1. Writing an essay

2. Preparation
Make sure you understand what the question is asking you and you are focusing on the question. (1)
Try and work out the main point of the question.
Map out your answer before reading. Use the lecture notes as a guide to this mapping. (2)
Begin with the standard literature on the subject.
Avoid committing yourself to build up your own arguments, including undertaking empirical studies, in answer to the question.
Read the question several times. Make sure you understand what is being asked of you. Make sure your what you write is in answer to the question and not simply on the topic of the question. It might be an idea to discuss the question, and how you intend to answer it, with fellow students after some preliminary research on your part (i.e., after a quick literature review).
Do a mind map or at the very least jot down some notes to aid you in structuring your answer and identifying the main points to be made and how they are to be related to one another.

3. Introduction
Indicate at the start of the introduction your understanding of the question.
Indicate the focus of your proposed answer. In this way you will get depth in your answer.
If the question is very broad try and narrow it, and justify how you intend to narrow it. (1)
Sometimes questions are ambiguous. Hence it is a good idea to indicate the ambiguity in the question and how you intend to interpret it. (2)
Outlining your proposed approach indicating the sorts of issues you intend to address and line of argumentation you intend to develop in the substantive part of the paper. (3)
If you feel a full answer to the essay would require you to have too broad a coverage of the subject matter bearing in mind the word limitations imposed on you, you might use the introduction to indicate to the reader that you understand what is really required in terms of the scope but are focusing on the key issues to remain within the confines of the word limit while still going into some degree of depth.
If you are being asked a question which is ambiguous, then the introduction is the place to indicate what you perceive to be the ambiguity in the question and how you intend to deal with it – your interpretation of the question. However, please do not reinterpret questions for your convenience.
This helps the reader to understand your intended line of argumentation and the logic of the structure of the substantive part of your essay.

4. Changing the question
Question Where has most investment finance come from in successful developing countries? Answer with reference to a country or countries of your choice. Title of essay Profit and government intervention as the fuel of successful developing economies: Empirical evidences of China, Japan and South Korea.

5. Broad question – example 1
Economic liberalisation has been detrimental to the development of many developing countries. Discuss.

6. Broad question – example 2
Can the spectacular growth performance of China be attributed to economic liberalization policies?

7. Broad and vague question – example 1
Assess competing explanations for the continuing problems in the world economy.

8. The substantive part
In essays of limited length make sure the bulk of the substantive part is directly focused on the core of what is required in answer to the question. (1-2)
Avoid giving your own views on the subject matter of the question without first referring to the literature.
Try and use literature which is recognised as the core work on the subject at hand and not simply random articles drawn from the internet.(3)
Do not simply present arguments without critically appraising them (i.e., avoid saying X said this and Y said that).
Presenting counter arguments is not an acceptable criticism of an argument. Alternative evidence is not a criticism of the evidence presented by proponents of an argument.
Avoid vague and/or superficial statements.
Do not pad your answers with irrelevant material. Avoid doing “brief overviews” of anything, especially things that are not directly relevant, e.g., theories, background information, empirical evidence, etc.
Your lectures and lecture notes will provide you with a guide to the important literature.

9. Concluding section
Make sure you indicate your basic answer to the question, and indicate the key points you have made in the text pertaining to this answer.(1)
Avoid introducing new analysis in the concluding section.
Do not present policy implications unless these are required by the question.

10. Other Use short sentences (1) Avoid jargon
Provide citations to materials you have used
Include a list of references
The Economist magazine is a good example of good use of short sentences.

11. Examples of problems

12. Question 1
Q. To what extent can the recent world economic crisis be attributed to the mercantilist policies of Asian countries?

13. Introduction
In answer to the question the paper will ….c) Look at the evolution of the recent world economic crisis, explaining the nature of the crisis and what it meant for the global economy, and d) Provide an explanation the causes of the crisis as advanced by three main theoretical perspectives.

14. Substantive part
Define key terms-‘ economic crisis’ and ‘mercantilism’ along with its variants (financial and monetary mercantilism). Explain the evolution and effects of the economic crisis using stylised facts.
 Explain briefly that mercantilism is not a new phenomena and see how previously it was pursued vigorously by west.
 Explain the mercantilist policies pursued by East Asian countries.
 Explain how these policies have been argued to be one of the causes of the crisis (an explanation mainly advanced by orthodox and neoclassical economists). After this additional explanations of the same crisis by the same school will be provided.
 Thereafter there will be brief outline of two other theoretical perspectives explaining the causes of economic crisis (i.e the Neoclassical and Heterodox perspectives) without explicitly mentioning the theoretical perspective under discussion. The purpose of this is to give contradicting views about what caused the crises.

15. Question 2
Q. Can the spectacular growth performance of China be attributed to economic liberalization policies?

16. Conclusions
The last section will draw conclusions about the primary causes of the spectacular growth of China. By considering the historical background of China’s economy, as well as tracking each of the policy implementations related to growth, one can conclude that China is following its own, unique, State-driven development path, gradually applying some liberal policies in the spheres where they could be implemented in a most efficient way.

17. Question 3
Q. Where has most investment finance come from in successful developing countries? Answer with reference to a country or countries of your choice.

18. Introduction
The first part will indicate what is meant by ‘investment finance’ and how it could impact the economic growth. The second part will look to develop the argument that foreign financing has been the most important source of investment financing and the main cause of fast economic growth in successful developing countries. The third part will present recent evidence pertaining to the case of China to support the argument.

19. Substantive part
Will analyse international capital mobility and the relationship with economic growth.
 There will also be a brief explanation of the argument that trade liberalization and the liberalization of capital flows leads to economic growth…
 There will be an analysis of deregulation of banks and markets and financial innovation in developing countries…
 The essay will consider the characteristics of the group of countries known as the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), and the impact of their fast economic growth both regionally and globally..
 There will be a study of the composition and evolution of investment finance in China, and a further analyse of its new position as “the world's largest recipient of FDI”