ESSAY

WRITING
Lecturer dr. Eliana Ionoaia

FOCUS, COHERENCE AND
ORGANIZATION

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OVERVIEW
 Getting started – 3 phases
 The facts of the assignment
 The task
 Marking criteria
 Prewriting
 Brainstorming
 Research
 What’s the plan? – Narrowing the focus
 Writing – DOs and DONTs
 Post-writing
 Plagiarism
 Help!
 Good luck!
 Bibliography 3

GETTING STARTED: THREE PHASES  Phase one: Resistance / Procrastination  Phase two: Crisis  Phase three: Smugness 4 .

youtube. sometimes because you are unsure where to start  Resistance turns to procrastination – thinking that you work better under pressure.com/watch?v=hCRDskZrUMU  What happens next is… 5 . anyway…  https:// www.RESISTANCE / PROCRASTINATION  The first phase is always resistance – sometimes because you think you still have time.

CRISIS 6 .

youtube. 7 .com/watch?v=EpHbwGRhf4A  You will either be given a specific assignment or you will have to choose your own topic. either way. you can ask for clarifications from your seminar tutor.CHASING YOUR TAIL  Not knowing where to start can be daunting  https:// www.

you might feel smug.SMUGNESS Once you have figured out your assignment / topic and you are ready to write. but you still have to write the essay! 8 .

9 . let the seminar tutor know BEFORE THE DEADLINE! Late submissions will be penalized unless you have evidence of extenuating circumstances or an extension has been agreed in advance of the deadline. FACTS OF THE ASSIGNMENT  Length: 5 pages (around 1500 words ±10%) Every essay will be put through plagiarism detection software on submission! Tempus fugit! LATE SUBMISSION Leave plenty of time to write and to submit your essay by email / in person In case of technical issues.

THE TASK Theory Psychoanalysis Your Feminism text …………… 10 .

text. 11 . • Your knowledge and understanding of a. your chosen theory AND • Your ability to effectively apply your chosen theory to your chosen primary b. THE TASK • Your essay MUST demonstrate: 1.

Daniela. • identity who • Why that identity (character/ narrator) ? • theme what • Why that event / matter / issue ? • Time When • Why that time / period ? • Space where • Why that place / setting ? • Manner how • Why that genre / relationship / attitude / tone ? • Intensity how much • Why that voice / atmosphere? Brown. Unpublished taught seminar – Essay writing 12 .

• The most important question why • Shows relationship of causality (cause and effect) • Connected to any of the other questions why • Revealing significance / relevance • Central question to interpretation Brown. Daniela. Unpublished taught seminar – Essay writing 13 .

MARKING CRITERIA Understanding the task at hand Knowledge and critical understanding of your chosen theory and its key concepts Analytical skills and ability to apply theory to text Ability to construct a persuasive. understand. coherent and critical argument Ability to identify. discuss and use appropriate scholarly sources Academic writing skills Presentation and referencing (in-text quotation and properly formatted bibliography) 14 .

an argument that might change. but that will help with the direction of your essay Gather ideas – what will you write about the topic – 3 brainstorm. 15 . proofread and make final corrections. 5 which of them you want to use Write a draft – the next steps will involve reviewing. mind-map or free-write 4 Do your research Organise – decide which of your ideas should go first.PREWRITING Come up with a topic / question – what do you want to 1 answer with your essay? Develop a thesis / outline – come up with a working 2 thesis. correcting (structure and content). 6 revising.

Moral Political. BRAINSTORMING DISCUSSION CLOCK Psychological Historical Religious. Scientific Economic Social Artistic It allows you to examine a topic from various viewpoints and decide on ideas/points to include in your essay A topic may not relate to all these aspects AND not all these aspects need not be included in the essay 16 .

RESEARCH  Books  Theory  Criticism  Literary Theory 17 .

RESEARCH  Going to the library  The library at the Faculty  BCU  National Library  Romanian Academy Library  British Council Library  … 18 .

com  Academia.com  Ebsco.com  Proquest.ro – website – ANELIS access to data bases 19 .com …  Bcub.com  Jstor.edu  Sage.com  Muse. RESEARCH  Electronic resources  Questia.

WHAT’S THE PLAN? – NARROWING THE FOCUS  Research – can give you too many ideas  An essay needs to be focused and coherent  You need to narrow the focus  Essays that try to do too much:  https:// www. 20 .com/ watch?v=5iTTNRE.youtube.

WRITING  Grammar and spelling  Paragraphing and structure  Clarity  Coherence and unity  Formatting  Referencing 21 .

youtube. biography) and conclusion (e. generalizations)  Title that tells the reader nothing about the content [even worse.WRITING DONTs  Long.. the title of the primary text becomes the title of the essay OR there is no title!] 22 .g.com/watch?v=iix5J8w4XOQ  Improper introduction (e. awkward. unclear sentences  Description without analysis  Summary  Quotes without interpretation  Introducing quotes using semi-colons  Generalization and lack of research  Improper research (using Wikipedia…)  Paragraphs without a clear point  No logical flow of idea  No cohesion: https://www.g..

schmoop. sparknotes. enotes. to which you offer an answer in the body of the essay 23 . cliffnotes.WRITING DOs  Clear. so on and so forth] which is properly referenced (MLA STYLE check the OWL Purdue website for indications on how to quote and what information to include in the bibliography!!!)  Structure and focus  Proper introduction and conclusion  Original title that is an implied question. concise sentences  Analytical sentences  Introducing quotations with commas or colons  Formatting long quotes (exceeding three lines) as indented paragraphs  Evidence from primary text  Evidence from secondary sources  Proper research [not wikipedia.

24 . INTRODUCTION Start by explaining WHY your title! HOW WHA T Meant to catch the reader’s attention Present your general statement / thesis for the essay. the methodology (theory) you plan on applying to it and a briefly introduce the main ideas of the essay.

HOW TO MAKE A POINT  1 point = 1 paragraph  Introduce the theme of your new paragraph  Explain the theoretical concept you are about to use by quoting and / or paraphrasing a relevant theoretical source [always give the source]  Analyze a quotation from your primary text by using the theoretical concept you have introduced  Finish your paragraph by telling your reader what the application of this particular theoretical concept can tell us about your primary text  You may want to use a quotation from a secondary source on the text (criticism) to reinforce your point or to argue against what another critic has said  Your paragraphs needn’t obey this particular structure. but they should contain these elements. in whatever order you feel makes sense. 25 .

where applicable 26 .KEY COMPONENTS OF A POINT  Theoretical concept + theory quotations  Analysis of textual evidence from primary text  Explanation of what this concept can tell us about the text  Secondary sources on text / genre / period.

CONCLUSION Make sure that your conclusion is the logical next step resulting from the main points you have WHY chosen for the body of your essay! HOW WHA T Your conclusion should flow naturally from the main points – it should be the jewel in the crown… Don’t introduce new ideas in the conclusion! 27 .

…] 28 . furthermore. however. nevertheless. since. specifically. on the other hand. therefore.UNITY AND COHERENCE  All ideas in an essay should be connected to a single topic – the thesis statement from the introduction  UNITY  When you are editing for unity. secondly. to conclude. to sum up. thus. in particular. you should eliminate ideas that are not relevant for the thesis statement  Arranging ideas in a clear and logical way so that the flow of argumentation can be easily understood by the reader  COHERENCE  Use cohesive devices: words that connect sentences and paragraphs together [firstly.

POST-WRITING  Correcting spelling and grammar  Editing  Formatting  Checking your references  Deciding what to keep and what to cut  Deciding final order of paragraphs  Ask a colleague to proofread for you and to provide suggestions (is it easy to read and understand?) – peer-editing 29 .

PLAGIARISM 30 .

youtube.  https:// www.com/w atch?v=irSC4-j_Nj Y&t=8s 31 . You know you did it. PLAGIARISM  We know you did it.

5 spacing  Font size 12  Serif font  Standard margins  Page numbers – 1 of 5. 2 of 5… 5 of 5  Student name. year.PRESENTATION  Complete. group and languages  Name of subject and of seminar tutor 32 . properly formatted bibliography  References for all quoted and paraphrased material  1.

do not hesitate to contact the seminar tutor. as indicated by the seminar tutor! 33 .  Don’t forget to send the essay on time – use the preferred method.HELP! and SEND!  If you need clarifications.

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And… You’re done! 35 .

nadinemuller. Academic Writing: From Paragraph to Essay. Newbury: Express Publishing. 2005. Kate. Unpublished Taught Seminar on Essay Writing. Phillis and Mary R. Sam. 1988. Writing from Start to Finish: A Six-Step Guide. 2003. Muller.J. Successful Writing: Proficiency. Marggraf Turley. Writing English: A Working Guide to the Skills of Written English. Editura Didactica si Pedagogica. Writing at University: A Guide for Students. Tricia. Limba engleza: Exercitii oentru admiterea in invatamantul superior. Woolf. 2002. Dorothy E. Rumisek. Maidenhead and Philadephia: Open University Press. McCarter. BIBLIOGRAPHY Brown. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Thomas S. 2001.uk/teaching/essay-preparation/ Wilson. London and New York: Routledge. 1998. Oxford: Macmillan. The Oxford Essential Guide to Writing. Writing about Literature. Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin. Virginia. Collinson. Prezi on Essay Skills.org. Judith. UniBuc. London: Pan Books. Writing Essays: A Guide for Students in English and the Humanities. 36 . Evans. London: IntelliGene. Nadine. Zemach. Hedge. http://www. Page and Theresa Ferster Glazier. 1988. Richard. 2003. London and New York: Routledge. 1978. Bucuresti. Crème. A Book on Writing. Lea. Wadsworth: Cengage Learning. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Colectivul catedrei de limba si literatura engleza FLLS. D. and Lisa A. 2014. Grenville. Kane. Writing. Daniela. 2006. 2000. The Least You Should Know about English: Writing Skills. 1982.

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