Essay planning and structure: A short guide

Starting the writing process can be a challenge when you haven't written at university level before, or if you are returning to study after a break. This guide will advise you of five steps to take to make the most of your time when planning your academic writing. 

• Familiarise yourself with your essay titles or assignment briefs at the beginning of term, or as soon as you receive them.
• Select a few essay titles that you think you may enjoy engaging with, and keep them in mind, especially during lectures, seminar discussions or reading.

Tip: to remind yourself of the essay titles for a module, keep them to hand. You may want to write a few on post-it notes and have them on your desk for example. You may identify relevant arguments, sources and examples whilst reading or studying throughout the term.

A few weeks before your deadline, start eliminating some of the titles you initially chose, to find the one which best addresses your interests. Choose the topic you feel most excited about!

• Analyse the question. What concepts are mentioned? How can they be defined? What approaches to the question could you take? What is the assumption made within the question, and can you challenge it?
• Brainstorm anything you know about the concepts in the essay title, and try to provide an instinctive response to the question, as well as definitions of these concepts. 
• Do not be concerned with finding the most suitable wording or having the best grammar, at this stage. What is important now is to jot down your thoughts. Once you have your initial responses, it will be easier to develop a plan of action. 
• After 20 minutes of brainstorming, read what you have written, identify any gaps in your knowledge, and ask yourself whether you already have a potential argument. Don’t worry if you haven’t, as you will develop it whilst reading the literature.
• Use your resource list as a starting point for your research, but always seek out other relevant sources to show independence and originality. Identify the broad arguments, approaches, positions, and debates within the literature.
• Consider how you could comment on, challenge or add to these debates: this intervention is your argument.
• If possible, try to order quotes and ideas according to where you think they might appear in the essay. As key themes start to emerge, start constructing a preliminary plan and begin recording references in appropriate sections

Based on what you read and wrote during Stage 2, you can use this to develop a detailed essay plan. Following this, you can continue reading and taking notes, changing the plan if necessary.

• Organise the points you want to make into broad sections. Even if you decide not to use essay headings in your final version, it can be helpful to use them to structure your drafts.
• Decide what your central argument is going to be, what points you want to make in support of it, and what evidence you will use to back up those points.
• Consider the flow from one point to the next; what will be the best order for your ideas? Outline the shape of your essay before you begin to flesh out its paragraphs.

By now, a first draft should start to take shape. It is useful to know what you want to argue before you begin to write. State your argument in your introduction, and then spend the conclusion summarising the reasons and evidence that make it valid. Again, signposting here is a key skill. 

• Follow your plan, developing one point per paragraph.
• As you write, adjust your initial structure if you need to, recording any changes on your plan.
• Your writing may still be rough at this stage. Work through your ideas and arguments but don’t worry about polishing your sentences just yet.
• Group similar ideas together rather than jumping around. 
• Individual paragraphs should be differentiated typographically, i.e, by indenting or by allowing additional line spaces between (check whether your school has a preference).
• Think of paragraphs as mini-essays. Start with a topic sentence to introduce the main point of the paragraph; explain that point further; provide evidence and interpret/analyse the point; then link it to your overall argument. 
• Each paragraph should link to the next using transition words or phrases, such as 'alternatively;' 'consequently;' 'as a result'; ' furthermore...'
• The paragraphs should be placed in logical and consistent order. Play around with them until you get the best flow. They should feel progressive rather than list-like. 
• Finish your first draft and leave it aside for a few days. 

• With ‘fresh eyes’ and a clear mind, re-read your first draft. Write comments and identify gaps in your argument, to address in your second draft.
• As you re-write, always consider your reader and whether they will be able to understand and follow your ideas. Will they be convinced by your logic and use of evidence?
• Begin to pay closer attention to your essay’s structure, writing style and grammar.
• Ask yourself whether your main argument is stated and introduced convincingly enough at the beginning of the essay. Does each paragraph then develop this argument, and contribute to answering the question?
• Check for repetition, muddled sentences, or awkward phrasing.
• After re-writing and editing, proofread and format the essay. Make sure your references are all present and correct.
• Read the essay again for the last time.
• Finally, submit!