University of Toronto

1. LANGUAGE AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION 4
Advice on Academic Essay
Writing
INSTITUTO SUPERIOR DE FORMACIÓN DOCENTE N°41
LANGUAGE AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION 4
PROFFESSOR: SAUBIDET OYHAMBURU STELLA MARIS
STUDENT: MOSQUEIRA MICAELA

2. Some General Advice on Academic Essay-
Writing:
An accademic essay should…
♦have an argument
♦try to prove something by reasoning and evidence
♦include examples and confirming citations from any particular
text or source.

3. Successful methods of composing an
essay
• Start writting an essay before being ready to write because writting is
used as a mean of exploration and discovery,.
• Don’t write an eesay from the beggining to the end. Write what
seems to be readies to be written.
• Keep the essay’s overall purpose and oraganization in mind,
amending them as drafting procedes.
• Revise your essay extensively.
• Ones the draft is fairly complete and well organized, revise sentences
with special attention to TRANSITIONS, DICTION and ECONOMY.

4. Organizing an essay:
PRE-WRITING STAGE: Think about how to organize your paper.
•Ask the following questions:
-What type of essay am I going to write?
-Does it belong to a specific genre?
•You must avoid the following principle: “The structure of an essay should not
be determined by a structure of its source of material”.

5. General Advices about introduction
identify your topic.
provide essential context.
indicate your particular focus in the essay.
engage your readers’ interest.
A GOOD INTRODUCTION SHOULD:

6. • Write an introduction first in order to explore your own thinking on the topic.
Remeber that you may at a later stage need to compress your introduction.
• It can be fine to leave the writing of the introduction for a later stage in the
process.
• The size of your introduction should bear some relationship to the length and
complexity of your paper.
• Get to the point as soon as possible. Avoid sweeping generalizations.
• If your essay has a thesis, your thesis statement will typically appear at the
end of your introduction.
General Advices about introduction

7. strategies for
capturing your
readers’ attention
Find a startling statistic
that illustrates the
seriousness of the
problem you will address
Mention a
common
misperception that
your thesis will
argue against
Give some background
information necessary
for understanding the
essay
Use a brief narrative or
anecdote that
exemplifies your reason
for choosing the topic
In a science paper,
explain key scientific
concepts and refer to
relevant literature
In a more technical
paper, define a term
that is possibly
unfamiliar to your
audience
Quote an
expert

8. General Advices about conclusions
• A conclusion is not merely a summary of your points or a re-statement of your thesis. If you
wish to summarize (and often you must) do so in fresh language. Remind the reader of how
the evidence you’ve presented has contributed to your thesis.
• The conclusion involves critical thinking. Reflect upon the significance of what you’ve
written. Try to convey some closing thoughts about the larger implications of your argument.
• Broaden your focus a bit at the end of the essay. A good last sentence leaves
your reader with something to think about.
• One well-developed paragraph is sufficient for a conclusion but in some cases,
a two-or-three paragraph conclusion may be appropriate. The length of the
conclusion should reflect the length of the essay.

9. strategies for writing
an interesting
effective conclusion
If your essay deals with a
contemporary problem,
warn readers of the possible
consequences of not
attending to the problem
Use an apt
quotation or expert
opinion to lend
authority to the
conclusion you
have reached
If your discipline encourages
personal reflection, illustrate
your concluding point with a
relevant narrative drawn
from your own life
experiences.
In a science or social
science paper,
mention worthwhile
avenues for future
research on your topic
Recommend a
specific course of
action
Return to an anecdote,
example, or quotation
that you introduced in
your introduction, but
add further insight that
derives from the body of
your essay
Give a startling
statistic, fact, or visual
image to drive home
the ultimate point of
your paper

10. Paragraphs
•Using topic sentences is the most effective way to achieve paragraph unity to express the central
idea of the paragraph. The topic sentence is the main point of the paragraph and its has a unifying
function. A paragraph is unified if all the sentences relate to the topic sentence. Not all paragraphs
need topic sentences. In particular, opening and closing paragraphs, which serve different functions
from body paragraphs, generally don’t have topic sentences.
•In academic writing, the topic sentence nearly always works best at the beginning of a paragraph
so that the reader knows what to expect.
•This topic sentence forecasts the central idea or main point of the paragraph, The rest of the
paragraph will focus on that idea avoiding irrelevant information that does not relate to the topic
sentence.
•supports a general statement by means of examples, details, or relevant quotations (with your
comments).
•it defines a term, often by drawing distinctions between the term and other related ones. The
definition that you provide will often be specific to your subject area. Try to avoid perfunctory
dictionary definitions that do not inform your analysis in a meaningful way.
How do I develop my ideas in a paragraph?
TOPIC SENTENCE:
ILLUSTRATION:
DEFINITION PARAGRAPH:

11. • develops a topic by distinguishing its component parts and discussing each of these parts
separately.
•Zeroes in on a key similarity or difference between two sources, positions, or ideas.
• Decide whether to deal only with similarities or only with differences, or to cover both.
•you should make your intention clear to readers from the outset.
•It acknowledges that what you previously asserted is not absolutely true or always applicable.
•involves a straightforward step-by-step description. Process description often follows a chronologic
sequence.
COMPARISON OR
CONTRAST PARAGRAPH:
QUALIFICATION
PARAGRAPH
PROCESS PARAGRAPH:
ANALYSIS OR
CLASSIFICATION
PARAGRAPH:

12. How do I make my ideas flow in a
paragraph?• Deliberate repetition of key words helps. Reiterating the focus of your analysis by repeating key words or
synonyms for key words enhances the overall flow of the paragraph.
• Strategic use of pronouns such as it, they, and this keeps the focus on the ideas announced at the beginning
of the paragraph—as long as they are clearly linked to specific nouns.
• Specialized linking words can also be powerful tools for pulling ideas together:
• Length: Paragraphs vary in length depending on the needs of the paragraph. Usually, paragraphs are between
one-third and two-thirds of a page double spaced. A series of long paragraphs can make prose dense and
unpleasant to read. Also look out for short paragraphs only two or three sentences long. They make
academic writing seem disjointed or skimpy.
To signal a reinforcement of ideas: also, in other words, in addition, for example, moreover,
more importantly
To signal a change in ideas: but, on the other hand, however, instead, yet, in contrast,
although, nevertheless, in spite of
To signal a conclusion: therefore, thus, ultimately, in conclusión, finally, so [informal]

13. Using
Quotations
Consider quoting a passage from one of your sources if any of the following
conditions holds:
If an argument from one of your sources is particularly relevant to your paper but
does not deserve to be quoted verbatim, consider:
•The language of the passage is particularly elegant or powerful
or memorable.
•You wish to confirm the credibility of your argument by enlisting
the support of an authority on your topic.
•The passage is worthy of further analysis.
•You wish to argue with someone else’s position in considerable
detail
•Paraphrasing the passage if you wish to convey the points in
the passage at roughly the same level of detail as in the
original
•Summarizing the relevant passage if you wish to sketch only
the most essential points in the passage

14. How do I introduce a short quotation?
• With a full sentence: When you introduce a quotation with a full sentence,
you should always place a colon at the end of the introductory sentence.
When you introduce a quotation with an incomplete sentence, you usually
place a comma after the introductory phrase.
verbs and phrases to introduce
quotations
•Comments
•Suggests
•Explains
•Asserts
•Reveals
•Maintains
•Counters
•Argues
•Demonstrates
•Concludes
•Claims
•Says
•Points out
•Writes
•Insists
•States
•Observe
•Notes

15. •If your quotation is lengthy, you should almost always introduce it with a full sentence that helps capture
how it fits into your argument. If your quotation is longer than four lines, do not place it in quotation
marks. Instead, set it off as a block quotation. The full-sentence introduction to a block quotation helps
demonstrate your grasp of the source material, and it adds analytical depth to your essay. But the
introduction alone is not enough. Long quotations almost Invariably need to be followed by extended
analysis.
•If you need to alter your quotations in any way, be sure to indicate just how you have done so. If you
remove text, then replace the missing text with an ellipsis—three periods surrounded by spaces. If the
omitted text occurs between sentences, then put a space after the period at the end of sentence, and
follow that by an ellipsis. In all, there will be four periods.
•Do not use an ellipsis if you are merely borrowing a phrase from the original
•If you need to alter or replace text from the original, enclose the added text within square brackets.
Square brackets allow you to absorb the author’s words into your own statement
•you can include the author’s original phrasing in its entirety as long as the introduction to the quotation
is not fully integrated with the quotation. The introduction can be an independent clause or an
incomplete sentence.
How do I introduce a long quotation?

16. Punctuation of a quoted passage
• You must preserve the punctuation of a quoted passage, or else you must enclose
in square brackets any punctuation marks that are your own.
• You are free to alter the punctuation just before a closing quotation mark.
• If you are using footnotes, the period remains inside the quotation mark, while
the footnote number goes outside. In Canada and the United States, commas and
periods never go outside a quotation mark. They are always absorbed as part of
the quotation, whether they belong to you or to the author you are quoting.
• Stronger forms of punctuation such as question marks and exclamation marks go
inside the quotation if they belong to the author, and outside if they do not.
• Use single quotation marks for all quotations within quotations

17. Paraphrase and Summary
To paraphrase means to
restate someone else’s ideas in
your own language at roughly
the same level of detail.
provide the main tools
for integrating your
sources into your
papers.
indispensable in argumentative papers
because they allow you to include other
people’s ideas without cluttering up your
paragraphs with quotations
To summarize means to
reduce the most essential
points of someone else’s
work into a shorter form

18. • You must provide a reference.
• The paraphrase must be in your own words. You must also create your
own sentence structures.
• Refer explicitly to the author in your paraphrase.
• Analyze
• Not all of the details from the original passage need to be included in the
paraphrase.
• You don’t need to change every word. You can keep essential terms the
same

19. • When you summarize a passage, you need first to absorb the meaning and
then to capture in your own words the most important elements from the
original passage.
• A summary is necessarily shorter than a paraphrase.

20. Writing an Annotated Bibliography
An annotated bibliography gives an account of the research that has been done
on a given topic. Like any bibliography, an annotated bibliography is an
alphabetical list of research sources. It provides a concise summary of each
source and some assessment of its value or relevance.
An annotation briefly restates the main argument of a source. Keep in mind
that identifying the argument of a source is a different task than describing or
listing its contents. Rather than listing contents, an annotation should account
for why the contents are there.

21. Reading strategies to identify the
argument of your source:
• Identify the author’s thesis (central claim or purpose) or research question.
Both the introduction and the conclusion can help you with this task.
• Look for repetition of key terms or ideas. Follow them through the text and see
what the author does with them. Note especially the key terms that occur in
the thesis or research question that governs the text.
• Notice how the text is laid out and organized. What are the main divisions or
sections? What is emphasized? Why? Accounting for why will help you to move
beyond listing contents and toward giving an account of the argument.
• Notice whether and how a theory is used to interpret evidence or data.
Identify the method used to investigate the problem/s addressed in the text.
• Pay attention to the opening sentence(s) of each paragraph, where authors
often state concisely their main point in the paragraph.
• Look for paragraphs that summarize the argument. A section may sometimes
begin or conclude with such a paragraph.

22. Kinds of annotated bibliographies:
• Some assignments may require you to summarize only and not to
evaluate.
• Some assignments may want you to notice and comment on patterns
of similarity and dissimilarity between sources; other assignments
may want you to treat each source independently.
• If the bibliography is long, consider organizing it in sections. Your
categories of organization should help clarify your research question
• Some assignments may require or allow you to preface the
bibliography (or its sections) with a paragraph explaining the scope of
your investigation and providing a rationale for your selection of
sources.

23. Expectations of university writing
•There is no predetermined number of points that your essay must include.
•Essays have as many paragraphs as needed. You should choose a structure for your essay that
serves your ideas and your argument.
•Paragraphs are usually between one-third and two-thirds of a page and vary in length
according to the needs of the paragraph.
•Paragraphs will be clearer and more coherent if they begin with a topic sentence that sums up
the main point of the paragraph.
•Your paragraphs should end whenever you have provided enough evidence and analysis to
support the point in your topic sentence.
•Provide a transition only when it helps the reader follow your train of thought. But your
paragraphs will be more coherent if you place the transition at the start of the next paragraph.
•Not every essay needs a thesis statement.
•The opening paragraph often ends in a thesis statement, but a thesis can also occur
elsewhere.

24. Expectations of university writing
•A thesis statement can be two or three sentences long, or even longer if the argument
is complex
•The introduction should raise the essay topic or question as soon as possible in specific
and concrete terms
•The conclusion should do more than merely summarize what you have already done in
the paper
•You may incorporate narrative or plot elements into your argument as long as you
analyze them in sufficient depth
•Argumentative essays should be supported by evidence from your sources. In some
disciplines, your professor may invite you to supplement your argument with an
account of your personal experience
•An essay that addresses counter-arguments becomes stronger and more persuasive by
acknowledging the complexity of the material
•Professors are concerned with your ideas and your writing and expect you to submit
your essays in a plain format with no fancy fonts, colours, title pages, and binders.
•The thesis statement does not have to be supported by any specific number of points.

25. BIBLIOGRAPHY
• University of Toronto. Advise on Academic Writin. Retrived from
• http://advise.writing.utoronto.ca/