Essay writing in 7 stages
If you're not sure where to start, try working through these stages.
Stages
Details
Purpose
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Taking in the title
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Underlining the key words in the essay title and thinking about it over a period of days
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Formulating the overall purpose of the essay
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Gathering
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Gathering together notes for the essay rom various sources within the course
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Working out what use you can make of the course material you have been studying
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Generating ideas
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Getting ideas onto paper; quickly jotting down thoughts, sample sentences, etc.
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Capturing your own thoughts on paper
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Planning
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Organising your notes into a simple outline plan
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Working out what shape to give to the argument of the essay
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First draft
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Writing a first draft; 'taking' your reader through your argument
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'Speaking' your ideas to your reader, explaining your argument (translating your plan and notes from your own 'private' language into a shared, 'public' language)
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Reviewing
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Reading over your work in the light of the essay title and correcting errors and omissions
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Quality control
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Final draft
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Writing a final draft, paying attention to legibility, accuracy and general presentation
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Presenting a polished end product
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Source: A172: Start Writing Essays
More advice
Try the BBC's Writing Essays written by the OU's Andy Northedge.
For registered students only
Our toolkits on Writing Assignments and the Effective use of English which are also available in hard copy from our Regional Centres.
For registered students only
Our toolkits on Writing Assignments and the Effective use of English which are also available in hard copy from our Regional Centres.