-effect approach) is probably the simplest
way to structure an essay. It just means discussing events in the order in which they occurred, discussing
how they are related (i.e. the cause and effect involved) as you go.

A chronological approach can be useful when your essay is about a series of events. Don’t rule out other
approaches, though—even when the chronological approach is the obvious one, you might be able to
bring out more with a different structure.

Explore the tabs below to see a general template and a specific example outline from an essay on the
invention of the printing press.

TEMPLATE
I. Introduction
 A. Hook
B. Background
C. Thesis statement
II. Event/period one
A. Discussion of event/period
B. Consequences
III. Event/period two
A. Discussion of event/period
B. Consequences
IV. Event/period three
A. Discussion of event/period
B. Consequences
V. Conclusion
A. Summary
B. Importance of topic
C. Strong closing statement
OUTLINE
I. Introduction
A. Claim that the printing press marks the end of the Middle Ages
B. Background on the low levels of literacy before the printing press
C. Thesis statement: The invention of the printing press increased circulation of
information in Europe, paving the way for the Reformation
II. Situation before the printing press
A. High levels of illiteracy in medieval Europe
B. Literacy and thus knowledge and education were mainly the domain of religious and
political elites
C. Consequence: this discouraged political and religious change
III. Invention and spread of the printing press
A. Invention of the printing press in 1440 by Johannes Gutenberg
B. Implications of the new technology for book production
C. Consequence: Rapid spread of the technology and the printing of the Gutenberg Bible
IV. Printing press’s influence on the Reformation
A. Trend for translating the Bible into vernacular languages during the years following the
printing press’s invention
B. Luther’s own translation of the Bible during the Reformation
C. Consequence: The large-scale effects the Reformation would have on religion and
politics
V. Conclusion
A. Summarize the history described
B. Stress the significance of the printing press to the events of this period
Compare-and-contrast structure
Essays with two or more main subjects are often structured around comparing and contrasting. For
example, a literary analysis essay might compare two different texts, and an argumentative essay might
compare the strengths of different arguments.

There are two main ways of structuring a compare-and-contrast essay: the alternating method, and the
block method.

Alternating
In the alternating method, each paragraph compares your subjects in terms of a specific point of
comparison. These points of comparison are therefore what defines each paragraph.

The tabs below show a general template for this structure, and a specific example for an essay
comparing and contrasting distance learning with traditional classroom learning.

TEMPLATE
I. Introduction
A. Hook
B. Background
C. Thesis statement
II. First point of comparison
A. Subject 1
B. Subject 2
III. Second point of comparison
A. Subject 1
B. Subject 2
IV. Third point of comparison
A. Subject 1
B. Subject 2
V. Conclusion
A. Synthesis of arguments
B. Importance of topic
C. Strong closing statement

OUTLINE
I. Introduction
A. Topical relevance of distance learning in lockdown
B. Increasing prevalence of distance learning over the last decade
C. Thesis statement: While distance learning has certain advantages, it introduces
multiple new accessibility issues that must be addressed for it to be as effective
as classroom learning
II. Teacher capacity to aid struggling students
A. Classroom learning: Ease of identifying difficulties and privately discussing them
B. Distance learning: Difficulty of noticing and unobtrusively helping
III. Accessibility issues
 A. Classroom learning: Difficulties accessing the classroom (disability, distance
travelled from home)
B. Distance learning: Difficulties with online work (lack of tech literacy, unreliable
connection, distractions)
IV. Personal interaction and engagement
A. Classroom learning: Tends to encourage personal engagement among students
and with teacher, more relaxed social environment
B. Distance learning: Greater ability to reach out to teacher privately
V. Conclusion
A. Sum up, emphasize that distance learning introduces more difficulties than it
solves
B. Stress the importance of addressing issues with distance learning as it becomes
increasingly common
C. Distance learning may prove to be the future, but it still has a long way to go

Block
In the block method, each subject is covered all in one go, potentially across multiple paragraphs. For
example, you might write two paragraphs about your first subject and then two about your second
subject, making comparisons back to the first.

The tabs again show a general template, followed by another essay on distance learning, this time with
the body structured in blocks.

TEMPLATE
I. Introduction
A. Hook
B. Background
C. Thesis statement
II. First subject
A. Point 1
B. Point 2
III. First subject, continued
A. Point 3
B. Point 4
IV. Second subject
A. Point 1 (compare)
B. Point 2 (compare)
V. Second subject, continued
A. Point 3 (compare)
B. Point 4 (compare)
VI. Conclusion
A. Synthesis of arguments
B. Importance of topic
C. Strong closing statement
OUTLINE
I. Introduction
A. Topical relevance of distance learning in lockdown
B. Increasing prevalence of distance learning over the last decade
C. Thesis statement: While distance learning has certain advantages, it introduces multiple
new accessibility issues that must be addressed for it to be as effective as classroom learning
II. Distance learning: Accessibility
A. Advantages: Flexibility, accessibility
B. Disadvantages: Discomfort, challenges for those with poor internet or tech literacy
III. Distance learning: Personal interaction
A. Advantages: Potential for teacher to discuss issues with a student in a separate private call
B. Disadvantages: Difficulty of identifying struggling students and aiding them unobtrusively,
lack of personal interaction among students
IV. Classroom learning: Accessibility
A. Advantages: More accessible to those with low tech literacy, equality of all sharing one
learning environment
B. Disadvantages: Students must live close enough to attend, commutes may vary, classrooms
not always accessible for disabled students
V. Classroom learning: Personal interaction
A. Advantages: Ease of picking up on signs a student is struggling, more personal interaction
among students
B. Disadvantages: May be harder for students to approach teacher privately in person to raise
issues
VI. Conclusion
A. Sum up, emphasize that distance learning introduces more difficulties than it solves
B. Stress the importance of addressing issues with distance learning as it becomes increasingly
common
C. Distance learning may prove to be the future, but it still has a long way to go

Problems-methods-solutions structure
An essay that concerns a specific problem (practical or theoretical) may be structured according to the
problems-methods-solutions approach.

This is just what it sounds like: You define the problem, characterize a method or theory that may solve
it, and finally analyze the problem, using this method or theory to arrive at a solution. If the problem is
theoretical, the solution might be the analysis you present in the essay itself; otherwise, you might just
present a proposed solution.

The tabs below show a template for this structure and an example outline for an essay about the
problem of fake news.

TEMPLATE
I. Introduction
A. Introduce the problem
B. Provide background
 C. Describe your approach to solving it
II. Problem
A. Define the problem precisely
B. Describe why it’s important
III. Method
A. Indicate previous approaches to the problem
B. Present your new approach, and why it’s better
IV. Solution
A. Apply the new method or theory to the problem
B. Indicate the solution you arrive at by doing so
V. Conclusion
A. Assess (potential or actual) effectiveness of solution
B. Describe the implications
C. Strong closing statement

OUTLINE
I. Introduction
A. Problem: The growth of “fake news” online
B. Prevalence of polarized/conspiracy-focused news sources online
C. Thesis statement: Rather than attempting to stamp out online fake news through social
media moderation, an effective approach to combating it must work with educational
institutions to improve media literacy
II. The problem of fake news
A. Definition: Deliberate disinformation designed to spread virally online
B. Popularization of the term, growth of the phenomenon
III. Media literacy
A. Previous approaches: Labeling and moderation on social media platforms
B. Critique: This approach feeds conspiracies; the real solution is to improve media literacy so
users can better identify fake news
IV. Educating news consumers
A. Greater emphasis should be placed on media literacy education in schools
B. This allows people to assess news sources independently, rather than just being told which
ones to trust
V. Conclusion
A. This is a long-term solution but could be highly effective
B. It would require significant organization and investment, but would equip people to judge
news sources more effectively
C. Rather than trying to contain the spread of fake news, we must teach the next generation
not to fall for it