AW: EP HRMT 28.01.2016 1 ACADEMIC COMMUNICATION INFO SHEET Academic Writing: Essay plan (AW: EP) After having analysed an essay topic, many students are liable to go straight to the library and read broadly on the subject. They believe that this research is necessary before they start thinking and planning an essay. Such an approach can be a mistake however, with some students producing countless notes and then being unsure about how these notes can be converted into a piece of writing. Before you read too much it is a good idea to do as much thinking and planning as you can. Learn about:  developing a provisional plan  developing an elaborated plan See other Info Sheets about note making and elaborated plans A provisional essay plan can be developed after analysing the question, using your own ideas and those from the first few readings. This plan helps guide the research phase. It will also assist you to take careful, useful notes and decide how many paragraphs your essay may have. Provisional plan for an essay of 1500 words in length First it is necessary to consider the word length you have been given and to consider the essay as a series of blocks. Each block is a paragraph that makes up your essay. Each paragraph is made up of about 250-300 words, except for the introduction and conclusion which are determined by the size of your essay. They are usually 10% of the total length of the essay. Introduction Propose a thesis 10% of the word length (150 words) You need to know your overall position on the topic. Body paragraph 1: first main idea A. Supporting information a. Detail b. Detail c. Detail 250-300 words- Develop a support argument for the thesis. Make a note of the first main idea you thought of after analysing the question: an idea that you came up with or one from the first few readings (often a set text). Later you may rearrange the ideas, remove it, or join it to a related idea. Make sure you keep your eye on the essay question. Body paragraph 2: second main idea 250-300 words- Make a note of another main idea. Body Paragraph 3: third main idea 250-300 words- Another main idea Body Paragraph 4: fourth main idea 250-300 words Another main idea Conclusion 10% of the word length (150 words)Academic Writing: Essay plan (AW: EP HRMT) 2 Sample provisional essay plan Topic: In terms of surface level diversity, society makes a number of assumptions regarding the working ability of people based on characteristics such as age and gender. Referring to your research, what differences in ability can be found, if any, for age and gender? INTRODUCTION – approximately 10% of word length  What you interpret “assumptions” and “working ability” to mean  A general (thesis) statement about the assumptions about surface level diversity characteristics and their link to specific work abilities.  A statement of intent to include an outline of the areas you will consider in assessing this link. For example: These beliefs are erroneous as age and gender attributes are not negatively associated with the three key areas of concern of working ability, these being: job performance, employment satisfaction, and absenteeism. Body – approximately 80% of word length Organise your body paragraphs to include a main idea which is then proven, developed or illustrated by support evidence. Main idea 1 Female and older workers and job performance cognitive / mental abilities Supporting team performance information commitment to employer other work contributions of these workers Main idea 2 Female and older workers and employment satisfaction generational differences causes of satisfaction link to other work outcomes Main idea 3 Female and older workers and absenteeism family responsibilities number of family dependents voluntary versus involuntary absence Conclusion – approximately 10% of word length  a re-statement of your conclusion about surface level diversity characteristics and their link to specific work abilities  a comment about the consequences and implications for workplaces when assumptions are made about surface level diversity characteristics and their link to work abilities. Once this provisional plan is developed research can be done in a more targeted way, gaps in research can be identified and notes used efficiently. Using the provisional plan we can think about the order, expand on the original ideas and add quotes and paraphrased text to develop full paragraphs or a more elaborated plan. More Info: Wikibooks have produced ‘Writing better university essays: a guide to better essay writing’. The section “What goes in —What stays out?” covers planning http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Writing_Better_University_Essays Supporting information Supporting information