HOW TO WRITE AN ESSAY,part 4

6. How to write

Style is not something I can prescribe in a set of notes like this. Write well: if you have any problems in this direction, it is for your tutor to tell you about them. But here are a few random points instead.

Register

This is what linguists call a style appropriate to the occasion. Be aware: a certain scholarly gravity is called for. Not too heavy so that it's uninteresting. But avoid colloquial abbreviations: should not, not shouldn't. Jokes are hazardous: if they don't [do not follow my practice as regards don't] work, they can cost you a lot. Avoid them, on the whole: or at least don't be jokey. Don't for goodness sake imitate the way I'm writing here, either the rather flippant colloquial style or the somewhat overbearing tone, or the numbered subheadings. This is an essay on how to write a literary essay, not a literary essay.

Quotations

Firstly, quote sufficiently but not too copiously. Not more than a third of a (handwritten) page at the very outside, and usually just a few lines at a time. It's your thought, not the quotation, that is the point. On the other hand, never forget that your ideas should be tied firmly into the text, and that you should demonstrate this by quotation. Secondly, always give page numbers for your quotations: you will need to know where to find them again.

Short paragraphs

No short paragraphs.

Length

A non-assessed essay should be about six sides of handwritten or four sides of typed A4 at least.

Copy it

Always make a photocopy of any essay you do before you hand it in. Academics are very unreliable, and not uncommonly lose essays.

7. Getting it back

Here is a summary of things to keep in your mind about writing an essay. When I mark an essay, they are the things that I particularly look out for:

• Use of critics (ie don't slavishly agree with them)
• Range of reference to literary texts, including obscure ones
• Clear and perceptible structure
• Interesting ideas tied in to quotations
• The paragraph:

1. Length

2. Topic sentence

3. First sentence, last sentence

4. First paragraph (sets out themes)

• List of works consulted (properly styled)
• Quotations properly laid out, and references styled properly
• One side of the paper only
• Spelling and punctuation

8. Two how-to-do-it books

MLA Handbook for writers of research papers, theses, and dissertations , (New York: MLA, 1977) Gen. Ref. Z 253.

This is the most useful text to buy. It has notes on everything you need, including how to do indented outlines. It's not as full or as easy to understand as the next title below, but it's all there.

Update (27/3/99): you don't have to buy it any more. It's here, in a really helpful frame format. This is wonderful. All students should use this site all the time.

Kane, Thomas S, The Oxford Guide to Writing , (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983).

This book has it all: how to make an indented outline, how to spell, how to punctuate, how to write a paragraph, how to take notes, how to sharpen your pencil--everything. The bad news is that (a) it's rather American, and (b) it's out of print. Go and look at the short loan copy and photocopy anything you find useful. It's of particular use if you have any punctuation problems.

9. Read a different poem every day.

Finally. One of the key attributes of success in an English course is knowledge of a wide variety of styles, periods, and topics in English Literature. Here is a painless way of learning this. Subscribe to this site and they will email you a different poem every day. Take time every day to read the poem, think about it, and post a short comment on their bulletin board. The site is frustrating and often bizarre, but the exercise is the most useful single thing I can think of at the moment for an English student to do.

HOW TO WRITE AN ESSAY(part 1)

HOW TO WRITE AN ESSAY(part 2)

HOW TO WRITE AN ESSAY(part 3)

HOW TO WRITE AN ESSAY(part 4)

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