Define the distinguishing features of the whole
Dividing the whole into its component parts and analysing the parts
Interpreting the relationship of the parts to the whole
Learning how to analyse and interpret
5Writing a Clear and Specific Opening
Sample introductory paragraph one
Sample introductory paragraph two
Sample introductory paragraph three
Sample introductory paragraph four
Sample introductory paragraph five
Our Case Study continued
6Writing Complete Body Paragraphs
Composing a topic sentence
Developing your topic sentence
Maintaining paragraph unity
Sample body paragraphs
Our Case Study continued
7Writing an Explicit Conclusion
Sample concluding paragraph one
Sample concluding paragraph two
Sample concluding paragraph three
Sample concluding paragraph four
Sample concluding paragraph five
Our Case Study continued
8Using Cohesive Ties between Sentences and Paragraphs
Using transitional words and phrases
Using repetition
Using substitution
Our Case Study continued
9Avoiding Errors in Sentence Grammar
Pronoun case
Pronoun reference
Verb tense and mood
10Avoiding Errors in Sentence Structure
Sentence fragments
The run-on sentence
Misplaced and dangling modifiers
Faulty parallelism
Wordiness
Using subordination
Effective parallelism
Using word order effectively
12Punctuating Your Sentences Correctly
Punctuation at the end of a sentence
Punctuation within a sentence
Punctuation within a word
Establishing context
Determining the meaning
Choosing the right voice
An example
Our Case Study continued
14Acknowledging Sources Accurately and Completely
Footnotes
The References list
Bibliography
Our Case Study concluded
15Writing the Examination Essay
The purpose of the examination essay
The process of writing an effective examination essay
Other words of advice
Preface to the Third Edition
To succeed in your school, college, and university courses, you will be required to write many academic essays. Writing an academic essay is a demanding intellectual activity. You must read books and journal articles about your topic and surf the ‘Net for the best electronic sources, making careful and detailed notes as you proceed. You must analyse and synthesise these notes and from them develop a plan to guide you as you draft the paragraphs that will comprise your essay. You must write and revise your work, checking to make certain you are providing your readers with the detailed, authoritative information they expect. You must go through your paper yet again, this time proofreading and editing, correcting those errors in grammar, sentence structure, spelling, and punctuation, which can mar an otherwise solid effort.
As if all of this were not challenge enough, you then must pass along all of your hard work to someone who probably knows even more than you do about the subject of your essay and about how to express knowledge about that subject clearly, persuasively, and forcefully. Finally, you must wait, while that person judges the quality of your academic essay, and assigns to it a value, in relation to the value of similar essays written by your classmates.
The book you are holding, The Academic Essay: How to plan, draft, write and revise, will help you meet this challenge confidently and successfully. It is what you need to succeed at school and college: a step-by-step guide to writing excellent academic essays. The first four chapters explain
