Academic Writing Tips

 

The tips below will give you a baseline idea of how to write an academic A Level essay.

The Basics:

1.      Write formally: avoid imprecise language, use clearly defined paragraphs and subject specific vocabulary.

2.      Guide the reader through the essay: use connectives to help you with this. One rule of thumb is that whenever you switch topics, you should try to provide a verbal clue that you are doing so, using transition discourse markers like "However, ...", "As a result, ...", "By comparison, ", etc. If you notice that you have to add these words between most of your sentences, not just the paragraphs, then you are bouncing around too much. In that case you need to reorganize your document to group related thoughts together, switching topics only when necessary. Once the organization is good, all you can do is read and reread what you write, rewording it until each new item follows easily from those before it.

3.      Use tentative language: try to phrase your ideas in the subjunctive to demonstrate that your ideas are malleable and interpretative i.e. ‘It could be inferred that…’/ ‘It seems that…’

4.      Use third person: in the main bulk of your essay, it is better to write in third person i.e. ‘It could be argued’ rather than ‘I would argue’. However, this is not a steadfast rule and some students use first person in conclusions to great effect i.e. ‘Overall, I am convinced that Duffy...’

5.      Avoid contractions such as ‘you’re’; write ‘you are’ instead.

6.      Use last names for authors, poets and playwrights.

7.      Quote correctly and always try to embed quotations. Ensure you always use the correct punctuation around quotations.

8.      Be concise: when two words will do, there is no need to write an entire paragraph. Keep your writing concise so you can get more high-quality ideas written in the timeframe.

 

How to impress:

 

1.      Have an opinion: you should create a ‘thesis statement’ when writing an academic essay. This is effectively your response to the question or task. You should refer back to this idea throughout your essay so that the whole piece links together clearly.

2.      Always refer back to the question/task: this seems obvious but lots of students get carried away and forget to do it.

3.      Stay on topic: it can be really difficult to stay on topic when you feel like you have a lot to say – remember that you are assessed on how well you respond to the question/task, not on how much you know about the text.

4.      Offer alternative interpretations: while you should have a viewpoint (thesis statement), it is important that you consider evidence for other interpretations.

5.      Try to impress the examiner with your introduction and conclusion: be original, make sure you stand out. For example, you may wish to use quotations in your introduction and conclusion or you may wish to quote a critic you have read.  Most importantly, start answering the question as soon as possible – don’t waste time on long winded introductions or repetitive conclusions.