Getting Ready Lecture Series

Successful essay writing

Amanda Collins
Learning Hub

Access the slides: https://bit.ly/GRUL_LH

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 Successful essay writing
Session Outline
What is an essay?
Common types of writing in essays
Typical marker comments
➢types of writing
➢evidence
➢text structure
➢academic style

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 What is an essay: different contexts

at school
outside university
inside university
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 What is an essay?

A university essay includes:

• an introduction
• a main body of text
• a conclusion
• paragraphs
• evidence
• references
• an argument and/or answer to a question

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 What are your markers looking for in an essay?

It depends…

Look closely at:

• Essay question/s https://canvas.sydney.edu.au/

• Assignment instructions and requirements
• Marking criteria or rubric

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 What are your markers looking for in an essay?

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 Types of academic writing: from description to critique

Critical challenge

Persuasive argue
The “Onion Model”
Analytical re/organise, relate

describe or recount

Descriptive

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6
What kind of writing is required?
Essay Questions

What are the key content words? TOPIC

What are the instruction words? TASK

1) What are the main features of privately-owned cars and publicly-owned buses
as urban transport systems?

2) What are the differences between privately-owned cars and publicly-owned

buses as urban transport systems?

3) Which are better for an urban transport system - cars or public buses?

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Essay Questions

Essay Questions
1) What are the main features of privately-owned cars and publicly-owned buses as
urban transport systems?

Descriptive (identify - prioritise - summarise)

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Essay Questions

Essay Questions
2) What are the differences between privately-owned cars and publicly-owned buses
as urban transport systems?

Analytical (compare/contrast - categorise)

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Essay Questions

Essay Questions
3) Which are better for an urban transport system - cars or public buses?

Persuasive (take a position – argue/support it with evidence)

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Essay Questions: what type of writing is required?
Essay Questions

1. Outline the process of the dispossession of the Indigenous people of Australia by British
colonists in the early contact period.

2. What were the reasons for the rapid dispossession of the Indigenous people of Australia
by British colonists in the early contact period?

Remember:
What are the key content words?
What are the instruction words?
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Essay Questions: what type of writing is required?
Essay Questions

3. Was the dispossession of Indigenous people of Australia by British colonists in the early
contact period inevitable given the vast cultural differences between the two groups?

4. The dispossession of the Indigenous people of Australia by British colonists in the early
contact period was inevitable given the vast cultural differences between the two groups
(Ref). Discuss.

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Essay Questions: what type of writing is required?
Essay Questions

1. Outline the process of the dispossession of the Indigenous people of Australia by British
colonists in the early contact period.
descriptive – recount

2. What were the reasons for the rapid dispossession of the Indigenous people of Australia
by British colonists in the early contact period?
descriptive/analytical - explanation

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Essay Questions: what type of writing is required?
Essay Questions

3. Was the dispossession of Indigenous people of Australia by British colonists in the early
contact period inevitable given the vast cultural differences between the two groups?
persuasive

4. The dispossession of the Indigenous people of Australia by British colonists in the early
contact period was inevitable given the vast cultural differences between the two groups
(Ref). Discuss.
critical - persuasive

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Typical Marker Comments:
Criteria for effective essays

Students need Students need

Students need to use
to be to be
appropriate
analytical persuasive source material
and critical effectively

Students need
to structure Students need
their essays to write in an
clearly & academic style
logically

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 Typical Marker Comments

Students
need to be
analytical

• You need more analysis, less description. Don’t list!

• You’ve given lots of information about the topic but you haven’t identified and/or
addressed the different aspects of the question. Unpack the assignment question!

• Don’t just summarise relevant information – organise it. Categorise information!

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Students need to be analytical

Oxford English Dictionary

• Analyse: to take to pieces; to separate, distinguish, or ascertain the elements of
anything complex

Academic settings
• Analyse (as well as distinguish and ascertain…): to reorganise, classify and
relate pieces of information in a way which is valued in the discipline

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Analytical writing: activity

TASK: Compare Texts A & B on next

slides.
Note any differences.

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Compare Text A and Text B

A) A car is a machine for transporting people. Cars usually can carry a

maximum of 5 or 6 people. They use petroleum or diesel fuel although there are
also some electric cars. Many people are killed or injured each year in car
accidents. In Australia, most people drive cars and the roads of many urban
centres are choked with this form of private transport. A bus is a form of public
transport. Buses generally operate on urban, suburban, or inter-urban routes. As
well as buses operated by the government, there are some private bus
companies, particularly for long distance travel. Many people can be
transported in one bus, and so just one serious accident can claim many lives.

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Compare Text A and Text B

B) Two of the most common vehicles for transporting people are cars and buses.
Whereas the capacity of the car is usually limited to about 5 or 6 people, the
greater passenger capacity of the bus brings savings on fuel and other costs as
well as reducing the amounts of traffic on the road. The ownership of buses is
usually governmental or business which ensures that bus travel is generally safer
than travel by privately owned cars, although just one serious accident can claim
many lives. However, public ownership also means that buses are often not as
convenient as private cars in terms of their accessibility to all areas.

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Compare Text A and Text B

A) A car is a machine for transporting people. Cars usually can carry a

maximum of 5 or 6 people. They use petroleum or diesel fuel although there are
also some electric cars. Many people are killed or injured each year in car
accidents. In Australia, most people drive cars and the roads of many urban
centres are choked with this form of private transport. A bus is a form of public
transport. Buses generally operate on urban, suburban, or inter-urban routes. As
well as buses operated by the government, there are some private bus
companies, particularly for long distance travel. Many people can be
transported in one bus, and so just one serious accident can claim many lives.

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Compare Text A and Text B

B) Two of the most common vehicles for transporting people are cars and buses.
Whereas the capacity of the car is usually limited to about 5 or 6 people, the
greater passenger capacity of the bus brings savings on fuel and other costs as
well as reducing the amounts of traffic on the road. The ownership of buses is
usually governmental or business which ensures that bus travel is generally safer
than travel by privately owned cars, although just one serious accident can
claim many lives. However, public ownership also means that buses are often not
as convenient as private cars in terms of their accessibility to all areas.

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 Text A structure (listing)

CARS • carry maximum 5-6 people

(form of private transport) • use petrol, diesel or electricity
• kill or injure many people in accidents
• most Australians drive cars
• urban centres choked with private cars
BUSES • operate on urban, suburban, inter-urban routes
(form of public transport) • operated by governments and companies
• carry many people so many lives at risk

descriptive
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 Text B structure (categorising)
Cars and buses

CAPACITY • maximum 6 people in car

• many by bus = fuel savings and less traffic

OWNERSHIP • buses usually government = better safety

• more lives at risk in accidents

ACCESS • cars convenient for reaching all areas

analytical
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 Text A What’s the difference?

Descriptive – organised around the

concrete things themselves

Text B

Analytical – organised around

abstract ideas/concepts

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Now read Text C: Compare to Text B
C) Of the two main forms of transport for people, buses are more effective than cars for a number
of reasons. The greater passenger capacity of the bus ensures savings on fuel and other costs as
well as reducing the amounts of traffic on the road. Secondly, the increased safety of bus travel as a
result of ownership being governmental or business ensures that deaths and injuries from accidents
are minimal, compared with the many deaths and injuries from car accidents. Finally, the accessibility
of buses to most areas is strategically possible because buses use the established road system, so
that little development is needed in order to extend a new bus route. Indeed, potential for a bus
transport system to be as convenient as private cars, combined with the other advantages of buses
over cars, provides a convincing argument for the expansion of the bus transport system, rather than
the continuation of a costly, inefficient and unsafe system based on privately owned vehicles.

B) Two of the most common vehicles are cars and buses. Whereas the capacity of the car is usually
limited…., the greater passenger capacity of the bus brings savings ..as well as reducing the
amounts of traffic ... The ownership of buses is usually governmental or business which ensures bus
travel is generally safer... However, .. often not as convenient as cars in terms of accessibility...
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Text C: note differences to Text B

C) Of the two main forms of transport for people, buses are more effective than cars for a
number of reasons. The greater passenger capacity of the bus ensures savings on fuel and
other costs as well as reducing the amounts of traffic on the road. Secondly, the increased safety
of bus travel as a result of ownership being governmental or business ensures that deaths and
injuries from accidents are minimal, compared with the many deaths and injuries from car
accidents. Finally, the accessibility of buses to most areas is strategically possible because buses
use the established road system, so that little development is needed in order to extend a new bus
route. Indeed, potential for a bus transport system to be as convenient as private cars,
combined with the other advantages of buses over cars, provides a convincing argument for the
expansion of the bus transport system, rather than the continuation of a costly, inefficient and
unsafe system based on privately owned vehicles.

This is the type of essay most lecturers will expect to see from you.
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 TEXT C is persuasive + analytical + descriptive
Text C structure follows stages required for ARGUMENT
The arguments are organised around writer’s analysis of evidence
Position/Thesis BUSES ARE MORE EFFECTIVE THAN CARS

Reason/Arg 1 CAPACITY • fuel savings and less traffic

Reason/Arg 2 SAFETY/ • buses usually government = better safety
OWNERSHIP • reduced number of accidents
• more lives at risk in accidents

Reason/Arg 3 ACCESSIBILITY • established road system

Arguments summarised;
Position reinforced; BUSES HAVE ADVANTAGES OVER CARS
Recommendation Bus transport system should be expanded

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 Thesis statement

Answers
question

Government-regulated buses are more effective than private cars due to

their increased capacity, safety and accessibility for all people.

Specific /
Contestable So what?
scope

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Typical Marker Comment Students need
to use (i.e. to support their arguments)
appropriate
source material
effectively
Types of sources

Where from? What for?

• personal experience • academic purposes
• others' experience • non-academic purposes
How presented? How close?
• in print • primary source
• not in print • secondary source
• tertiary source

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Typical Marker Comment

Students need
to use
…and refer to
appropriate
it correctly!
source material
effectively…

• Please use appropriate referencing conventions.

• Too many quotes!
• There is evidence of plagiarism in your essay. Please see me.

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Typical Marker Comment
Students need
to structure
their essays
clearly &
logically

• The parts of your essay do not seem to fit together.

• You did not do what you said you were going to do in your introduction.
• Where is the conclusion?
• Your writing does not flow smoothly.
• Some ideas are not logically related to others.

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Students need to structure their essays logically
ESSAY PART OVERALL PURPOSE STAGES
Introduction to tell the reader what the essay is Background
going to be about/do Thesis / Position
Outline of arguments (analysis)
Body to tell the reader what the essay is Arguments to support thesis
about (in relation to particular area)
evidence for each argument

Conclusion to tell the reader what the essay Summary of arguments

has been about Reinforcement of thesis
(Recommendations)
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Typical Marker Comment
Students need
to be
persuasive
(and critical)

• What is your thesis/point?

• Your argument is not convincing
• You have made some good points but have not substantiated them with evidence
• Your writing is not critical enough
• Your essay lacks critical analysis

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 'Persuasive’ doesn’t mean critical: Where’s your evidence?

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Students need to write critically
A critical approach

• questions or evaluates views, ideas or approaches of others.

• critical approach made explicit in some essay questions

• e.g. Evaluate one contemporary approach to grammar.

• always critically evaluates evidence

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Students need to write critically

Using evidence critically to develop an argument:

• Confirm essay position/thesis in relation to one argument

• Present evidence to support thesis

• Critically evaluate evidence (positively)

• Reconfirm thesis in relation to area/topic of argument

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Argument with critically evaluated evidence
Example Argument from Student Essay
Reconciliation has also had far reaching political ramifications for Aboriginal people.
As a consequence of the Mabo decision, the federal government was compelled to negotiate
legislation which would clarify the issues and give formal recognition of rights (Dodson, 1994,
p. 71).
While the resulting Commonwealth’s Native Title Act of 1995 was important in its own right,
an additional benefit in terms of the issues raised by the Council for Reconciliation was that
Aboriginal people were key participants in the negotiations. The process of negotiation
represented a key shift of political power in relationships between the government and
Aboriginal people, with Aboriginal people actively engaged in determining their destinies
rather than being given a token voice in the process (p. 72).

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Argument with critically evaluated evidence
Argument Functional
stages
Reconciliation has also had far reaching political ramifications for Student thesis re
Aboriginal people. political effects
As a consequence of the Mabo decision, the federal government was Evidence to
compelled to negotiate legislation which would clarify the issues and support thesis
give formal recognition of rights (Dodson,1994, p. 71).
While the resulting Commonwealth’s Native Title Act of 1995 was Evaluation of
important in its own right, an additional benefit in terms of the issues raised evidence
by the Council for Reconciliation was that Aboriginal people were key (positive)
participants in the negotiations. The process of negotiation represented a
key shift of political power in relationships between the government and
Aboriginal people, with Aboriginal people actively engaged in determining
their destinies rather than being given a token voice in the process (p. 72).
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Students need to write critically

Using evidence critically to develop an argument:

• Confirm essay position/thesis in relation to one argument
• Present evidence to support thesis
• Critically evaluate evidence (positively)
• Present evidence which contradicts thesis
• Critically evaluate evidence negatively
• Reconfirm thesis in relation to area/topic of argument

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Critical argument
(challenging an argument in the research literature that contradicts your thesis)
Example Argument from Student Essay

Some people have argued that the reconciliation process has been set back since the
Liberal/National Party came to power in 1995 (Tatz, 1998). While it is true leaders such as
John Howard and Tim Fisher have been reluctant to take leadership roles in the reconciliation
process,
it is significant that Howard’s re-election speech in 1998 included reconciliation as a major
goal for his second term. It is equally significant that the Coalition did not have the numbers
to pass the 1998 Wik legislation without considerable concessions being made to Aboriginal
people.
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Critical argument (challenging argument in research literature)
Argument Functional stages

Some people have argued that the reconciliation process has been set Counter position
/argument to
back since the Liberal/National Party came to power in 1995 (Tatz, student’s
1998). While it is true leaders such as John Howard and Tim Fisher have
Evidence for this
been reluctant to take leadership roles in the reconciliation process, which contradicts
student thesis
it is significant that Howard’s re-election speech in 1998 included Student’s
evaluation of
reconciliation as a major goal for his second term. It is equally evidence
significant that the Coalition did not have the numbers to pass the (negatively)
i.e. rebuttal of
1998 Wik legislation without considerable concessions being made counterargument
to Aboriginal people.
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 Typical Marker Comments

Students need
to write in an
academic style

• Your writing is too colloquial.

• Your writing is too subjective and personal.
• You need to write more analytically.

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 Students need to write in an academic style
Features of academic writing
formal

inclusive technical

academic
writing
style
analytical
& objective
abstract

impersonal
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 Summing Up

– What is an essay?

– Common types of writing in essays

– Descriptive
– Analytical
– Persuasive
– Critical

– Key areas of concern for markers

– Any further questions? [email protected]

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communication, research, study skills

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– Get it write! lh-enrol.sydney.edu.au
– Writing assignments effectively
– Using evidence & avoiding plagiarism
– Functional Grammar

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