Global Utilities

La Trobe University
Academic Language and Learning

Writing for ESL students

What is a university essay?

The first thing to remember is that there is no typical university essay! Each discipline has its own requirements in terms of language used, organisational structure and type of essay question. However, there are some general points to be made about writing an essay in a tertiary context.

All university learning, including essay writing should be viewed as INQUIRY. You are asked to research, read, synthesise and reflect upon the topic given. There is not one correct answer to most essay questions. The process of writing the essay will involve asking questions about your research and then developing an argument, or thesis, and coherently arguing that, using evidence from the appropriate sources you have used in research. 

You are required to INVESTIGATE a topic. That is, you are asked to find resources on your topic, read and analyse or ask questions and come to a conclusion.* You are not just describing what you have read.

Essay writing is an exercise in conveying your UNDERSTANDING of a topic. It is not just paraphrasing or summarising material you have read.

You will demonstrate that you have READ WIDELY. You are expected to access a number of resources, not just read the set text and no more.

Essay-writing is a THINKING and LEARNING process. It is not merely giving information without structuring it uniquely and presenting a creative argument.

*Conclusions are often the starting point for your essay. You will, in your introduction state what your conclusions or your main arguments are. The rest of the essay then convinces the reader that your conclusions are valid.

The essay writing process

  • Understand what you have to do/interpret the topic
  • Clarify your thoughts
  • Do the research - Get the necessary materials
  • Critically analyse materials
  • Develop an argument
  • Plan a structure for the essay
  • Write a first draft - Aim for appropriate content and style
  • Write a reference list
  • Review, rewrite and edit
  • Present your essay well

Understanding what you have to do/interpreting the topic

Define the key terms and phrases in the essay question.
Check the meaning of unfamiliar words, using a specialist subject dictionary for technical words, and a good general dictionary for non-technical words.

Understand the relationships between the key terms and phrases you have defined.

Underline the instruction words in the essay and check their meanings in a dictionary, if necessary: i.e. words such as 'compare', 'discuss', 'critically evaluate', 'explain' etc.

Check the marking criteria for the essay. It should tell you what you are required to do to answer the question.

Find out what the question is saying explicitly and implicitly. For example, when a comparative essay is needed, it may not always be explicitly stated in the essay question.

Paraphrase the question by rewriting it using simpler language and more explicit explanations.

Answer the question: What is problematic, difficult or confusing about this topic?

Discuss your interpretation of the question in your tutorial, with other students and with your lecturer/tutor.

Doing the research/getting the materials/reading for the essay

Evaluating the Materials you have read

Not everything you find on the Internet is suitable to use in academic writing. Because there are so many websites you may find, you need to be able to decide what material is relevant, reliable, and accurate. You need to check whether it is current or out of date and it is important to decide what the purpose of the author is.

Planning your writing

A plan for your essay can be like a road map because it shows you where you are going? Even if you are not sure exactly what you are going to write about when you begin to do research and reading, the process of writing a plan can help you to clarify ideas and show you in which areas you need to do more reading and get more information. Your plan will probably change as you write. That is OK. Use it as an outline of your essay to help check whether all information is relevant and there isn't alot of unnecessary repetition.

You may download an essay plan (DOC 34KB)and adapt it, if necessary, for you own assignment.

Organisation and structure

There are a number of different ways to structure a piece of academic writing. The way to organise your ideas or arguments will depend upon the area or discipline of your study. A model for an academic essay (DOC 37KB) is also available for students to view.

Writing Paragraphs

Paragraphs are the building blocks of academic writing. Well organised paragraphs make your writing clearer. A paragraph generally contains one main idea which is supported by examples or details. The main idea is given in the topic sentence, often the first sentence of the paragraph.

Characteristics/Definitions of a paragraph

A paragraph is a number of sentences (usually between 3 - 10 depending on the complexity of the subject) about one main idea or argument. This group of sentences logically develops one subject. 

(It is important to realise that logical development of a subject varies from one culture to another. The way a subject is developed in English language academic culture may be different to how it is developed in the academic culture of your first language.)

Format of a paragraph

The first word of a paragraph might be indented though many writers do not use an indent but they skip a line (double space) between paragraphs instead. 

Structure of a paragraph

Paragraphs generally have a topic or summary sentence which outline the main idea of the paragraph, and then supporting sentences which explain or support this main ideas. This is represented by the following:

Topic or summary sentence
 Supporting sentences
 Concluding sentence
A sentence which gives the main idea of the paragraph, usually the first sentence, but not always. Approximately 3-10 sentences which explain or give evidence to support the main idea. Sometimes there is a sentence which sums up the information in the paragraph. However not every paragraph has this.

The topic or summary sentence

  • provides the general subject and the specific part of this subject that will be explained in the paragraph.
  • is often the first sentence in a paragraph but not always.
  • contains a subject – this tells what the paragraph is about, a verb and controlling idea – the controlling idea describes of makes a judgement about the subject. It focuses or narrows the subject.

The supporting sentences

  • contain details that support or develop the main idea or topic sentence
  • can take different forms: they may be facts or proof to support a claim, they may be quotes (enclosed in quotation marks, (" "))
  • they can provide a further description of the topic/main idea
  • they can relate personal experiences of the writer or other people.

The concluding sentence

  • is the final sentence in a paragraph. (Some paragraphs have a summarising or concluding statement but not all).
  •  restates the main idea or summarises it in a new way.

Sample paragraph

[Topic sentence] -> Strategies that ESL students can use to improve their listening include putting themselves in situations where people are speaking conversational English and listening  to radio news on a daily basis.

[The first supporting idea] -> Firstly ESL students can go regularly to places where English is spoken. For example on the La Trobe campus students might sit in the coffee shops in the Agora or the Union and discreetly listen in on conversation other native speakers are having. By doing this they are not only being exposed to everyday vocabulary and conversational English, but they are also hearing Australian English pronunciation which may be new to them. Buses, trains or trams are other places to "eavesdrop" or listen in to conversations to help develop listening.

[The second supporting idea] -> A second thing students can do to improve their listening skills is to tune into the radio news each day. Many stations provide hourly news bulletins which are often a repeat of the earlier broadcast. This means students get the chance to check what they heard the first time. To assist their comprehension students can also buy a copy of a daily newspaper and see if the news story is covered in print. At first radio news might seem quite difficult. However by listening regularly students will quickly  find they are understanding more and more.

[Concluding sentence] -> These two activities, if practised regularly, should soon help newly arrived ESL students improve their ability to understand spoken English.

References

  • Romanoff, M.R. 1991. Language and Study Skills for Learners of English, Prentice Hall Regents, Englewood Cliffs.
  • Rooks, G.M. 1988. Paragraph Power. Prentice Hall Regents, Englewood Cliffs.

Editing your work

Always plan to have time to read over what you have written before you submit it. Ideally you should give yourself enough time so that you can go back to your essay a day or so after you finish writing and look at it again with a fresh eye. In other words, you might be better able to see the mistakes or errors you have made and be able to make a number of improvements.

Checklist for editing
Stages of editing Have you...
Interpreting the Topic
  • Identified key words
  • Identified the instructional word(s)
  • Understood how the instructional words relate to the topic
  • Understood what you are required to do with the topic
Planning
  • Made a general plan
  • And a more detailed plan including evidence and sources
Introduction
  • Set the context
  • Narrowed the focus
  • Stated a summary of your argument in a thesis statement
  • Provided an overview
Body
  • defined key terms

In each paragraph

  • given a summary sentence (topic sentence) which is clearly related to the thesis statement
  • made sure that every sentence is relevant to the topic sentence
  • used a lot of short paragraphs? Could you merge some by making categories with a topic sentence which links the categories to the thesis statement?

Coherence

  • repeated key terms/concepts throughout the text
  • linked ideas between paragraphs
  • used a lot of short sentences close together- could you join some of them?
  • used a lot of "and" connectors - could you change some of them to give more variety?

Argument and evidence

  • made generalisations which need to be more tentative
  • provided evidence to support your arguments
  • summarised/ paraphrased the views of others in your own words, then referenced them in the text?
Conclusion
  • summarised the major points of the essay
  • rephrased the thesis
  • and so given the reader a clear understanding of the argument you have pursued in the essay
Referencing
  • checked the referencing style suggested in the subject guide
  • used enough references
  • used paraphrasing appropriately (not copied out sections of the texts you have read)
  • put all direct quotations in inverted commas
  • varied the way you refer to sources
  • provided a reference list in alphabetical order
Presentation
  • checked with your faculty about these requirements
  • included a cover sheet with all the information filled out, including writing the question you have answered out in full
  • double spaced your writing
  • used margins
  • used size 12 font
  • indicated in some way where a new paragraph begins

Other writing links

Report writing

Business reports

Research reports

Practical/laboratory reports

Other report writing links

Typical grammar problems - error analysis

The key to better, more accurate writing is for you to become aware of the areas of English grammar that you have difficulty with and to work towards being able to correct them yourself. In other words an analysis of your errors needs to be done (by you or your teacher/tutor).

  1. Think about the types of phrases or sentences which you find difficult to write or you sometimes avoid because you're not sure how to form them.
  2. Learn the terminology for describing grammatical features of English. eg. nouns, verb tenses, subject verb agreement, etc. If you know these, you can more effectively find helpful explanations and exercises in grammar references. (The University of Victoria, Canada, provides a useful grammar glossary).

The attached handout on error analysis (PDF 19KB) provides information and strategies you can follow for recognising and avoiding typical errors in your writing.

Grammar references/resources

Print resources

A basic grammar reference book is essential. It may seem old fashioned, but a book which you are familiar with and know where to look for that quick grammar question can be a very useful. Bookmark the pages or units which you have to keep going back to. Consult it regularly and have it close at hand when you're writing so you can quickly look up something you're not sure of. We recommend: 1999. Hewings, Martin. Advanced Grammar in Use, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. A large learner's dictionary with example sentences is another important thing to have. We suggest: Collins Cobuild,Oxford.

NOTE: There are many other good books around. The ones mentioned above are just a few we have used. A small personal library of quality reference books that you like and know how to use will be a valuable resource all through your university studies and for the rest of your life.

Online resources

There are literally thousands of online resources to help you with grammar. Here are some sites with a range of grammar topics we've found and think are useful (browse through these to find what you need).

Single page sites on particular grammar problems

  • Articles 1 (DOC 38KB) - Worksheet with simple rules and 2 practice exercises