Essay-Writing 101: A Journalist’s Humble Take

Michael Aquilino English Journalist

Writing an essay is often a daunting, much-dreaded task. It is either a student’s strong suit, or the opposite. Essays can appear as frightening monsters, at once terrifying to approach and impossible to slay (that is, to receive a great mark). Every class, and every professor, is different, with essay components, topics, requirements, and complexity, differing from one paper to the next. I myself am torn between a preference for exams or essays. Exams entail a shorter amount of time, no writing aids, and a lot of pressure, while essays require much longer periods of preparation, writing aids, and a level of pressure that varies from person to person. Honestly, I am prone to choosing the latter over the former, as I can take my time to ensure that my semi-perfectionist self is satisfied with the end results. The only issue is, between the two regularly assigned forms of educational evaluation, essays can take up a lot more time, energy, and mental capacity — fully absorbing students into their grasp.

Fear not, as I will attempt a guide that may help students better tackle these harrowing, stress-inducing assignments that plague the to-do lists of many higher education-seeking individuals. This guide applies to the novices, the misfortuned, all of those seasoned essay writers looking to fine-tune or reform their approach, and anyone in between! The following guide is my go-to approach, and has garnered me some modest success, but may not work for everyone. Nonetheless, it is my hope that you are able to pick out a few valuable techniques from the guide!

1. Organization is key

The key to writing successful and effective essays is remaining organized throughout the entire writing process. From the outset, students should know what they are going to be writing about, and how they are going to write it — that is, where they are going to find their information, and how they are going to structure this information into a cohesive text. When assigned an essay, my first task is to read through its description thoroughly, generally about two weeks or more prior to the deadline. This description can usually be found on the course syllabus, or in a separate document posted on the course website. Students need to know exactly what is being asked of them, and how they can see such requests to fruition. Many essays are open-ended, relevant to course themes and concepts, while others involve pre-assigned topics from the course instructor. In either case, I would advise students to pursue a topic they are both interested in, and knowledgable about; something they can easily pose an argument towards, and rigorously explore without an onslaught of boredom or frustration.

Essay-writing is a time-consuming process, one that requires dedication and motivation. Hence, choosing an appropriate topic is of the utmost importance in the essay-writing process. Once a topic has been chosen, a student should now begin to envision the make-up of their essay. At this stage and beyond, I suggest that any brainstorming and note-taking be done by hand on paper, as opposed to digitally. I am a strong believer in “old school” learning strategies; transferring your thoughts through graphite, I find, is a lot more fruitful than through plastic.

2. Research, research, and more research.

After organising your thoughts, you can move on to the process of finding the resources you will use to construct your essay. In order to do this, you must know what you are looking for, and where to find it. During this step, I like to identify any keywords, phrases, questions, or ideas associated with my topic of interest, and jot them down on a piece of paper. For example, an essay that I am currently writing pertains to the historical evolution of treatment and perception of mental health, particularly concerning lobotomy/shock treatment and psychopharmaceutical drugs, during a specific period of time (1890-1990). To write this essay, I will need useful information upon my topic of interest, helping me to argue my perspective. Ideas might include who was involved in performing lobotomies and administering shock treatment, what kinds of psychopharmaceutical drugs were available, when these drugs were available, what kinds of illnesses, or perceived illnesses, were being treated, and any external driving forces that precipitated change in this sector. These topics could be included in my search, stemming from my own interests or topics provided by a course instructor. The length of your essay will be a determinant of how many questions you may need to find answers to. Remember: the more relevant ideas you can concisely touch upon, the better your essay may turn out.

A critical concept is that of the thesis, which will come after you have gath- ered all of your information. While some believe crafting a thesis for their essay is their first main task, and a well-constructed thesis can certainly be supported through research found after-the-fact, I do not believe that the best argument can be made without first consulting all the available sources. When searching for sources of academic value, I frequently use the York University online library database. This database, accessible to all York students, provides an effective means by which to sift through thousands of useful sources, and also includes an advanced search option, allowing students to refine their search parameters. Students can choose the type of resource that they may be looking for (books, articles, theses, etc.), and narrow down their results through keywords and phrases. Many of the database’s resources are peer-reviewed, and available digitally

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Essay-Writing 101: A Journalist’s Humble Take (cont.)

for easy perusal. It is important to be thorough, and partially-exhaustive in pursuit of sources, diversifying the content to consult — the best essays and theses argue a topic of interest from a variety of perspectives. While rare, if the library does not have what you are looking for, other beneficial places to look include Google Scholar, specific academic journals (collections of which can be found through databases like JSTOR), and simple internet searches. Be careful to identify sources of scholarly relevance, including those written by an academic or sponsored by an accredited institution. Once you have traversed the web, located quality sources, and read through them while taking note of any important information, you can now move on to the next step.

3. Tying everything together

While some students may see the actual writing of the essay as the most crucial step in the process of essay-writing, I argue that it is actually the establishment of an essay’s foundation, that really take the cake — after all, a house can look great, but without a structurally-sound foundation, everything will come crumbling down. There is no doubt that the writing is significant, but much of essay-writing, aside from its foundations, is stylistic in nature — making things sound and look appealing. The fruit of the essay comes from its intrinsic character: in other words, what the essay is, not what it looks like. Hence, steps one and two, being organized, and finding appropriate information, are of utmost importance. Nevertheless, after a student has compiled an adequate amount of notes, they can begin to turn their brainstorming into a more refined piece of writing: the essay itself.

While a structural approach to an essay can differ from one person to the next, and is in no way rigid by definition, I like to follow a four or five paragraph framework — the introduction, two or three body paragraphs, and the conclusion. I find that this method has successfully met the desires of my professors, and has allowed me to attain favourable results. First, the introduction. A student’s introduction should have the following components: an opening sentence that informally, without direct quotations, introduces the topic of interest that will follow; a brief summary, with a couple of sentences for each idea, of the essay’s body paragrams; and, the thesis.

The thesis, the most important part of the introduction paragraph, and arguably, the entire essay itself, must be constructed from the student’s research. The thesis statement is determined by the number of body paragraphs the student wishes to include; to determine this number, students should consult their notes, and try to find areas of similarity and difference within their research. They should try to be as specific and clear as possible when outlining their ideas, and aim for three topics, which correspond to the overarching thesis. Keep in mind that there may be some instances where three topics cannot be found, and two topics are more suitable. Once the subtopics have been decided upon, student should incorporate them into their thesis in a way that points to a certain claim. For example, the argument that topics A, B, and C serve as evidence that a claim, D, is true or false. Having decided upon your thesis, you can move onto the body paragraph portions of your essay. Each body paragraph will follow a similar layout, with the introduction of the topic, textual evidence conveying the student’s intentions, and a concluding sentence that wraps everything up.

In undergraduate studies, students will seldom be experts upon any given topic, and will not have the credentials to make scholarly assertions. Thus, it is critical that students reinforce their claims with the direct findings of scholars, making sure to properly cite, with an associated “works cited” page at the end of the essay, where they have found such information. The last part of the essay, the conclusion, entails a sort of inverse introduction. Students should try to restate their thesis differently than they did in their introduction, and also repeat their subtopics differently. To end off the conclusion paragraph, students should write closing remarks, a few sentences discussing any possible implications or further contemplations on what had been presented in the essay.

4. Tidying up

When students have completed steps one through three in their entirety, they can now begin to polish their work. This means giving their essay a thorough review by checking for any spelling or grammar mistakes, and ensuring that all style requirements have been met. This might include deciding between MLA or APA style, choosing to double-space your essay, or adding page numbers. Once the student is satisfied with their work, they can submit it to their professors. Essay-writing can be a stressful experience, but, given the right preparation, dedication, and application, students can be sure to achieve success. Good luck, and happy writing, Glendon!

L’ours et le bûcheron

Alexis Skopelitis Contributor

Patatras ! L’ours fut réveillé par le son des arbres qui s’abattaient. Surpris et confus, il regarda autour de lui, dans la forêt. Du coin de son œil, il vit un bûcheron avec une hache lourde qui abattait les arbres un par un, rangée par rangée. L’ours dit : « Bonjour, Monsieur le bûcheron. Cette forêt que vous êtes en train de détruire est ma maison. Pourriez-vous arrêter, s’il vous plaît ? »

Le bûcheron répondit : « Eh bien, je n’en avais aucune idée. Bien entendu, je vais arrêter. Je peux même planter des graines pour remplacer les arbres que j’ai abattus. » Pourtant, le lendemain matin, un patatra réveilla l’ours pour une deuxième fois ! Il retourna là où il avait rencontré le bûcheron la veille et dit : « Vous m’aviez dit que vous n’endommageriez plus ma maison… » Et le bûcheron lui répondit : « Je suis désolé. J’ai manqué de bois pour terminer mon projet. Je ne reviendrai pas, pas demain, plus jamais. »

Le lendemain matin, un patatra réveille l’ours de nouveau. Il retourna voir le bûcheron et dit : « Est-ce que vos paroles ne valent rien ? » Le bûcheron répondit : « Pardonnez-moi, j’avais mal calculé les arbres dont j’ai besoin hier. Je ne reviendrai pas, pas demain, plus jamais. » La nuit suivante, l’ours fut réveillé par la pluie qui tombait. Le bûcheron avait déjà abattu plus de la moitié de la forêt, sa maison. Il ne pouvait plus s’abriter contre la pluie. Le bûcheron avait endommagé la forêt de façon irréparable. Il ne replanta jamais de graines non plus. C’est alors que l’ours comprit que « les actes valent plus que les mots. »