Effective Writing at the Graduate Level: Essay Organization Student Development Services Writing Support Centre UCC 210

Layers of Effective Writing Layer 1: Appearance Grammar, Formatting, Etc. Layer 2: Writing Style Sentence Flow Layer 3: Organization Connecting the Ideas Layer 4: Content The Ideas

Essay Organization ❖ Present your ideas in a logical (not chronological) order ❖ Essential at the macro (paper) and micro (paragraph) levels

Critical Essay Organization ❖ Intro-Body-Conclusion ❖ Usually, roughly word distribution

Introduction ❖ Introduce the topic ❖ Narrow the focus using key references ❖ Make a clear thesis statement General Specific

Thesis Statements ❖ The most important part of an essay ❖ Thesis = Argument ❖ More than just the topic ❖ More than just your position

Thesis Example ❖ WEAK: Freud’s concept of the structural model of the psyche is wrong. ❖ BETTER: Freud’s concept of the structural model of the psyche is more popular with the general public than with medical professionals.

Body ❖ All content should come back to the thesis ❖ Follow a logical order (A-B, B-C, C-D) ❖ Many possible structures: ❖ Compare-contrast ❖ Chronological

Conclusion ❖ Revisit your thesis ❖ Apply to your topic ❖ Extend beyond your topic ❖ Maybe a new point General Specific

3: Paragraph Organization ❖ All about Topic Sentences and Support ❖ Each paragraph should cover one Topic that is Supported by clear evidence ❖ Follow a logical order (A-B, B-C, C-D)

Paragraph Example ❖ 1. The authors dismiss one of the most interesting findings of the experiment without giving an explanation. 2. Bees already carrying pollinia were more likely to revisit A. morio. 3. They explain why pollinia carrying bees do not visit less (unable to distinguish flowers at low densities) but do not explain why bees that have previously visited A. morio are more likely to return, despite the apparent lack of reward for such behaviour. 4. The difference, though slight, was highly significant. 5. The bees must benefit from returning to the deceptive orchid. 6. This odd finding shows that some confounding variable may not be accounted for in this study. 7. Perhaps the pollen provides some type of health benefit to the pollinator. 8. Regardless, this issue must be resolved in order to achieve a complete understanding of this phenomenon.