Essay Structure Tutorial

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Writing a Good Essay at Master’s Level: Some Tips!
Tip 1: Make sure your answer addresses each dimension of the assessment criteria
1) Appropriateness of Answer: does the answer provided address the question set?
2) Comprehensiveness of Answer: how much of the relevant information does the answer cover?
3) Strength of Argument: is the answer well organised and does it present a strong and coherent thesis (storyline)?
4) Use of Evidence: does the answer support its arguments and general thesis by use of evidence citing references?
5) Implicit Understanding: what degree of understanding does the answer demonstrate? 6) Critical Appraisal: does the answer demonstrate an ability to critically assess the available information?
7) Originality: how original is the information used in the answer, the thesis advanced and the critical comment offered?
8) Use of English: how well written and understandable is the answer?

The use of evidence to support the claims you make is crucial and leads to a more powerful argument. In your references to the research literature, be sure to use detail and cite specific examples, where appropriate. Try to demonstrate breadth and depth of reading – weigh up the evidence you have used before reaching any conclusions.
Make sure that your essay follows a clear storyline and presents a logical argument. Try to be original and creative in your attempt to answer the question, but make sure you remain within the remit of the actual question set. Be careful in your creative attempts that you do not use unsubstantiated opinion, evidence is still crucial to support your perspective. It can be quite effective to integrate other aspects of the course or other areas of psychology into your essay to demonstrate that you appreciate the wider picture.
However you attempt to address the question, it is vital that you offer critical evaluation throughout. Deconstruct the question, moving away from pure description. When exploring the relevant literature, don’t accept unquestioningly everything that you read quite often there are serious flaws in the conclusions drawn (take a look at the methodology used, sample size, generalisability, etc). It can help to read the faults that the authors acknowledge in their own work and then read the paper again with these biases in minds. Just because a paper is published, it doesn’t make it perfect!
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Tip 2: Identify the key words and issues of the question
Analyse the question for the key words and phrases. The common instruction words can be broadly categorised into those that ask you to describe, to present an argument and those that indicate your essay should be part description, part argument:
Describe

Present an argument

Demonstrate
Describe
Explain
Identify
Outline
Summarise

Assess
Evaluate
Examine

Part description, part argument
Analyse
Compare
Compare and contrast
Consider
Contrast
Discuss

Tip 3: Read widely
The essays awarded higher grades tend not to stick rigidly to the reference list provided in lectures. Whatever the form of the written assignment you are tackling, you must read widely if you are to do justice to the subject matter. Start with the question and identify any key topic/focus words that might help you to find the relevant material. As you read, it becomes easier to refine your searching by adding to your list of keywords. To begin with, use the library catalogue to search for general texts that may include relevant chapters and use the literature searching databases, such as PsycINFO or Web of Science, to find relevant journal articles. It is important to remember that recent journal articles will be more up-to-date and relevant than most book chapters. Try using the World Wide
Web too, but be discriminating as there is almost no control over the information available – it may be misleading or poorly researched. Ask yourself the extent to which the author of the material is interested in reporting reliable and balanced information.
Once you have started to find relevant material, you will be able to supplement your searching by using the references that appear at the end of the chapters or the articles.
However, this will always lead you to older material. Once you are aware of the breadth of the topic, begin to probe areas that interest you more deeply. Pay particular attention to areas of controversy in order that you can present a balanced argument.

Tip 4: Prepare, think, plan, write, and review
Planning is an essential part of effective writing. It helps you to organise your thoughts, focus on what is relevant and write coherently. Text that is rambling and disorganised suggests that the planning stage has been ineffective. Time spent in the planning stage is time saved in writing. Allow yourself time to write a first draft and ask a friend to read it through for you – a good essay has a clear and readable style; the language should be simple and fluent, using familiar words. Read your work through for content and

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organisation. Have you answered the question? Have you discussed all the important areas? Read your work through again and check for style, grammar, punctuation and typing mistakes. Finally, check that all the in-text references are listed in full in your
References section and that they are cited consistently and correctly in APA-format.

Tip 5: Present a clear and logical structure to your argument
The structure of your essay should be determined by its purpose. Be clear about what you want to say and where, when and why. To communicate this, you need to develop a clear argument for each section:





one topic per section; one issue per subsection; one idea per paragraph; a sentence should say only one thing.

It can be effective to develop a logical sequence of headings and sub-headings to successfully direct the reader through what you have written. Headings for each section can help you to follow a logical structure, ensuring no duplication or omission of material. Effective headings are brief and exact, specific and illuminating, and consistent in style. They are a valuable tool to signpost your argument and to help you in organising your notes.

Tip 6: Don’t start with a bang and end with a whimper
Be sure to grab the attention of your reader from the beginning and to end on a memorable note. The introduction provides ‘a way in and a way through’ for your reader and has 3 key elements, which follow in sequence:
(i)
(ii)

(iii)

Context setting. You should provide the broader context which leads the reader to the subject of your writing.
Scoping. Highlight the important aspects of the subject matter that need to be covered (this may include an interpretation/explanation of a title you have been given, if appropriate).
Mapping. Explain to a reader how you are structuring the work. If the rationale for this is unlikely to be obvious to the reader, you should also explain why you are choosing to structure the work in this way.

Equal consideration should be given to how you are going to conclude a piece of work.
Typically, the conclusion will pull together and restate the main points, and may consider the broader implications of those main points. Remember that the conclusion should not contain any new material.

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Tip 7: Don’t overstate a point
Interpretations of data and consequences of actions often are not straightforward; theories may change as scientific understanding improves. Use constructions that allow you to exercise caution, such as:
These results suggest that …
It is possible that …
… appears to be related to …
… may indicate that …
Tip 8: Remember the 3 golden rules
1. Think and organise before writing
- Consider what you are trying to say, to whom and why
2. Make it easy to read
- ‘Read once for complete understanding’ should be your goal
3. Make it interesting and memorable to read
- Make every point relevant to the purpose and provide relevant, specific examples to meet the reader’s needs

And Finally … Good Luck!

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