Writing skills

Writing at university can be a daunting task for many students. There is much to learn, such
as different genres of writing (reports, essays), how to write in an acceptable academic
style, and paraphrasing and using references to avoid plagiarism. Despite the difficulties,
writing can be made easier if you break the task down by following the writing process. The
following pages will give you help on these aspects of writing, and more.

The writing process

Find out more about the writing process, from understanding the title and brainstorming for ideas,
to proofreading your final draft.
Reports
Understand how to write a good academic report, with clear structure and appropriate language.
Essays
Learn more about essay types such as discussion, compare & contrast and cause & effect, and how to
give your essays a clear structure.
Other genres
Find out more about other academic writing genres, such as abstracts, literature reviews and research
proposals.
Cohesion
Understand how to make your writing 'cohere' or 'stick together'.
Style
Understand the basics of good written style in academic writing.
Paraphrasing
Understand how and why you should paraphrase.
Referencing
Learn how to cite correctly, using correct in-text citations and a correctly formatted reference section,
and learn some of the main reporting verbs used for citing.
Critical writing
Find out how to have a critical voice in your writing.
Exams
Learn more about writing for important academic English exams: TOEFL and IELTS.
Resources
Check out some resources for students and teachers to help them with their academic writing.
Academic Writing
Seven features of academic writing
Academic writing is arguably the most important skill in academic contexts, since writing is the main
method of academic communication. It is also the most difficult skill for most students to master. This
page considers what academic writing is, looking in detail at the main features of academic writing, as
well as suggesting ways to develop academic writing. There is a checklist at the end for you to check
your understanding.

What is academic writing?

Academic writing is writing which communicates ideas, information and research to the wider academic
community. It can be divided into two types: student academic writing, which is used as a form of
assessment at university, as well as at schools as preparation for university study; and expert academic
writing, which is writing that is intended for publication in an academic journal or book. Both types of
academic writing (student and expert) are expected to adhere to the same standards, which can be
difficult for students to master. The characteristics of academic writing which together distinguish it
from other forms of writing are that it is:
 structured;
 evidenced;
 critical;
 balanced;
 precise;
 objective;
 formal.

Features of academic writing

Structured
Academic writing should have a clear structure. The structure will often derive from
the genre of writing. For example, a report will have an introduction (including the aim or
aims), a method section, a discussion section and so on, while an essay will have an
introduction (including a thesis statement), clear body paragraphs with topic sentences, and
a conclusion. The writing should be coherent, with logical progression throughout,
and cohesive, with the different parts of the writing clearly connected.
Careful planning before writing is essential to ensure that the final product will be well
structured, with a clear focus and logical progression of ideas.

Evidenced
Opinions and arguments in academic writing should be supported by evidence. Often the
writing will be based on information from experts in the field, and as such, it will be
important to reference the information appropriately, for example via the use of in-text
citations and a reference section.

Critical
Academic writing does more than just describe. As an academic writer, you should not
simply accept everything you read as fact. You need to analyse and evaluate the information
you are writing about, in other words make judgements about it, before you decide whether
and how to integrate it into your own writing. This is known as critical writing. Critical
writing requires a great deal of research in order for the writer to develop a deep enough
understanding of the topic to be truly critical about it.

Balanced
Academic writing should be balanced. This means giving consideration to all sides of the
issue and avoiding bias. As noted above, all research, evidence and arguments can be
challenged, and it is important for the academic writer to show their stance on a particular
topic, in other words how strong their claims are. This can be done using hedges, for
example phases such as the evidence suggests... or this could be caused by..., or boosters,
that is, phrases such as clearly or the research indicates.

Precise
Academic writing should use clear and precise language to ensure the reader understands
the meaning. This includes the use of technical (i.e. subject-specific) vocabulary, which
should be used when it conveys the meaning more precisely than a similar non-technical
term. Sometimes such technical vocabulary may need defining, though only if the term is
not commonly used by others in the same discipline and will therefore not be readily
understood by the reader.
Objective
Academic writing is objective. In other words, the emphasis is placed on the arguments and
information, rather than on the writer. As a result, academic writing tends to use nouns and
noun phrases more than verbs and adverbs. It also tends to use more passive structures,
rather than active voice, for example The water was heated rather than I heated the water.

Formal
Finally, academic writing is more formal than everyday writing. It tends to use longer words
and more complex sentences, while avoiding contractions and colloquial or informal words
or expressions that might be common in spoken English. There are words and collocations
which are used in academic writing more frequently than in non-academic writing, and
researchers have developed lists of these words and phrases to help students of academic
English, such as the Academic Word List, the Academic Vocabulary List, and
the Academic Collocation List.

Developing your academic writing

Given the relatively specialist nature of academic writing, it can seem daunting when you
first begin. You can develop your academic writing by paying attention to feedback from
tutors or peers and seeking specific areas to improve. Another way to develop your
academic writing is to read more. By reading academic journals or texts, you can develop a
better understanding of the features that make academic writing different from other forms
of writing.

References
Alexander, O., Argent, S. and Spencer, J. (2008) EAP Essentials: A teacher's guide to
principles and practice. Reading: Garnet Publishing Ltd.

Cardiff Metropolitan University (n.d.) Academic Writing: Principles and Practice.

Available at:
https://study.cardiffmet.ac.uk/AcSkills/Documents/Guides/AS_Guide_Academic_Writing.p
df (Access date: 4/2/21).

Gillett, A. (n.d.) Features of academic writing. Available at:

http://www.uefap.com/writing/feature/featfram.htm (Access date: 4/2/21).

Staffordshire University (2020) Academic writing. https://libguides.staffs.ac.uk/ld.php?

content_id=33103104 (Access date: 4/2/21).

Staffordshire University (2021) Academic writing.

https://libguides.staffs.ac.uk/academic_writing/explained (Access date: 4/2/21).
University of Leeds (2021) Academic writing.
https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/14011/writing/106/academic_writing (Access date: 4/2/21).

Checklist

Below is a checklist for this page. Use it to check your understanding.

Item OK? Comment
I understand what academic writing is.
I know the main features of academic writing (i.e. that it
is structured, evidenced, critical, balanced, objective, and formal).

I know how to develop my academic writing by using feedback and

reading.

Academic Style
How to write in the right style
This page gives information on academic writing style in English. It includes a list of 10 rules for
academic style. The page also includes a style checklist for your writing, as well as some exercises to
help you practice this area.

What is academic style in English?

Academic English, like any writing, has its own conventions or 'style'. It is a formal, written style, which
means that it has aspects which make it different from 'spoken' academic English, and at the same time,
being 'formal', it is quite different from ordinary writing which you might use in letters, emails, or
stories.
This section considers 10 'rules' for good academic writing in English. Although rules are
never a good idea for any form of study (because there are always exceptions), they are
usually a good place to begin. These rules are concerned with the use of:
 formality (rules 1-5);
 objectivity (rule 6);
 precision (rules 7-8);
 tentative language (rule 9);
 explicit links (rule 10).

Rule 1
Use formal vocabulary, such as words from the academic wordlist (AWL), and words for
numbers up to ten. Avoid less formal or idiomatic vocabulary.
       ✓ Many fathers nowadays...
       ✗ Many dads these days...

       ✓ Major urban centres, such as London and Beijing...

       ✗ Major urban centres, like London and Beijing...

       ✓ There are a significant number of people who believe...

       ✗ There are lots of people who believe...

       ✓ There are three main reasons for this.

       ✗ There are 3 main reasons for this.

Rule 2
Use formal verbs instead of two-word verbs.
       ✓ increase, decrease, discuss, improve, deteriorate, continue, raise
       ✗ go up, go down, talk about, get better, get worse, go on, bring up

Rule 3
Use the full form of verbs, not contractions.
       ✓ do not, cannot, will not, did not
       ✗ don't, can't, won't, didn't

Rule 4
Use formal grammar structures, such as nominalisation (noun phrases) and clauses, rather
than too many simple sentences.
       ✓ The increasing pollution of the environment is a global concern.
       ✗ The environment is increasingly polluted. This is a global concern.

       ✓ Note-taking, which is an important skill for EAP students, is difficult to master.

       ✗ Note-taking is an important skill for EAP students. It is difficult to master.

Rule 5
Use statements. Avoid rhetorical questions, which are less formal (though these are
common in spoken academic English, i.e. lectures and presentations).
       ✓ There were four main reasons for the decline.
       ✗ What were the reasons for the decline?

       ✓ Written English is different from spoken English.

       ✗ How are written and spoken English different?

Rule 6
Use impersonal language, such as 'There is...', 'It is...', or passive voice. Avoid personal
pronouns (I, we, you, etc.) and adverbs which show your feeling (e.g. luckily, remarkably,
amazingly).
       ✓There are three main problems.
       ✗I can think of three main problems.

       ✓ In the experiment, the water was heated...

       ✗ In the experiment, I heated the water...

        ✓ There were very few errors in the experiment.

        ✗ Amazingly there were very few errors in the experiment.

Rule 7
Be as precise as possible. Use exact figures or values wherever possible, rather than 'about'
or 'several'. Use words such as 'factor', 'issue', 'topic', 'aspect' instead of vague words such as
'thing'.
       ✓ There are three main reasons for this.
       ✗ There are several reasons for this.

       ✓ The turning point was in the late 1980s.

       ✗ The turning point was about 30 years ago.
       ✓ There were three factors which led to this result.
       ✗ There were three things which led to this result.

Rule 8
Be sure to cite your sources. Avoid making vague claims.
       ✓ Russell (2001) states that over 50% of the population are unaware of the problem.
       ✗ Everybody knows that most people are unaware of the problem.
       ✗ Most people are unaware of the problem.

Rule 9
Use hedging (i.e. tentative language), such as 'possibly', 'probably', 'may', 'might', 'appears
to', and 'seems to' to qualify statements. Avoid absolute statements and words such as
'always'.
       ✓ Education may reduce crime.
       ✓ It appears that education reduces crime.
       ✗ Education reduces crime.

       ✓ This is possibly caused by the effects of global warming.

       ✓ This may be caused by the effects of global warming.
       ✗ This is caused by the effects of global warming.

       ✓ Chinese students often make mistakes with tenses.

       ✗ Chinese students always make mistakes with tenses.

Rule 10
Use appropriate transition signals to make explicit (i.e. clear) links between ideas and to
introduce new sections of an essay. Avoid numbering or bullet points (except in certain
reports), and basic transitions to begin sentences (e.g. 'And', 'But', 'So'). Also be careful not
to use too many transitions (not at the beginning of every sentence!).
       ✓ Turning to the question of inflation...
       ✗ 2. Inflation.

       ✓ In addition, inflation is an important factor.

       ✗ And inflation is an important factor.

Checklist

Below is a checklist for academic style. Use it to check your own writing, or get a peer
(another student) to help you.
 Item OK? Comment
The writing uses formal vocabulary, not informal
words
The writing uses formal verbs (e.g. increase), not
two word verbs (e.g. go up)
The writing uses full form verbs (e.g. do not), not
Formality contractions (e.g. don't)
The writing uses formal grammar structures, such
as nominalisation or clauses, not many simple
sentences
The writing uses statements, not questions

The writing uses impersonal language, including

Objectivity passive where necessary, not personal pronouns (I,
we, you, etc.)
The writing uses precise numbers or information,
not imprecise words like 'about', 'several', or 'thing'
Precision
The writing cites the sources
Expressing The writing uses tentative language (e.g. 'may' or
uncertainty 'might')
Explicit The writing uses academic transition signals, not
links numbering or basic signals such as 'And', 'But', or
'So'

Exercises & Activities

Some ways to practise this area of EAP

Exercises

The text below has some style problems (shown in red colour). What rule is being broken?
How would you correct the problem? Click on the problem to show the answer.

Text Answer will appear here

Many students use poor academic style in their
writing, like using I, we and you. A simple way to improve
this is to study good examples of academic style and to
follow them. Their writing score will go up as a result. And it
will be useful at university. Style is always a problem for
Chinese students, who make lots of mistakes when they start
to write academic English, by using, for example, phrasal
verbs instead of more formal verbs. This is something that
such students need to learn to overcome if they wish to reach
a higher grade. What other ways are there for students to
improve their style? One way is to ask the teacher for advice.
A considerable number of students don't listen to their
teachers, and therefore do not improve. This is a terrible
situation. It is important for students to remember that they
are now adults, not kids. If they do not follow teachers'
advice, their writing style will not improve.

Exercises (with answer)

The text below has some style problems (shown in red colour). What rule is being broken?
How would you correct the problem? Click on the problem to show the answer.

Text Answer will appear here

Many students use poor academic style in their for example (Rule 1)
writing, like using I, we and you. A simple way to improve
this is to study good examples of academic style and to
follow them. Their writing score will go up as a result. And it increase (Rule 2), In addition, (Rule 10)
will be useful at university. Style is always a problem for often (Rule 9)
Chinese students, who make lots of mistakes when they start a considerable number of (Rule 1)
to write academic English, by using, for example, phrasal
verbs instead of more formal verbs. This is something that a problem (Rule 7)
such students need to learn to overcome if they wish to reach There are other ways in which students
a higher grade. What other ways are there for students to can improve their style. (Rule 5)
improve their style? One way is to ask the teacher for advice.
A considerable number of students don't listen to their do not (Rule 3)
teachers, and therefore do not improve. This is a terrible delete (Rule 6)
situation. It is important for students to remember that they children (Rule 1)
are now adults, not kids. If they do not follow teachers' is unlikely to/may not (Rule 9)
advice, their writing style will not improve.

The Writing Process

 How to write right

On your academic course you will need to engage in different types of writing, from extended essays
and reports which may take two months to write, to short essays written under exam conditions. A
mistake many students make is to start writing before they are ready, and to think they have finished
once their first draft is done. In reality, there are many steps involved in producing a quality piece of
writing, which begin when you first see the title, and end when you submit the work. These steps are
called The Writing Process.

The exact process will vary according to the kind of writing you are working on. There are
two main types, summarised below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmYxaCnbL5o

(The writing Process)

Extended (researched) assignments

Understand the title
Brainstorm ideas
Research
Write an outline
Write first draft
Check your work
Redraft
Proofread
Submit finished work

Short (exam) essays

Understand the title
Brainstorm ideas
Write an outline
Write the essay
Check your work
Submit finished work

Exercises & Activities

Some ways to practise this area of EAP

Ordering the stages

Put the stages of the writing process in the correct order.
Mention Step 1/ Step 2/ Step 3 …..

Brainstorm ideas
Outline
Understand the title
Redraft
Summit final draft
Proofread
Check your work

Research

Write the first draft

Understanding the title

Know what you need to write
The first stage of the writing process is to understand the title. This is a key stage. Get this wrong, and
your whole essay may be worthless, meaning hours of wasted time. A common complaint by course
tutors is that their students do not answer the question. By taking the time to understand the title, you
can be more confident that the content of your essay or report will be relevant, which will earn you a
higher grade. It will also ensure that your background reading, if it is a researched assignment with
references, will be more focused. The most important aspects of understanding the question are
identifying the key words and the command words in the title. Both of these are considered below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmYxaCnbL5o

Key words

The first thing to do when looking at the title is to underline the key words. Some of these
may need defining in your answer. Pay special attention to command words (see below),
which give you a clear indication of how to answer the question. Read through the question
several times to make sure you understand exactly what it is asking. If it is a researched
assignment, rather than an exam essay, you may also want to discuss the question with your
tutor to make sure you completely understand it.

Command words
Command words, also called directive words or instruction words, are words (usually verbs)
in the title which tell you exactly what you need to write in your answer. Below are some of
the most common command words and their meaning.

Command Meaning
word
Account for Gives reasons for the subject of the question. Note: this is different from give an
account of, which looks at 'what' rather than 'why'.
Analyse Break an idea or issue into parts, looking at each one in depth and considering how
they relate to one another. This type of answer needs to be very logically organised.
Assess Weigh up how important something is, using evidence or reasoning. Conclude by
saying how far you agree with the original question.
Clarify Make something clearer, e.g. explaining a complex process or theory in simpler
terms.

Comment State the main points and give your opinion.

upon
Compare Identify the similarities and differences. The answer should be balanced, and may
comment on which similarities or differences are more important. Note: technically,
'compare' means to show how things are similar, but in essay titles you are expected
to look at both similarities and differences; some titles may make this more explicit
by asking you to 'Compare and contrast...'.
Consider Say what you think about the subject, using evidence from your own experience or
from external sources.
Contrast Similar to compare, but considers only the differences.
Criticise Identify weaknesses or disadvantages, as well as favourable aspects. The answer
should be balanced.
Define Give a definition, i.e. the precise meaning. This answer may include problems with
the definition and alternative definitions which may exist.
Demonstrate Show how, using examples to illustrate your answer.
Describe Say what something is like, how or why something works or happens, etc.
Discuss Argue for and against, or point out the advantages and disadvantages, using evidence.
You must argue both sides, and come to a conclusion.
Disprove Look at the 'con' points (those against) to show why something is not true. Requires a
logical answer with evidence.
Elaborate To give more detail/information on the subject.
Elucidate Make the subject clear (i.e. lucid) by explaining what it means.
Evaluate Same as assess. Some questions use 'Critically evaluate', which means the same thing.
Examine Look at the topic closely by establishing the important facts and issues. You should
give reasons to say why you think those facts and issues are the most important ones.
Explain Give a detailed explanation of how and why something occurs, or what is meant by a
particular idea or principle. Will often require definition of key terms.
Explore Consider a topic from different viewpoints. The topic should be explored thoroughly,
and opposing views could be reconciled in the final argument.
 Give an Give a detailed description of something, i.e. explain 'what' it is. Note: this is different
account of from account for, which looks at 'why'.
Identify Show what the key points are, and what they imply.
Illustrate Use examples or statistics to explain the subject of the question.
Interpret Say what you think something means, in order to demonstrate your understanding.
You may be asked to interpret terminology used by a writer or the findings from
research. If you are interpreting findings, you should comment on patterns or causal
relationships.
Justify Give reasons for a position (e.g. 'Justify the use of corporal punishment in schools').
Try to include counter-arguments to make your reasons more balanced.
Outline Same as summarise
Prove Look at the 'pro' points (those in favour) to show why something is true. Requires a
logical answer with evidence.
Review Look thoroughly at a subject. An answer to this question will be critical and not just
description.
Show how Give the stages or factors which give rise to something. The answer should be
presented in a logical order.
State Give the relevant points. These points should be clear and brief; avoid long
discussion.
Summarise Sum up the main points, usually with brief or general examples. Do not give details.
Often requires a short answer.
To what Similar to 'Discuss', in that both sides of the argument will be presented, with
extent evidence. This type of essay, however, may be less balanced, depending on what
extent (or 'how far') you think the proposition is true. It is commonly used as
an IELTS Task 2 essay question, usually in the phrase 'To what extent do you agree
or disagree?'
Trace Describe the stages (e.g. in the development of a theory, of a person's life, of a
process) in a logical or chronological order. Usually found in historical questions.

Checklist

Below is a checklist for this section.

Item OK? Comments

I have identified the key words in the title and I know what these
mean.
I have identified the command word(s) and I know what I have to
write in my answer.

References
Gillet, A. (2015) Understand the question Available
from: http://www.uefap.com/writing/question/question.htm (Access date: 15 June, 2016).
University of Leicester (n.d.) Essay terms explained Available
from: http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/ld/resources/writing/writing-resources/essay-terms (Acc
ess date: 15 June, 2016).

University of Reading (n.d.) Planning and structuring your essay Available

from: http://www.reading.ac.uk/internal/studyadvice/StudyResources/Essays/sta-
planningessay.aspx#answering (Access date: 15 June, 2016).

Brainstorming
Types and methods of brainstorming
After you have understood the title, the next step of the writing process is to generate ideas. The best
way to do this is by a process called 'brainstorming'. The page gives information on what brainstorming
is, as well as describing three useful brainstorming techniques, namely clustering, listing,
and freewriting.

https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/eapfoundation?utm_source=web-player&utm_medium=podcast-
link
(Brainstorming)

What is brainstorming?

Brainstorming is a technique which is used to get as many ideas as you can, as quickly as you can. The
words 'many' and quickly' are important. A common mistake students make when brainstorming is to
stop after writing down only a few ideas. This is not 'brainstorming'. As the word 'storm' suggests, it is
something which should have much energy and power, leading to a flood of ideas. Although
brainstorming may take some time, it will save you time in the long run. There is nothing worse than
racing confidently into an essay then getting stuck for ideas halfway through (i.e. 'writer's block').

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmYxaCnbL5o

Clustering
Clustering, also called mind-mapping, is a visual brainstorming technique. It is especially
useful for visual learners. The advantage of this technique is that ideas are organised on the
page, making it easier to move to the outlining stage of the process. As a result, it is the
most popular brainstorming method with students.
Below is an example of the clustering style of brainstorming. This was for a short (250
word) essay, written under exam conditions, with the title: 'Discuss the advantages and
disadvantages of the internet'.
Example 1
Listing

Listing, as its name suggests, is a brainstorming technique in which you make a list of ideas.
The advantage of this technique is that it enables ideas to be generated more quickly than
with clustering, as the ideas can be written in any order.

Below are two examples of the listing style of brainstorming. Both are for the same title as
above, namely 'Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the internet'.
Example 2

Example 3
Freewriting

Freewriting is a brainstorming activity in which the writer writes anything they can about a
topic, in continuous prose, hoping that one idea will lead to another. The advantage of this
technique is that it might enable you to generate ideas when the other methods fail.
However, it is not generally favoured by students of academic writing. It takes more time,
and the writing you produce will be disorganised and will need to be discarded at the end. It
is more useful when writing creative works such as stories. Try this method if you think this
will be a good technique for you:

1. Write the topic at the top of your paper.

2. Write as much as you can about the topic. Include as many supporting facts, details, and
examples as you can, but do not worry if you do not have many at this stage.
3. After you have run out of ideas, reread your passage and circle/highlight the ideas which
seem useful.
4. Group the related ideas together, then use them to write an outline. If necessary, generate
more ideas first using one of the methods on this page.

Checklist

Below is a checklist for this section.

Item OK? Comments
I have used brainstorming to generate ideas for my writing.
 I have used either clustering, listing or freewriting to brainstorm ideas.

Research
Finding information to support your writing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmYxaCnbL5o

If you are writing an extended, researched essay or report, then after brainstorming ideas the next stage
of the writing process will be to research ideas to include in your outline and make your writing
stronger. This page considers how to do this by looking at how to find appropriate sources and how
to select and read them. There is a checklist at the end for you to check your progress.

Finding sources

Before you begin your research you will need to define the task so you will know exactly
what you need. This is done in the preceding stage of the writing process,
namely understanding the title. If you do not understand the task, it will be almost
impossible to find relevant information and you will end up wasting much time.

A useful place to start your research is with your course materials. However, it is not
usually acceptable to limit your sources to those provided by the lecturer, and you will
therefore need to look elsewhere, in books and academic journals. At university, you should
be able to find what you need in the library or via online bibliographic databases. If you
need to look elsewhere, Google scholar can be useful for online articles. You can broaden
your search by looking at the reference sections of any articles you read and trying to find
any titles which seem relevant to your own title. If you need to use a general internet search
engine to find sources online, remember that any material you use in your writing needs to
be of suitable academic quality. University websites are reliable sources (look for .ac.uk in
the URL for UK universities, or .edu for US and Australian ones). Government websites are
also generally considered to be reliable sources (.gov). The most common websites are
commercial .com sites (or .co.uk for UK based websites); these may contain reliable
information, but you will need to check the author to see if the information is trustworthy.
Wikipedia is generally not considered to be a reliable source, though it can be a useful place
to get a general understanding and to find more academic articles via the references at the
end. Wherever your information comes from, make sure you make a note of important
biographic information (title, author name, place of publication or URL, etc.) so that you
can find it again if needed and cite and reference appropriately in your assignment.

Selecting and reading sources

You will probably need to use a considerable number of sources in your essay. A very
general rule is the 'half percent' rule, which means you would be expected to refer to five
sources for every thousand words. However, in order to find five good sources, you will
probably need to read two to three times that many, in other words up to fifteen texts. This
is because some of the texts you read will not be useful for your essay - but you may not
know that until you read them. This means if you are writing an essay which is 2000 words
long, you will need to refer to at least ten sources in the text, and may be reading up to thirty
texts. In order to cope with this volume, you will need to use the reading skills outlined in
the reading section. These include making sure you have a clear purpose before you begin
reading. This will help you to narrow your focus. You can clarify your purpose
by understanding the title, earlier in the writing process, while brainstorming for ideas will
also help to bring focus to your reading. It will be useful to survey the texts to get a general
understanding and decide quickly which ones will be most useful. You will also need
to scan reading texts to find relevant passages; for book sources, the table of contents at the
beginning, and the index at the end, will also be useful for finding specific information. You
may also need to skim texts to gain an understanding of the main ideas and to take notes.
Journal articles, which may be your main source of information at university, will usually
contain an abstract, which summarises the purpose, approach and findings, and is the best
place to start. Most articles have headings, which are also useful in quickly understanding
the main points or locating specific information.

Checklist

Below is a checklist for this section.

Item OK? Comments
I have understood the title and requirements of the task before beginning my
research.

I have looked in the library, searched online databases and used Google scholar.
 For online sources I have used material from reliable sources, e.g. .edu websites.

I have made a note of biographical details (title, author, publisher or URL) in

case I want to find the article again, and to correctly cite and reference it.

I have used skills such as surveying, skimming and scanning to help me select

sources and read them quickly.

I have enough sources for my writing, i.e. approx. 5 per 1000 words of the
assignment.

References
Australian National University (2014) How to start researching your essay. Available at:
https://academicskills.anu.edu.au/resources/handouts/how-start-researching-your-essay
(Access date 1/10/16).

Cottrell, S. (2013) The Study Skills Handbook, 4th ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Outlining
After brainstorming for ideas (and researching, if you are writing a longer, researched paper), the next
stage of the writing process is to organise your ideas into an outline before you begin on the first draft.
This page explains what an outline is, gives reasons why you should outline your essay or report, shows
you what an outline looks like, and gives the features of a good outline. There is also a checklist at the
end of the page that you can use to check your own outline.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmYxaCnbL5o

What is an outline?
An outline is a plan for your writing. It will include the main ideas and show how they are
organised and the overall structure. It is often used for essays, in which case it will include
elements of the introduction such as the thesis statement, an overview of each paragraph
including the topic sentences and supporting ideas, and elements of the conclusion, for
instance the summary. It can also be used for other types of writing such as reports.

Why outline?

An outline will assist you in your writing for three main reasons. First, it will help you to
organise your ideas. This is especially important for longer writing, such as researched
essays, where there may be large amounts of information to keep track of. Even for shorter
essays, however, it is important to put the information in a logical order so that the reader
can follow your main argument. Secondly, it will help ensure your writing has unity. Unity
means that all ideas relate to the central theme of the paragraph. Writing an outline will help
you to focus on the central theme and thereby include only those ideas which relate to it,
while omitting any which are irrelevant. Finally, an outline will aid in the process of writing
by breaking down the task into more manageable components. Writing a 1500 word essay is
a daunting task; writing a 100 word 'map' of the essay is much easier.

What does an outline look like?

An outline can take many forms. The simplest form, recommended for exam essay writing
when time is limited, comprises simply adding numbers and/or letters to ideas generated
during brainstorming so that you can put them in a logical order before writing. Most
outlines, however, are written out in a linear way, using a format similar to linear notes for
reading or listening.

The following is an example outline for the section Why outline? above.

An outline will assist you in your writing for three main reasons.
1. Organise ideas
i. keep track of ideas (esp. longer writing)
ii. put in logical order
2. Create unity
i. means all ideas relate to centre theme
ii. include only relevant ideas
iii. exclude irrelevant ideas
3. Aid in writing process
i. breaks down task
ii. makes 1500 word essay easier with 100 word 'map'

The above outline is fairly detailed, showing the topic sentence, main ideas and supporting details.
Below is a simpler outline for the same paragraph, showing only the main ideas.

An outline will assist you in your writing

1. Organise ideas
2. Create unity
3. Aid in writing process

The second outline is simpler and therefore takes less time to write. The detail in the first
outline, however, will make it easier to write the paragraph and so save time later. Which
style of outline - detailed or simple - will depend on your preference. Try using both and see
which one helps you most.

What are the features of a good outline?

In order to be effective, an outline will have the following three features.

 Parallel structure. Each heading and subheading should have the same form. In the
example above, the three main ideas, labelled 1, 2 and 3, are all verbs ('Organise', 'Create'
and 'Aid'). All points labelled i., ii. etc. are also verbs ('keep track', 'put in' etc.).
 Coordination. Each heading (and subheading) should have equal significance. In the
example above, points labelled 1, 2 and 3 are all equal (they are the 'three main reasons').
Those labelled i., ii. etc. are the supporting details, and therefore equal in significance.
 Subordination. Headings should be more general, while subheadings should be more
specific. In the example above, the headings are the main ideas, while the subheadings are
the supporting details (and therefore more specific).

A detailed outline will also have the following feature.

 Division. Each heading should be divided into at least two parts.

Checklist

Below is a checklist for this section.

Item OK? Comments
I have written an outline for my essay/report.
My outline contains elements such as topic sentence and supporting ideas.

My outline uses parallel structure, coordination and subordination (and, for a

detailed outline, division).
References
Oshima, A. and Hogue, A. (1999) Writing Academic English. New York: Addison Wesley
Longman.

Tardiff, E. and Brizee, A. (2018) Four Main Components for Effective Outlines. Available
at: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/544/01/ (Access date 31/3/18).

Tardiff, E. and Brizee, A. (2018) Why and How to Create a Useful Outline. Available at:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/544/02/ (Access date 31/3/18).

University of Maryland University College (2018) Prewriting and Outlining. Available at:
http://www.umuc.edu/current-students/learning-resources/writing-center/writing-
resources/getting-started-writing/prewriting-and-outlining.cfm (Access date 31/3/18).
First draft
After writing an outline, the next stage of the writing process is to write the first draft. This page
explains what a first draft is and how to write one. There is also a checklist at the end of the page that
you can use to check your own first draft.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmYxaCnbL5o

What is a first draft?

A draft is a version of your writing in paragraph form. The first draft is when you move
from the outline stage and write a complete version of your paper for the first time. A first
draft is often called a 'rough draft', and as this suggests, it will be very 'rough' and far from
perfect. The first draft will lead on to a second draft, third draft, fourth draft and so on as
you refine your ideas and perhaps conduct more research. The paper you submit at the end
is often called the 'final draft', and emphasises the fact that writing is a process without a
definite end (as even the final draft will not be perfect). It should be stressed that a first draft
is only suitable for writing where you have some time to complete it, such as longer,
researched essays, rather than an exam essay where there will only be a single draft.

How to write a first draft?

As you write your initial draft, you should try to follow your outline as closely as possible.
Writing, however, is a continuous, creative process and as you are writing you may think of
new ideas which are not in your outline or brainstorm list, and these can be added if they are
relevant. Your outline will probably contain a thesis, which is essentially a plan for the
whole paper, and you should keep this in mind to decide whether ideas are relevant. It is
possible to begin the drafting process at any stage, and some people recommend writing the
main body first and the introduction and conclusion later. This makes sense as it can be
difficult to introduce something you have not yet finished, though if your outline is detailed
enough it is possible to begin at the beginning. When writing the first draft, the main focus
will be the ideas and content, meaning you should not worry about grammar, punctuation or
spelling. You may end up abandoning whole sections before the final draft, and slowing
down to check grammar or spelling at this stage would be a waste of time. It is useful for
the first draft to use double-spacing and wide margins on both sides of the paper so that you
can add more details and information when you redraft your work.

In short, when writing a first draft, you should do the following:

 try to follow your outline as closely as possible;
 add new ideas if they are relevant;
 keep your thesis in mind while writing;
 begin where you think is best (e.g. main body before introduction);
 focus on ideas and content;
 do not worry about grammar, punctuation or spelling;
 use double-spacing and wide margins for easier redrafting.

Checklist

Below is a checklist for your first draft.

Item OK? Comments

I have written a first draft.

The first draft follows the outline fairly closely.

The first draft uses double-spacing and wide margins for easier
redrafting.

References
Oshima, A. and Hogue, A. (1999) Writing Academic English. New York: Addison Wesley
Longman.

University of Arizona (n.d.) The Structure of an Essay Draft. Available at:

http://www.u.arizona.edu/~atinkham/Essay_Structure.htm (Access date 1/4/18).

Check your work

Find ways to make it better
After you have written your first draft, the next stage of the writing process is to check your work. This
page explains types of checking, what to check and how to check. There is also a checklist at the end of
the page that you can use to peer edit or check your work.

Types of checking

There are different types of checking which can take place. The most authoritative type, of
course, is for your tutor to check your work and give feedback. However, teachers do not
always have the time to do this. Another resource for checking is your fellow students.
These are your 'peers' (meaning 'equals') and this type of checking is called peer editing. A
third and final type of checking is for you (the writer) to check the work yourself. Of
course, if you are checking a short essay during an exam, only the final type is possible. It is
better to get someone else (a teacher or peer) to check your work if possible, as they will be
more objective, although there are also problems with this, especially peer checking, as
peers are not usually very expert in this and may focus on the wrong areas (for example
grammar instead of organisation).

What to check for?

A mistake many writers make when checking their work is to focus on the 'smaller' aspects
such as grammar, spelling and punctuation. However, unless this is the final (or only) draft,
these aspects are not important and should not be considered until the very end,
when proofreading. At this stage of the writing process, you should be making sure that the
content is strong, relevant and well organised.

As mentioned in the section on writing your first draft, you should have used double
spacing and wide margins for easier editing, so this is something to check first, along with
other formatting such as line breaks or indenting to show new paragraphs. It much easier to
check something which is in paragraph rather than note form, so you should make sure your
writing is in this form before checking begins. You should check the organisation by
considering the thesis statement in the introduction (or the aim if it is a report)
and summary in the conclusion, as well as topic sentences for each paragraph
(or headings if it is a report). Good organisation also means putting the ideas in a logical
order, and linking them in a coherent way, for example by using appropriate transition
signals, so this is also something to look for. You should also consider the content, making
sure there are strong supporting ideas, and making sure that all of the supporting ideas are
relevant to the paragraphs, and that all paragraphs support the thesis (in other words, that
there is unity). The introduction should begin with some background information, and there
should be a final comment in the conclusion, so these are other areas to check. If it is a
researched essay, you should also check that the in-text citations are accurate and
appropriate, that the cited sources have been correctly paraphrased or that quotation marks
"..." have been used, and that the reference section is accurate.
In short, you should consider all of the following.
 Format: double spacing, wide margins, etc.
 Organisation: thesis, topic sentences, logical order, coherence.
 Content: ideas, unity, background, final comment, citations.

How to check?

Whether you are reading your own work or checking for someone else, the general process
is the same. You should proceed by reading through the writing carefully, remembering to
focus on the aspects above. Try to use a checklist to help you focus (one is included at the
end of this section). If there are parts which need to be rewritten or improved, try to make
some notes in the margins or in the space on the line above (this is why double spacing and
wide margins are important). For example, if some of the ideas are not strong enough, you
can write down "add more details" or "be more specific". If there are some ideas which are
not linked to the topic sentence, you should cross them out.

Checklist

Below is a checklist to help you or a peer check your written draft.

Area Item OK? Comments

Is the formatting correct, e.g. double
spacing, wide margins, line break or
Formatting indenting to show a new paragraph?
Is the writing in paragraph (rather than
note) form?
Is there a clear thesis statement (for an
essay) or aim (for a report)? Does the thesis
show how the essay will be organised e.g.
compare and contrast?
Does the conclusion have a summary or
restatement of the thesis statement?
 Is there a topic sentence for every
paragraph? Does each topic sentence have
Organisatio a clear controlling idea? If it is a report,
n does it have clear headings?
Are the ideas in each paragraph arranged in
a logical order?
Is there good coherence within paragraphs
(via transition signals or pronouns) and
between paragraphs (via transition signals
or words/ideas repeated from the thesis)?
Are there enough strong supporting ideas
in each paragraph (examples, reasons,
facts)? If it is a researched essay, are there
enough (and not too many or too few)
references to sources?
Do the paragraphs have unity, in other
Content words, are all the ideas related to the topic
sentence? Does the essay have unity, in
other words, do all paragraphs relate to the
thesis statement?
Does the essay begin with some
background information on the topic? Does
the conclusion end with a final comment,
e.g. a recommendation?
Referencing Are the sources acknowledged correctly
(if contains using in-text citations?
sources) Are the sources correctly paraphrased or
"quoted" to avoid plagiarism?
Are the reference section entries correct
(format, details, alphabetical order)?

References
Oshima, A. and Hogue, A. (1999) Writing Academic English. New York: Addison Wesley
Longman.

University of Arizona (n.d.) The Structure of an Essay Draft. Available at:

http://www.u.arizona.edu/~atinkham/Essay_Structure.htm (Access date 1/4/18).

Redrafting
After checking your work, the next stage of the writing process is to redraft. This page explains what
redrafting is, gives reasons why you should redraft, and gives some ideas about how to do this. There is
also a checklist at the end of the page that you can use to check your own first draft.

What is redrafting?

As mentioned earlier, a draft is a version of your writing in paragraph form. Producing a

final paper is a continual process of writing, editing, getting feedback and refining your
work to make better a version or 'draft'. This process of producing a new draft is
called redrafting. You should be prepared to redraft your work at least once - more likely
several times - in response to feedback or as you discover areas that need more work.

Why redraft?

An essay or report is a detailed and complicated piece of work, which will take a lot of time
to organise into a coherent whole. It is unlikely that you will produce the best version at the
first attempt, and one reason for redrafting is that it will allow you to make improvements to
your work and thereby increase the quality of the final submission. A second reason to write
more than one draft of your work is that this process will allow you to break down the task
and make it more manageable, which should make it a less stressful experience. A third
benefit of redrafting is that by seeking and responding to feedback (from peers or the
teacher), you will improve your writing skills, which will benefit you not only with the
current assignment but also future ones.

How to redraft?
How you redraft will depend in part on whether or not your work has been checked by a
teacher or peer. If it has been checked and you have received feedback, your first task will
be to make sure you understand the feedback. If you do not, you will need to ask the person
who gave it to you for clarification. If you do not understand the feedback, you will not be
able to make improvements.

Whether your work has been checked by someone else or by yourself, your next task should
be to identify the major problems which you need to work on. Although you might want to
work on everything, this may not always be possible, and focusing on the main problems
will help you make the greatest improvement to your work. Remember that at this stage of
the writing process, you should be working on the 'bigger' aspects of the task, namely
content and organisation. This means areas such as supporting ideas and references to
sources (for content) and thesis statement, topic sentences and transition signals (for
organisation). You should avoid focusing on the 'smaller' aspects of the task such as
grammar, spelling and punctuation, as these are only dealt with at the end,
when proofreading.

Checklist

Below is a checklist for redrafting.

 Item OK? Comments
I understand what the feedback on my writing means (if you have received
feedback).
I have identified the major problems which I need to work on, which are related
to the 'bigger' aspects such as content and organisation (not 'smaller' ones such as
grammar or spelling).

References
Centre for Applied English Studies, The University of Hong Kong (n.d.) Unit 4 - Drafting.
Available at: http://www4.caes.hku.hk/writing_turbocharger/drafting/default_answers.htm
(Access date 2/4/18).

Oshima, A. and Hogue, A. (1999) Writing Academic English. New York: Addison Wesley
Longman.
Proofreading
Proofreading is the final stage of the writing process. This page explains what proofreading is and gives
some tips to help you proofread. There is a checklist at the end of the page.

What is proofreading?

Proofreading means to read and make corrections to a piece of writing (the word proof is a
publishing term for a copy of a manuscript to be checked for errors before printing). By the
time you reach the proofreading stage of the writing process, your work is almost complete.
At this point the submission deadline might be very close, and you will probably already
have spent a long time on the 'bigger' aspects of the task such as content and structure. Your
job now is to focus on the 'smaller' aspects such as grammar, punctuation and spelling, in
order to eliminate as many errors from the final draft as possible.

Proofreading tips

The following are some tips to help you in the proofreading process.

1) Take a break before your start. If you have only just finished writing, you will be very
familiar with it and therefore less likely to see any errors. A break of even a few minutes
can be useful, though if possible (if you have time!) set your writing aside for a day or two
before checking. This will give you some distance from your writing and help you see it
with a fresh eye.
2) Use a spellchecker as part of the proofreading process. Even if you have used one on a
previous version, it is possible that new errors were added with any final additions or
changes you made to the previous draft. Most word processing software packages (e.g.
Microsoft's Word) come with a built-in spellchecker.
3) Check for your common mistakes. Everybody has their own individual kind of mistake
that they frequently make. It might be missing apostrophe (e.g. students versus students') or
subject-verb agreement (e.g. This mean instead of This means). Use feedback on previous
writing to help you understand your common mistakes.

4) Make sure you take your time. Proofreading requires slower reading than normal,
because you will want to check every word rather than skim through. If you read through
quickly, you will probably miss many errors.

5) When checking for spelling, be careful of homophones (e.g. their versus there), which

even proficient users make mistakes with. Also look out for words which are real words but
which are the wrong ones for your meaning (e.g. you may have written form when you
wanted to write format). These type of spelling errors will not be noticed by a spellchecker.

6) If possible, check your work using a hard (printed) copy. You will have typed your
assignment on a computer, and changing the format from soft to hard copy may help you
notice more errors.

Checklist
Below is a checklist for this section.

Item OK? Comments

I have proofread my writing, focusing on the 'smaller' aspects such

as grammar, punctuation and spelling.
I have taken a break before starting on proofreading (ideally a day or
two).
I have used a spellchecker as part of the proofreading process.
I have checked for mistakes I commonly make (e.g. subject-verb
agreement).
I have taken my time and read through slowly (not skim read).
I have paid attention to homophones and individual words.
I have used a hard (printed) copy to proofread.
References
Cottrell, S. (2013) The Study Skills Handbook, 4th ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Purdue OWL (2018) Proofreading. Available at:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/561/01/ (Access date 23/3/18).
Report writing
An overview and comparison with essays
https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/eapfoundation?utm_source=web-player&utm_medium=podcast-
link

There are many forms of writing which you may have to undertake at university, from reflective
journals to extended researched assignments. The two most common forms of writing are reports
and essays. This page describes what a report is, outlines the main types of report you may need to write,
and summarises the differences between reports and essays.

What is a report?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_9d6rcjHeQ

A report is a clearly structured form of writing which presents and analyses information clearly and
briefly for a particular audience. The information is usually the result of an experiment, investigation, or
some other form of primary research such as a questionnaire or survey. It will contain headings and sub-
headings, as well as graphics such as graphs, charts and tables. Reports often use the information they
contain to present recommendations for future action. They are common not only at university, but also
in industry and government. For more information on what a report is, see the section below
which compares reports to essays.

Types of report

There are many different types of reports which can be written, though the type you will
write at university depends very much on your course of study. Each report will have a
different format and writing conventions, though the structure and language used are
broadly similar for all reports. The following are some of the main reports written at
university.
 Laboratory report. This type of report explains and analyses the results of an experiment.
It may also be called lab report, experimental report, or science report.
 Business report. This analyses a situation and uses business theory to provide solutions or
recommendations. It includes many types, e.g. market research report, marketing report,
and financial report.
 Case study report. This examines a real-world situation (the 'case') and analyses it using
appropriate theory (the 'study').
 project report. This reports on project work which has been conducted.
 Research report. This gives the results of research which has been conducted, for example
through surveys (via questionnaires or interviews).
 progress report. This informs a supervisor about progress on a project over a certain period
of time.
 Design report. This report describes and evaluates a design used to solve a particular
problem.
 Field report. This combines theory and practice by describing an observed person, place or
event and analysing the observation.

Other types of report are possible, such as a systems analysis report, a maths report,
a feasibility study and a client case work report. Some disciplines, especially business, may
require you to write an essay with headings. This is not a report, since all the other features,
aside from the headings, are the same as a conventional essay.

Reports vs. essays

Although many of the writing skills required for essays also apply to reports, such as use
of topic sentences, cohesion and citations, reports are quite unlike essays in several regards.
The table below summarises the main differences. These are divided into three categories:
general areas, structure, and content.

Report Essay
 Provides specific  Presents an argument
information (description
Purpose
and explanation) to the
reader
 Allows information to be  Requires careful
Readability found quickly in specific reading to follow the
sections (and the abstract) argument
General  Demonstrates research  Demonstrates ability to
skills and ability to analyse support an argument
Writing information (thesis) through
skills knowledge and
understanding of the
topic
 Will always be a long  May be relatively short
assignment (e.g. for an exam
Length
answer) or a long
assignment
Structur  Has clearly defined  Uses well ordered
e Sections sections, each with a paragraphs, not sections
different function
 Uses headings and sub-  Does not usually use
Headings headings for the different headings, sub-headings
sections (often numbered) or numbering
 Will often include  Will not usually include
Contents
a Contents page to show the a Contents page
page
sections of the report
  Usually uses graphics such  Does not usually
Graphics
as tables, graphs, chart include graphics
 Usually includes primary  Generally only includes
research (e.g. experiment, secondary research (e.g.
Research
survey) in addition to citations from text
Content secondary research books/journals)
 Often has recommendations  Only certain essay types
Recommend-
(e.g. discussion) include
ations
recommendations
 May  Unlikely to include
Appendices include appendices with appendices
additional information

References

Charles Darwin University (2013) Report. Available

from http://learnline.cdu.edu.au/studyskills/studyskills/reports.html (Access date 19 July,
2015).

Massey University (2012) Business Report. Available

from http://owll.massey.ac.nz/assignment-types/business-report.php (Access date 20 July,
2015).

Monash University (2015) Report Writing. Available

from http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/writing/general/report/index.xml (Access date
20 July, 2015).

Purdue University (2015) Purposes and Types of Report Format. Available

from https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/726/02/ (Access date 20 July, 2015).

Queensland University of Technology (2014) Writing a report Available

from http://www.citewrite.qut.edu.au/write/report.jsp (Access date 19 July, 2015).

RMIT University (2007) Differences between Essays, Reports and Journals. Available

from https://www.dlsweb.rmit.edu.au/lsu/content/2_assessmenttasks/assess_pdf/
diffbet_reportsessays.pdf (Access date 19 July, 2015).
Unilearning (2000) Comparison: reports and essays. Available
from http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/report/1b.html (Access date 19 July, 2015).

University of Queensland (2015) Types of assignment. Available

from http://www.uq.edu.au/student-services/learning/types-of-assignments (Access date 20
July, 2015).

Structure of reports
Report sections and what goes in them
Reports are a common academic genre at university. Although the exact nature will vary according to
the discipline you are studying, the general structure is broadly similar for all disciplines. The typical
structure of a report, as shown on this page, is often referred to as IMRAD, which is short
for Introduction, Method, Results And Discussion. As reports often begin with an Abstract, the structure
may also be referred to as AIMRAD.

Preliminaries
There are several parts which go at the beginning of the report, before the main content. These are
the title page, abstract and contents page.

Title page
Your report should have a title page. Information which could be included on this page are:
 the title of the report
 the name(s) of the author(s)
 your student number(s)
 name of the lecturer the report is for
 date of submission

Abstract
Many longer reports will contain an abstract. This is like a summary of the whole report,
and should contain details on the key areas, in other words the purpose, the methodology,
the main findings and the conclusions. An abstract is not usually needed for shorter reports
such as science lab reports.

Contents page
Many reports will contain a contents page. This should list all the headings and sub-
headings in the report, together with the page numbers. Most word processing software can
build a table of contents automatically.

Introduction

The first section of your report will be the introduction. This will often contain several sub-
sections, as outlined below.

Background
There should be some background information on the topic area. This could be in the form
of a literature review. It is likely that this section will contain material from other sources, in
which case appropriate citations will be needed. You will also need
to summarise or paraphrase any information which comes from your text books or other
sources.

Theory
Many reports, especially science reports, will contain essential theory, such as equations
which will be used later. You may need to give definitions of key terms
and classify information. As with the background section, correct in-text citations will be
needed for any information which comes from your text books or other sources.

Aims
This part of the report explains why you are writing the report. The tense you use will
depend on whether the subject of the sentence is the report (which still exists) or the
experiment (which has finished). See the language for reports section for more information.

Method

Also called Methodology or Procedure, this section outlines how you gathered information,
where from and how much. For example, if you used a survey:
 how was the survey carried out?
 how did you decide on the target group?
 how many people were surveyed?
 were they surveyed by interview or questionnaire?
If it is a science lab report, you will need to answer these questions:
 what apparatus was used?
 how did you conduct the experiment?
 how many times did you repeat the procedure?
 what precautions did you take to increase accuracy?

Results

This section, also called Findings, gives the data that has been collected (for example from
the survey or experiment). This section will often present data in tables and charts. This
section is primarily concerned with description. In other words, it does not analyse or draw
conclusions.

Discussion
The Discussion section, also called Analysis, is the main body of the report, where you
develop your ideas. It draws together the background information or theory from
the Introduction with the data from the Findings section. Sub-sections (with sub-headings)
may be needed to ensure the readers can find information quickly. Although the sub-
headings help to clarify, you should still use well constructed paragraphs, with clear topic
sentences. This section will often include graphs or other visual material, as this will help
the readers to understand the main points. This section should fulfil the aims in the
introduction, and should contain sufficient information to justify
the conclusions and recommendations which come later in the report.

Conclusion

The conclusions come from the analysis in the Discussion section and should be clear and
concise. The conclusions should relate directly to the aims of the report, and state whether
these have been fulfilled. At this stage in the report, no new information should be included.

Recommendations

The report should conclude with recommendations. These should be specific. As with the
conclusion, the recommendations should derive from the main body of the report and again,
no new information should be included.

Reference section

Any sources cited in the text should be included in full in the reference section. For more
information, see the reference section page of the writing section.

Appendices

Appendices are used to provide any detailed information which your readers may need for
reference, but which do not contain key information and which you therefore do not want to
include in the body of the report. Examples are a questionnaire used in a survey or a letter
of consent for interview participants. Appendices must be relevant and should be numbered
so they can be referred to in the main body. They should be labelled Appendix 1, Appendix
2, etc. ('appendices' is the plural form of 'appendix').

The diagram below summarises the sections of a report outlined above.

Title page
Abstract Preliminaries   
Contents page
Introduction
Background
Theory
Aims
Method Main body   
Results
Discussion
Conclusion
Recommendations
Reference section
End matters   
Appendices
 

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Checklist

There is a downloadable checklist for reports (structure and language) in the writing resources section.

Next section

Find out about report language in the next section.

1. Reports
2. Language

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1.  
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3. Reports
4. Writing
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Language for reports

Some formulaic phrases
On this page you will find some language for reports. The language provides further examples of
the formulaic language used in academic contexts. As with other formulaic language (e.g. the language
for presentations), you do not need to learn all of these phrases. You should be able to use at least
one phrase for each function (e.g. stating the aim(s) of your report, referring to figures in the Results
section or the Discussion section). How many more you learn after this is up to you. Good writing
requires varying the expressions you use, rather than using the same ones all the time. On the other
hand, you will only state the aim once in a report, so one phrase may be enough for life!

Preliminaries
The title of your report will depend very much on the subject matter, and will be very individual.
Nonetheless, there are some useful verbs and phrases which can be used in titles, especially for science
reports. These include:

 Investigating X
 Calculating X
 Measuring X
 Demonstrating X
 Analysing X
 Determining X
 An Investigation into X
 A Demonstration of X
 An Analysis of X

There is no special language for writing abstracts or contents pages, which are the other
components of the prilimaries of a report.

Introduction
Background
You may need to talk about something in general in the background section of your
introduction. The most common way is to use [No article] + [plural]. For example:
 Mobile phones have become very popular in China in recent years.

It is also possible to use [The] + [singular]. For example:

 The mobile phone has become very popular in China in recent years.

The background section of your introduction is likely to require in-text citations. Some
structures for citations are given below. For more, see the references and citations section.

 According to X (2000, p.115) ...

 As X (2000, p.115)/
 X(2000, p.115) , .../ that...
states/points out/suggests

 X (2000, p.115) defines Y as ..

 ... (X, 2000, p.115).
Theory
You may need to give definitions and classify in this section. See the relevant pages on the
website for language for definitions and classification.

If you want to refer to theories or principles, you can use the following structures.
As stated by
Newton's First Law, ...
According to

Newton's First law states that...

The following structures can be used for presenting equations.

The equation for Z is...

The equation of Z can be written...

(where X is ... and Y is ...)

The Z equation can be given as ...

The following equation of Z can be

obtained: ..

The following phrases can be used for stating what something stands for or represents.
 X stands for/represents/denotes/symbolizes Y
 Y is represented by X
 Y is denoted by X
 Y is symbolized by X
 ...where X is/stands for/denotes/represents Y

Aims
This part of the report explains why you are writing the report. The tense you use will
depend on whether the subject of the sentence is the report (which still exists) or the
experiment (which has finished). If you are referring to the report, you should use present
tense. If you are referring to the experiment, which has finished, you should use past tense.

The aim/purpose/objective of this report is firstly to

research [sth]
A second/third/final aim (of the report) is to discover [wh-]
investigate/find out [sth or wh-]
The aim/purpose/objective of the experiment was to measure [sth]

The experiment aimed to
Examples of aims, using the above structures, are given below.
 The aim of this experiment was to measure the value of gravity in Guangzhou by using a
simple pendulum.
 The aim of this report is to investigate whether class size has a significant effect on
student achievement.

Method

The Method section outlines how you gathered information. Because academic language
does not usually use 'I' or 'we', this section will often contain passive structures, usually
the past passive (because the experiment or survey is finished). It can be useful to
use transition signals to show sequence or process, such as the ones below.
 First(ly)/Initially/At first/At the beginning/To begin with...
 Second(ly)/Then/Next/Subsequently/After that...
 Finally/At the end/Lastly...
 After doing X, Y was done.
 After X was done, Y was done.
 Before/prior to doing X, Y was done.
 Before X was done, Y was done.
 Prior to X being done, Y was done.

For example:
 After measuring the length of the string, the bob was moved several degrees.

Science reports will usually include apparatus for conducting the experiment. The following
phrases can be used for describing the apparatus.

The apparatus consisted of...

used in the experiment
comprised...

was set up as shown in the diagram below.

Results

If you use tables, charts, etc., the following language can be used to refer to these. Note that
this language is description, i.e. it does not analyse or draw conclusions.
Figure X gives
Table X shows Y/information about Y
indicates

Discussion
The following language can be used for referring to graphs etc. in the Discussion section.
Unlike similar phrases used for the Findings section, which merely describe, this language
discusses, i.e. it says what the information means.

As can be seen from the chart, ...

According to the figure,
As is shown in the table,
It can be seen from the graph, that...
Table 1,
Figure 2,

The following phrases can be used for science reports when comparing the results to those expected.
This result can be compared with

This result/value agrees with

the given/accepted value of X, which is...
This result/value is close to

The calculated answer is a little different to

The following phrases can be used when discussing how errors may have affected the results.
Errors in the measurement of X, thereby affecting the results.

may have arisen

A further error from neglect of X, which might have affected the results.

Conclusion

There is not much language for conclusions, though conclusion signals such as 'In

conclusion' are useful. For science reports, the following phrases can be used to indicate the
degree of accuracy.
agree with

The results obtained partly agree with

the given/accepted/true value of
are close to X.

are a little different from

Recommendations

Recommendations can use the following modal verb constructions

 X should
[verb]
it is recommended that X

Examples, using the above structures, are given below.

 Based on the conclusions above, it is recommended that the company consider paying
more attention to above-the-line promotion in order to attract new customers.
 Further research should be carried out to find out if these opinions are true in other market
segments.

If you are writing a lab report, the following conditional structures can be used to indicate
how the experiment could have been improved.

If X had been [done] the results might have been more

(instead of Y) accurate.

The results might have been more .

accurate if

References

There is no language for reference sections, but you can refer to the section on reference
sections for more information on these.

Appendices

There is no language for appendices, though the following may be used in the main body to
refer to the appendices.
 A complete copy of X is shown in Appendix 1.
 For more detail, refer to Appendix 1, which shows...
 See Appendix 1 for more information.

 Checklist

 There is a downloadable checklist for reports (structure and language) in the writing

resources section.

Essays
Different essay types and essay structure
Writing in academic contexts means being able to use different essay types and using a
clear structure. Find out more about both on the following pages.

Essay types

There are several types of essay which you may need to be able to write at university. The
main ones, which are all considered in this section, are discussion, persuasion, compare and
contrast, cause and effect, and problem-solution. All sections contain an example essay to
help you understand each essay type.

Discussion Find out how to write and structure a discussion essay

Persuasion Understand how to write a persuasion essay. Includes information on counter-

arguments.

Compare & contrast Read more about how to write and structure a compare and contrast essay,
with transition signals.

Cause & effect Learn how to write a cause and effect essay, with appropriate structure and
transition signals.

Problem-solution Understand what a problem-solution essay is.

 Definition Understand how to write definitions and how to structure a definition essay.

Classification Find out how to classify and how to structure a classification essay.

Essay structure

This section will help you understand how to structure an essay, from the introduction, to
the main body, and the conclusion.

Essay structure Understand how to structure an essay.

Introduction Find out how to write your essay introduction, including information on thesis
statements.
Main body Learn how to write the main body of an essay. Includes information on topic
sentences.
Conclusion Understand how to write a good conclusion to your essay.

Structure
How to structure your essay
The general structure of an academic essay is similar to any other academic work, such as
a presentation or a lecture. It too has an introduction, a main body, and a conclusion.

The general structure of an academic essay is shown in the diagram below. Each area is
discussed in more detail in other sections of the website. Click on a link for more
information.
General statements
Introduction
Thesis statement
Paragraph 1

Topic sentence
Supporting idea
Supporting idea
Supporting idea
...
(Concluding sentence)
Paragraph 2
 Topic sentence
Supporting idea
Supporting idea
Supporting idea
... Main body
(Concluding sentence)
Paragraph 3

Topic sentence
Supporting idea
Supporting idea
Supporting idea
...
(Concluding sentence)
Summary
Final comment Conclusion

Introduction
How to get an essay started
Getting started can often be difficult. Even professional writers say that the hardest part of writing is the
beginning. Writing an introduction to an essay can therefore seem a daunting task, though it need not be
so difficult, as long as you understand the purpose and the structure of the introduction. An example
essay has been given to help you understand both of these, and there is a checklist at the end which you
can use for editing your introduction.

Purpose of the introduction

When writing an introduction to an academic essay, it is useful to remember the main

purpose of the introduction. In general, the introduction will introduce the topic to the
reader by stating what the topic is and giving some general background information. This
will help the reader to understand what you are writing about, and show why the topic is
important. The introduction should also give the overall plan of the essay.

In short, the main purpose of the introduction is to:

 introduce the topic of the essay;
 give a general background of the topic;
 indicate the overall plan of the essay.

This last purpose is perhaps the most important, and is the reason why many writers choose
to write the introduction last, after they have written the main body, because they need to
know what the essay will contain before they can give a clear plan.

Structure of the introduction

Although essays vary in length and content, most essays will have the same overall
structure, including the introduction. The structure is related to the purpose mentioned
above. The introduction to an essay should have the following two parts:
 general statements (to introduce the topic and give the background);
 a thesis statement (to show the structure).

General statements
The general statements will introduce the topic of the essay and give background
information. The background information for a short essay will generally just be one or two
sentences. The general statements should become more and more specific as the
introduction progresses, leading the reader into the essay (some writers talk about
"attracting the readers' attention", though for an academic essay, this is less important). For
longer essays, the general statements could include one or more definitions, or
could classify the topic, and may cover more than one paragraph.

The following is an example of background statements for a short essay (given below):

Although they were invented almost a hundred years ago, for

decades cars were only owned by the rich. Since the 60s and 70s
These
theysentences introduceincreasingly
have become the topic of theaffordable,
essay (cars) and
and give
nowsome background
most families to this
topic (situation in the past, the situation now). These sentences lead nicely into the thesis
in developed nations, and a growing number in developing
statement (see below).
countries, own a car.

Thesis statement
The thesis statement is the most important part of the introduction. It gives the reader clear
information about the content of the essay, which will help them to understand the essay
more easily. The thesis states the specific topic, and often lists the main (controlling)
ideas that will be discussed in the main body. It may also indicate how the essay will be
organised, e.g. in chronological order, order of importance, advantages/disadvantages,
cause/effect. It is usually at the end of the introduction, and is usually (but not always) one
sentence long.

In short, the thesis statement:

 states the specific topic of the essay;
 often lists the main (controlling) ideas of the essay;
 may indicate the method of organisation of the essay;
 is usually at the end of the introduction;
 is usually one sentence.

Here is an example of a thesis statement with no subtopics mentioned:

While cars have undoubted advantages, they also have significant drawbacks.

This thesis statement tells us the specific topic of the essay (advantages and disadvantages
of cars) and the method of organisation (advantages should come first, disadvantages
second). It is, however, quite general, and may have been written before the writer had
completed the essay.

In the following thesis statement, the subtopics are named:

While cars have undoubted advantages, of which their convenience is the most
apparent, they have significant drawbacks, most notably pollution and traffic problems.

This thesis gives us more detail, telling us not just the topic (advantages and disadvantages of cars) and
the method of organisation (advantages first, disadvantages second), but also tells us the main ideas in
the essay (convenience, pollution, traffic problems). This essay will probably have three paragraphs in
the main body.

Example essay
Below is a discussion essay which looks at the advantages and disadvantages of car
ownership. This essay is used throughout the essay writing section to help you understand
different aspects of essay writing. Here it focuses on the thesis statement and general
statements of the introduction (mentioned on this page), topic sentences, controlling ideas,
and the summary and final comment of the conclusion. Click on the different areas (in the
shaded boxes to the right) to highlight the different structural aspects in this essay.
Although they were invented almost a hundred General statements
years ago, for decades cars were only owned by
the rich. Since the 60s and 70s they have become
increasingly affordable, and now most families in
developed nations, and a growing number in
developing countries, own a car. While cars have
undoubted advantages, of which Thesis statement
their convenience is the most apparent, they have
significant drawbacks, most
notably pollution and traffic problems.

The most striking advantage of the car is Topic sentence 1

its  convenience. When travelling long distance,
there may be only one choice of bus or train per
day, which may be at an unsuitable time. The car,
however, allows people to travel at any time they
wish, and to almost any destination they choose.

Despite this advantage, cars have many Topic sentence 2

significant disadvantages, the most important of
which is the pollution they cause. Almost all cars
run either on petrol or diesel fuel, both of which
are fossil fuels. Burning these fuels causes the
car to emit serious pollutants, such as carbon
dioxide, carbon monoxide, and nitrous oxide. Not
only are these gases harmful for health, causing
respiratory disease and other illnesses, they also
contribute to global warming, an increasing
problem in the modern world. According to the
Union of Concerned Scientists (2013),
transportation in the US accounts for 30% of all
carbon dioxide production in that country, with
60% of these emissions coming from cars and
small trucks. In short, pollution is a major
drawback of cars.

A further disadvantage is the traffic Topic sentence 3

problems that they cause in many cities and
towns of the world. While car ownership is
increasing in almost all countries of the
world, especially in developing countries, the
amount of available roadway in cities is not
increasing at an equal pace. This can lead to
traffic congestion, in particular during the
morning and evening rush hour. In some Controlling ideas
cities, this congestion can be severe, and
delays of several hours can be a common
occurrence. Such congestion can also affect
those people who travel out of cities at the
weekend. Spending hours sitting in an idle
car means that this form of transport can in
fact be less convenient than trains or
aeroplanes or other forms of public transport.

In conclusion, while the car is advantageous Summary

for its convenience, it has some important
disadvantages, in particular the pollution it
causes and the rise of traffic jams. If
countries can invest in the development of
technology for green fuels, and if car owners
can think of alternatives such as car sharing, Final comment
then some of these problems can be
lessened.

Union of Concerned Scientists (2013). Car Emissions and Global Warming.

www.ucsusa.org/clean vehicles/why-clean-cars/global-warming/ (Access date: 8
August, 2013)

Example essay with Key

Although they were invented almost a hundred years ago, for General statements
decades cars were only owned by the rich. Since the 60s and 70s
they have become increasingly affordable, and now most families
in developed nations, and a growing number in developing
countries, own a car. While cars have undoubted advantages, of
which their convenience is the most apparent, they have
significant drawbacks, most notably pollution and traffic Thesis statement
problems.

The most striking advantage of the car is its  convenience. When Topic sentence 1
travelling long distance, there may be only one choice of bus or
train per day, which may be at an unsuitable time. The car,
however, allows people to travel at any time they wish, and to
almost any destination they choose.

Despite this advantage, cars have many significant Topic sentence 2

disadvantages, the most important of which is the pollution they
cause. Almost all cars run either on petrol or diesel fuel, both of
which are fossil fuels. Burning these fuels causes the car to emit
serious pollutants, such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide,
and nitrous oxide. Not only are these gases harmful for health,
causing respiratory disease and other illnesses, they also
contribute to global warming, an increasing problem in the
modern world. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists
(2013), transportation in the US accounts for 30% of all carbon
dioxide production in that country, with 60% of these emissions
coming from cars and small trucks. In short, pollution is a major
drawback of cars.

A further disadvantage is the traffic problems that they cause in Topic sentence 3

many cities and towns of the world. While car ownership is
increasing in almost all countries of the world, especially in
developing countries, the amount of available roadway in cities
Controlling ideas 1
is not increasing at an equal pace. This can lead to traffic
congestion, in particular during the morning and evening rush Controlling ideas 2
hour. In some cities, this congestion can be severe, and delays of
several hours can be a common occurrence. Such congestion can Controlling ideas 3
also affect those people who travel out of cities at the weekend.
Spending hours sitting in an idle car means that this form of
transport can in fact be less convenient than trains or aeroplanes
or other forms of public transport.

In conclusion, while the car is advantageous for its convenience, Summary

it has some important disadvantages, in particular
the pollution it causes and the rise of traffic jams. If countries
can invest in the development of technology for green fuels, and
if car owners can think of alternatives such as car sharing, then
some of these problems can be lessened.
Final comment

Checklist
Below is a checklist for an essay introduction. Use it to check your own writing, or
get a peer (another student) to help you.

Item OK? Comment

The essay begins with general statements, which introduce the
topic
The introduction ends with a thesis statement
The thesis shows the main ideas of the essay
The thesis shows how the essay will be organised (e.g.
chronological, compare/contrast, advantages/disadvantages)

Main body
How to write a good essay paragraph

As the name suggests, the main body is the main part of your essay. It is a collection of paragraphs
related to your topic, and in order to understand how to write a good main body, you need to understand
how to write good paragraphs. This section will help you understand the three main structural
components of any good paragraph: the topic sentence, supporting sentences, and the concluding
sentence. An example essay has been given to help you understand all of these, and there is
a checklist at the end which you can use for editing your main body.

The topic sentence

The topic sentence is the most important sentence in a paragraph. It is usually the
first sentence, though may sometimes also be placed at the end. It indicates what the
paragraph is going to discuss, and thus serves as a useful guide both for the writer
and the reader; the writer can have a clear idea what information to include (and
what information to exclude), while the reader will have a clear idea of what the
paragraph will discuss, which will aid in understanding.

The topic sentence comprises two separate parts: the topic of the paragraph, and the
controlling idea, which limits the topic to one or two areas that can be discussed fully
in one paragraph.

Consider the following topic sentence (from the example essay below):

 The most striking advantage of the car is

The topic of this short essay is the advantages and disadvantages of cars, as a result
of which each paragraph has either the advantages or the disadvantages of cars as its
topic. In this case, the topic is the advantage of cars. The controlling idea
is convenience, which limits the discussion of advantages of cars to this one idea.
This paragraph will therefore give supporting ideas (reasons, facts, etc.) to show why
convenience is an advantage of cars.

Here is another topic sentence from the same example essay:

Despite this advantage, cars have many significant disadvantages,

the most important of which is the pollution they cause.

The topic of this paragraph is the disadvantage of cars. The controlling idea is pollution.
This paragraph will therefore give supporting ideas (reasons, facts, etc.) to show why
pollution is a disadvantage of cars.

Here is the final topic sentence from the same example essay:

A further disadvantage is the traffic problems that they cause in

many cities and towns of the world.

The topic of this paragraph is again the disadvantage of cars. The controlling idea
this time is traffic problems. This paragraph will therefore give supporting ideas
(reasons, facts, etc.) to show why traffic congestion is a disadvantage of cars.

The following are key points to remember about the topic sentence:
 it should be a complete sentence
 it should contain both a topic and a controlling idea
 it is the most general statement in the paragraph, because it gives only the main idea with any
supporting details

Supporting sentences
Supporting sentences develop the topic sentence. They are more specific than the
topic sentence, giving reasons, examples, facts, statistics, and citations in support of
the main idea of the paragraph.

Below is the whole paragraph for the second topic sentence above. The supporting
sentences are in bold.

Despite this advantage, cars have many significant disadvantages, the

most important of which is the pollution they cause. Almost all cars run
either on petrol or diesel fuel, both of which are fossil fuels. Burning
these fuels causes the car to emit serious pollutants, such as carbon
dioxide, carbon monoxide, and nitrous oxide. Not only are these gases
harmful for health, causing respiratory disease and other illnesses, they
also contribute to global warming, an increasing problem in the modern
world. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists (2013),
transportation in the US accounts for 30% of all carbon dioxide
production in that country, with 60% of these emissions coming from
cars and small trucks. In short, pollution is a major drawback of cars.

The paragraph above has the following support:

 burning fuels (petrol and diesel) in car engines emits pollutants - fact
 cars emit carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrous oxide - examples (of pollutants)
 the pollutants are harmful for health - fact
 the pollutants cause respiratory disease - example (of how they harm our health)
 the pollutants contribute to global warming - fact
 30% of carbon dioxide in the US comes from transport - statistic
 60% of the these emissions come from cars and small trucks - statistic
 this information comes from Union of Concerned Scientists (2013) - citation

The concluding sentence

The concluding sentence is an optional component of a paragraph. In other words, it
is not absolutely necessary. It most useful for especially long paragraphs, as it will
help the reader to remember of the main ideas of the paragraph.

Below is the concluding sentence from the paragraph above:

In short, the harm to our health and to the environment means that
pollution from cars is a major drawback.
Here the concluding sentence not only repeats the controlling idea of the topic
sentence, that cars cause pollution, but also summarises the information of the
paragraph, which is that the pollution from cars is harmful to both our health and the
environment.

The following are useful transition signals to use for the concluding sentence:
 In conclusion...
 In summary...
 In brief...
 Therefore...
 Thus...
 In short...
 These examples show that...
 This evidence strongly suggests that...

Example essay
Below is a discussion essay which looks at the advantages and disadvantages of car
ownership. This essay is used throughout the essay writing section to help you
understand different aspects of essay writing. Here it focuses on topic sentences and
controlling ideas (mentioned on this page), the thesis statement and general
statements of the introduction, and the summary and final comment of the
conclusion. Click on the different areas (in the shaded boxes to the right) to highlight
the different structural aspects in this essay.

Although they were invented almost a Thesis statement

hundred years ago, for decades cars were
only owned by the rich. Since the 60s and
70s they have become increasingly
affordable, and now most families in
developed nations, and a growing number
in developing countries, own a
car. While cars have undoubted
advantages, of which their convenience is Topic sentence 1
the most apparent, they have significant
drawbacks, most
notably pollution and traffic problems.

The most striking advantage of the car is Topic sentence 2

its convenience. When travelling long
distance, there may be only one choice of
bus or train per day, which may be at an
unsuitable time. The car, however, allows
people to travel at any time they wish, and
to almost any destination they choose.
Despite this advantage, cars have many
significant disadvantages, the most
important of which is the pollution they
cause. Almost all cars run either on petrol
or diesel fuel, both of which are fossil
fuels. Burning these fuels causes the car to
emit serious pollutants, such as carbon
dioxide, carbon monoxide, and nitrous
oxide. Not only are these gases harmful for Topic sentence 3
health, causing respiratory disease and
other illnesses, they also contribute to
global warming, an increasing problem in
the modern world. According to the Union Topic 1
of Concerned Scientists (2013), Topic 2
transportation in the US accounts for 30%
Topic 3
of all carbon dioxide production in that
country, with 60% of these emissions
coming from cars and small trucks. In
short, pollution is a major drawback of
cars.
Controlling idea 1
A further disadvantage is the traffic
problems that they cause in many cities Controlling idea 2
and towns of the world. While car
ownership is increasing in almost all Controlling idea 3
countries of the world, especially in
developing countries, the amount of
available roadway in cities is not
increasing at an equal pace. This can lead
to traffic congestion, in particular during
the morning and evening rush hour. In
some cities, this congestion can be severe,
and delays of several hours can be a
common occurrence. Such congestion can
also affect those people who travel out of
cities at the weekend. Spending hours
sitting in an idle car means that this form Summary
of transport can in fact be less convenient
than trains or aeroplanes or other forms of
 public transport.

In conclusion, while the car is

advantageous for its convenience, it has
some important disadvantages, in
particular the pollution it causes and the
rise of traffic jams. If countries can invest
in the development of technology for green
fuels, and if car owners can think of
alternatives such as car sharing, then
some of these problems can be lessened.

References

Union of Concerned Scientists (2013). Car Emissions and Global Warming.

www.ucsusa.org/clean vehicles/why-clean-cars/global-warming/ (Access date: 8
August, 2013)

Checklist
Below is a checklist for the main body of an essay. Use it to check your own
writing, or get a peer (another student) to help you.

Item OK? Comment

Each paragraph has a topic sentence
Each topic sentence has a suitable topic and controlling idea
Each paragraph has detailed supporting ideas (facts, reasons,
examples, citations, etc.)

Long paragraphs include a concluding sentence to make the

paragraph clearer

Any concluding sentences are introduced using

clear transition signals

Conclusion
How to end an essay
While getting started can be very difficult, finishing an essay is usually quite straightforward. By
the time you reach the end you will already know what the main points of the essay are, so it
will be easy for you to write a summary of the essay and finish with some kind of final
comment, which are the two components of a good conclusion. An example essay has been
given below to help you understand both of these, and there is a checklist at the end which you
can use for editing your conclusion.

In short, the concluding paragraph consists of the following two parts:

 a summary of the main points;
 your final comment on the subject.

Summary
It is important, at the end of the essay, to summarise the main points. If your thesis
statement is detailed enough, then your summary can just be a restatement of your
thesis using different words. The summary should include all the main points of the
essay, and should begin with a suitable transition signal. You should not add any
new information at this point.

The following is an example of a summary for a short essay on cars (given below):

In conclusion, while the car is advantageous for its convenience, it has some
important disadvantages, in particular the pollution it causes and the rise of
traffic jams.

Although this summary is only one sentence long, it contains the main (controlling) ideas from
all three paragraphs in the main body. It also has a clear transition signal ('In conclusion') to
show that this is the end of the essay.

Final comment
Once the essay is finished and the writer has given a summary, there should be some
kind of final comment about the topic. This should be related to the ideas in the main
body. Your final comment might:
 offer solutions to any problems mentioned in the body;
 offer recommendations for future action;
 give suggestions for future research.

Here is an example of a final comment for the essay on cars:

 If countries can invest in the development of technology for green fuels, and if car
owners can think of alternatives such as car sharing, then some of these problems
can be lessened.

This final comment offers solutions, and is related to the ideas in the main body. One of the
disadvantages in the body was pollution, so the writer suggests developing 'green fuels' to help
tackle this problem. The second disadvantage was traffic congestion, and the writer again
suggests a solution, 'car sharing'. By giving these suggestions related to the ideas in the main
body, the writer has brought the essay to a successful close.

Example essay
Below is a discussion essay which looks at the advantages and disadvantages of car
ownership. This essay is used throughout the essay writing section to help you
understand different aspects of essay writing. Here it focuses on
the summary and final comment of the conclusion (mentioned on this page),
the thesis statement and general statements of the introduction, and topic
sentences and controlling ideas. Click on the different areas (in the shaded boxes to
the right) to highlight the different structural aspects in this essay.

Although they were invented almost a hundred General statements

years ago, for decades cars were only owned by
the rich. Since the 60s and 70s they have become
increasingly affordable, and now most families in
developed nations, and a growing number in
developing countries, own a car. While cars have
undoubted advantages, of which Thesis statement
their convenience is the most apparent, they have
significant drawbacks, most
notably pollution and traffic problems.

The most striking advantage of the car is Topic sentence 1

its  convenience. When travelling long distance,
there may be only one choice of bus or train per
day, which may be at an unsuitable time. The car,
however, allows people to travel at any time they
wish, and to almost any destination they choose.

Despite this advantage, cars have many Topic sentence 2

significant disadvantages, the most important of
which is the pollution they cause. Almost all cars
run either on petrol or diesel fuel, both of which
are fossil fuels. Burning these fuels causes the
car to emit serious pollutants, such as carbon
dioxide, carbon monoxide, and nitrous oxide. Not
only are these gases harmful for health, causing
respiratory disease and other illnesses, they also
contribute to global warming, an increasing
problem in the modern world. According to the
Union of Concerned Scientists (2013),
transportation in the US accounts for 30% of all
carbon dioxide production in that country, with
60% of these emissions coming from cars and
small trucks. In short, pollution is a major
drawback of cars.

A further disadvantage is the traffic Topic sentence 3

problems that they cause in many cities and
towns of the world. While car ownership is
increasing in almost all countries of the
world, especially in developing countries, the
amount of available roadway in cities is not
increasing at an equal pace. This can lead to
traffic congestion, in particular during the
morning and evening rush hour. In some Controlling ideas
cities, this congestion can be severe, and
delays of several hours can be a common
occurrence. Such congestion can also affect
those people who travel out of cities at the
weekend. Spending hours sitting in an idle
car means that this form of transport can in
fact be less convenient than trains or
aeroplanes or other forms of public transport.

In conclusion, while the car is advantageous Summary

for its convenience, it has some important
disadvantages, in particular the pollution it
causes and the rise of traffic jams. If
countries can invest in the development of
technology for green fuels, and if car owners
can think of alternatives such as car sharing, Final comment
then some of these problems can be
lessened.

Example essay with Key

Although they were invented almost a hundred years ago, for General statements
decades cars were only owned by the rich. Since the 60s and 70s
they have become increasingly affordable, and now most families
in developed nations, and a growing number in developing
countries, own a car. While cars have undoubted advantages, of
 which their convenience is the most apparent, they have
significant drawbacks, most notably pollution and traffic Thesis statement
problems.

The most striking advantage of the car is its  convenience. When Topic sentence 1
travelling long distance, there may be only one choice of bus or
train per day, which may be at an unsuitable time. The car,
however, allows people to travel at any time they wish, and to
almost any destination they choose.

Despite this advantage, cars have many significant Topic sentence 2

disadvantages, the most important of which is the pollution they
cause. Almost all cars run either on petrol or diesel fuel, both of
which are fossil fuels. Burning these fuels causes the car to emit
serious pollutants, such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide,
and nitrous oxide. Not only are these gases harmful for health,
causing respiratory disease and other illnesses, they also
contribute to global warming, an increasing problem in the
modern world. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists
(2013), transportation in the US accounts for 30% of all carbon
dioxide production in that country, with 60% of these emissions
coming from cars and small trucks. In short, pollution is a major
drawback of cars.

A further disadvantage is the traffic problems that they cause in Topic sentence 3

many cities and towns of the world. While car ownership is
increasing in almost all countries of the world, especially in
developing countries, the amount of available roadway in cities
Controlling ideas 1
is not increasing at an equal pace. This can lead to traffic
congestion, in particular during the morning and evening rush Controlling ideas 2
hour. In some cities, this congestion can be severe, and delays of
several hours can be a common occurrence. Such congestion can Controlling ideas 3
also affect those people who travel out of cities at the weekend.
Spending hours sitting in an idle car means that this form of
transport can in fact be less convenient than trains or aeroplanes
or other forms of public transport.

In conclusion, while the car is advantageous for its convenience, Summary

it has some important disadvantages, in particular
the pollution it causes and the rise of traffic jams. If countries
can invest in the development of technology for green fuels, and
if car owners can think of alternatives such as car sharing, then Final comment
some of these problems can be lessened.

Union of Concerned Scientists (2013). Car Emissions and Global Warming.

www.ucsusa.org/clean vehicles/why-clean-cars/global-warming/ (Access date: 8 August, 2013)
Checklist
Below is a checklist for an essay conclusion. Use it to check your own writing, or get
a peer (another student) to help you.

Item OK? Comment

Transition signals
In addition... However... Likewise...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaUxyneDRCE

Transition signals are useful in achieving good cohesion and coherence in your writing. This page gives
information on what transition signals are, the grammar of transition signals, and different types of
transition signals. There is also an example essay at the end in which you can highlight the different
types of transition signal, as well as some exercises to help you practice this area.

What are transition signals?

Transition signals, along with repeated words and reference words, are one of the main ways to
achieve good cohesion and coherence in your writing. They are therefore a way to help ensure
that your ideas and sentences cohere or 'stick together'. Transition signals are used to signal
relationships between ideas in your writing. For example, the transition signal 'for example' is
used to give examples, while the word 'while' is used to show a contrast. In addition, there are
phrases like 'in addition' for adding new ideas. Likewise there are words such as 'likewise' to
connect similar ideas.
Grammar of transition signals
THE STRUCTURE OF AN ESSAY DRAFT

 As you rough out an initial draft, keep your planning materials (lists, diagrams, outlines, and so on)
close at hand. In addition to helping you get started, such notes and blueprints will help you to keep
moving. Writing tends to flow better when it is drafted relatively quickly, without many starts and stops.

For most kinds of writing, an introduction announces a main idea, several body paragraphs develop it,
and a conclusion drives it home. You can begin drafting, however, at any point. For example, if you find
it difficult to introduce a paper that you have not yet written, you can draft the body first and save the
introduction for later.

DRAFT AN INTRODUCTION THAT INCLUDES A THESIS.

For most writing tasks, your introduction will be a paragraph of 50 to 150 words. Perhaps the most
common strategy is to open the paragraph with a few sentences that engage the reader and to conclude it
with a statement of the essay's main point. The sentence stating the main point is called a thesis. For
information on thesis development, click here.

Ideally, the sentences leading to the thesis should hook the reader, perhaps with one of the following:

 a startling statistic or unusual fact

 a vivid example
 a description
 a paradoxical statement
 a quotation or bit of dialogue
 a question
 an analogy
 a joke or an anecdote

Such hooks are particularly important when you cannot assume your reader's interest in the subject.
Hooks are less necessary in scholarly essays and other writing aimed at readers with a professional
interest in the subject.

AS YOU DRAFT THE BODY, KEEP YOUR THESIS IN MIND.

Before drafting the body of an essay, take a careful look at your introduction, focusing especially on
your thesis sentence. What does the thesis promise readers? Try to keep this focus in mind.
 It is a good idea to have a plan in mind as well. If your thesis sentence outlines a plan or if you have
sketched a preliminary outline, try to block out your paragraphs accordingly. If you do not have a plan,
you would be wise to pause for a moment and sketch one. Of course it is also possible to begin without a
plan, assuming you are prepared to treat your first attempt as a "discovery draft" that will almost
certainly be tossed (or radically rewritten) once you discover what you really want to say.

 DRAFT A CONCLUSION.

The conclusion should echo the main idea without dully repeating it. Ideally, your conclusion should
discuss the broader implications of the ideas you have presented. In addition to echoing your main idea,
a conclusion might pose a question for future study, offer advice, or propose a course of action. To make
the conclusion memorable, consider including a detail, example, or image from the introduction to bring
readers full circle; a quotation or bit of dialogue; an anecdote; or a humorous, witty, or ironic comment.
Whatever concluding strategy you choose, avoid introducing wholly new ideas at the end of an essay.
Also avoid apologies and other limp, indeterminate endings. Do not preface your conclusion with "In
conclusion" or other tag phrases because your conclusion speaks for itself. The essay should end crisply,
preferably on a positive note.

Adapted from Diana Hacker, Rules for Writers, 4th ed. (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2000), 23-29.
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