Essay
An essay is a piece of structured writing on a subject which often requires references to previous publications in the area. Students are generally asked to produce a written response to a prompt or question which may be written by an academic or self-determined in conversation with an academic. Referencing is used to get a sense of whether a student has engaged appropriately with ‘expert voices’ in their discipline.
Typically used to:
- assess your capacity to select key information and build an argument with reference to relevant literature.
- assess your ability to link and develop lines of argumentation with relevant references to the field.
- assess your ability to be concise and to summarise and organise your thoughts coherently (e.g. via tighter word limits).
- evaluate your engagement with scholars/experts in your discipline.
When writing an essay as part of an assessment, always refer to the guidelines and requirements provided by your lecturer, keeping the following points in mind:
- Is the essay being used for formative or summative assessment purposes (or both!).
- If your essay contributes to your final grade (i.e. is being used for summative assessment), how much is it worth?
- What criteria is being used to assess your essay? Has a rubric been provided?
- Are there any Trinity guides/supports that might be useful to review before starting the essay? For example on essay planning, referencing or critical thinking?
- Dissect the title of the essay. What is it asking you to do? What are the ‘action words’? (For example, compare, examine, explore).
- What readings/resources should you use? Have you been given a reading list? Do you need to find your own extra sources?
- When writing notes make sure to include what source you are citing from, so you don’t have to go searching later on!
- Write an essay plan before starting the essay. Each paragraph should be a new idea.
Trinity-supported tools:
The VLE Assignment Tool and Turnitin are accessible through Blackboard.
Google Docs and MS Word are accessible via myzone
Student Learning Development at Trinity provides a concise overview of the writing process, including phases of writing, essay structure and characteristics of academic writing.
This video from the Disability Service at Trinity outlines a five-part model for academic essay writing which is frequently used in Arts subjects.
A helpful guide to essay writing
This student resource from Anglia Rushkin University provides a comprehensive overview of key considerations when writing an essay, focussing on structure, organisation, style and clarity.