Made for use in the Study Skills program delivered by library staff at Central College Nottingham.

1. Essay Writing

2. Essay structure
An essay should follow this basic structure:
Introduction
(1 paragraph, 2 at most)
Main Body
(as many paragraphs as you need to cover your points properly)
Conclusion
(1 paragraph, bringing together your points – do not introduce new information!)

3. Essay structure
In other words…
What I’m going to say
Saying it
What I said
For this reason, your introduction and conclusion are likely to be
better if they are written after the main body of your essay is drafted.

4. The main body of your essay
Write in paragraphs (related groups of sentences; each
paragraph should only usually focus on one main idea)
This could include
• A topic sentence States the main fact
• Supporting sentence Explains and develops the
point you are making
• Evidence & support for
Evidence from your
what you have written reading (quotes, citations)
• Analysis
Analyse and interpret the evidence.
Comment on its significance and impact

5. Topic sentence
Sample paragraph
Supporting sentence
Evidence & support
Analysis
The central theme of Orwell’s 1984 could be argued to be
surveillance of the individual by the state. This theme permeates
the novel, and has become the pop-cultural meaning of the
term ‘Orwellian’. From the opening sequence, where Winston is
roused by a vid-screen, which goes on to order him to engage
more in his morning exercises (Orwell 1948, pp.3-7), it is clear
that ‘Big Brother’ is watching. However, it could be argued that
this communication is more jarring for a contemporary reader
than the author’s contemporaneous one: lack of understanding
regarding the nature of the broadcast medium of television led
many households to cover the screen when they weren’t
You can repeat the ‘evidence
watching so that they could not be seen (Deary 1995).
and support’ and ‘analysis’
stages several times per
paragraph

6. The introduction
• Introduce the aims and the topic areas of the essay
• Provide a summary of your essay with reference to the essay
question
• Define any terms in the question which may not be commonly
understood
This essay will discuss the relationship between modern culture of surveillance and the vision of
the future given by George Orwell’s 1984, exploring the similarities and discrepancies between
them. Surveillance can be defined as the “collection and processing of personal data, whether
identifiable or not, for the purposes of influencing or managing *the individual+” (Dict. Policing
2012). This essay will look at both the collection and the processing of data, as well as
considering the nature of this data and the uses, benevolent or totalitarian, for which it is put to
use. It will also endeavour to explore the consequences of surveillance. As our society and that
of 1984 appear to be at different stages in the evolution of surveillance, direct comparison will
not be possible; however, the author will attempt to draw some conclusions around this area.

7. The conclusion
This is simply a summing up of the essay
• Re-state the answer to the question
• Summarise the main points of your essay
• Highlight the key ideas which you think your essay covers
• Don’t introduce new information or ideas
• You may want to include a final confident sentence with possible
suggestions for future research
• This shows that you have critically engaged with the topic and can
recognise areas which you did not have time and space to cover

8. Essay style
• Use the 3rd-person style: never use ‘I’ in an essay unless
specifically told to.
• Formal language : avoid contractions and colloquial language
• ‘did not’, not ‘didn’t’; ‘television’ not ‘TV’ or ‘telly’
• Write in proper sentences – word-processing software can
assist you with this.
• Don’t use bullet points in an essay
• You can sometimes structure bullets into a flowing list by using colons
and semi-colons; however, each bullet usually needs to be a separate
sentence.

9. Essay style
• Use clear language to communicate your points
• Avoid obfuscation (obscure language used instead of simple terms)
• Re-write your work at least once, to make it flow better
• First-drafts often become ‘garbled’ as you pull ideas together – you may
know what it means, but the marker may not!
• Make sure you are not just describing something. For good
marks you need to discuss, explain and analyse ideas.

10. Hints and tips
• Keep within the word count.
• If you tend to write too much, reduce the number of individual points.
If you don’t write enough, try to expand the points.
• You should be able to read out your work without struggling
for breath (unless you smoke 40 a day…)
• If you can’t, you probably need more clause breaks (commas and
semi/colons; turning one long sentence into two or more shorter ones).
• Ask a friend or relative to read over your work. Print out your
work and read your essay out loud to pick up mistakes.

11. 3rd person
Formal language
Rewriting a first-draft
Proper sentences
Clear language
Discuss/explain/analyse
The central theme of Orwell’s 1984 could be argued to be
surveillance of the individual by the state. This theme permeates
the novel, and has become the pop-cultural meaning of the
term ‘Orwellian’. From the opening sequence, where Winston is
roused by a vid-screen, which goes on to order him to engage
more in his morning exercises (Orwell 1948, pp.3-7), it is clear
that ‘Big Brother’ is watching. However, I reckon this is more of a
WTF moment for modern readers than for a 1940s audience -
some peoples covered the screen when they weren’t watching
so that the TV people could not see them (Deary). The level of
surveillance is also shown when their in the country to hide
from the authority [cit]; even in a rural idyll, it seems, Big
Brother can see, hear and punish dissent.