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Starting An Essay and Choosing A Question PDF

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
19 views2 pages

Starting An Essay and Choosing A Question PDF

Uploaded by

diannp
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Starting

 an  Essay  and  Choosing  a  Question  


 

The   best   thing   to   try   and   remember   when   starting   any   essay   is   not   to   panic.   Essay   writing   is   a  
process   and   has   a   beginning,   middle   and   an   end.   Using   a   systematic   approach   to   every   essay   you  
undertake   will   help   you   feel   more   in   control   of   your   work   and   make   the   experience   a   less  
overwhelming   one.   Essay   writing   is   also   a   skill   and   it   can   be   acquired   and   improved   on   with   time.    
Feedback  on  past  essays  is  one  of  the  most  useful  tools  you  can  use  to  improve  your  writing.  Look  at  
where   you’ve   fallen   down,   speak   to   your   tutor/   lecturer   if   possible,   and   seek   to   improve   on   a  
weakness  for  future  work.  

Choosing  an  essay  question:  

• Take  your  time.  You’re  committing  yourself  to  an  essay  title  for  a  few  weeks.  This  is  not  a  
decision  you  should  rush.  
• Choose  a  title  that  interests  you  (not  the  one  you  think  your  lecturer/  tutor  wants  to  
correct!).  Students  always  do  better  when  they  pick  a  subject/  topic  they  enjoy  as  they  
engage  better  with  it.  
• Make  sure  you  fully  understand  the  question  asked.  What  is  it  asking  you  to  do  e.g.  
evaluate,  discuss,  contrast,  critique,  examine.  Use  a  dictionary  to  double  check  definitions.    
• Write  it  down!  Writing  the  essay  question  down  makes  you  fully  engage  with  it  and  you  are  
less  likely  to  misinterpret  what  is  being  asked  of  you.    

N.B.  Remember,  you  can  only  be  marked  based  on  the  question  asked!  

Things  to  consider:  

• Is  it  a  closed  or  open  ended  question?    


A  closed  essay  question  is  asking  you  to  engage  with  a  specific  task,  its  criteria  and  edges  are  
defined  for  you.  An  example  of  a  closed  question  would  be:  ‘Compare  and  contrast  the  
differences  in  burial  practices  between  the  early  and  late  Bronze  Age  in  Ireland’.  This  
question  is  asking  you  to  look  at  a  specific  thing  (burial  practice),  during  a  specific  time  frame  
(the  early  and  late  Bronze  Age)  and  to  evaluate  the  similarities  and  differences  that  occur  
between  them.    
 
An  open  ended  question  gives  you  scope  to  choose  the  direction,  stance  or  even  the  topic  
you  want  to  engage  with.  An  example  of  an  open  ended  question  would  be:  ‘What  are  the  
most  defining  political  moments  in  the  history  of  the  Irish  State  from  its  foundation  to  2010?  
Discuss.’  This  question  is  broad  in  scope  and  open  ended.  It  gives  wide  parameters  and  it  is  
down  to  the  student  to  define  the  focus  of  the  essay  and  decide  what  is  important.    
 
• Try  and  break  the  question  into  sub  questions.  What  are  you  being  asked  to  do?  Why  is  this  
important?  Or  if  this  is  an  open  ended  question:  What  am  I  going  to  focus  on?    What  
approach/  stance  should  I  take?    
• Think  about  how  it  fits  in  with  your  course’s  main  themes,  objectives,  debates  etc.  Your  
essay  question  has  been  set  with  your  overall  course  in  mind.  Take  some  time  to  consider  
this  and  what  implications  it  may  have  on  the  set  question.  
• What  can  you  do  in  the  word  count?  Writing  an  essay  which  conveys  your  knowledge  and  
understanding  while  effectively  addressing  the  question  is  a  skill.  Many  of  the  topics  which  
you  will  be  asked  to  write  about  are  extensive;  be  aware  of  the  word  count  you  have  been  
set  and  consider  what  you  can  realistically  achieve  in  that  number.  

What  do  you  already  know?  

Establishing   what   you   already   know   about   a   topic/   subject   is   a   good   starting   point   for   any  
essay.   It   also   helps   you   figure   out   what   you   don’t   know   and   where   you   need   to   start  
researching.  An  effective  way  of  doing  this  is  using  a  word  dump.  A  word  dump  is  taking  a  
blank  piece  of  paper  and  writing  down  key  words,  phrases,  themes,  ideas  and  questions.  You  
can  then  organise  this  information  into  groups,  linking  complementary  ideas  together.  This  
will   help   you   find   areas   to   focus   on,   and   help   you   identify   gaps   in   your   understanding   or  
knowledge.   It   also   starts   the   process   of   writing   which   for   many   students   is   the   most  
daunting  part  of  tackling  an  essay.  

Target  Reading:  

The  next  step  in  this  process  is  to  start  reading.  Begin  with  the  key  texts  given  to  you  by  your  
lecturer.   These   are   there   to   get   you   started,   and   have   been   recommended   because   they   are  
of   good   quality.   However,   they   are   usually   not   an   exhaustive   list   of   writings   available   on   a  
subject.  Look  beyond  these  books  for  further  reading;  a  useful  way  of  finding  supplementary  
reading  is  to  look  at  what  works  are  cited  by  your  key  texts.  N.B.  Be  careful  of  information  
provided  by  non-­‐peer  reviewed  journals  or  books  and  of  information  available  on  websites.  
If  in  doubt  check  the  quality  of  your  source  with  a  lecturer  or  tutor.    

Be  sure  you  read  your  texts  critically  with  your  essay  question  in  mind  and  take  notes  as  you  
go.   There   are   many   different   methods   of   note   taking   using   a   range   of   materials   such   as  
notebooks,  records  cards  or  digital  documents.  Find  a  method  that  you  are  comfortable  with  
and  that  works  for  you.  Taking  notes  while  you  do  your  reading  will  make  the  planning  and  
writing   stages   of   your   essay   much   more   straightforward   and   will   help   you   to   better   retain  
information.    

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