how i write my (uni) essays
this is how i write essays for my psychology undergraduate degree! i’m guessing this advice won’t be useful for many other disciplines - let me know how your process differs...
1. read (around) the question; once i receive the essay question/topic, i do an initial literature search on Google Scholar using the essay key word(s). i read the paper titles to get a feel for the area, and then read/skim the most heavily cited papers and any recent review papers. i make general notes on the themes/ideas that come up, and follow up with interesting/relevant papers cited by or which cite the key articles. i always feel lost as first, but the key findings, arguments and unanswered questions will emerge after a decent amount of reading!
2. detailed reading; once i’ve identified the key topics or arguments i need to to address, i start making detailed notes on the relevant papers. i usually make a big table in a word-document which with each study in a row, and columns including APA citation, year of publication, number of citations, themes, and detailed notes/thoughts. making detailed notes helps you properly understand the papers, and allow you to write a plan without constantly shuffling through the articles. make the notes in your own words to prevent plagiarism!!
3. a DETAILED plan; my essay plans are hardcore. for each paragraph in my plan i explicitly write the point/argument i’m making, and then write (in order) each piece of information I need to make the point AND the references i’ll use. this should help you make every paragraph relevant and purposeful. make sure the paragraphs flow to form a clear central thesis. for me, writing the plan and developing my central argument happen concurrently and help each other along.
4. first draft; this is (fairly) easy if you have a detailed plan, especially if you allow your first draft to be crappy. imo, there’s no point writing an eloquent first draft as you always end up reorganising ideas and cutting/adding bits - it’s so much harder to do this when you’ve taken the time to write beautiful sentences. it also makes me feel much better to get everything out.
nb: i always plan and write my essays out of order. i always start writing/planning with the idea i understand best, then i go forwards/backwards to more challenging ideas once i’m in the flow. the intro/conclusion come last.
5. re-read, refine, break, repeat; after a break from the essay, edit it for the clarity of your ideas. logically re-think through your arguments as if you were new to the essay; does the reader have enough information yet to understand this argument? have i explicitly made a point, or assumed the reader has made the connection? make sure from introduction to conclusion you are clearly and consistently making your argument, and cut out anything irrelevant. finally, edit for flow and ease of reading. when writing scientific essays, i always opt for concise expression rather than trying to sound academic using long words and sentences.
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