Writing a successful academic essay

Creating a good to excellent quality academic essay may not be easy, but with the correct approach, it should be perfectly possible most of the time. It is a process that requires two activities - reading and writing. Both are important and so do not rush to writing the essay without spending an adequate amount of time reading up on your topic first. The following are just a few short pointers on what to look out for and what to do in the course of writing a successful academic essay.

1. Academic Reading

Reading as transmission of fact or point of view

When you are reading, you should not assume that the text, article or book is simply a value-neutral description of something – especially within the context of political, sociological or philosophical study. There is always an overall argument, or collection of arguments, proposing that the world is a certain way and which will be different when compared to another text, article or book by someone else.

To read such books is not like reading books on mathematics which simply describe different mathematical problems. Even scientific books on physics, that seem largely descriptive, are not value-free descriptions, but also contain arguments that may be based on contested views, for instance, from within the field of quantum mechanics.

Assuming that the books you will be reading contain points of view does not mean that they are not still descriptive but it does mean that they are not simply descriptive. In addition, it is important not to dismiss a book just because it is a point of view, rather than something more certain (like mathematics). Some points of view, especially in academic literature, are the outcome of much research, careful analysis, reasoned argument and critical reflection by the author. However, just as you would expect the author to write in a critically reflective spirit, so must you read in that same spirit too.

Active versus passive reading

Critical thinking or critical reflection is an active engagement with knowledge, and when you are reading, you must also be persistently questioning whether what you are reading is reasonable and whether it has a sound basis. Remember, critical does not simply mean 'knocking down' bad arguments (or any argument) but also seeing the strengths in other arguments. It does not mean that you must do it with zeal, sentence by sentence (you would never finish reading anything!) but you must not passively accept what you are reading as simply fact either. For example, is something you are reading descriptive or argumentative? If it appears descriptive, can there be (hidden) bias in the description? It is important to identify the premises and conclusions and to assess whether there is adequate grounding to the premises and a clear, logical structure from premise to conclusion. Beware of conclusions that the author includes but does not (adequately) argue for, and beware of completely one-sided arguments without alternative or opposing points of view being included. If there are no counter arguments present, the core argument or explanation offered in the reading will be weak and should be treated with some suspicion.

Questioning the text – graphs and, statistics

Tables and statistics are often considered to be the most fundamental evidence that one can have. One could be vague, incorrect, or even evasive with a written argument, but it is more difficult to skew things with figures, percentages and graphs. The latter seem clear and definitive and seem to have a certain mathematical certainty. Tables, graphs and statistics are crucially important for backing up arguments and none of the below is intended to take away from this importance. Nevertheless, they can be misleading if trusted naively and without continuous, active scrutiny.

If we were talking about rates of crime, we might view a rise of 50% in property crime to support a clear statement – crime is significantly up. If we were expressing this via a graph, and we were comparing it with three previous years which respectively showed drops in property crime of 10%, 20% and 15% respectively, the huge visible spike on the graph would be easy to see.

However, consider the following with regard to the above crime figures/percentages and graphs. Two other documents are uncovered which deal with the same crime percentages. In the first document we have a longer yearly range of crime statistics than we had in the one above. Indeed, as above, the property crime rate had dropped over the last three years by 10%, 20% and 15% respectively and risen this year by 50%.

But, for the previous 10 years (before the total of four years we already observed) the percentage changes has been as follows: up 40%, up 70%, down 50%, down 30%, up 40%, down 30%, down 50%, up 70%, down 40%, up 60%.

We should now see that even though property crime has indeed risen this year by 50%, it may not seem such a significant rise when we look back over the full figures. Over the longer term, the crime rates look much more stable.

In the second document, we also see extra information which shows that during the same year as the spike in property crime, this consisted of an increase in shoplifting and a dip in burglary and a dip in muggings. Overall, the crime level now seems much better!

Questioning the text – quotes

In terms of quotes, you might regard a book or article’s argument as more plausible if they quote someone authoritative who seems to be offering an argument that supports one of their premises. However, consider the following quote:

“It is clear that studies from 1990 to the present day show continued support for the two major civil war parties”. (Feeney: 31)

And now consider the following from where the above quote was taken:

“It is clear that studies from 1990 to the present day show continued support for the two major civil war parties. However, this has to be heavily qualified by the fact that most of these studies were taken in areas with larger numbers of older, rural people who, it would be expected, would be more inclined to go with such parties compared to young, urban voters.” (Feeney: 31)

See the problem that might arise?

The above issues with figures, graphs and quotes do happen in books, newspapers (some more than others!) and reports, even in supposedly reliable academic books. So beware of an uncritical acceptance of such sources of information.

2. Academic Writing

Giving a description versus giving an argument

First, it is important to note that the essays do not require you to give mere descriptions. As noted above, unlike mathematics, the questions and issues that have to be approached here are issues which have contested meanings, disputed premises and there is no single ‘correct’ answer like there may be in mathematics. Of course part of your essay will be describing theories, statistics and so on, but it will also be analysing them and sustaining them to critical scrutiny.

Your argument

During this process, you will be offering what you regard as a reasonable response to the question answered or issue addressed. This will be your own reasoned argument. It does not have to be a completely new, profound and water-tight argument. But it does have to be a reasoned argument which simply attempts to say that things are a certain way underpinned and justified by good supporting reasons.

The introduction

First, state the question that you will be answering or identify the issue that you will be addressing. Explain to the reader why it is important to address it.

Briefly mention what the general view of the issue is and then briefly state your own position.

In the introduction, outline your argument: “I will argue that [your conclusion]” Then outline the steps you will be taking in order to do this, including a mention of your premises and your counter-arguments. The purpose of this is to offer a clear, short guide for the reader. Otherwise, they will not know what to expect from paragraph to paragraph and will have to pick it up as they go along. This would seriously weaken your essay.

So, have a logical structure to your essay and have it broken down into steps for the reader. Importantly, this will also make it clear for you what the essay is going to do.

Main body – contextualising the argument and moving it forward

Be careful to give a sufficient background to the issue you are addressing, but do not go overboard and keep it relatively short (perhaps keep it in the introduction; otherwise, limit it to one moderate sized paragraph of its own at the most). It is only background to give the reader some context to the argument and will help them to understand what’s going on. But the background is not the point of the essay; the argument is.

The logical structure from premise to conclusion

Over the course of the essay, make sure to offer a logical sequence from premise to conclusion using a connected sequence of paragraphs. There should be generally one point per paragraph and this will be a step in your overall argument. This step might be an explanation and defence of one of the premises, a counter-argument or counter-arguments, and so on. Always keep in mind that a good essay contains a clear line of reasoned argument – not a progression of emotive or polemical appeals.

Clarity

An argument without a logical structure would not only make for a bad argument but would not even make complete sense. Significant problems occur if premises and other statements are vague and the concepts used are not properly defined or fully explained. If a word in a statement can be read to mean two different things, then the subsequent logical structure can go a different way to a different conclusion than the one that is presented. Other times, the vagueness can make the logical structure too unclear to get a sense of any meaningful argument at all. Clarification is required throughout.

Linkages

There should be clear linkages between the paragraphs which clearly show how they are interconnected and why the reader is moving from one to the next. Note that proper linkage of different points and paragraphs is necessary to show where each point comes from and where it leads onto. Linkages can be explicitly stated or implicitly if otherwise obvious to a reader, etc. They prevent a series of disconnected points emerging, even if each point is otherwise valid.

Main body – Premises and support

Keep in mind that the premises are reasons - pieces of evidence or logic - that add up to the conclusion. It is essential to always clarify what your premises are and defend them as reasoned assumptions rather than mere opinion by including the evidence for what they say. When defending your premises, you should really do it within the one paragraph that has introduced the relevant premise; unless, of course, it really, legitimately requires a longer explanation/defence. Remember to define significant and relevant words that may have more than one meaning.

Elaborate upon who else says what about the topic in question, identify any theories that are in the field and how they affect the issue to be addressed. What responses do they offer? Do they offer something that supports your own argument and, if so, outline how you will use them. Remember to adequately reference others who have written about the subject (including those who would disagree with your own argument). Cite every piece of information or view you get from someone else and also include in the bibliography. This also highlights the amount of research you have done.

Main body – counter-arguments and defence

Remember, for your argument, there are counter-arguments that say that your core argument – premises and logic - is insufficient and that an alternative conclusion is possible, probable or better. It is vital that you incorporate such counter-arguments into your essay and test your own argument against them.

You should adequately explain what the counter-argument is and explain how it disagrees with yours. You must then either highlight shortcomings of the counter-argument or qualify your own argument in response. Every good argument is qualified to some degree so it is not a fault. An unqualified argument would actually most likely be incorrect or weak.

The Conclusion

Simply put, the conclusion is the summation of the essay. In the concluding paragraph, you should restate the core argument that was in the introduction – ‘I have argued that [conclusion]’ – as well as giving a brief recap on how the steps in the argument/paragraphs led to where you are. Be very careful about certain words or phrases such as “I have proved that…”, when you could easily say, “it seems likely that…”, or “the bulk (or a sizable amount) of the evidence suggests that…”. Saying the ‘proved’ word, or other strong and final word on the subject, especially in politics and sociology, cries out for an amazing analysis of the topic, that stands up to much criticism, etc. In the conclusion, you could also suggest further implications of your argument in the essay or stress its importance in relation to the issue discussed.

Revisions

Leave your essay for at least one day and then re-read it. Underline (in biro on a printout of the essay) the premises and conclusion, evaluating the evidence and logical structure. In other words, critically reflect on your own essay by analysing your own work as a reader (and not the writer anymore). Then make any revisions you think are necessary before you submit.