A short guide to essay planning and structure.

This page is the first of two that describe the processes involved in producing an essay for academic purposes, for school, college or university. This page covers the planning stages of essay writing, which are important to the overall process. The second page, Writing an Essay, provides more information on the steps involved in actually.

The first thing to do when planning an essay is to look carefully at the question. This may sound obvious but more students fail because they misread the question than for most other reasons, so it is essential that you read through and identify precisely what the question is asking.

Mastering how to write an essay early on will help you prepare for writing your dissertation in your final year. We've asked two academic experts for their recommendations on how to plan and write a first-class essay. Adopt a strategy. Planning your essay makes the writing process quicker and easier.

Using essay plans Being organised before you begin writing your essay will make the writing process quicker and easier. Good preparation and planning gives you a clear overview of your material so you can see the best way to organise your points. This guide presents four main steps to planning your essay.

What is an essay. Essays are used to assess your understanding of specific ideas and your ability to explain these in your own words. Essays are usually written in a discursive style, bringing together ideas, evidence and arguments to address a specific problem or question.

An example of an essay plan Why plan? An essay plan helps you organise your ideas and you can be modified as you read, think or discuss more. It is a basic outline of your essay and is useful if you want to discuss your writing with your lecturer, tutor or with an Academic Support person. Here is an example of an essay topic and a possible plan.

History essays test a range of skills including historical understanding, interpretation and analysis, planning, research and writing. To write an effective essay, students must examine the question, understand its focus and requirements, acquire information and evidence through research, then construct a clear and well-organised response.

Essay planning. An academic essay is a very specific form of writing. Its purpose is to answer the question in an organised and comprehensive manner. In order to do this, care should be taken at the planning stage so that you can be confident that you have included the most relevant material and that your reader can follow your line of argument.

The following student templates support the development of essay writing skills. Understanding the question (Word 9.1 KB) This template helps students to break down an essay question so they understand what they need to do before they start to write or research their topic.

Structure and Planning. The essay is a focused, academic discussion of a particular question, problem or issue. There are all sorts of reasons why essays are common forms of assessment: they allow you to explore a problem in depth, express yourself concisely and precisely, and debate other people’s published opinions on a topic.

The introduction usually starts by providing some background information to your particular topic, so the reader understands the key problem being addressed and why it is an issue worth writing about. However, it is important that this is brief and that you only include information that is directly relevant to the topic.

Get a competent essay help online at an affordable price Now that you know about us, stop wasting time crafting the perfect paper. Drawing up a list of references is a basic requirement in nine cases out of ten. Essays tend to matter more for small schools, or schools who look at applications holistically.