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• Writing skills

Every course you study will feature academic writing and this will often take the form of an essay or report. Most assignments will ask you to demonstrate your academic objectivity and to show this in the form of an argument, rather than just produce a summary of everything you know about a topic. There are a number of ways to achieve this. Most importantly, throughout your studies you will develop your ability to argue a cause and provide evidence for your argument. Tackling tasks such as writing an essay or report for the first time can be daunting, especially if you are new to academic study. But remember that support is available from your tutor.

What style of writing will be needed?

Different subjects will demand different styles of writing. For example a vocational subject, such as health and social care, may require descriptive writing where you set the scene and describe what happened in a particular work situation. Words that tell you a descriptive style is needed may be when you are asked to ‘state’, ‘list’ or ‘describe’.

If you are working, or studying, a more technical subject such as science or engineering perhaps, you may need to use a more analytical style of writing. This style may draw on research or evidence from various sources and you may need to discuss and critically assess information in your writing.

Finally, reflective writing is needed when you are asked to think about your own learning or approach to a particular workplace situation. In this style of writing you need to reflect on your learning or experiences and discuss how these will inform and improve your future studies or practice.

What are the important points to remember when writing for study?

• Answer the question –  this may seem obvious, but an assignment question will rarely ask you to regurgitate everything you know about a particular topic. Read the question several times looking for the instruction, sometimes called process words, for example, discuss, describe, illustrate. Plan your answer fully before you write.
• Use your own words  – when you write an essay or an assignment you must make sure you use your own words, as this shows that you understand what you have read. You also need to avoid using (copying), the words of other people as this is known as plagiarism and it is not allowed.
• Support your arguments with evidence  –  in your writing you will be expected to support your argument with information you have found in the course material, for example in a book or on a DVD, rather than base your discussion purely on your own opinion. In addition any evidence used should always be referenced to its source.

Learn more about writing skills

Visit the skills for study section of the OU website for tips on how to practise your writing skills.

Writing for university

Writing in your own words .

Further information on writing skills

Practise various activities, particularly if English is not your first language, at  Improve your writing skills . 

iTunes U has a good section on  essay writing . 

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The writer of the academic essay aims to persuade readers of an idea based on evidence. The beginning of the essay is a crucial first step in this process. In order to engage readers and establish your authority, the beginning of your essay has to accomplish certain business. Your beginning should introduce the essay, focus it, and orient readers.

Introduce the Essay.  The beginning lets your readers know what the essay is about, the  topic . The essay's topic does not exist in a vacuum, however; part of letting readers know what your essay is about means establishing the essay's  context , the frame within which you will approach your topic. For instance, in an essay about the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of speech, the context may be a particular legal theory about the speech right; it may be historical information concerning the writing of the amendment; it may be a contemporary dispute over flag burning; or it may be a question raised by the text itself. The point here is that, in establishing the essay's context, you are also limiting your topic. That is, you are framing an approach to your topic that necessarily eliminates other approaches. Thus, when you determine your context, you simultaneously narrow your topic and take a big step toward focusing your essay. Here's an example.

The paragraph goes on. But as you can see, Chopin's novel (the topic) is introduced in the context of the critical and moral controversy its publication engendered.

Focus the Essay.  Beyond introducing your topic, your beginning must also let readers know what the central issue is. What question or problem will you be thinking about? You can pose a question that will lead to your idea (in which case, your idea will be the answer to your question), or you can make a thesis statement. Or you can do both: you can ask a question and immediately suggest the answer that your essay will argue. Here's an example from an essay about Memorial Hall.

The fullness of your idea will not emerge until your conclusion, but your beginning must clearly indicate the direction your idea will take, must set your essay on that road. And whether you focus your essay by posing a question, stating a thesis, or combining these approaches, by the end of your beginning, readers should know what you're writing about, and  why —and why they might want to read on.

Orient Readers.  Orienting readers, locating them in your discussion, means providing information and explanations wherever necessary for your readers' understanding. Orienting is important throughout your essay, but it is crucial in the beginning. Readers who don't have the information they need to follow your discussion will get lost and quit reading. (Your teachers, of course, will trudge on.) Supplying the necessary information to orient your readers may be as simple as answering the journalist's questions of who, what, where, when, how, and why. It may mean providing a brief overview of events or a summary of the text you'll be analyzing. If the source text is brief, such as the First Amendment, you might just quote it. If the text is well known, your summary, for most audiences, won't need to be more than an identifying phrase or two:

Often, however, you will want to summarize your source more fully so that readers can follow your analysis of it.

Questions of Length and Order.  How long should the beginning be? The length should be proportionate to the length and complexity of the whole essay. For instance, if you're writing a five-page essay analyzing a single text, your beginning should be brief, no more than one or two paragraphs. On the other hand, it may take a couple of pages to set up a ten-page essay.

Does the business of the beginning have to be addressed in a particular order? No, but the order should be logical. Usually, for instance, the question or statement that focuses the essay comes at the end of the beginning, where it serves as the jumping-off point for the middle, or main body, of the essay. Topic and context are often intertwined, but the context may be established before the particular topic is introduced. In other words, the order in which you accomplish the business of the beginning is flexible and should be determined by your purpose.

Opening Strategies.  There is still the further question of how to start. What makes a good opening? You can start with specific facts and information, a keynote quotation, a question, an anecdote, or an image. But whatever sort of opening you choose, it should be directly related to your focus. A snappy quotation that doesn't help establish the context for your essay or that later plays no part in your thinking will only mislead readers and blur your focus. Be as direct and specific as you can be. This means you should avoid two types of openings:

• The history-of-the-world (or long-distance) opening, which aims to establish a context for the essay by getting a long running start: "Ever since the dawn of civilized life, societies have struggled to reconcile the need for change with the need for order." What are we talking about here, political revolution or a new brand of soft drink? Get to it.
• The funnel opening (a variation on the same theme), which starts with something broad and general and "funnels" its way down to a specific topic. If your essay is an argument about state-mandated prayer in public schools, don't start by generalizing about religion; start with the specific topic at hand.

Remember.  After working your way through the whole draft, testing your thinking against the evidence, perhaps changing direction or modifying the idea you started with, go back to your beginning and make sure it still provides a clear focus for the essay. Then clarify and sharpen your focus as needed. Clear, direct beginnings rarely present themselves ready-made; they must be written, and rewritten, into the sort of sharp-eyed clarity that engages readers and establishes your authority.

Copyright 1999, Patricia Kain, for the Writing Center at Harvard University

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Formatting your assignment preparing assignments.

Use your module assessment guide for instructions about how to present your assignment. If you can't find instructions or are unclear on the requirements for your particular module or assignment, you should  contact your tutor  for support.

If there are no specific instructions about formatting or presentation, you should submit your work in a clear font – such as Arial – in 12 point, using 1.5 or double line spacing and reasonably wide margins (for example, 2.5cm).

If you're using Microsoft 365, these Learning guides might be useful.

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3 Writing an introduction

In this section you will learn how to write a clear introduction. You will look at the purpose and structure of a good introduction.

As you have seen when looking at the bus stop conversation earlier, an introduction helps to give your text direction and introduce its content. The purpose of the introduction is therefore to provide readers with key information that will enable them to understand:

• what the essay will be about
• the main point (or claim ) it will make
• how the main body will be organised.

This is essential information that attracts the readers’ attention, enables them to follow the remaining text easily, and helps them to see that the essay effectively answers the assignment question.

In the next activity you will see how this purpose is achieved by looking at the content and structure of Fred’s introduction.

Read Fred’s introduction and then answer the questions that follow. The numbers in brackets are the sentence numbers. Make your notes in the boxes before comparing your answers with mine.

[1] People consider their home their own private space which they are able to control and keep separate from any public spaces in which they live or work. [2] However, should their circumstances change, and they find themselves in need of care, this private area may be encroached or they may have to spend time in a public space. [3] This can be an uncomfortable experience whether care is delivered in public places such as hospitals or in residential and domestic environments. [4] The ability to determine the differences between public and private spaces is therefore essential for those who wish to be skilled and effective carers as it affects the quality of their work in all care contexts. [5] This essay will consider the differences between public and private spaces and how these can affect the behaviour of both carers and those receiving care in hospitals, residential and private homes.

1 Which sentence explains how the essay will be organised?

2 Which sentences say what the essay will be about?

Sentences 1, 2 and 3

3 Which sentence states the main claim of the essay?

Sentences 1–3 introduce the themes of the essay: the essay is about private and public spaces and the places where care is provided.

Sentence 4 is about the main point the writer will make. This sentence contains a rephrased version of the assignment question as well as Fred’s answer: carers’ understanding of the difference between private and public spaces will have an effect on the quality of the care they provide in each of the three care contexts. It is normal for this answer to be quite general at this stage as its content will be fully explained in the following paragraphs. Therefore a general statement, such as this, is sufficient.

Also note that the last sentence starts with the formal and impersonal expression, ‘This essay will’. This expression is normally used in academic essays and it is generally preferred to ‘I will’ or ‘We will’.

Essay and dissertation writing skills

Planning your essay

Writing your introduction

Structuring your essay

• Writing essays in science subjects
• Brief video guides to support essay planning and writing
• Writing extended essays and dissertations
• Planning your dissertation writing time

Structuring your dissertation

• Top tips for writing longer pieces of work

Advice on planning and writing essays and dissertations

University essays differ from school essays in that they are less concerned with what you know and more concerned with how you construct an argument to answer the question. This means that the starting point for writing a strong essay is to first unpick the question and to then use this to plan your essay before you start putting pen to paper (or finger to keyboard).

A really good starting point for you are these short, downloadable Tips for Successful Essay Writing and Answering the Question resources. Both resources will help you to plan your essay, as well as giving you guidance on how to distinguish between different sorts of essay questions. 

You may find it helpful to watch this seven-minute video on six tips for essay writing which outlines how to interpret essay questions, as well as giving advice on planning and structuring your writing:

Different disciplines will have different expectations for essay structure and you should always refer to your Faculty or Department student handbook or course Canvas site for more specific guidance.

However, broadly speaking, all essays share the following features:

Essays need an introduction to establish and focus the parameters of the discussion that will follow. You may find it helpful to divide the introduction into areas to demonstrate your breadth and engagement with the essay question. You might define specific terms in the introduction to show your engagement with the essay question; for example, ‘This is a large topic which has been variously discussed by many scientists and commentators. The principle tension is between the views of X and Y who define the main issues as…’ Breadth might be demonstrated by showing the range of viewpoints from which the essay question could be considered; for example, ‘A variety of factors including economic, social and political, influence A and B. This essay will focus on the social and economic aspects, with particular emphasis on…..’

Watch this two-minute video to learn more about how to plan and structure an introduction:

The main body of the essay should elaborate on the issues raised in the introduction and develop an argument(s) that answers the question. It should consist of a number of self-contained paragraphs each of which makes a specific point and provides some form of evidence to support the argument being made. Remember that a clear argument requires that each paragraph explicitly relates back to the essay question or the developing argument.

• Conclusion: An essay should end with a conclusion that reiterates the argument in light of the evidence you have provided; you shouldn’t use the conclusion to introduce new information.
• References: You need to include references to the materials you’ve used to write your essay. These might be in the form of footnotes, in-text citations, or a bibliography at the end. Different systems exist for citing references and different disciplines will use various approaches to citation. Ask your tutor which method(s) you should be using for your essay and also consult your Department or Faculty webpages for specific guidance in your discipline. 

Essay writing in science subjects

If you are writing an essay for a science subject you may need to consider additional areas, such as how to present data or diagrams. This five-minute video gives you some advice on how to approach your reading list, planning which information to include in your answer and how to write for your scientific audience – the video is available here:

A PDF providing further guidance on writing science essays for tutorials is available to download.

Short videos to support your essay writing skills

There are many other resources at Oxford that can help support your essay writing skills and if you are short on time, the Oxford Study Skills Centre has produced a number of short (2-minute) videos covering different aspects of essay writing, including:

• Approaching different types of essay questions  
• Structuring your essay  
• Writing an introduction  
• Making use of evidence in your essay writing  
• Writing your conclusion

Extended essays and dissertations

Longer pieces of writing like extended essays and dissertations may seem like quite a challenge from your regular essay writing. The important point is to start with a plan and to focus on what the question is asking. A PDF providing further guidance on planning Humanities and Social Science dissertations is available to download.

Planning your time effectively

Try not to leave the writing until close to your deadline, instead start as soon as you have some ideas to put down onto paper. Your early drafts may never end up in the final work, but the work of committing your ideas to paper helps to formulate not only your ideas, but the method of structuring your writing to read well and conclude firmly.

Although many students and tutors will say that the introduction is often written last, it is a good idea to begin to think about what will go into it early on. For example, the first draft of your introduction should set out your argument, the information you have, and your methods, and it should give a structure to the chapters and sections you will write. Your introduction will probably change as time goes on but it will stand as a guide to your entire extended essay or dissertation and it will help you to keep focused.

The structure of  extended essays or dissertations will vary depending on the question and discipline, but may include some or all of the following:

• The background information to - and context for - your research. This often takes the form of a literature review.
• Explanation of the focus of your work.
• Explanation of the value of this work to scholarship on the topic.
• List of the aims and objectives of the work and also the issues which will not be covered because they are outside its scope.

The main body of your extended essay or dissertation will probably include your methodology, the results of research, and your argument(s) based on your findings.

The conclusion is to summarise the value your research has added to the topic, and any further lines of research you would undertake given more time or resources. 

Tips on writing longer pieces of work

Approaching each chapter of a dissertation as a shorter essay can make the task of writing a dissertation seem less overwhelming. Each chapter will have an introduction, a main body where the argument is developed and substantiated with evidence, and a conclusion to tie things together. Unlike in a regular essay, chapter conclusions may also introduce the chapter that will follow, indicating how the chapters are connected to one another and how the argument will develop through your dissertation.

For further guidance, watch this two-minute video on writing longer pieces of work . 

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How to Write a Personal Essay for Your College Application

What does it take to land in the “accept” (instead of “reject”) pile?

How can you write an essay that helps advance you in the eyes of the admissions officers and makes a real impression? Here are some tips to get you started.

• Start early.  Do not leave it until the last minute. Give yourself time when you don’t have other homework or extracurriculars hanging over your head to work on the essay.
• Keep the focus narrow.  Your essay does not have to cover a massive, earth-shattering event. Some people in their teens haven’t experienced a major life event. Some people have. Either way, it’s okay.
• Be yourself.  Whether writing about a painful experience or a more simple experience, use the narrative to be vulnerable and honest about who you are. Use words you would normally use. Trust your voice and the fact that your story is interesting enough in that no one else has lived it.
• Be creative.  “Show, don’t tell,” and that applies here — to an extent. The best essays typically do both. You can help your reader see and feel what you are describing by using some figurative language throughout your piece.
• Make a point. As you finish your final body paragraphs ask yourself “So what?” This will help you hone in on how to end your essay in a way that elevates it into a story about an insight or discovery you made about yourself, rather than just being about an experience you had.

Where your work meets your life. See more from Ascend here .

We’ve all heard about the dreaded “college essay,” the bane of every high school senior’s existence. This daunting element of the college application is something that can create angst for even the most accomplished students.

• AA Amy Allen is a writer, educator, and lifelong learner. Her freelance writing business,  All of the Write Words , focuses on providing high school students with one-on-one feedback to guide them through the college application process and with crafting a thoughtful personal essay. A dedicated poet, Amy’s work has also been published in several journals including  Pine Row Press ,  Months to Years,  and  Atlanta Review .

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Washington Square News

Guest Essay: Open letter from NYU parents, guardians and loved ones in response to Mills mobilizing NYPD against our students

To Linda Mills, 

We write to you as concerned and disturbed parents, guardians and loved ones of NYU students. We received an email from Linda Mills and Fountain Walker detailing the events at the Gaza Solidarity Encampment on Monday. NYU’s email has not reassured us; rather, the lies you are pushing infuriate and deeply alarm us. Our number one priority is the safety of our children and their freedom of expression. Your push of misinformation is a betrayal of trust and a blatant attempt to deflect accountability for the university’s violent and horrific actions. 

Gould Plaza is one of the only spaces on NYU’s campus where students can gather in large groups, yet upon assembling, NYU labeled their presence an offense, calling it “trespassing” and barring our students from freedom of movement on their own campus. Students organized in a peaceful, appropriate manner, exercising their right to free speech — something that NYU celebrates as a part of a rich history of political activism and global awareness. 

The “breach” referred to in the email was neither violent nor aggressive. Students entered the plaza holding their NYU IDs high to demonstrate the hypocrisy of the university’s restriction of free speech and freedom of assembly on the campus they attend. 

We have not been offered any proof of an incident of intimidation, unsafe behavior, or antisemitism that you touted to justify the brutalization of our students. In fact, many of the protesters on the plaza identified themselves as Jewish, holding signs that said “anti-Zionism is not anti-semitism,” leading the group in a Jewish prayer and Seder service that went on in front of hundreds without interruption. 

We support our students’ right to protest. The point of a protest is to raise awareness and attention for global causes our students are passionate about — disruption, enthusiasm and outspoken advocacy are key tenets of successful protest. It was Linda Mills and NYU, who authorized riot police to arrest our students, that created a dangerous and violent situation. The NYPD slammed students and faculty to the ground, pepper-sprayed and zip-tied hands behind their backs before loading NYU community members onto buses. Many students arrested were only at the protest for a matter of minutes. This is all well documented. Your attempt to assuage parents’ concerns after this gross conduct is unconvincing.

What is left out entirely from Linda Mills’ account is the brutality of the disproportionate police response in arresting and harassing student protestors. We watched videos of unnecessary and extreme violence on our children and we hold Linda Mills responsible. Additionally, there is no mention of reported campus lockdowns that occurred later that evening. Our children report that they were locked out of residence halls and other campus facilities, unable to reach safety. Failing to recognize and address this issue is beyond concerning. The university should be providing students with safe spaces to express their opinions and be heard. If you are incapable of protecting our kids’ First Amendment rights and distinguishing between legitimate protest and criminal activity, you should step down.

We are grateful to our NYU professors who physically put themselves in front of our kids to try and keep them safe. What does it say to NYU that your own professors were willing to risk their jobs and safety to protect our kids against the administration’s actions?

We condemn in the strongest terms Linda Mills’ and Fountain Walker’s orders to arrest and brutalize our children. 

NYU Parents, Guardians and Loved Ones

As of publication time, the letter has 598 signatures.

WSN’s Opinion section strives to publish ideas worth discussing. The views presented in the Opinion section are solely the views of the writer.

Contact the opinion desk at [email protected] .

Comments (5)

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Katherine Girsch • Apr 29, 2024 at 9:42 pm

Beautifully stated.

David Elliot Hubler • Apr 29, 2024 at 6:27 pm

As a member of NYU’s WSC Class of 1963 and co-editor in chief of Washington Square Journal, the predecessor of WSN, I share the thoughts and outrage of the many current NYU students and parents who condemn the actions of President Linda Mills, et al. Keep up the excellent journalism and especially the reportage of the current struggle for freedom of religion and civil rights for all religions.

Aw • Apr 29, 2024 at 6:11 pm

Well said. Free speech should be protected, especially when these are anti-war protests, which have taken place on university grounds over many decades.

Universities should not buckle to pressure from Congress, given that we have a Congress that is heavily influenced by AIPAC. We need moral clarity from university leaders.

Harry Iceland • Apr 29, 2024 at 4:43 pm

So moving. Across the country university leadership is cowering to the worst politicians and conservative donors and failing students and faculty . Shame!

Shelton Bradford • Apr 29, 2024 at 3:18 pm

I just read the letter, if “outside agitators” and protesters are that are not student affiliated are on private property, it’s trespassing. Period. The letter response to Jewish students complaints of anti-semitism is to insist there is no proof of anti-semitism despite evidence to the contrary and the “I’m not anti-semitic, my best friends are Jewish” Defence.