Writing university essay

Here are some helpful tips—practical advice—on how to write this essay.

How to prepare to write:

• Assess your readers’ perspective(s) and your purpose: Consider the “big picture” before you start writing. But, what does that involve? First, use the Fast Track Way’s Step 1 to analyze your situation. Let’s say that you’re writing a paper about the recent U.S. election. What do many or most Americans—possibly including your professor—think about the 2008 presidential election? (If you don’t have a clue as to the answer to the preceding question, you’ll need to do some preliminary research.) What’s your take (opinion) on this event? In other words, what would be your purpose in writing this paper? Let’s assume that based on your analysis, you conclude that many, if not most, Americans’ perspective—including your professor’s—is that the incoming U.S. President won primarily because he talked about “change.” In contrast, you think that this candidate won because his Party had a superior on-the-ground (also known as “get out the vote”) organization and unparalleled fundraising capacity. Your purpose, therefore, is to make the case for your point of view.
• Develop your main point, message, or theme: Now let’s apply the Fast Track Way’s Step 2 to develop your main point, message, or theme. In this case, you might consider the “big picture”—that is, your main point, message, or theme of your paper—the following: “While the victor of the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign had a message—“change”—that resonated with an electorate was weary of, even angry with, the incumbent administration, analysis reveals that the winning’s Party’s on-the-ground organization and fundraising capacity were the key success factors in this election.”
• Know your logic flow: Before you start your research—and before you begin writing—ask yourself, “If the preceding is the main theme of my paper, how will I present my ideas in an orderly flow so that I’ll be more likely to convince my readers?” That is to say, you’d use the Fast Track Way’s Step 3, Know your logic flow, to determine the key sections of your paper. In this case, let’s say that you decide upon the following:

-          Key aspects of 2008 U.S. presidential campaign

-          How two factors decided this race

-          Implications for future elections.

• Research to check main message: That way, you’ll determine whether your main message or hypothesis is valid or not. If it isn’t, you’ll modify or even change the main message or theme of your paper. If you conclude that your hypothesis is correct, you can begin to gather the information you need to build a convincing case.
• Develop outline before you write: Once you’ve done the necessary research, you need to develop an outline before you start writing. Why is that necessary? Because if you don’t use an outline, you might leave out an important piece of information. Additionally, an outline will help you put your facts and other data in a logical flow.
• How to develop outline to write paper: Taking the key sections of your paper you identified using Step 3, use the Fast Track Way’s Step 4 to integrate your information. That is to say, for each section, you’ll determine the specific points or issues you’ll cover. By integrating your information, you’ll also accomplish two other tasks—grouping together similar items and drawing conclusions from the information you’ve gathered. Why are these tasks important? If you don’t group similar items, you might end up talking about the same issue more than once in different places within your paper. In other words, you’d be repetitive. And if you don’t draw conclusions from your information, the reader might draw his own—which might not match yours. For an example of an outline and the resulting class paper, see the scenario Write Class Paper-example.
• Downsides of not preparing: If the preceding approach seems time-consuming, consider the alternative. That is to say, you don’t analyze your situation, develop your main theme and your logic flow, and don’t integrate your information. As a result, you write a paper that doesn’t have a clear theme, doesn’t make a logical case for this theme, presents a hodgepodge (jumble) of facts, and even omits key information. If, as a result, you receive a poor grade or have to rewrite your paper, you’d understand why preparation is so crucial.

How to format university essay:

• Use your professor’s format: Even a cursory online search reveals a multitude of approaches to formatting a class paper. Don’t waste your time trying to sort through and evaluate all these how-tos. Instead, if your university, your department, or even your professor recommends—or requires—a particular format, use it. If neither your university, your department, nor your professor recommends a certain format, ask your professor for suggestions on which approach to use.
• Substance is more important than form: Some people think that if their PowerPoint slides look pretty, they’ll deliver an effective presentation. Evidently, this is an faulty assumption. Similarly, if you focus more on the form—how you format your paper—but less on its contents, you’ll discover that you won’t receive the grade you’re seeking. Bear in mind the following: A student who writes a paper with poor contents never receives an “A” for formatting. On the other hand, a student who writes an outstanding paper but makes a minor formatting error will still receive an excellent grade.

NOTE: University essay (also called class paper) differs from thesis: If you’re writing your Ph.D. thesis, that’s very different from writing an essay or term or other class paper. A thesis is a longer and more formal document. Your thesis advisor and you may periodically discuss or review your progress. Consequently, although the preceding suggestions generally apply, if your department or advisor has specific requirements—especially regarding formatting—you need to make sure you comply.