Academic Essay Writing Guide

Essays for Academic Purposes

• Academic essays aim to persuade readers with evidence
• They require referencing and acknowledgment of sources like books, journals, and the internet

Academic Essay Writing: Stages

• Planning: Formulate topic, Research, Create outline
• Writing: State argument in introduction, Develop with evidence in body, Conclude effectively
• Revision: Check essay content, organization, grammar, spelling, punctuation, and formatting

Writing Introductions

• Mention the essay's topic and focus
• Orient the reader to the essay's purpose
• Establish the essay's context
• Context limits the topic and focuses the essay
• Identify the central issue through questions or thesis statements
• Orient readers with necessary background information
• Provide answers to who, what, where, when, how, and why

Writing the Body

• Use the body to include conducted research
• Organize into 3-5 subtopics within paragraphs
• Center each paragraph around a main idea that is introduced in a topic sentence.

Transition Words and Phrases

• Transitions help structure and clarify essays
• Transitions are essential in good academic essays
• There are 10 categories of transitions
• Examples of logical relationship transition words and phrases:
  • Similarity: also, in the same way, just as … so too, likewise, similarly
  • Exception/Contrast: but, however, in spite of, on the one hand … on the other hand, nevertheless, nonetheless, notwithstanding, in contrast, on the contrary, still, yet, although,
  • Sequence/Order: first, second, third, … next, then, finally
  • Time: after, afterward, at last, before, currently, during, earlier, immediately, later, meanwhile, now, recently, simultaneously, subsequently, then
  • Example: for example, for instance, namely, specifically, to illustrate
  • Emphasis: even, indeed, in fact, of course, truly, even though
  • Place/Position: above, adjacent, below, beyond, here, in front, in back, nearby, there
  • Cause and Effect: accordingly, consequently, hence, so, therefore, thus
  • Additional Support or Evidence: additionally, again, also, and, as well, besides, equally important, further, furthermore, in addition, moreover, then
  • Conclusion/Summary: finally, in a word, in brief, briefly, in conclusion, in the end, in the final analysis, on the whole, thus, to conclude, to summarize, in sum, to sum up, in summary
• Citizen journalism and engagement in print aim to expose uncovered or hidden agendas

Writing a Conclusion

• Returns to the essay's thesis
• Summarizes main points
• Shows why the argument matters
• Conclusion transition words are "in conclusion," "to conclude," etc.

Referencing/Citations in Academic Essays

• Referencing is required when using sources, quotes, or ideas from others
• Referencing follows a style like APA (American Psychological Association)

APA Referencing Style: In-text Citations

• APA style uses in-text citations, author's last name and year of publication
• Include in-text citations when referring to, summarizing, paraphrasing, or quoting a source
• Each in-text citation needs a corresponding entry in the reference list
• Example formats: (Smith, 2020), (Smith & Miller, 2018), or (Miller et al., 2019)
• Example of In-text referencing in a paragraph: (Derwing et al., 2002; Thomas, 2004)
• For an item with an author, use (Asmelash, 2019)
• For an item with an organizational author, use (World Health Organization, 2018)
• For an item with no date, use (American Psychological Association [APA], n.d.)
• For an item with 2 authors, use (Nikondo & Woldemariam, 2017)
• For an item with more than 2 authors, use (Chomsky et al.,2019)
• Reference multiple sources for the same information with a semicolon: (Gass & Varonis, 1984; Krech & Thomas, 2004)

Direct Quotes

• Use quotation marks and page numbers for direct quotes.
• Example with page numbers: (Gass & Varonis, 1984, p. 85)

The Reference List

• A reference list is a list of the books you used to find information about the topic.
• Basic format for referencing books: Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work. Publisher Name.

Reference List Guidelines

• Each source in the paper must appear in the reference list
• The reference list should be in bold and centered
• The list must be double-spaced
• Arrange the list alphabetically by the author's surname
• Indent each hanging line that is after the first line
• Italicize the book title
• Include the HTTP address for online versions
• Use an ampersand (&) for 2 or more authors instead of "and"
• Between 3 and 20 authors should be separated by a comma

Additional Referencing Notes

• For 3 to 20 authors, (Nguyen, T., Carnevale, J. J., Scholer, A. A., Miele, D. B., & Fujita, K. (2019) is an example
• For a work with no author, move the work's title to the beginning and follow it with the date of the publication
• Use “Anonymous " if the work's author is noted as such in the text
• If there are two works by the same author published in the same year, organize them alphabetically by title then assign letters a, b, c, etc.

Referencing by Source Type

• Article in Print Journal: Italicize journal name only
• Article in Electronic Journal: Include the HTTP address
• Article in a Magazine: Note the month, ex: Peterzell, J. (1990, April).
• Article in a Newspaper: List the specific pages, ex: The Country Today, 1A, 2A.
• For Webpage or Piece of Online Content: Lastname, F. M. (Year, Month Date). Title of page. Site name. URL
• For Article from an Online Periodical with DOI Assigned: Lastname, F. M., & Lastname, F. M. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, Vol.(Issue), page numbers. DOI
• For Online News Article: Leave the title of the article unformatted if the newspaper is associated.
• For Dissertation/Thesis from a Database: Lastname, F. M. (Year). Title of dissertation or thesis (Publication No.) [Doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis, Name of Institution Awarding Degree]. Database Name.
• For YouTube or Streaming Video: Last Name, F. M. [Username]. (Year, Month Date). Title of video [Video]. Streaming Service. URL
• For Film or Video: Director, D. D. (Director). (Date of publication). Title of motion picture [Film]. Production company.
• For TV Series Episode: Writer, W. W. (Writer), & Director, D. D. (Director). (Original air date). Title of episode (Season number, Episode number) [Tv series episode]. In P. Executive Producer (Executive Producer), Series title. Production company(s).

Definitions:

• Academic Essay: structured writing in school or university
• Referencing: citations of information sources (book or article)
• Reference List: list of publication information, also known as a bibliography
• Scientific Journal: periodical publication to further science, reporting new research
• Journal Article: academic paper in a scientific journal
• Periodical: a magazine recurring within periods of time
• Publication: scientific article/paper published in a journal
• Thesis: long essay with personal research for a university degree, usually a Master's Degree
• Dissertation: long essay with external research for a university degree, typically a Ph.D.