Essay Writing : A Tutorial

Essay writing is an essential part for getting the success in examination, and especially when in feature you want to choose as the journalist where there is great importance of having the skills of writing an essay. As some scholars thought that, two things play definite role in an essay writing first your thoughts and second one comprehensive vocabulary to demonstrate your thoughts on paper. And it is very difficult for every person to have both above qualities, but one can try to have the skill of writing as effective essay. We tell you the tips through which you can write an effective essay on any topic The following remarks are intended to assist you in the preparation of your essays.

It is not unusual for students to find themselves bogged down or stalled on some point of difficulty or puzzlement with an essay. This is especially likely to occur with first essays in philosophy, though it may also happen later. If you get stuck you should come and discuss the problem with the lecturer as soon as possible.

Essay Technique

The purpose of the exercise is to communicate your ideas to someone else. This is easier if you follow some simple methodical rules. Note: All of these points may be taken into account when essays are assessed.

Your essay should have a point to it. It is not sufficient just to summaries what you have read. You will probably need to give some account of what you have read in order to discuss it, but don't try to tell all you know or have read about the topic.
Consider what is relevant to the point - or points - you want to make, and prune out everything else. It is usually better to concentrate on one or two points and develop them in depth than to try to cram in everything mentioned in the secondary sources. (A few well-mapped paths are better than an impenetrable jungle.)

Philosophical problems, more than most, benefit from careful, considered and repeated reflection. It is recommended that you do not leave the preparation of your essay until the last minute.

(1) Have an introduction and a conclusion.

(2) Define the topic and aspects of the problem you intend to examine and state these in the introduction.

(3) Plan the presentation before starting to write.

Pay attention to the suggested word limit. This is intended only as a rough guide, but try not to fall short of it by a wide margin or to exceed it extravagantly. Remember: philosophical writing seldom suffers from condensation.

Long essays (more than 5000 words), should be preceded by an abstract (that is, a precise of the argument and conclusions), and if appropriate by a table of contents and acknowledgments; and they should of course be followed by a bibliography.
Don't pad your essay with long quotations. Whatever passages you quote should be brief and to the point.

Your essay does not have to provide a solution or offer a yes/no answer. You may decide instead that clarification of the question is needed, that further related questions may be raised, that some assumptions of the question should be challenged. (You may perhaps critically consider solutions, which have already been offered to the problem you are considering, and point out inconsistencies or difficulties in the proposed solution. Or you might see a conflict between the points of view of different writers on the same topic, or even an undetected conflict between the statements of the one writer; then you might attempt to resolve or at least discuss the conflict.)

You may be able to establish your case by showing how something follows (or does not follow) from some other statement; or by giving examples, which appeal to our understanding of a concept; or by giving counter-examples, which show that some claim must be false. One way to test a theory, or a proposed solution to a problem, is to push it a little further. Strange consequences or an implausible conclusion may indicate that there is something wrong with the assumptions or the argument that led to it. It can also strengthen your own arguments and help you to formulate your own preferred approach to the problem.

Leave a wide left-hand margin.

If you cannot type, then at least write clearly and space the paragraphs out well. If you type, please double-space.
To speed your reader's comprehension, pay attention to grammar, punctuation and spelling! (If you have problems with grammar it may help to read your essay through out loud; this often picks up mistakes.)

Do not use abbreviations like "etc", "&" and "%" in the body of the text, although they are all right in footnotes.

Number the pages.

Do not use slang except for a special purpose, and then place it in inverted commas. In general, use simple language but avoid ambiguity. Avoid pretentious language, circumlocution, "officials" and gobbled gook.

Use non-sexist language.

For example, when you mean the male sex then 'man' may be the appropriate term, but not if the human species as a whole is meant. The use of 'man' as a word or syllable meaning people or more broadly, the human species, can appear to exclude women. Rephrasing is possible. For example, mankind may become human beings, people or society, the average man or the man in the street may become the average person or people in general. Referring to a male person as 'he' is fine but not if the person referred to could be female. Traditionally, the pronoun 'he' has been used generically. There is some recognition now that 'he' is often understood to imply the masculine even when the generic is intended. In such cases, an alternative is to be preferred. Sometimes the pronoun can be omitted, or the sentence recast in the plural or made impersonal. If none of these solutions appeals in a particular context a little thought can usually contrive a rewording which avoids the apparent difficulty.

Use technical terms only if they are essential for precision; esoteric terms should always be explained.
It is recommended that you use the following recognized system (the so-called 'Harvard' system) for references and notes, and use it consistently. It is more economical of the reader's time than most other systems.