How to improve youracademic writing

In a recent survey, academic staff

at the University identified the

interrelated skills of writingand reasoning as the two most

important skills for successin higher education; when asked

which skills students most often

lacked, writing was again at the

top of their list.

What is thepurpose of thisbooklet?

Although the nature of university-level study has changed in recentyears, not least because oftechnology, one element hasremained constant, guaranteeingsuccess to students with amastery of it: writing.

In a recent survey, academic staff at theUniversity identified the interrelated skills ofessay-writing and reasoning as the two mostimportant skills for success in highereducation; when asked which skills studentsmost often lacked, essay-writing was again atthe top of their list. Needless to say, writingability is also highly prized by employers.

The purpose of this booklet is to provide areference guide to some of the most commonmistakes in academic writing and to heightenyour appreciation of the logic and beauty oflanguage, a good command of which will helpyou to think more clearly and deeply, and havea positive impact on every aspect of youracademic work, not just assignments.

The examples that feature in this booklet areadapted from an analysis of first-yearacademic work, covering all faculties. Theanalysis found that most students are makingthe same mistakes. The good news is thatthese mistakes can be easily corrected bylearning some simple rules, and it is never toolate to learn.

This booklet has been structured into two mainsections: (i) Punctuation and Grammar, and (ii)Reasoning. These are preceded by sections onStructuring an Essay and Parts of Speech(essential reading if you have forgotten how totell your noun from your verb). In addition thereare also sections on Useful Tips, CommonlyConfused Words, Writing Support at Essex,and Further Reading. It can be read from coverto cover, or can be dipped into with a specificproblem in mind.

If you want to be true to yourself – to befaithful to what you really think by expressingyourself clearly and precisely – then youshould care about language… irrespective ofthe fact that it will improve your grades.

Writing is at the very heart ofacademic life. Good writing makesa good student. This bookletprovides useful guidance andhelpful tips certain to set you oncourse to a clear expression of theplain sense of things, not only atuniversity but in the outside worldas well. An assimilation of itscontent will bring immediatebenefits. I recommend that youread it carefully before you writeyour next essay!

Dr Leon Burnett, Dean of Faculty ofHumanities and Comparative Studies

1. Structuring an Essay 2

2. Parts of Speech 4

3. Punctuation and Grammar (the most common mistakes) 6

3.1 Bad syntax 73.2 Inappropriate use of tense 73.3 Incorrect use of prepositions 83.4 Incorrect use of colons and semi-colons 83.5 Incorrect use of apostrophes 93.6 Incorrect use of speech marks 93.7 Confusing singular and plural 103.8 Using unnecessary words 103.9 Using inappropriate or informal phrases 103.10 Not starting new sentences when appropriate 113.11 Incorrect use of commas 113.12 Mixing pronouns 123.13 Inappropriate use of definite article 123.14 Inappropriate or incorrect use of capital letters 123.15 Using ‘and’ instead of ‘to’ 133.16 Insufficient proof-reading 13

4. Reasoning (the most common mistakes) 14

4.1 Poor structure 144.2 Poor referencing techniques 144.3 Poor or unclear reasoning 154.4 Generalisations 154.5 Speculations and assertions 154.6 Poor choice of vocabulary 164.7 Misusing or misquoting a well-known phrase 164.8 Making indirect assumptions 164.9 Inappropriate or inadvertent use of metaphor 16

5. Useful Tips 17

6. Commonly Confused Words 18

7. Writing Support at Essex 19

8. Further Reading 20

1. Structuringan Essay

Before we explore the micro issues of writing(grammar and punctuation), it may help tothink about the macro issues, especially essaystructure. While your grammar andpunctuation may improve gradually over time,you can take immediate and easy steps toimprove the way you structure your essays, forwhich the following may be useful.

IntroductionThe introduction is where you provide a route-map for the reader and make clear how yourargument will develop (see opposite). Oneeffective approach is to outline the main issuesthat you seek to address in your essay. It mayalso be appropriate to explain how you interpretthe question. In size, the introduction shouldgenerally be no more than 10% of the essay.

Main bodyIt is up to you to decide on the best way toorganise your essay. Whatever you decide,make sure you adopt a systematic or logicalapproach that is transparent to your readers.Keep them informed about the steps in yourexposition (the presentation of your viewpoint).You are not writing a mystery or thriller, so donot leave the reader in suspense until the end;make your argument explicit and make sureevery paragraph in the main body of youressay links to the ones before and after it. If ithelps – and if it is appropriate – you coulddivide your essay into sections andsubsections, giving each section asubheading or summary in a few words; youcan always remove subheadings afterwards.

ConclusionThe conclusion is where you remind the readerof what you have done – the main issues youhave addressed and what you have argued.The conclusion should contain no new material.Your conclusions should be clear, leaving thereader in no doubt as to what you think; youshould also explain why your conclusions areimportant and significant. As Stella Cottrell(2003: 154) suggests, it may also be a goodidea to link your final sentence to the questioncontained in the title. In size, the conclusionshould be no more than 10% of the essay.

Reference list and/orbibliographyAppended to your essay should be a list of allthe sources you have referred to (a referencelist) and/or a list of all of the sources you haveconsulted but not referred to within the essay(a bibliography). Find out which is required byyour department and which referencingsystem is preferred; it may be that they requireboth, either separately or combined.

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TipYou should be able to sum up thebasic opinion or argument of youressay in a couple of lines. It mayhelp to do this before you startwriting.

Tip‘However they are worded, allassignment titles contain a centralquestion which has to be answered.Your main task is to apply what youknow – however brilliant your pieceof writing, if it does not ‘answer thequestion’ you may get no marks atall.’ (Cottrell 2003: 154)

Essay Checklist

1. Essay Title

� Does the essay have the full and correctessay title?

2. Introduction

� Is there a significant introduction thatidentifies the topic, purpose and structureof the essay?

� Are key words or concepts identified inthe introduction?

3. Main Body

� Is there plenty of evidence that you havedone the required reading?

� Have you put each main point in aseparate paragraph?

� Are the paragraphs logically linked?

� Is each main point/argument supported byevidence, argument or examples?

� Are the ideas of others clearly referenced?

4. Conclusion

� Is the conclusion directly related to thequestion?

� Is it based on evidence and facts?

� Does it summarise the main points?

� Is it substantial (a paragraph or more)?

5. References

� Have you referenced all of your sources?

� Are all of the references accurate?

� Are all of the references in the essayshown in the bibliography and vice versa?

6. Layout

� Is it neat and legibly presented?

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What is an argument?You may have come across the term‘argument’ in an academic context and feltconfused, not fully understanding itsmeaning. Outside of academia, ‘argument’usually refers to a disagreement. It tends tobe an event; a physical occurrence. This maybe the sense of the word that is most familiarto you, but an ‘academic argument’describes something quite different: it isessentially a point of view.

A good argument (a ‘sound’ argument) is apoint of view that is presented in a clear andlogical way, so that each stage of reasoningis transparent and convincing; it will includeevidence and possible counter-arguments. Itmay even help to make the assumption thatthe reader is in disagreement with you.

You will not only find arguments of this kind inacademic contexts. Whenever you read apaper, or watch TV, or listen to a friend, youare presented with an argument – a point ofview that has been articulated with theexpress purpose of convincing you of itsvalidity or truth. Almost anywhere wherethere is thought and communication, there isargument; although the same intellectualstandards and formal structure that areimposed in an academic context may beabsent. The editorial sections of qualitynewspapers are a particularly good place tolook for arguments.

When constructing your argument, the firstthing to do is to read the essay question,then read it again. What does it ask you todo? Assess? Evaluate? Discuss? Compare?Each of these ‘question-words’ is different.Make sure that your argument matches thequestion-word. Once you are certain of yourpoint of view, start thinking about the kind ofevidence that would stand up in court.

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2. Parts of Speech

Each word in a sentence can be

defined by the role it plays.The different roles are known as

‘parts of speech’. In order to fully

understand the examples in this

booklet, it may help to

re-familiarise yourself withthe basic parts of speech.

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VerbA verb is the part of speech that people tendto identify most easily. In schools it is knownas a ‘doing word’ – an action word – whichdescribes what the nouns in the sentence aredoing, i.e. swimming, walking, eating, thinking,growing, learning, drinking, misbehaving. In thesentence, ‘Sam studies in the library’, ‘studies’is the verb.

NounA noun is an object – a thing – such as ‘team’,‘girl’ or ‘car’. A ‘proper noun’ is the propername of the thing (if it has its own name) suchas ‘Colchester United’, ‘Nicole’, or ‘Porsche’.Proper nouns have a capital letter. This showsthat what is being referred to is the propername (‘Porsche’) rather than the common orcollective name (‘car’).

PronounA pronoun is a word that is used in place of anoun, such as ‘he’, ‘she’, ‘it’, ‘him’, ‘her’, etc. Itspurpose is to avoid endless repetition of thenoun while ensuring that none of the meaningof the sentence is lost. For example, thesentence, ‘Abdul is punctual: he is always ontime for his tutorials’ is much better than‘Abdul is punctual: Abdul is always on time forAbdul’s tutorials.’

AdjectiveAn adjective is a describing word that givesthe noun a quality that makes it more specific.For example, any number of adjectives couldbe used to ‘qualify’ the noun ‘lecture’. It couldbe an ‘excellent lecture’, a ‘long lecture’, or a‘boring lecture’ – ‘excellent’, ‘long’ and ‘boring’are all adjectives.

AdverbAn adverb is a describing word, but for verbs,not nouns. For example, ‘quickly’, ‘stupidly’ and‘hurriedly’ are all adverbs (they often endin ‘–ly’). They are used with verbs to make theaction more specific, e.g. ‘drink quickly’,‘behave stupidly’, ‘work hurriedly’. In thesentence, ‘the lecturer shouted loudly’, ‘loudly’is the adverb.

PrepositionPrepositions are words that describe theposition and movement of the nouns in asentence, such as ‘to’, ‘from’, ‘into’, ‘out’, ‘of’,‘in’. They precede the noun, e.g. ‘to theclassroom’, ‘in the lecture’. For example, in thesentence, ‘After being pushed into the lake, Iwas stuck in the water’, ‘in’ and ‘into’ are bothprepositions; ‘in’ describes a position,whereas ‘into’ describes movement.

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3. Punctuation andGrammar

‘Punctuation shouldn’t cause as

much fear as it does. Only about a

dozen marks need to bemastered and the guidelines are

fairly simple. What’s more, youcan see the marks being well

applied every day in the serious

newspapers.’ Martin Cutts, The Plain English Guide, OUP, 1995, p.80

Although this section also coversgrammar, misuse of punctuationis at the heart of many of themost common mistakes inwriting. Good punctuation makesthe relationship between wordsin a sentence clear, while alsoacting as a substitute for featuresof speech such as pausing andaltering pitch and tone. Misusingpunctuation can be like talkingwith a mouthful of food,obscuring and obstructing theintended meaning.

3.1. Bad syntax‘Syntax’ is the technical word that is used todescribe sentence structure. It is extremelyimportant, as a well-ordered sentence makesmeaning clear and concise, whereas a badly-ordered sentence makes the reader (andmarker) work very hard to understand themeaning.

Student example: ‘Although the current law forestablishing whether something is a fixture orfitting can be argued to be rather messy andincoherent…’

In this sentence, the word order is, to use theauthor’s own phrase, ‘rather messy andincoherent’. A slight reordering, using thesame vocabulary, makes the sentence muchclearer and more logical: ‘Although it could beargued that the current law for establishingwhether something is a fixture or fitting israther messy and incoherent…’

Playing around with syntax can transformyour sentence. Think about the best way to

order the key words and phrases. If you arestruggling to make your meaning clear in asentence, try changing the word order.

3.2. Inappropriate use of tenseMake sure you use the correct tense – and beconsistent with it. When you are introducingand discussing other people’s opinions, usethe present tense, e.g. ‘Mills believes’ or ‘Millsclaims’ rather than ‘Mills believed’ or ‘Millsclaimed’. By putting them in the past tense,their opinions seem dated; it also suggeststhat their views may have since changed.It may, however, be appropriate to use the pasttense if the person in question has been deada long time, or was writing in a different era.

Student example: ‘A few years ago, Robert P.Crease asked physicians what they think is themost beautiful experiment of all time.’

In this sentence, the author shifts tense. Itstarts in the past tense (‘A few years ago,Robert P. Crease asked physicians…’) thenmoves into the present tense (‘… what theythink is the most beautiful experiment of alltime). As well as being confusing, thestatement could also be inaccurate, as thephysicians may have changed their mindssince they were asked. All that can be saidfor certain is that the experiment theyidentified was what they thought was themost beautiful at the time.

It is a common practice to use the futuretense in introductory sections of essays, forexample ‘The purpose of this essay will beto explore….’ or ‘This essay will explore…’.The future tense can sound uncertain andunconfident, however: you can be moreassertive by writing in the present tense,e.g. ‘The purpose of this essay is toexplore…’ or ‘This essay explores…’.

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3.3. Incorrect use ofprepositionsWhat are prepositions? Prepositions arewords that describe the position andmovement of the nouns in a sentence (seeParts of Speech to clarify your understanding).They are very easy to use incorrectly, becausethey often seem to sound right in a sentence.The secret is to step back and think abouteach one and whether it is describing the rightposition or movement.

Student example: ‘We have disconnectedourselves with our fellow members of societyand no longer know the neighbours around us.There are so many of us now that we seem toof lost a sense of community and becomestrangers on our society.’

In this example, the author has used thewrong preposition in a number of places. Inthe first part of the sentence, he or she hasmisunderstood the relationship between thesubject (‘ourselves’) and the object (‘fellowmembers of society’) of the sentence: youcannot ‘disconnect with’, as ‘with’ means‘together’, you can only disconnect ‘from’.

In the second part of the sentence, the authorhas made a mistake that is common inconversation: using ‘of’ instead of ‘have’ (i.e.‘we seem to of lost’ – of sounds a bit like‘ave). If the author stripped the sentence downand took out the clause (‘seem to’) which hasprobably caused the confusion, the sentencewould read ‘There are so many of us now thatwe of lost a sense of community’, which ismore obviously incorrect. In the final part ofthe sentence, ‘on’ is used instead of ‘in’.

Correct use of prepositions shows clarity ofthought and a good understanding of therelationships between everything that is

described in the sentence. Think carefullyabout the position and movement of nounsin your sentences. Is so-and-so in or onthis-or-that? Is this-or-that being taken toor from so-and-so?

3.4. Incorrect use of colons andsemi-colons.Colons and semi-colons may look and soundalike, but are actually very different. They cangenerally be avoided, so only use them if youare confident in your understanding.

Student example: ‘This problem can also beseen in the following example; in a marriageboth the man and the woman…’

In this sentence, the author has used a semi-colon where a colon should have been used.The aim of the punctuation mark is to join thetwo halves of the sentence together, whichare: (i) a claim or statement (‘This problem canalso be seen in the following example’) and (ii)the explanation, example or proof (‘in amarriage both the man and the woman…’).Sometimes this use of a colon is referred to asa ‘why-because’ marker (Cutts, 1995: 83).

Semi-colons, on the other hand, are verydifferent from colons. Any two statements(or clauses) that are separated by asemi-colon should (i) be able to stand aloneas separate sentences, and (ii) be closelyconnected in terms of their subject matter. Forexample, ‘There are a number of different usesfor semi-colons; used in the right way, theycan be extremely versatile’.

Crude as it may seem, the colon in thehuman body provides a very helpful analogywith the punctuation colon, particularly inthe way it functions as a ‘why-becausemarker’ (note that colons can also be used

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to introduce the following: a list of items; acontrast; and direct speech). Physiologically,the colon is the point at which one thing(here, food) becomes another (in this casewaste). In the same way, a grammaticalcolon separates (A) the introduction ofsomething, e.g. an idea or a claim, from (B)the explanation for that idea or claim.

3.5. Incorrect use ofapostrophesApostrophes are perhaps the most misusedpunctuation mark of all. Described as ‘erranttadpoles’ (Cutts, 1995: 89), they can, if usedincorrectly, completely obscure the intendedmeaning of a sentence.

Student example: ‘The law does not specifyother eventualities, such as a situation where alost item falls onto a landowners land…’

In this sentence, ‘landowners’ should be‘landowner’s’, because the land belongs to thelandowner. Apostrophes indicate ownership:‘the landowner’s land’ is another way of saying‘the land of the landowner’.

Correct use of the apostrophe shows clarity ofthought and a good understanding of therelationship between the nouns in a sentence.Learn about apostrophes: they will help you tothink more clearly and help your reader tounderstand and follow your argument better(see Further Reading). Remember the rule thatthe apostrophe generally goes before the ‘s’ ifthe noun is singular (e.g. the dog’s dinnermeaning the dinner of the dog) and after the‘s’ if the noun is plural (dogs’ dinner meaningthe dinner of the dogs).

As well as indicating ownership, the othercommon use of apostrophes is to showthat a letter is missing – that words have

been ‘contracted’ – i.e. ‘It’s nothing to dowith me’ instead of ‘It is nothing to do withme’; ‘She’s been a long time’ instead of‘She has been a long time.’ As a generalrule, contractions should be avoided inacademic work.

3.6. Incorrect use of speechmarksSpeech marks ‘do exactly what they say on thetin’: they mark speech. Nonetheless, they arestill one of the most misused punctuationmarks.

Student example: ‘In ‘The End of Education’,Nils (2004) states that “the only thing that cansave the UK education system is a completeoverhaul…”.’

In this sentence, the author has used speechmarks (“_”) instead of inverted commas (‘_’).In most disciplines speech marks should onlybe used when something is being said, notwhen something has been expressed inwriting. The majority of quotations inacademic work will therefore require invertedcommas, not speech marks, though youshould check the conventions of yourdiscipline to confirm this.

The difference between speech marks(sometimes called ‘double invertedcommas’) and inverted commas (‘singleinverted commas’) is very simple. One wayto distinguish them is to remember thatspeech requires the physical presence oftwo people, a speaker and a listener, henceit needs double inverted commas: “speechmarks”. When something is beingreferenced from a book, however, only oneperson is present (the reader) hence ‘singleinverted commas’.

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3.7. Confusing singular andpluralNouns always specify number, i.e. whether theyare singular (‘dog’) or plural (‘dogs’). As well asbeing consistent with the number, you mustmake sure that your verbs match your nouns(e.g. ‘the dog swims’ or ‘the dogs swim’).

Student example: ‘The law of averages are toounreliable…’

In this sentence, the word ‘law’ is singular(i.e. one in number); if it is intended to beplural (more than one), it should be ‘laws’.However, the author has used ‘are’, the pluralform of the verb, instead of ‘is’, the singular(remember ‘the laws are’ and ‘the law is’).Nouns and verbs must correspond. Theconfusion has probably arisen from ‘averages’being plural, but it is ‘law’ to which the verbrefers. It should be, ‘The law of averages istoo unrealiable...’.

3.8. Using unnecessary wordsOne of the most significant differences youwill notice as your writing improves is areduction in superfluous (i.e. unnecessary)words. The best and most precise writing isoften the simplest, as the author is in fullcontrol of every word. Always ask yourselfwhether each word is necessary and whetherit is the best word you could use.

Student example: ‘Being poor in society todayit does not cause as many problems for theindividual as it did many years ago.’

In the first line of this sentence, the pronoun ‘it’is used in the place of ‘being poor’ (a pronounsubstitutes a noun; see Parts of Speech).However, its inclusion is superfluous becausethe reader does not need to be reminded ofthe subject of the sentence. ‘It’ would benecessary to start a new sentence in which‘being poor’ is still the subject, but in a singlesentence it is unnecessary and confusing.

3.9. Using inappropriate orinformal phrasesIn recent years there has been an increase inthe number of informal modes of writtencommunication, such as emailing, texting, andinstant messaging. These have contributed toa rise in the number of informal phrases thatappear in more formal writing, such as theessay.

Student example: ‘In ‘The RepressedImagination’ by C. Cartwright, one of thetopics he talks about is…’

In this sentence, the verb ‘talks’ isinappropriate and incorrect, because ‘talking’is a very different action to ‘writing’.

Student example: ‘Basically, the policy aims toimprove the quality of the service…’

The word ‘basically’ is becoming increasinglycommon in essays, but is inappropriate in thecontext of academic writing, because thepurpose is not to reduce things to their mostbasic form but to explore issues and ideas intheir full complexity and detail. Makingsomething ‘basic’ is different to summarising.Terms like ‘in essence’, ‘to summarise’, or ‘inshort’ are far more academic in tone.

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‘Most experienced writers rewritetheir work over and over, refiningtheir thoughts, finding a better wayof saying something, making along-winded section a bit briefer, oradding more detail to develop anidea.’ (Cottrell 2003: 146)

Think about your everyday speech.However well you may speak, much ofwhat you say, and the phrases you use, willbe inappropriate for formal written work.Using the word ‘talk’ as an umbrella term torefer to any kind of communication is justone example of this common mistake.Think carefully about the words you use:what might they be implying by accident?

3.10. Not starting newsentences when appropriateIf you are unsure whether or not to start a newsentence, you probably should, especially ifyou lack confidence with colons and semi-colons, which can be used to make morecomplex sentences. If in doubt, keep yoursentences as simple as possible. There is afamous saying, attributed to Epictetus, theGreek philosopher:

Do not write so that you can be understood,write so that you cannot be misunderstood.

Student example: ‘The graph shows theresults, after fatigue the score is generallylower. There are some anomalies, there couldbe many different reasons for this.’

In this example, both sentences would beless confusing if they were separated into twostatements, either by full stops or semi-colonsi.e. ‘The graph shows the results. After fatiguethe score is generally lower. There are someanomalies. There could be many differentreasons for this.’ Alternatively, the sentencescould be rephrased so that each statementflows into the next, i.e. ‘The graph shows thatafter fatigue the score is generally lower.There are some anomalies, however, forwhich there could be many different reasons.’

Remember that a sentence should usuallycontain a single idea or argument; likewise,a paragraph should contain a single themeor focus. Pay close attention to where andhow professional writers start newsentences. Learn how to use semi-colons,colons, and commas so that you can formmore complex sentences.

3.11. Incorrect use of commasIn a nutshell, ‘commas act as separatorsbetween parts of a sentence’ (Cutts, 1995: 81).To this effect, they often need to be used inpairs. The following is just one example of howcommas are misused (see Swan, 1996: 468-470 for a comprehensive list).

Student example: ‘Private problems, Millsbelieves can often be resolved outside ofcourt…’

There should be a pair of commas in thissentence, not a single comma. It should read‘Private problems, Mills believes, can often beresolved…’. ‘Mills believes’ is a separate‘clause’ and needs to be separated so thatthe sentence makes sense with or without it.Cutts (1995: 82) explains this nicely: ‘A pairof commas cordons off information that is anaside, explanation or addition. Readers can, ifthey wish, leapfrog the cordoned-off area andstill make sense of what is said.’

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3.12. Mixing pronounsA ‘pronoun’ may sound like somethingtechnical and complex, but it is actually verysimple (see Parts of Speech to clarify yourunderstanding). Always make sure that yourpronoun matches your noun. Is it the rightnumber? Is it the right gender? Is it first,second, or third person?

Student example: ‘Because society ischanging so rapidly it is easy to understandwhy one may feel he cannot cope…’

In this sentence, the author mixes thepronouns, moving from ‘one’ to ‘he’, which isvery confusing for the reader. A bettersentence would be, ‘Because society ischanging so rapidly it is easy to understandwhy people feel that they cannot cope…’

3.13. Inappropriate use ofdefinite articleOne of the most confusing things about theEnglish language for some internationalstudents is the ‘definite article’ – otherwiseknown as ‘the’ – because some languages donot have articles.

Student example: ‘To find a sense of reasoninstead of drowning in the depths of confusionthe society bestows upon us…’

In this sentence, the second occurrence ofthe definite article (‘the’ in ‘the society’) issuperfluous.

Although correct use of the definite article isa common problem among internationalstudents, it is also increasingly commonamong home students. Learn the differencebetween the definite article (‘the’, e.g. ‘thehouse’) and the indefinite article (‘a’, ‘some’,e.g. ‘a house’ or ‘some houses’) – you can

see why they are classed as indefinite ordefinite. Think carefully about whether youneed to use one, the other, or neither.

3.14. Inappropriate orincorrect use of capital lettersApart from in people’s names, in titles, and atthe beginning of sentences, capitals (bigletters) should only be used if the word is a‘proper noun’ rather than a common noun, i.e.if it is the official name or title for something(see Parts of Speech to clarify yourunderstanding).

Student example: ‘One day a teacher noticesthat the children start missing School andoften arrive late…’

In this example, the author has used capitalletters inappropriately. For example, in thecase of school, the only time it should begiven a capital letter is if its proper name isbeing referred to, i.e. Woodlands School, or ifthe reference is to a specific school. In theexample, the author was not referring to aspecific school. It is the same with the word‘department’. If, for example, you are referringspecifically to your department, it should be‘Department of Psychology’. If you arereferring to departments in general, it shouldbe ‘departments’.

Correct use of capital letters is quite easyto understand if you make the time tolearn. Students often have trouble withcapital letters in titles; of essays,publications, etc. However, there are setrules that are easy to learn and apply. Takethe time. See Further Reading.

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3.15. Using ‘and’ instead of ‘to’It is an increasingly common mistake to use‘and’ instead of ‘to’, e.g. ‘I want to try and learna new skill’ instead of ‘I want to try to learn anew skill’. Objections to this particular mistakemay seem irrelevant and old-fashioned, but itactually alters the meaning of the sentence.

Student example: ‘One response ofcommissioners was to try and managedemand…’

In the example sentence, what the authoractually means is ‘to try to manage demand’.‘To try’ is an infinitive verb (i.e. a ‘to’ verb)which needs an additional verb – in this case‘manage’ – to qualify it. By using ‘and’ insteadof ‘to’, the sentence is actually saying thatthere are two actions (two verbs) at work: thefirst action is ‘trying’; the second action is‘managing’. Therefore, the sentence iseffectively saying, ‘One response ofcommissioners was to try and then to managedemand…’

3.16. Insufficient proof-readingAlways proof-read your work and always getsomeone else, such as a trusted friend, toproof-read it for you. Make sure you allowyourself enough time to do this effectively, i.e.leave a few days between readings so thatyou can read it with fresh eyes. Yes, thismeans doing your essays well before thedeadlines…

Student example: ‘Many problems relatedirectly to the lack of or lack of functioninginstitutions within society’.

Although this sentence makes sense, it couldbe misread as a mistake or typo (a‘typographical error’). The choice of phrasing(‘lack of or lack of’), and the absence of

commas to punctuate the phrase, make thesentence very confusing for the reader. A pairof commas clarifies meaning: ‘Many problemsrelate directly to the lack of, or lack offunctioning, institutions within society’.

Try to develop your ability to read yourwork with fresh and critical eyes.Empathise with your reader. It may help toread aloud to yourself; that way you can behyper-sensitive to your punctuation, andtest whether it helps or hinders the flow ofyour sentences.

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mySkillsmySkills, the University’s academicskills website, features advice,guidance, and interactive resourceson all aspects of study. Developedas a joint initiative, everything thatis housed within the site has beenauthored by expert academic andsupport staff from across theUniversity. It has a large section onwriting, featuring a short film inwhich students give their opinionsand advice on essay writing.

Visit mySkills:

www.essex.ac.uk/myskills

4. Reasoning

Aside from the grammaticalerrors listed in the previoussection, the most commonmistakes made by first-yearstudents in their essays arisefrom poor practice and decision-making relating to reasoning,structure, argumentation, andpresentation. These have beengrouped together under theumbrella of Reasoning, but thereis also a separate section onStructuring an Essay (p. 2).

4.1. Poor structureThe most common mistakes that studentsmake in their academic writing relate tostructure, and, if asked, many lecturers wouldsay that the structure is the most importantelement of an essay: without a strong, well-considered and well-planned framework –without a blueprint – it can be extremelydifficult to stay focused and develop yourargument. In most cases, you should have aplan or an essay outline before you beginwriting. However, it often helps to just get yourhead down and write. This is fine – and ahealthy practice! – but always have anorganising structure, whether this comes a bitlater or before you even put pen to paper (orfingers to keys).

Read Structuring an Essay on (p. 2).

4.2. Poor referencingtechniquesTo write well-structured and well-arguedessays, it is crucial that you develop yourability to introduce and discuss the opinions ofexperts in your field.

Student example: ‘In Wright Mills, ‘ThePromise of Sociology’, he identifies severaldifferent personal troubles…’

In this sentence, the use of ‘in’ is incorrect andthe use of ‘he’ is superfluous. It should be‘Wright Mills, in ‘The Promise of Sociology’,identifies…’ or ‘In ‘The Promise of Sociology’,Wright Mills identifies…’ The subject (theauthor) and the object (the book) have beenconfused: they are seen as one and the same.

NB. Check what the conventions are for yourdiscipline – it may or it may not be necessaryto include date and title, for example.

Put aside a few moments to learn andmaster some easy techniques forintroducing a reference or citation that youcan rely upon and develop as you gain inconfidence. Pay attention to howprofessional writers and academicsintroduce references in the published workthat you read.

Many techniques are simple to understandand apply. For example, one common wayto introduce a reference is: ‘AUTHOR, inTITLE, argues [or claims or asserts orstates, etc.] that ‘QUOTE’...’ e.g.

Yates, in ‘How to Improve Your AcademicWriting’, argues that ‘the majority ofpeople have never been encouraged orhave never found a reason to getpassionate about language’ (2008: 2).

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4.3. Poor or unclear reasoningAbove all, perhaps the key to a successfulessay is good reasoning, i.e. each sentence –and by extension each paragraph – flowslogically into the next, building towards a well-reasoned and well-structured argument.

Student example: ‘Different groups havedifferent identities, ways of separatingthemselves from others. This leads tostereotypes. People misunderstand oneanother based on their appearance. Thisdivision between people is getting bigger andmore problematic every day.’

Although this paragraph makes sense, anumber of assumptions are made by theauthor, and the connection between eachsentence is not always explicit, i.e. thesentences do not progress logically from oneto the next.

Always check each sentence in relation tothe sentence that precedes it to be certainthat there is a direct relationship, and thatthe central idea continues to be developed.

4.4. GeneralisationsBeware the generalisation! It is often temptingto get carried away and apply our idea oropinion to everything, but always be mindful ofexceptions and counter-arguments.

Student example: ‘Nowadays we are more ableto examine ourselves from both a public andpersonal viewpoint. We were once dictated to,in our way of thinking, but now we are free.’

The author makes assumptions about timeand place, both past and present, implyingintellectual superiority over the past, andmaking a universalisation or generalisationabout freedom of thought.

4.5. Speculations andassertionsIf you are making a claim that could bedisputed by the reader, make sure you usesome kind of evidence to back it up.

Student example: ‘Without the police forcethere would be anarchy on the streets and ahuge increase in crime, which would result inmore individuals being victims of crime.’

While this may be true, without evidence it isonly speculative. It needs to be backed upwith an example or research, e.g. when orwhere this was the case.

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‘Be emotionally neutral: mostacademic writing requires you tostand back and analysedispassionately, as an objectiveonlooker.’ (Cottrell 2003: 157)

If you are not sure of the differencebetween ‘objective’ and ‘subjective’, lookthem up. Objectivity is one of thecornerstones of academic practice.

4.6. Poor choice of vocabularyAlways check your vocabulary forappropriateness — and don’t be afraid to use adictionary. If you are using a word which has anumber of different meanings and spellings,always look it up to check that you have usedthe correct form (see Commonly ConfusedWords, p. 18).

Student example: ‘With some institutionsbecoming secular, such as religion andfamily…’

The choice of vocabulary in this sentence ispoor, especially the use of ‘secular’ because‘religion’ and ‘secular’ are opposites.Therefore, although religions can bedisbanded or become defunct, they cannotbecome secular, as ‘secular’ means ‘non-religious’. The sentence could be rephrased ina number of ways, e.g. ‘With someinstitutions becoming defunct, such asreligion and family …’.

4.7. Misusing or misquoting awell-known phraseOnly use phrases that you fully understandand know are appropriate in a piece of formalacademic work.

Student example: ‘The breakdown of theatomic family…’

The correct phrase is ‘nuclear family’, but it iseasy to see how the mistake was made.

When possible, always get a trusted friendto read your work. I recently saw an advertfor a car in which the seller claimed that,rather than it being ‘reliable’, his car was in‘good condition and very liable’.

4.8. Making indirectassumptionsAvoid making indirect assumptions. This can bedifficult because it is not always obvious to uswhen we are being presumptuous, especiallywhen we are trying to be open-minded…

Student example: ‘Just because most tribes areuncivilised, it does not mean that there are nocivilised tribes.’

Although the author intends to establishhimself or herself as liberal and notpresumptuous, the statement is premised onanother assumption about ‘most tribes’ whichis not backed up with data or literature. Inaddition, ‘civilised’ is also a problematic termto use because it is value-laden andsubjective.

4.9. Inappropriate orinadvertent use of metaphorIn writing, we sometimes use metaphorswithout realising it. A ‘metaphor’ is the term fora literary technique in which something isdescribed as being something else, forexample, ‘The moon was a ghostly galleon’.Metaphors are mostly deliberate and obvious;in the example, the metaphor reveals somethingmore about the moon – it describes it, making itmore vivid. However, sometimes poor choice ofvocabulary can lead to an accidentalmetaphor…

Student example: ‘We live in a time in which weare encouraged to question the world and itscontents…’

Although the author may not have been fullyconscious of this, he or she has used ametaphor that is inappropriate in thedescription of the ‘world and its contents’, as‘contents’ usually refer to vessels orrepositories, and the world is not a vessel.

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5. Useful Tips

� In a nutshell, a good academic essay iswell-researched, well-structured, andwell-argued. However, you will only get agood mark if you answer the essayquestion (read the tip on p. 2). Similarly, ifyou have been allowed to chose the titleyourself, make sure it is appropriate.

� Your target audience is an intelligentreader who does not know anything aboutthe subject but may be familiar with thediscipline and the main theories that areconsidered to be common knowledge.

� If you are expected to submit your workanonymously, make sure you do!However, make sure that you haveidentified yourself in the way that ispreferred by your department, such as bystudent number, course code, etc. Makesure you are clear about this. Asksomeone if necessary.

� The best academics usually have thickskins and have learnt not to take harshreviews to heart (Times Higher EducationalSupplement, 3-9 July 2008, p. 22); as anovice academic, it is the same for you.Feedback is intended to help you improve,so make the most of it; try not to rest onyour laurels or get downhearted.Remember that the best writers work veryclosely with criticism and the editorialprocess (read the tip on p. 10).

� Make sure your work is presented in thehouse style specified by your department.

� Don’t use contractions. Do not usecontractions. Write in full.

� Avoid using ‘you’ and ‘your’. It sounds tooinformal.

� Avoid abbreviations. Again, write in full.Use ‘for example’ instead of ‘e.g.’, unlessyou are using e.g. or i.e. in parenthesis.

� If you are using acronyms (i.e. NASA)make sure you write it out in full the firsttime you use it (National Aeronautics andSpace Administration).

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Some tips from George Orwellfrom ‘Politics and the English Language’

Be clear about what you are saying‘A scrupulous writer, in every sentence thathe writes, will ask himself at least fourquestions, thus: What am I trying to say?What words will express it? What image oridiom will make it clearer? Is this imagefresh enough to have an effect?’

Avoid using clichéd phrases‘Modern writing at its worst does notconsist in picking out words for the sakeof their meaning and inventing images inorder to make the meaning clearer. Itconsists in gumming together long stripsof words which have already been set inorder by someone else.’

Avoid mixing metaphors: think‘The sole aim of a metaphor is to call up avisual image. When these images clash…it can be taken as certain that the writer isnot seeing a mental image of the objectshe is naming; in other words, he is notreally thinking.’

6. CommonlyConfused Words

A and an – whereas ‘a’ is used before aconsonant sound (e.g. ‘a boy’, ‘a party’, ‘asituation’), ‘an’ is used before a vowel sound,i.e. before a word that begins with the letter a,e, i, o, or u (e.g. ‘an army’, ‘an old man’); somepeople also use ‘an’ before h, as it isconsidered to be a ‘weak consonant’. It is easyto see the practical reason for putting an ‘an’before a vowel: try saying ‘a army’ aloud – it’sdifficult!

Accept and except – ‘to accept’ means ‘toreceive’ (e.g. ‘he accepted the award’);‘except’ means ‘all but’ (e.g. ‘everyone exceptPeter went to the Summer Ball’).

Affect and effect – ‘affect’ either refers toinfluence (e.g. ‘his presence affected thewhole class’) or emotional response (e.g. ‘heshowed little affect’); ‘effect’ refers to result(e.g. ‘he had some serious side effects’).

Cite, sight and site – in the context of essays,‘cite’ is the commonest of these threehomophones (words which are pronouncedthe same but are spelt differently and havedifferent meanings): ‘to cite’ means to quoteor mention (e.g. ‘citing references’); ‘sight’refers to the ability to see (e.g. ‘she had badeye sight’); ‘site’ refers to a location (e.g. ‘thebuilding site’).

Complement and compliment – ‘complement’is used when something completes or finishessomething else, or provides a balance (e.g.‘the wine complemented the meal’); a‘compliment’ is an expression of praise (e.g.‘the lecturer complimented his work’).

Than and then – ‘than’ is used in acomparison (e.g. ‘Tim is faster than Tom’);‘then’ refers to a point in time (e.g. ‘ithappened then’).

There and their – ‘there’ refers to place (e.g.‘over there’); ‘their’ indicates possession (e.g.‘their pyjamas’ – i.e. the pyjamas thatbelonged to them).

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Beware the Spellchecker!Although spellchecker facilities in programmessuch as Microsoft Word can undoubtedly bevery useful, they can also create problems,especially with words that are commonlyconfused, such as homophones (words thatsound the same but are spelt differently). Asentence with the wrong ‘there’ or ‘their’, orwith ‘its’ instead of ‘it’s’, will go unnoticedbecause the word – although wrong – doesexist within the language.

Make sure that your spellchecker is set to UKspelling, not American spelling, as there are anumber of important differences. WhereasAmerican English spells ‘color’, English spells‘colour’; American English tends to use ‘z’ inverbs (e.g. ‘analyze’), while English uses ‘s’(e.g. ‘analyse’). The following webpage maybe helpful:

www2.gsu.edu/~wwwesl/egw/jones/differences.htm

Don’t ignore the grammar check. When a wordis underlined to indicate that there issomething wrong with the grammar, click on itand take a moment to read the explanation.This is a good way to learn about grammar.Sometimes you can ignore the rule: you willknow whether or not to take the advice onceyou’ve read the description.

7. WritingSupport at Essex

mySkillsmySkills is the University’s academic skillswebsite. It features advice, guidance, andinteractive resources on all aspects of study.Developed as a joint initiative, everything thatis housed within the site has been authored byexpert academic and support staff at theUniversity. It has a large section on writing,featuring a short film in which students givetheir opinions and advice on writing essays.

Student SupportStudent Support have a number of StudyStrategies Tutors with expertise in academicskills who you can speak to by appointment.They also run ‘Strategies for Study’ workshopsthroughout the year, so look out for relatedpublicity or visit the website (URL below). Thesame workshops are also run specifically forstudents with dyslexia or similar learningdifficulties. Themes include:

� Using University guidance and resourcesto support independent learning; Planningand managing your time effectively

� Selective and wider reading; Note-takingformats; Referencing and Plagiarism

� When, how and who to ask for help; Peerstudy groups

� Keeping track of what works for you:reviewing, revising and enjoying your study

Workshops are generally scheduled onWednesdays. Visit the website for up-to-datetimetables and for more guidance and services.

www2.essex.ac.uk/stdsup/welfare/workshops.shtm

There are many, many services andopportunities on campus, so make sure youtake advantage of them. Ask Student Supportwhat’s available.

Writing FellowsThe University is fortunate enough to have twoWriting Fellows from the Royal Literary Fundwho are available to give one-to-one advice onthe practical aspects of writing, whether foracademic purposes or for pleasure. TheFellows are based in the Department ofLiterature, Film, and Theatre Studies (LiFTS) inroom 5A.223, but are available to studentsand staff from all departments, across all yearsof study. Go to room 5A.201 in the LiFTSDepartment to book an appointment.

Writing GroupIf you are experiencing difficulties in writing orgenerally find the process difficult, even if youhave no immediate assignment deadlines, theWriting Group offers a safe and non-judgemental environment in which to discusswriting. E-mail: writinggroup@essex.ac.uk

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OWLs (Online Writing Labs)There are a number of writing resourceson the web that are very good, known asOWLs. These are three of the best. TheOWL at Purdue was the original.

Bowling Green State Universitywww.bgsu.edu/offices/acen/writingctr/page29232.html

Purdue Universityhttp://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/Grammar Bytes

www.chompchomp.com/

8. FurtherReading

You may find the following books helpful.Those with an asterisk (*) were used incompiling this booklet. Those with a hash (#)are strongly recommended.

Burchfield, R. W., The New Fower's ModernEnglish Usage, Oxford University Press,Oxford, 1996.

Butcher, J., Copy-editing: The Cambridgehandbook, Cambridge University Press,Cambridge, 1981.

Cook, C. K., Line by Line: How to edit yourown writing, Houghton Mifflin Company,Boston, 1985.

Cottrell, S., The Study Skills Handbook,Palgrave, 2nd edition, 2003. *

Cutts, M., The Plain English Guide, OxfordUniversity Press, 1995. * #

Evans, H. (ed. Crawford, G.), EssentialEnglish: For journalists, editors and writers,Pimlico, 2nd revised edition, 2000.

Fowler, H. W. & Fowler, F. G., The King'sEnglish, Oxford University Press, Oxford,1973.

Hilton, C. & Hyder, M., Getting to Grips withPunctuation and Grammar, BPP (LettsEducational) Ltd, London, 1992.

Hilton, C. & Hyder, M., Getting to Grips withSpelling, BPP (Letts Educational) Ltd,London, 1992.

Northedge, A., The Good Study Guide (NewEdition), The Open University, 2005. *

Orwell, G., ‘Politics in the English Language’inWhy I Write, Penguin Books, 2004. * #

Partridge, E., Usage and Abusage: A guide togood English, Hamish Hamilton, London, 6thedition, 1965.

Partridge, E., You Have a Point There: A guideto punctuation and its allies, Routledge &Kegan Paul, London, 1983.

Ritter, R. M., New Hart's Rules: The handbookof style for writers and editors, OxfordUniversity Press, Oxford, 2005.

Strunk, W., The Elements of Style, FiliquarianPublishing, LLC, 2006. * #

Swan, M., Practical English Usage, OxfordUniversity Press, 2nd edition, 1995. *

Truss, L., Eats, Shoots & Leaves, ProfileBooks, 2007. * #

The Economist, Pocket Style Book, EconomistPublications, London, 1986. #

The University of Chicago Press, A Manual ofStyle, The University of Chicago Press,Chicago, 12th edition, 1969.

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