Ok, so everyone will have an opinion on what you need to do to create a top class essay, but are there any definitive rules for creating an excellent university level essay?
Read on and we explain some of the most commonly cited tips for achieving top marks in your university level essay.
Notes on the Essay Question
You can prepare a great essay by reviewing your notes, and making a special set of notes for the essay. This means you should scan through your notes and highlight in a particular colour JUST those points, and that information which is directly relevant to the essay you are going to write. This can then be used to create an essay plan, or to check over to ensure you have addressed all the information the person marking the essay expects you to address.
Focus and answer the question Asked
Essays can be marked down if they do not answer the question asked. Lots of students address the question, but end up talking about what they are interested in, instead of directly answering the essay question. Lots of students fall into this trap time and time again – they allow their analysis to wander and lose focus. To avoid doing this you should constantly ask yourself if you are answering the question asked and if there is any way you can answer the question better, or more directly, or more fully.
Avoid going “Out to Sea” – Always Tie the Points you Make Back to the Essay Question
An essay can be marked down for what is known colloquially as “going out to sea” or using too many examples and failing to show, or explain why these examples are relevant to the question asked. If you use an example, you should be prepared to explain why it is relevant and why it helps to make the argument you are putting forward. Making sure your work ties back into the question is a speciality of Oxbridge Essays, and their academic writers know exactly how to answer a question with relevant and expertly implemented research. Get in touch with them for support and excellent advice.
Write a Good Introduction
Lots of essays are marked down for failing to some one basic thing – writing a good introduction. A good introduction will be clear and will clearly highlight how the writer intends to go about answering the question, while also giving some useful background information. You should clearly demarcate where you introduction begins and where it ends, and a good rule of thumb is that a good introduction will not be more than 10% of the total word count.
Make Your Conclusion a Good One!
A good conclusion should be clearly marked so the reader will be able to get there quickly and easily. You should use the conclusion to summarise the points you have made and outline the final findings you have arrived at. No “new” information should ever be introduced in the conclusion, as the conclusion is where you repeat in a clear way, what you did, how you did it and what you found.