Essay Writing

Abstract

The first point to establish is that the requirement to write essays is not meant to be an institutional burden forced on you by sadistic academics. Essay writing is important for the following reasons:

• (a) It forces you to re-work your notes, to take possession of and understand your material thoroughly, to organise your thinking.

• (b) It helps you to practise the crucial skill of expressing your ideas on paper with clarity and persuasiveness. This is not just important in terms of academic success, but is central to your development as a thinking person.

• (c) It represents a measurement of your progress, enabling both you and those who teach you to identify strengths and weaknesses.

• (d) It provides vital material for future examination revision.

• (e) It gives you important practice in a skill which is of fundamental importance in the examination situation … and in many other aspects of your life.

• (f) It may in some circumstances represent part of the coursework which contributes to your final grade.

‘Reading maketh a full man … and writing an exact man.’ [Francis Bacon]