Essay Writing Basics

A few things you need to know…

Text

Zemach, Dorothy & Lisa Rumisek. Academic Writing: From Paragraph to Essay. Oxford: Macmillan, 2005.

ISBN 1-4050-8606-8

The Written Test

The Written Test will take place in the last week of semester.

You may bring an English dictionary. You must also bring paper and pens

An Argumentative Essay. You will be given a text and a topic, and asked to write for or against it. (Everyone)

BA Applied students do not need to take the exam. Journalists do, however (4CP).

Fundamentals

All assignments must be typed and submitted to timothy-robbins@uiowa.edu

Email it as an attachment in Microsoft Word format (*.docx or *.doc).

Before you begin typing, set the language to English.

Make sure that you run a spell-check and proofread your work.

Proofreading

There, they’re, their You’re, your It’s, its Loose, lose; proof, prove Belief, believe Spend, spent (send, sent; extend, extent) Who’s, whose Heroin/Heroine Whether, weather Bear, beer Plaque, Plague

Format (General)

All work should be double- or line-and-a-half spaced (Zeilenabstand).

Each new paragraph should be indented from the left hand margin by one tab stop. Alternately, you may leave a blank line. Don’t do both.

Ensure that your name appears on every page.

Format (Specific)

For this course: All work must be double-spaced.

Leave a margin (5cm) on the left.

State the number of words used.

Punctuation

You must use proper English punctuation. No excuses. Here are a few common pitfalls:

This ´ is not an apostrophe. This ’ is. „These“ are not inverted commas, “these” are. The apostrophe can be located quite simply by

pressing shift+#

Word-processing

You don’t have to be a touch-typist (although you’ll save a lot of time over the course of your academic career if you are), but you will need to become proficient in the use of a word-processor.

This means learning to make it work for you.

Style

Keep the following points in mind when writing a formal essay.

Don’t use contractions! Do not use exclamation marks! Limit the use of the first person. Phrases such

as “I think” or “in my opinion” are redundant. Don’t use “etc.” or “and so on,” as substitutes for

your examples. If you’ve got something to say, say it.

Avoid addressing the reader as “you.”

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