Academic Essay Template – Marketing; Dr Stephen Fanning 1
Academic essay template – Marketing
Dr. Stephen Fanning
The purpose of the Marketing essay template is to provide guidance to students who are yet to develop an essay template.
Students who have already developed their own essay style may also find the essay template helpful.
It is rare to write an essay in the business world, however, essay writing develops specific and valuable learning skills. Essay
writing requires students to examine a topic from various perspectives and then uncover, evaluate, and present relevant
information. Essay writing is firstly a learning process and secondly an exposition of learning. Therefore, essay writing is an
important part of a degree and this unit.
Furthermore, an essay helps students prepare for other assessments (e.g., class presentations) and essays provide the
framework and skills for more involved assessments in the future (e.g., an honours thesis or a journal article).
The key steps
Don’t be tempted to start the essay writing process at the writing stage – if you do it will not be effective use of your time
[marks V time spent].
• The first step is to read the assessment instructions – analyse the task - make a ‘to do list’.
• Brainstorm the topic – ask yourself - what do I know and what do I need to know?
• Research - ask yourself - what research is needed. Then start collecting relevant information.
• Plan your essay section by section – remember the saying fail to plan is a plan to fail.
• Write the first draft of the essay – at this stage writing is about collecting and arranging yourlearning.
• Refine your work – close any research gaps – merge themes and as the key themes emerge make your
conclusions, write your abstract and provide a title.
• Write your final essay.
• Proofread - ask someone to proofread – make corrections and submit your essay.
• Keep a copy
The following are some hints for this essay.
Researching
An academic marketing essay is not a collection of the writer’s opinions. It must demonstrate that the writer has studied their
way through the topic and is as a result of their research an authority on the topic.Academic Essay Template – Marketing; Dr Stephen Fanning 2
Marketing texts are often a great place to start; good texts are really a collection of the best marketing concepts. Knowing
this allows you to identify the best authors and then locate the best journal articles. Another way, and this method is
sometimes referred to as ‘random research’ is to locate the best journals [see below] in the library and then search by key
words. It is often beneficial to search the most recent journal articles as they will reveal the classic journals in the topic area.
A good essay should be a blend of classic and contemporary thought.
The following on-line academic journals are recommended:
• Journal of Marketing
• Australasian Marketing Journal
• European Journal of Marketing
• Journal of Marketing Communications
• Journal of Marketing Research
Title: a sixteen point ‘arial’ font
• Journal of Marketing Management
• Journal of Services Marketing
• Journal of Consumer Research
• Journal of Consumer Behaviour.
An essay title is important for a number of reasons. A good title should:
• gain the reader’s attention
• encourage the reader to read further
• reveal the leitmotif of the essay
Students should avoid agonizing over the title in the early stages, as often, a good title will emerge during the later stages of
the writing process. However, a working title is often helpful.
Abstract: 12-14 point ‘Times’ italicised font, often indented
The purpose of an abstract is to:
• hold the reader’s attention
• succinctly reveal the topic that will be discussed
• identify the overall methodology
• provide the sequence in which the topic will be discussed
• provide the parameters of the essay
• justify the parameters
• provide a précis of the author’s conclusions
Abstracts are generally less than one hundred words. An abstract should be succinct and to the point. Whilst some authors
start the writing process with an abstract, most find that the writing process is a learning process and therefore the abstract is
one of the last tasks. Often writing the abstract is a time consuming task, particularly when there is little structure to the
essay.
After reading an abstract, a reader should have a clear understanding of the direction and parameters of the essay.
Providing parameters is important as this focuses the reader’s attention on the chosen topic and reduces the risk of the
reader questioning why the author has not covered other topics.
Introduction: twelve point ‘Times’ font for the remainder.
The purpose of an introduction is to:
• acquaint the reader with the chosen topic
• provide the necessary background information
• detail the significance of the chosen topic
• describe how the information was gathered and processed
To ensure that a reader has sufficient knowledge to continue reading a good introduction sets the scene and acquaints the
reader with background information. It is also important to outline the significance of the topic as this will increase reader
involvement. An often overlooked, but important, component of an essay is to detail the methods used to gather the
information. By detailing the methodology, the author is demonstrating the attention that they have given to their research.
Once these tasks are completed the gathered information should be presented to provide an overview of the research that
is available on this topic [a mini literature review]. An advanced skill is when the author synthesises [brings together] the
works of a number of authors into one paragraph and often one sentence.
To demonstrate that the author has knowledge rather than an opinion [i.e., studied the topic] it is important to acknowledge
the source of all information. Information should always be presented in an unbiased fashion. Providing balance suggests to
the reader that the author has the professional distance to treat the topic fairly and objectively.
With the background information complete the introduction may reveal the dominant themes that have emerged from the
research. It is important to discuss each of the dominant themes in greater detail as this increases theAcademic Essay Template – Marketing; Dr Stephen Fanning 3
reader’s understanding of the topic and reduces the risk of the reader wondering “so what?”. The dominant themes should be
listed and then discussed in order of importance. A good handover to the dominant themes improves flow:
The dominant themes were found to be A, B, C, D, and E. Each of these is discussed below.
Discussion of dominant themes
Like all paragraphs, each paragraph in an essay should begin with a sentence that reveals the theme and the significance of
the theme; this is sometimes referred to as the thesis statement. Remember, one sentence is rarely a paragraph. Therefore,
the subsequent sentences should elaborate [provide a more detailed explanation] on the first sentence. The elaboration
should follow a sequence of importance. It is important to stress that at this stage the author is still revealing the facts [and
the source of the facts] and should avoid the temptation to provide their conclusions [conclusions come later]. Another way of
increasing the reader’s understanding is to provide examples [if the example is the author’s idea then there is no need to
acknowledge the source].
Paragraphs rarely stand alone and care should be taken to link each paragraph. There are a number of ways to improve the
flow of an essay:
• the last sentence of the paragraph may provide a handover to the next sentence
• the first sentence of the following paragraph may pick up from the previous, for example:
o However, there are other considerations…
o Alternatively, it is argued …
o Jacson (2005) provides a different/similar perspective…
o Similarly, …
o There are three aims...
One is to …Two is to … Three is to …
The first is to… then finally.
A quality essay has quality paragraphs. Students often become mesmerized with the collection of information that they
neglect to pay sufficient attention to how the information will be grouped and presented. In the following long quotation, Fort
(2004), a travel writer, documents his travels on his Vespa through Italy; he provides an example of a great paragraph.
When a man has ridden a scooter in Naples, he does not need to boast. When others drawl on about
wrestling crocodiles, killing wild boar with their bare hands and bungee jumping from the top of Niagara
Falls, the man who has ridden a scooter in Naples has only to say, in a quiet voice, ‘I have ridden a
scooter in Naples’, and, if they have any sense, those other thrill- seekers will fall silent and simply look
at him in awe. (p.67)
It is worthwhile to remember to:
• avoid complicated sentences [one idea is best]
• avoid long sentences [the reader will become confused]
• make sure the sentence is complete
• stay within the same tense
• avoid personal pronouns [e.g., I, you, we, she]
• avoid statements that can be disputed [e.g., this paper proves…]
• avoid personal opinions or exaggerations
Conclusions:
The conclusions section is one of the most important parts of an essay. A good conclusions section should be approximately
15%-20% of the total essay.
The conclusion section allows the author to provide originality to their work. Up until the conclusions section the author has
presented the evidence but now has the opportunity to present their conclusions [what they concluded from undertaking the
research]. The author through the presentation of their conclusions now has the opportunity to advance the field of
knowledge on this particular topic. It is important to highlight that no new evidence is introduced in the conclusions section.
The conclusions section is where the author truly demonstrates her/his mastery over the topic.
The conclusions section should begin with a re-statement of the purpose and importance of the research. The next task is to
list and briefly appraise the important findings in order of importance. Another important component of the conclusions
section is to include any limitations that the reader should be aware of and areas that at this stage are inconclusive and may
require further future investigation [see Nadine Henley’s work “Future research…].Academic Essay Template – Marketing; Dr Stephen Fanning 4
To ensure that the essay sums up the discussion completely, attention must be given to the final paragraph of the
conclusions section [the concluding statement]. Henley (1997) provides a great example of a concluding paragraph [pay
special attention to how she prioritises the important issues].
To conclude, this study built on previous fear-arousal research and contributes insight on several important
issues. First, the findings provide information helpful in anticipating generally whether death or non-death
threats are effective with different market segments. Second, the study contributes an important finding
relating to the interaction of death threat and efficacy. Third, the study offers a theoretical framework founded
on the stimulus-organism-response paradigm which organises the large body of theory in the fear-arousal
area. Future research on the use of death threat appeals will contribute not only to an important area of social
marketing theory but, as is clear from the present study, to developing practical market segmentation
strategies for social marketing practitioners. (p.268)
Referencing:
Professional and academic norms require that authors attribute the source of their knowledge. University lecturers will
generally penalise students that fail to conform to this standard. Therefore, a good quality marketing essay must have a
professional standard of in-text and end-text referencing. Long quotations, like the one we presented earlier, should be used
sparingly as they rarely attract marks, it is preferable to paraphrase and acknowledge the source, for example:
• Naples is… however, riding a scooter in Naples is harrowing (Fort, 2004). [note the placement of the period
after the bracket]
• Fort (2004) argues that there is status to be gained from riding a scooter in Naples. Furthermore, he suggests
that other thrill-seekers should respect this skill.
• Henley (1997, p. 268) proposes that there is a need to develop “practical market segmentation strategies for social
marketing practitioners”.
• Social marketing practitioners, like all marketing practitioners need to develop segmentation strategies (Henley,
1997)
Students should also give special attribution when the ideas or the words of others are quoted. For further instructions
see the ECU Referencing Guide for using “quotation marks for short quotes” and indentation instructions for longer
quotes. Also remember to include the page number[s] when quoting.
According to Emerson (1995) referencing permits the reader [marker] to:
• assess the depth and quality of the author’s research
• differentiate between the author’s ideas and the ideas of others
• to research an area of interest further.
Final points;
• stay within the learning of the unit
• demonstrate that you have studied your way through the topic question
o avoid an opinion based essay
• only present evidence from reliable sources
o an academic essay should focus on academic sources
• provide balance not bias
• stay within the topic [remove irrelevant information, fluff and padding]
• always read and then re-read the assignment instructions
• if you need help ASK
• allow enough time to complete the task [leave assignments for a day or two before preparing the final draft]
• have the essay proof read by someone capable of critically evaluating the essay
References:
Emerson, L. (1995). Writing guidelines for business students (3rd ed.). South Melbourne: Thomson, Dunmore Press.
Fort, M. (2004). Eating up Italy: Voyages on a Vespa. London: Harper Perennial.
Henley, N. (1997). Fear arousal in social marketing: Death vs non-death threats. Unpublished PhD Dissertation, University
of Western Australia, Perth, WA.
Tanian, S. M. & Fanning, S. M. (2012) Professional Communications Workbook. Perth, Western Australia: Edith Cowan
University. [Available on request [email protected]]