Academic Essay-Writing, Some general advise on (UNTORONTO)

1. SOME GENERAL ADVISE ON
ACADEMIC ESSAY-WRITING
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO

2. 1- SOME GENERAL ADVICE
When you are writing an essay there are things that need to be taken care of.
Here is a list of important items to pay attention.
• ARGUMENT: it answers a QUESTION and tries to PROVE something by
reasoning and evidences (it’s a good idea to include examples and quotes)
• HYPOTHESIS: it’s in charge of formulating QUESTIONS and pros & cons.
• ORGANIZATION: beginning, development and conclusion.
• METHODS: great essay writers recommend several ideas to write this kind
of texts.

3. From HIGH SCHOOL to UNIVERSITY
When you get to university you understand that you have to unlearn
rules from high school, for example:
• Essay structure
• Number of paragraphs
• Thesis statements
• The introduction and conclusion
• The argument
• The presentation

4. CHECKLIST of topics
These are a few steps that can help you develop a topic for your essay
1. Note for KEY TERMS: the specific vocabulary of the topic
2. Note the CONCEPTS and METHODS: way of thinking
3. Generate IDEAS: look for controversies, ask questions
4. Tentative THESIS STATEMENT: it will help you focus your investigation

5. WRITER’S BLOCK
When you feel stuck and unable to write there are a few questions that’ll
help you improve your writing process. Here you have some of them to
assist you in those moments:
Do you understand the assignment?
Have you done enough research?
Have you done too much research?
Do you have a topic?
Have you written a paper like this before?
Are you worried about sounding smart enough?
Do you find the introduction difficult to write?
Is outside stress distracting you from writing?

6. 2- PLANNING AND ORGANIZING
(basic guidance)
• When is the best moment to start planning? During the pre-writing
• When planning ask the following questions:
• What TYPE of essay am I going to be writing?
• Does it belong to a specific genre?
Be aware that GENRES are not fixed. Different professors will define the
features of a genre differently. Read the ASSINGMENT QUESTIONS
carefully for guidance

7. Avoiding a common PITFALL
The structure of an essay should not be determined by the STRUCTURE
of it’s source material. If your essay is not well written, then it’s overall
weaknesses will show through in the individual paragraphs.
What does an essay OUTLINE look like?
Most essay outlines will never handed in. They are meant to serve YOU
and no one else. The point is to ENSURE that you are in the right track.
Anyway, there are different types of outlines:
• Chronological outline
• Topic outline
• Formal outline
• Sentence outline

8. When should I begin putting together the planning?
The earlier you begin, the better!
TECHNIQUES for integrating NOTE-TAKING & PLANNING
INDEX CARDS: write ideas, facts, quotations or phrases. Collect al your
cards and reshuffle them in the best possible order.
The COMPUTER: collect your items as you would do on paper. You can
then sort the ideas when you start planning.
The CIRCLE METHOD: write your ideas into
circles, once you have all your ideas on paper
start drawing lines between the circles to
CONNECT them

9. How much of my
time should I put
into planning?
You have to FIND
OUT for yourself
what works better
for you, though it is
fair to say that
some planning is
always a good idea.

10. PROS and CONS of PLANNING
• It produces a logical and
orderly argument
• It produces an economical
essay (by spotting
repetitions and mistakes)
• It helps you notice whether
you have things organized
• Makes drafting easier
• Doesn’t leave time to revise
• Leads to analytic depth and
lengthens the essay
• Can result in a writing style
that lacks spontaneity
• Not enough opportunity to
discover new ideas.

11. 3- INTRODUCTION AND CONCLUSION
A good introduction should identify your TOPIC,
provide essential CONTENT and indicate your particular
FOCUS in the essay.
A strong conclusion will provide a sense of CLOSURE to
the essay while again placing your concept in a
somewhat wider context

12. Guidelines to write an INTRODUCTION
• Be aware of the dangers of sinking too much time into the
introduction
• Remember that you my at a later stage need to compress your
intro.
• The size of your intro should be related to the length of the text
• Get on the point as son as possible
• Don’t provide dictionary definitions
• Don’t repeat the assignment specifications used by the professor
• Don’t give details or info that belong to the body of the essay
Guidelines to write an

13. Guidelines to write a CONCLUSION
• Remind the reader of how the evidence you’ve presented
has contributed to your ideas
• Putting together a conclusion involves critical thinking
• A strong conclusion broaden your focus at the end of the
topic
• As with introductions, the length of the conclusion should
reflect the length of the essay

14. What is PARAGRAPH?
A series of related sentences developing a CENTRAL IDEA, called the
TOPIC
To unify the ideas of a paragraph the most effective way is to express
the central idea of the whole paragraph in a TOPIC SENTENCE
What is a topic sentence?
It is the specific main point . The sentence that resumes the whole idea
of the paragraph. In spite of its good characteristics, a topic sentence
alone doesn’t guarantee unity and not all paragraphs need a TS

15. How do I develop my ideas in a paragraph?
There are several techniques for expanding and developing your ideas
in a paragraph:
→ILLUSTRATION: gives examples, details or quotations
→DEFINITION: defines a term (avoid using the dictionary!)
→ANALOYSIS/CLASIFICATION: distinguishes the componets of the
paragraph
→COMPARISON: two sources, positions or ideas contrasted
→QUALIFICATION: shows that the topic is not always applicable
→PROCESS: step-by-step description
Very often a single paragraph will be developed by a COMBINATION of methods

16. 4- READING AND RESERCHING
Critical writing depends on CRITICAL READING.
What is it?
To success in critical Reading you need to make judgements about how
a TEXT is argued. This requires YOU to STAND BACK and put a distance
from the text you are Reading.
Use this as KEY:
• Don’t read looking only for information
• Look for WAYS OF THINKING about the subject

17. How do I do that?
1. Determine the central PURPOSE of the text (thesis)
2. Make some judgements about the CONTEXT
3. Distinguish the KIND OF REASONING the text employs
4. Examine the EVIDENCE (the supporting facts, examples, quotatios, etc)
5. EVALUATE (is the argument strong? Why? Could it be different or
better supported? Is the method of analysis problematic?)

18. Some practical tips
Make a PRELIMINARY process of Reading in order to strategically
choose where to focus your effort
When highlighting teach yourself to mark where an author EXPLAINS
the analytical move
Introduce the quotation by giving the judgements you are making
about it, and the reasons you are using it for
In your lectures, listen not only for information but also for ways of
thinking

19. TAKING NOTES EFFICIENTLY
1. Know which ideas you need to record: focus on the topic before you
start your detailed research
2. Don’t write too much: your essay must be an expression of your
own thinking, not a patchwork of other Works
3. Label your notes intelligently: take notes ina way that allows for
later use. Try writing notes in separate cards or sheets or even
divided by topics.

20. NEW VOCABULARY WORDS
Take steps to make it part of your active store of words. This methods
will keep the words in context
Say the word out loud (according to dictionary pronounciation)
Write down the word in a card and mark it up to show the inner
structure (like sufixes and prefixes)
Write a brief definition of the word on the other side of the card
Read over the card out loud periodically

21. RESEARCH USING THE INTERNET
The Net is a tremendous source of information, but it must be used
carefully and practically. It can be either freedom or chaos, you have to pay
close attention when doing an on-line research.
A few basic GUIDELINES to remember
 Don’t rely exclusively on NET sources
 Narrow your research TOPIC before logging on
 Keep a detailed record of SITES you visited and the ones you used
 Double-check all URLS that you put on your paper

22. For evaluating specific resources you find on the Net these questions can help you
avoid many problems and mistakes
• Who is the author? Is there a link to check his/her Works or bibliography? Has the
author written elsewhere on this topic?
• Is the author affiliated with an institution or organization?
• Is the material reliable and accurate? Is the information based on facts, not opinions?
• Are the arguments based on strong evidence and good logic? Is the author’s point of
view impartial and objective?
Before you start Reading spend a few minutes PREVIEWING the text
• Read the title and try to guess the subject
• Who wrote the text? Look for information of the author
• When and where was this text originally published?
• Why has your professor assigned this text?

23. SKIMMING AND SCANING
To get a general overview of the text before beginning to read in detail.
This process gives you a sense of it’s overall purpose.
TECHNIQUES for skimming & scanning:
• Use some of the preview techniques
• Read carefully the First two sentences of the introduction and try to
guess the idea
• Try to pick up the largest concepts and principal patterns of the text
• Read carefully the CONCLUSION. What’s the author’s purpose?
• Return to the beginning of the essay and now you can start Reading
everything carefully

24. SUMMARIZING
The process of condensing the whole essay in a paragraph or two. The
outcome of this process has two aims:
• To reduce the ideas of the text
• To express this ideas using precise, specific language
Here are some METHODS for summarizing
Include the TITLE and the AUTHOR
The first sentences of your summery should contain the author’s THESIS
When summarizing a longer article DIVIDE the article into section and write a sentence
or two of each section
Omit IDEAS that are not really central to the text
Omit minor DETAILS and specific EXAMPLES
Be careful not to PLAGIARIZE the author’s work

25. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Silver, C. A.. Some General Advice on Academic Essay-Writing. Toronto: University of Toronto Press,
2008.
Plotnick, Jerry and Vogan, Becky. The Transition from High School to University Writing. Toronto:
University of Toronto Press, 2008.
Procter, Margaret. Understanding Essay Topics: A Checklist. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2008.
LeBel, Sabine. Writer’s Block. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2008.
Plotnick, Jerry. Organizing an Essay. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2008.
Freedman, Leora and Plotnick, Jerry. Introductions and Conclusions. Toronto: University of Toronto
Press, 2008.
Procter, Margaret and Visvis, Vikki. Paragraphs. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2008.
Hall, Jenny and Plotnick, Jerry. Using Topic Sentences. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2008.
Knott, Deborah. Critical Reading Towards Critical Writing. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2008.
Procter, Margaret. Taking Notes from Research Reading. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2008.
Procter, Margaret. Dealing with New Words. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2008.
Brock MacDonald, W.. Research Using the Internet. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2008.
Freedman, Leora. Previewing. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2008.
Freedman, Leora. Skimming and Scanning. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2008.
Freedman, Leora. Summarizing. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2008.