Writing an essay in 12 steps

Writing an essay is a messy, complex, often frustrating process that, nevertheless, can be ordered
and managed in several stages. Remember that it is usually a circular rather than a linear process,
that your argument will help develop your writing—and that the process of writing will develop your
argument and your use of evidence.

1. Analyse and define the topic or question

While an essay question will always have a topic, your first hurdle is to identify and then explore the
underlying question/debate/problem within that topic that is central to your course. For example, a
Political Science question such as: “What were the causes of the Second World War?” is not asking
for a list of causes that you then describe. It is asking: in what way or to what extent did various
factors contribute and how were they interrelated? Understanding how the task is situated within
your discipline/field/courses is crucial to developing a comprehensive answer.

2. Identify some key ideas

Remember that any essay question does not stand alone: its purpose is to assess how well you
understand some key concepts, theories or conflicts in your current course. Consider these
concepts, theories or conflicts while you are preparing your essay. Look at course outlines, lecture
notes, seminar readings to identify key themes of the course.

Use brainstorming or mind-mapping techniques to identify key ideas.

3. The first literature search

Initially it is often difficult to find readings: search library catalogues, abstracts and databases for
material (do a course in the library to learn how). However, when you find sources the amount of
reading is often overwhelming. Ask yourself: what is relevant? What is more central and what is less
important?

Think strategically: who are the key writers in the field? How can you identify these? Do the course
readings contain useful articles? Start with the key writers in the field that your lecturer
recommends, and then progress to articles, books and journals as you narrow your search for more
specific or specialised material.

4. Read

Initially, one of the greatest challenges at university and in essay writing is learning how to read
academically. When you read, read for a specific purpose: what is the writer’s argument (in the
research phase)? How does this writer refute the position of another writer (later in the research
phase)? Are the elements of grammar correct in my essay (in the later stages of editing)?

Consciously select and apply a reading strategy (see later in the handbook). Read to obtain an
overview of what people are writing on the topic: where are the debates within this topic? What are
the key issues of these debates? Are there any key theorists writing on the topic? What evidence is
being used to justify each position or interpretation of the topic?
Consciously select and apply a note-taking strategy.

5. Work towards constructing an argument

Try to express your argument or position in one clear sentence. For example: “This paper argues...”

Select, from your readings, evidence and ideas that might support your argument.

Next, consider what things you need to do to persuade the reader of your position. Will you need to
define key terms, compare and contrast, critically evaluate the literature, provide background
context, analyse a case study, and so on? Once you have thought of the things you will do, this is
called the structure of your argument and it provides a potential outline of the main sections of the
essay.

6. Construct your argument around an outline

The first division of your topic into parts represents your view of what is important in these debates:
this is your preliminary analysis. Remember this may change as you write, as you read more, and as
your essay evolves.

Keeping the required length of the essay in mind, transfer key ideas and supporting ideas from the
brainstorm session to a linear structure (outline). This outline is the bare bones of the essay.

Prepare a more detailed outline with a section and sub-section plan.

Expand or contract the outline to suit the length required. Add or delete main points, supporting
points, the evidence you will use to explain and support them, potential responses to
counterarguments or challenges to your position.

Remember: you may need to read more in order to flesh out your ideas.

7. Write the first draft

The purpose of this draft is to work out what you think about the question, in relation to what you
have read. Follow your outline. Resist the temptation just to summarise the ideas you have read, by
exessively quoting for example; rather, use these ideas to answer your question. Try to write it all in
one go, but do not be too concerned about the order of paragraphs or the quality of the writing—
you can develop and polish the essay once you have something down worth developing and
polishing.

Focus on one section of your essay at a time. You can have a go at writing your introduction but
come back and rewrite it after your first draft.

8. Do some more focused reading

Identify where you need more information. It is easy sometimes to find a position and just follow
that argument in your essay. Read more critically than this: what are the different positions or the
strengths and weaknesses of each? Identify where you need more information.
Widen/extend/narrow your literature search for more material. Find examples to support your main
points.

9. Take a break

Put some critical distance and time between yourself and your work. This will help you to return to
your essay with fresh eyes.

10. Revise your first draft; work on a second draft

As you write your first draft your ideas and arguments clarify and often the focus of your argument
comes together in the last sections of the essay or in the conclusion. In your second draft make sure
your argument also appears in your introduction and builds consistently throughout the sections of
your essay.

Give this draft to someone else for comments and feedback, for example, a friend, your partner, a
fellow student, or an ASLC adviser. Take note of their comments.

11. Edit

Use a checklist for editing the final draft, which incorporates formatting requirements as well as
things you know you often have problems with, eg referencing, expression, etc.

12. Hand it in and reward yourself!

 GETTING BETTER FROM BITTERNESS

By : Marsudiono

INTRODUCTION
In Indonesia the price of life is cheaper than the price of chili. It is still well recorded
in our mind, how many lives lost in the calamity of Merapi eruption, earth quake and
tsunami in Mentawai, land slide, and flooding in several areas of Indonesia. The
victim is only a matter of statistic. Most people said that it was as a result of
geographical phenomena.

DISCUSSION
Indonesian has lost its sophisticated moral values. Not very long ago, not more than
fifteen years before this country was bombarded by monetary crisis, we were ever
proud of our nation as civilized society. It was written in the book of Pancasila and
Civic Education. Here, we were described as friendly people.
After Indonesia had entered the gate of reformation, the flowers of freedom euphoria
bloomed everywhere. Now the flowers have turned into the fruits of anarchy,
egotism, harassment, violence, rudeness, and abuse which tortured our nation to be
the uncivilized society. Foot ball match ended with quarrel. A group of students from
different schools attacked each other because of a simple problem, ‘mocking ‘.
Demonstration turned to be a war between public and police. Are these the real
culture of our nation? Who could stand witnessing children in famine, poverty and
pain reverberate in our heart. How could we bear hearing children crying? “Father
has gone on a long trip”, the loss of loved one. They went to take a last look at him
where he laid in the midst of flowers. Anarchy and rudeness has created unbearable
pity for the suffering of mankind.

Character Building which is aimed to cure those acute illnesses is too late. But later
is better than never. First, we raise dust, and then we complain that we cannot see.
Most of problems in our nation come from our own fault.
Three things might be able to make foundation of civilized nation. Firstly, teach
students peacefully and wisely. Never show them violence. What the late Rama
Mangun Wijaya said a long time ago when I was a university student in Yogyakarta
is still lingering in my ears. A seed of mango will grow to be a mango tree. The root is
the root of mango. The leave is the leaf of mango. The trunk is the trunk of mango.
The branch is the branch of mango. The flower is the flower of mango and the fruit is
the fruit of mango. If a teacher or a parent plants the seed of anger to the children,
then they will grow to be the tree of anger. Once you show unreasonable anger in
front of students or your children, don’t blame them if they one day will be angry to
their little brother.

The cruelty and brutal act of our nation lately could be the fruit of the wrong conduct
of our teaching. A teacher who beats or insults a student, parents who offend their
children, government who acts violently to society and makes the innocent grass root
marginalized from economic field, television which shows violence, quarrel, and fight,
all of them must be responsible for the present moral condition of our society.
Secondly, teaching students to appreciate literature could be fruitful for the process
of making their heart peaceful. Peaceful heart will shine peaceful mind. The world in
literature’s eye is not consisting of black and white. In every action we are always
required to ask not only ontologically but also epistemologically. We do not only read
the line but between the lines as well, even beyond the line. There is no better work
of literature than the Holly Quran. Therefore, in a higher level, recommend your
students to learn the Holly Quran. Not only do the students read it but they have to
know the meaning as well.

Thirdly, we have to deconstruct our bad culture. In Javanese culture, when there is a
child runs and he or she falls down usually the person who takes care of the child will
say, “The stone is naughty.” Then, the child is asked to beat the stone. Even though
it is done only for the sake of the child not to cry any more, there are two bad habits
have been planted unintentionally into the child’s mind from this occurrence. First, by
saying the stone is naughty it means that we train a child to blame other person
when we get problem. As a result, we tend to look for the black sheep when we fail
to do something. Second, by asking a child to punch the stone, we have accustomed
a child to take revenge when there is a person who hurts him / her. We have to
deconstruct this culture by teaching our students not to blame other persons.
Instead, train our students to have introspection whenever they got problem in life
and guide them to learn to forgive other person.

CONCLUSION
Don’t cling to the past. Let’s keep our finger cross. There is a lining silver in every
cloud. We have to get better from bitterness. To see how wonderful the scenery of
afternoon fog in Ngrayun, we have to travel a long winding road toward the peak of
Ngrayun. Is the sea is still called the sea if there is no wave in it? Is life still called life
if there is no problem in it? That educators and parents should do now is to give
example. A good example is better than thousands of wise words. Character building
is not a matter of teaching. Instead, it is more prone to bear in students’ mind about
how to behave properly, how to achieve a good attitude, and how to pursuit self
realization. These are acquirable only by giving good examples and guiding them
into the right path. Therefore, teaching must be enlightening and empower students
to attain good characters. Teaching is not creating our students to be a monster of
science. Mathematics, Chemistry, and physics all are in vain unless these subjects
make students humanize human being. The pursuit of a good moral is complicated,
for it has to do with people and it is hard to gain perfection in imperfection of human
being. Trying to do our best for our nation is the only way to recover all problems in
our nation.