Hi guys, today’s blog is some tips & tricks I applied to get several first class essays in my final year. Sometimes, it can be the little things that stop people from achieving a first and so I wanted to inform you guys on what I wish I knew whilst at univeirsty.
As always,
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Formatting & Reader’s Experience
1. Basic Structure
It goes without saying, the best essay structure is: introduction> main body> conclusion.
If you have multiple points, I would provide the for and against of each point side by side, as opposed to doing all for points first and then against before the conclusion. When you provide the alternative point make sure to bring it back to why the ‘for’ point has more merit.
Use subheading for your paragraphs (don’t worry, tutors often suggest this, its not informal!) These subheadings could be formal or slightly ‘creative‘, such as:
‘COVID-19: Issues of Proportionality‘
‘COVID-19: An Issue of Proportionality?’
or ‘COVID-19 & Issues of Proportionality‘.
2. Breaking Habits
In sixth form/college, most people were taught to say “in this essay I will…” or ”this essay concludes..”, which is not the best practise in university and onwards.
Looking back at my essays, I would use phrasing such as “I contend [insert main point]“ and “to explore [xyz], I will focus on [xyz] or I will use [xyz’s thesis]”; or just make my assertions in a way where the reader could see what my arguments are. They’re not the best alternatives, so you could look at academic essays to see what they did too.
3. Intro & Conclusion
I start my introduction with a few generic sentences that talk about the topic as a whole, but are not too irrelevant to the essay. Lets’ say, for example, your essay is on immigration, DO NOT start paragraphs or points exploring the wider history of immigration. It is irrelevant and a waste of your word count.
Let’s say, for example, your essay is on how emergency measures impacted immigration (rights or something) during COVID-19, I would write a few sentences on:
(1) the impact of COVID-19 and the need for emergency measures;
(2) how emergency measures have historically impacted immigration (in the conetxt of the governemnt/jurisdiction I am talking about);
(3) how I believe emergency measures impacted immigration (rights) during COVID-19 > this is where I would introduce they key points I will be focusing on.
Your introduction should be a guide for the reader if they are struggling to follow the essay and also prepare them for what they are about to read. It also lets the reader know immediately what you will be arguing - (if in the case that your view is not captured from the rest of the essay, the marker has an idea of what you were trying to argue).
Your conclusion should draw on the most pivotal points of your essay that helped you come to your theory/conclusion. It should not include any new point that was not previously discussed in your essay. If anything, it should mirror your introduction but provide more depth as you have explored your points.
Content
1. Answer the question!!
It goes without saying, make sure your essay is always answering the question. To help the reader also know how your point relates to the question, end every point/paragraph with a summary sentence that links back to the main question. Always spell things out for the reader, don’t assume.
2. Academia
A lot of people write essays that are actually reflective journals in nature because of the lack of academic support. EVERY TIME you make an assertion or contend something, make sure to provide academic evidence that supports this.
Moreover, a lot of people just use generic quotes from academics. An example of this is providing an academic abstract quote that talks about immigrants in general as opposed to an academic quote that SPECIFICALLY supports or critiques immigration rights DURING COVID-19. Yes, your thought will most likely be original but for every thought there are academics and papers that reside in the same area as your paper.
I’m not saying every other line should be an academic quote but your paper should be academia-heavy, and explore significant theories/theorists in the field of your paper.
But make sure that the essay includes what YOU think, academia should only support or critique your point. Every point should be led by what you contend, essentially.
3. Bring a refreshing addition to the academic field
I saw an instagram post that said to see every essay you do as a contribution to your field and it changed my whole perspective. Every essay you write should provide something new to your field and challenge the thinking of the marker in one way or the other. Even if you are drawing on pre-existing theories/theorists, the way you bring it together can be uniquie.
4. Explore alternative views/concepts
A good essay will highlight alternative points/critique and highlight the merit in them. An even better essay highlights where these theories fall short and why another theory is better.
Etiquette/Rules
1. Plagiarism
Not plagiarising may seem obvious but there are things people still do that can take your grades down by a whole grade band. I don’t fully understand the rules still so I just went to the extreme and tried to never directly quote an academic more than five words at a time. I would suggest rephrasing the academic, whilst ALWAYS crediting them, but you can include direct quotes if the phrasing they use is essential to your point or can’t be rephrased any other way. I would just never quote more than a sentence, unless its a quote from a film, interview, etc.
You also cannot take a phrase you previously said in another essay and use it in another one, this is self-plagiarism, funnily enough.
2. Referencing
Poor referencing as well can take your grades down. Make sure to find out what referencing styles are acceptable by your marker and if you must, send them examples of your referencing so that they can guide in the right direction.
3. Proofread
As I said in my other video, I would get at least two people to read my essay for me: one for proofreading and one for quality control, who would do more casual proofreading.
When you’re writing and reading a 3k essay you spent weeks doing, eventually, you will not be able to notice mistakes and so I would use the read aloud feature on Microsoft Word, so that I could have the essay read to me when I was too tired.
After submitting, I would also go back to the essay every now and then before the deadline to see if my fresher brain could see anything wrong.
Plan & Organise
All of these points, especially the last two, can’t be done if you do not give yourself enough time to write and edit the essay. My typical essay cycle would be 3 days of reading and 4 days of writing, especially when I had back-to-back essays. (Please note, this was just my target and did not include days during the module that I would do readings, previous work, etc). I would typically spend one of those days on referencing, formatting, etc.
I also organised days in my planner for when I would complete the reading, draft, etc.
This meant I had to make sure I finished the essay in time to give it to people to check for me.
I would suggest not waiting until the end of the module to start your essay, and subsequently choose which work, seminar, lecture, etc. I would prioritise or sacrifice as a result.
You should know what your final piece will be on by around the 3rd-5th week of your module, but don’t stress if this is not the case.
Finally, I extremely benefitted from doing practise/sample essays, which allowed me get feedback on the direction I was going in and gave me a lot to build on when it came to the real thing, in terms of reading and the actual essay.
I hope you guys found this useful, feel free to reach out to me on Instagram if you have any more queries. I don’t mind reading some essays, but will just depend on if I am able to at the time :)