Lemurized

How to Write Undergraduate Essays

2

nd

Edition

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By Undisclosed Industries

About Me

Hey. I am a student from New Zealand in the process of finishing up my undergraduate work. I have studied

politics, law, security studies, English, Speech and Drama, and history. Most of the time (i.e., when I wasn’t

lazy) I got A to A+ grades. I didn’t really think about why until recently. When I did, I thought it might be useful

to chronicle my musings for the benefit of humanity.

Essay Writing

Point 1: Basics

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The basic structure of the essay should suggest itself from the question.

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Writing drafts: normally a waste of day; they’re not marked under normal circumstances. The

exception is for exceedingly complicated and/or exceedingly long assignments.

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Essays test what you know (facts) and then, in most cases, arguments (which includes the merits and

criticisms of the arguments) Deal with facts first, then argue.

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Structure for persuasive essay: ‘These are the issues, these are the approaches, and, if you are going

to do something, this is the best approach and this is why it is the best approach.’

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Must prove

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Be sympathetic, then criticize.

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Pay close attention to your lecturer’s directions, but more than this, try and pick up the style of essays

he likes to read. What are his pet like and dislikes? Is he a bleeding heart or an iron eagle? What sort

of words does he use? Is he all about the facts and main arguments of the topic area with no strings

attached, or does he like to see student’s musings on a topic? You get the idea.

Point 2: The Information Highway

To maintain a logical flow of content while minimizing research/reading time, think in terms of the

information

highway

. More organic, more dynamic, the information highway introduces procedural flexibility without

compromising the assignment’s structural integrity.

When you read relevant information that is coverage. Coverage comprises breadth and length. Imagine a

timeline. That’s the length. Writing factoids in at the various dates would be the breadth.

Length of Coverage:

Length of Coverage is the MAIN POINTS (arguments and facts) you need to make. We could call these general

sectors or bases of analysis.

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I had to write a 2

nd

Edition because the first one was so bad.

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When you read a variety of sources, the main points will suggest themselves via repetition.

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Think generally, not specifically.

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Divide your main points into your word/page count, either by weight or by integer.

Breadth of Coverage:

Breadth of coverage is expanding the main points with as much

relevant

information as can be

concisely

included within the determined word limit for each point.

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Think of this as filling in the blanks. In other words, start writing some info next to your ‘timeline’ –

you are ‘colouring in’ a particular main point or sector of analysis.

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Think specifically, not generally.

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You do not have to decide the specific content of the breadth of coverage for each main point until you

come to write it

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Content include examples, case studies, bullcrap, quotes, comparisons and contrasts, and/or detailed

analysis to demonstrate or prove your point.

Reflexive Incrementalism

(← this is a very erudite term. How do we know? Say it out loud. Notice how pretentious

and overplayed it sounds)

This is the vital bit. It informs both breadth and length of coverage.

What you do is read whatever on the topic, and rationalize it into coherency as you write your essay (i.e.,

incrementally).

How?

Find a logical place to start and write a paragraph. The, you take into account what you have already written,

and use that as a filter or ‘paradigm’ to process how the new information will progress your essay. This new

information is incorporated into your essay so far (usually, but not necessarily, at the point where you are up

to), and you revise as necessary (including the number of words you’ve used). The result, in turn, is used to

assess the next batch of incoming information. Whenever you run out of stuff to write, you round up some

fresh info. Thus your essay’s argument will develop additively or INCREMENTALLY during its writing. Another

way of putting this concept is that for the tenure of writing, you will have a dynamically evolving (things

inevitably evolve dynamically) thesis statement. So you will always be heading in a direction because of your

dynamic thesis statement, and that (‘a’) direction will invariably be right because it will be constantly being

recalibrated by the rationalization of new information (super!)

Note: The concept of length and breadth of information is the structural side of the revision when you factor in

new information.

What you are essentially doing is bashing unknown information on the head with known information. You will

find, as your essay progresses, the known information will accumulate to a critical level. You know you have

reached critical info level when the known information turns unknown unknown information [information you

don’t know you don’t know] into known unknown information [information you know you don’t know]

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. You

will then be able to predict (know) the main points or sectors of the remainder of your essay (remember forget

about the specifics or breadth until you come to write it – these are or will become known unknowns).

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You may ask…how do we know we have turned all unknown uknowns into known unknowns. Leave that

question for the Philosophy Department (they need such material to justify their existence). You will know
intuitively, and that will be sufficient.

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Reaching critical info level means you will be able to go back to watching Desperate Students Housewives in

the near future.

This saves yips of time and stress. You don’t have to find information to ‘prove’ your preconceived point

anymore. You can start writing your essay without having to know the exact progression of the damn thing. In

the best murder-mystery tradition, you won’t know how it ends till you’ve written it. Your coverage and use of

sources will automatically be great. You will revise as you go. Your essay will appear ‘balanced’ and ‘reasoned’

regardless of the horse’s assery the sources contained. Nor will you be 20,000 Leagues over the Word Limit

anymore.

Fun fact: Did you know, I did not know how this argument of mine would pan out until I wrote the entire

thing?

Point 3: Default Structure

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Google the instructive terms in essays questions (describe, analyse, etc) and follow them exactly. The

type of term should inform the nature of your reflexive incrementalism

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If a topic is broad, qualify it through examining only a part of it as an example, or break it down into

sectors of analysis

The Introduction

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The very first sentence says something sexy yet non-contentious, commanding attention without

provoking ire.

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The second and sometimes third sentences link the first sentence with the thesis sentence(s).

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Next comes the thesis statement

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The thesis states briefly on what point the essay will inform and/or persuade the reader. It is

the proposition to be proved or expanded upon.

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You ALWAYS write your thesis after you have written your body. Because you have used the

Information Highway paradigm you will have a logical, structured, body. At the end, if you

summarize its main argument in a sentence (or two), you will have a thesis.

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The introduction (if necessary) is ended by an overview of the arguments and information to be

covered.

Things Known as Paragraphs

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Don’t be afraid to write mini introductions for subsections of the essay, but keep ‘em tight. The para

introduction represents the one and only point of that para; likewise for the main intro in terms of the

entire essay.

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Don’t forget linking sentences between paras if necessary. Make sure your essay flows logically from

point to point.

Conclusion

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Either a:

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Summary - in which case you restate your essay’s main points and/or summarize

how

you

proved your thesis; or an

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Aspect Conclusion – in which you show your reader how the issue discussed is bathed in a

new light. This can be very general. Makes for a quick conclusion.

Incisiveness

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The first definition that came up when I googled this word was ‘penetrating, clear, and sharp, as in operation or

expression.’ Incisiveness is THE fundamental trait of A+ essays. Incisiveness is about getting to the core of the

issue, like getting a ball out from the middle of a scrum. Incisiveness implies using, analysing, and constructing

concepts. Much of academia is conceptual.

What is a concept?

A concept is the abstract, somewhat vague functional essence behind concrete things. It is a general idea

derived or inferred from specific instances or occurrences.

For example…

You always eat food. But do you ever actually eat food as such? You do not. You eat chicken, steak, potatoes,

carrots, etc. You always eat some specific type of food, and not food in general. Food is a concept. A specific

food is the practical idea derived from the concept.

Science concepts are easy to identify. What’s the concept here? (a) the ball bounces when I throw it (b) Every

action has an equal and opposite reaction.

You must get to the heart of a subject, and find the core idea (the concept). Find out how this idea functions.

That = understanding. A good way of deepening your conceptual capacity is learn abstract words (any words

not related to the five senses): Occlude, concatenate, referent, mutable, disjunction, ageis, etc. Wittgenstein:

‘The limits of my language mean the limits of my world’.

An example from one of my own essays:

“Importantly, a system equals ‘units + interaction + structure’.

[Basic concept]

Since states are the units

comprising the international system; states and the international system are a mutualism, different

expressions and elements of the international system inextricably bound together.

[This demonstrates

understanding of the function of the concept]

The contemporary international system has accorded high

priority to the problems originating from weak states because of the close links between weak states and the

international system to which all states are attached and constitute. Weak states pollute the interactions of

the world security system. In such a complex system, corruption of the ‘blood stream’ of interactions means

the entire system and its state units are exposed in various degrees to the problems of weak/failed states.

[This explains how the concept works in reality and affects it]

”

Note: some of this I plagiarized from something someone else wrote whom I forget, so there you have it.

Style

There are different types of sentences. Use them.

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Simple (‘The cat sat on the mat’)

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Compound (‘The cat sat on the mat, but the dog sat on the chair’)

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Complex (‘While the dog sat on the chair, the cat sat on the mat’)

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Short sentences. (‘The cat sat’).

Style variants

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The dash – it’s very cool.

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Start with a Who, What, Where, Why, What start. ‘When Napoleon invaded Russia...’

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Adverbs, verbals, and prepositions.

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The semicolon ; This cuts down use of ‘and’.

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Alliteration and assonance. Use sparingly. ‘Some solutions were not so easily solicited ...’

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Colons. Good for the following: lists, and expounding on the final word in detail before the

colon.

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Use commas and semi colons to convey similar units of information.

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Only use big words where they convey the sense more precisely.

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Write in the active verb form.

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Have something to say and say it as clearly as possible. That is the only secret of style.

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Writing a little bit every day is more effective than writing your essay in one hit.

Sources

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Use a broad base.

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Objectivity = many sources.

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Go for shorter academic works like articles and periodicals. These take less time to read than books.

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Quotes: you must show the relationship of the quote with the essay.

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Google books and amazon books previews are your friends. So are these pirate websites:

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https://kat.ph/

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http://freebookspot.es/

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http://ebookee.org/

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http://www.synet.net/

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http://bookos.org/

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http://libgen.org/

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http://libgen.info/view.php?id=738907

Exam Writing

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The sixty second plan

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Write down memory cues (single words) that you remember from your study.

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Then prioritize them. The most important point directly follows the introduction.

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The introduction is preferably only a thesis statement.

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It is not how much you write, but what you write that counts. Four A4 pages per hour is fine.

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Be specific as possible.

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Use subheadings and paragraphs.

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Plan your time.

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Don’t read, study. Studying is reading something 200 times over. So, you need to study only

RELEVANT information.

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Someone else came up with this too.

Well, there you have it…

…2000 words of pure gold. Not quite. About 4 to 500 are just placeholders and not strictly relevant or

instructive, BUT, I distributed them evenly throughout to mitigate their impact. Should you wish to contact me

and complain about how my approach earned you a D-, you can email me at [e-mail]

Go forth and write.

Lemurized