Essay writing.

KiwiTaff

KiwiTaff

KiwiTaff

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Joined
19 Jan 2013
Posts
273
Afternoon chaps!

Been out of school for some seven years now, looking to participate in a bit of distance learning which shall include quizzes and essays! (3000 words minimum)

I have never really produced anything major in the form of academic writing. (Only done essays as punishment for being a smart Arse during my earlier days in the millitary) Looking for some resources which can introduce me to techniques and tips to produce something in essay form. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Many thanks!

Note: I am not writing to any hispanic friends. :)
 
Cleisthenes said:
I'm curious, what did you have to write about? And what's classed as being a smart arse?

Good luck with the essay writing anyway :)
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The RAF's involvement during the Berlin airlift. Was around 2000 words, had 4 days to do it. - Sent an e-mail to over 300 people from somebody elses account: The email said he had herpes. As a result it kicked up a huge HR stink.
( He shouldn't have left his account unlocked! :) )

How did the west deploy EW in the Gulf War : Think this one was because i was hungover for duty one time!

Both times i submitted the essays to my line mananger they were thrown in the bin instantly!
 
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i wrote 2 essays in for my sons uni work (he forgot to do them and did not have time), one for top marks, one got just under (not really sure how the uni grading system goes) .

am i smart? nope, am i a good writer? nope...

I just looked up the subject in wikipedia, wrote down every fact about the subject and made a list.. (just pure facts as sort and to the point as possible)

I then googled every fact to get additional facts and a reference sourse that was not wikipedia

when i had finished I grouped the facts into related paragraphs, and put words round the facts to make sentences / proper paragraphs...

I admit this was first year unit stuff though...
 
edscdk said:
i wrote 2 essays in for my sons uni work (he forgot to do them and did not have time), one for top marks, one got just under (not really sure how the uni grading system goes) .
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Wait, what?

You did your sons uni assignments for him?
 
lol ikr?

As if a first year uni student who actually studies the course has less time than his dad to complete the assignment he 'forgot' about.

Either the kid is too lazy and his time is worth less than his father's, who he expects to cover his ass or he is so careless that he genuinely forgot and so deserves the failure to teach him that life isn't a free ride with people waiting on hand to cover your ass. Either way, by doing it for him, you just enable that attitude.

A first year course assignment, what's the worst that will happen, he gets a bad mark and is asked to do it again?

It isn't schools that are going soft, it is the attitude of parents and therefore the schools who seem to report to the every will of parents.
 
edscdk said:
i wrote 2 essays in for my sons uni work (he forgot to do them and did not have time), one for top marks, one got just under (not really sure how the uni grading system goes) .

am i smart? nope, am i a good writer? nope...

I just looked up the subject in wikipedia, wrote down every fact about the subject and made a list.. (just pure facts as sort and to the point as possible)

I then googled every fact to get additional facts and a reference sourse that was not wikipedia

when i had finished I grouped the facts into related paragraphs, and put words round the facts to make sentences / proper paragraphs...

I admit this was first year unit stuff though...
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That will barely get you a pass in year 3, anyone can lists facts, as you have done but to get high marks you need to form an opinion and back those opinions by facts, states counter arguments and acknowledge them but explain why your opinion is the right one...etc.
 
Had to write one a few months back, think 3k words, took a while as not used to doing them, but there is obviously so much information on the net, plagiarism can be a fine line. Is it a factual based essay or opinion based, or both, mine was largely factual which may be technically a report rather than an essay. Remember to reference, proper capitalisation, syntax and grammar also. Enjoy it, be creative but don't be surprised if you get a poor mark.
 
Rule #1 of Essay writing:

Why is a short Mexican a paragraph?
He's not big enough to be an essay.
 
I hate essays, I need to write a 150 word essay on the subject of religion and politics but I don't know where to start.
 
MooMoo444 said:
I hate essays, I need to write a 150 word essay on the subject of religion and politics but I don't know where to start.
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150 words isn't much. Think about separation of church and the state, Cromwell, reformers, Henry the VIII, protestants and catholics, decline of modern day church goers.
 
To be fair, I found the short essays to be some of the hardest. Getting a point across in so few words can be a real challenge.
 
MooMoo444 said:
I hate essays, I need to write a 150 word essay on the subject of religion and politics but I don't know where to start.
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Please tell me that was a typo and you meant '1500' (although even that's quite small).

I deal with this sort of thing all the time. My advice:

1. The basic structure of most social science essays is going to be: introduction; discussion of one side of the debate; discussion of the other; conclusion. Stick to that.

2. Your introduction should clearly state your answer to the essay question. You're not writing a detective novel, so don't leave it until the end.

3. Try to back up all of your assertions with appropriate references. Do not use anecdotal evidence from your own life and never say something like, 'it is obvious that this is true...' You need to provide evidence.

4. In terms of your writing style, don't try to be too esoteric. Just use plain language, but avoid going too far the other way. I.e., no colloquial language (e.g., 'having a laugh') and no contractions (e.g., use 'it is' instead of 'it's').

5. When coming to your conclusion your own personal opinion needs to be evident, but your opinion needs to be backed up by the evidence you have considered.

6. Try not to write in the first person. I.e., don't use 'I believe...' or 'I think...' Use something like 'The evidence suggests...' or 'Based on the evidence it is clear that...'
 
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