50 Tips to Improve Your Essay
50 Ways to Improve Your Essay Grade
Print out this page and the next one, and then use them as a quality control check list as you begin developing your essay:
GENERAL
1) Familiarize yourself with the grade scheme… 3 2) Look at your past feedback… 4 3) Familiarize yourself with the course aims… 5 4) Consider creating your own question… 5 5) Narrow down the scope of a general question… 6 6) Listen out for specific advice from the tutor… 6
DEVELOPMENT
7) Start as early as possible… 7 8) Answer only the exact question set… 9 9) Leave time to review your work… 9 10) Assess and redraft your essay… 9 11) Focus on staying within the word limit… 10
RESEARCH
12) Go beyond lecture material… 11 13) Focus on the best academic sources… 11 14) Focus on printed sources… 13 15) Find good examples… 13
STYLE
16) Write in clear plain English… 15 17) Write in proper sentences… 15 18) Write in the third person… 15 19) Write in active sentences… 16 20) Write in varied short sentences... 16 21) Write with confidence and conviction… 17 22) Avoid abbreviations and short forms… 17 23) Avoid rhetorical questions and exclamations… 17 24) Avoid lists… 18 25) Avoid subheadings… 18 26) Be precise in your language… 18 27) Define ambiguous and academic terms… 18 28) Avoid slang and informal speech… 19 29) Write in long, single point paragraphs… 19 30) Introduce academic thinkers… 20 31) Use appropriate referencing… 20
Argument
32) Avoid the personal angle… 22 33) Always have a main case… 22 34) State your main case in the last sentence of the first paragraph… 23 35) Unpack your main case point by point… 23 36) Stick to between 4 and 7 main points… 23 37) Include “signpost”
Print out this page and the next one, and then use them as a quality control check list as you begin developing your essay:
GENERAL
1) Familiarize yourself with the grade scheme… 3 2) Look at your past feedback… 4 3) Familiarize yourself with the course aims… 5 4) Consider creating your own question… 5 5) Narrow down the scope of a general question… 6 6) Listen out for specific advice from the tutor… 6
DEVELOPMENT
7) Start as early as possible… 7 8) Answer only the exact question set… 9 9) Leave time to review your work… 9 10) Assess and redraft your essay… 9 11) Focus on staying within the word limit… 10
RESEARCH
12) Go beyond lecture material… 11 13) Focus on the best academic sources… 11 14) Focus on printed sources… 13 15) Find good examples… 13
STYLE
16) Write in clear plain English… 15 17) Write in proper sentences… 15 18) Write in the third person… 15 19) Write in active sentences… 16 20) Write in varied short sentences... 16 21) Write with confidence and conviction… 17 22) Avoid abbreviations and short forms… 17 23) Avoid rhetorical questions and exclamations… 17 24) Avoid lists… 18 25) Avoid subheadings… 18 26) Be precise in your language… 18 27) Define ambiguous and academic terms… 18 28) Avoid slang and informal speech… 19 29) Write in long, single point paragraphs… 19 30) Introduce academic thinkers… 20 31) Use appropriate referencing… 20
Argument
32) Avoid the personal angle… 22 33) Always have a main case… 22 34) State your main case in the last sentence of the first paragraph… 23 35) Unpack your main case point by point… 23 36) Stick to between 4 and 7 main points… 23 37) Include “signpost”