When you first begin working on an essay, what is the first place you usually go for information? Most students are likely to go to the internet to look for sources. But, can we trust that the information we will find on the internet is of an acceptable standard? It is hard to think so.
What is a Thesis Statement? A thesis statement is a sentence or sentences that present the main idea or the central argument of your essay. It tells the reader what your essay is going to argue. Your thesis statement must be presented in your introduction. A good thesis statement will answer your essay question
A shortened phrase is an abbreviation of a group of words form a phrase or name that have been contracted for ease of writing. They are especially useful in essays and theses that repeat the same phrase or name many times. Understanding their correct usage can help avoid errors and confusion, and add to
Introductions In order for the first paragraph of an essay to actually be a proper introduction (in other words, for it to fulfill the requirements of a proper introduction), it must do two things. These two things are: 1) Include a thesis statement. 2) Provide a preview or essay plan for the essay. So
When you are required to write a critical review, you will need to summarise and evaluate a text. The critical review can be of a book, a chapter or a journal article. You are usually asked to read the selected text in detail and also other related texts in order to present a rational and
It is possible to improve your grades by self-editing your essay or assignment before you hand it in. Many students fail to look over their work once they have completed it, or they do not know what to look for. This means that students are handing in work that contains spelling mistakes, grammatical errors,
In order to write an essay that answers the essay question effectively, you first must be able to analyse the essay question. Firstly, you should know the kind of essay you are expected to write. There are two main types of essays: explanatory essays and argumentative essays. An explanatory essay, as its name implies, is
Part Two: Research Skills and Academic Sources This article is part of the series ‘How to Write Distinction Essays Every Time: The Six Steps to Academic Essay Writing’. One article in this series will be published on the Editex blog each day this week. Have you ever received feedback on an assessment telling you that
The problem In the complicated workplace of punctuation, the poor old hyphen needs to form a union. It dutifully performs its role of joining compound words and reliably appears when a suffix or prefix needs assistance. However, many students and writers drag the overworked hyphen into use while the en dash and em dash rest
Have you ever been told that your writing style is not academic or that it is too informal? Are you unsure what rules to follow, what you can do and what you should not do? Formality Academic writing needs to be formal and impersonal. This means that your writing should be clear, concise and professional.
