Structuring an Essay Keegan Moran Peer Tutor UCLU

Structuring an Essay Keegan Moran Peer Tutor UCLU Writing and Language Support Take a seat!

Aims of this workshop To think about how essays should be structured To look at what language and phrases are useful when structuring essays To critically review a (short!) essay and suggest improvements

What is an essay? Frederick Crews, professor of English at the University of California at Berkeley: "a fairly brief piece of non-fiction that tries to make a point in an interesting way."

What do you think? In pairs, discuss and complete the following sentence: The structure of a good essay…

A good essay in a simple diagram…

In brief: Introduction, main body and conclusion These are your basic elements of an essay! Activity 1 – are the sentences describing the introduction, main body or conclusion?

The introduction: b, e, h The main body: a, c, f, j The conclusion: d, g, h, i c) PEAL = Point Evidence Analysis Link h) Note that many feel that 10% should be assigned to the introduction and another 10% to the conclusion!

Structuring an essay = giving the reader a tour of your mind… This is why a clear introduction, structured main body and conclusion are important. Language can help you ‘signpost’ your exact thoughts…

Language and Essay Structure In groups. Each group will be assigned either: Introduction, Main body, or Conclusion. Think about what function your section has. Come up with what you think are the 5 most important phrases for that section. To be presented to the group!

Introduction phrases Your examples?

Main Body phrases Your examples?

Conclusion phrases Your examples?

Applying concepts and language ‘London is a fantastic place of study for International students’. Discuss. You are going to read a short essay on the above question In pairs/groups: discuss the effectiveness of the essay in terms of structure. What is good/bad and why?

When structuring an essay… Remember to section out an introduction (10%), main body (80%) and a conclusion (10%) Introductions should contextualise; Main bodies should develop; Conclusions should demonstrate Use appropriate phrases help you to ‘lay out’ your thoughts!

Next Steps When essay writing, keep these notes next to you Still stuck? Book an appointment with us  Thank you, and have a great afternoon!