Writing the Essay
The practical unit. How to get from a set topic to a submitted essay: what to do first, how to quote and cite without error, and what revision actually consists of once the argument exists.
- Read an essay topic for what it actually asks.
- Quote and cite accurately in the required style.
- Revise for argument before revising for sentences.
- Avoid the academic-integrity failures that are easiest to commit by accident.
Most marks lost in first-year English are not lost to weak ideas. They go to unanswered questions, unsupported claims and essays that stopped at the first draft.
The discipline of drafting, leaving alone and returning transfers to every kind of writing. So does the habit of separating structural revision from sentence-level editing.
Citation conventions exist so a reader can verify a claim. That is the whole purpose, and it explains most of the rules — including why a plausible-looking but non-existent source is a serious problem rather than a formatting slip.
Starting
"Discuss the use of silence in one of the texts studied."
Do not decide the thesis first and hunt for support. Gather the passages that struck you, look for the pattern, then write the claim the pattern supports. The essays that fail are usually the ones that knew their conclusion before rereading.
Quoting
Check every quotation against the text before submitting. A misquotation undermines an argument built on the exact words, and it is the easiest error to prevent.
Citing
English courses normally use MLA, but the course sets the style. Check Quercus rather than assuming.
The safe rule is simple: if a thought came from somewhere else, say where.
Revising
A draft finished the night before submission cannot be revised, only proofread. Finish two or three days early and the same effort produces a noticeably better essay — because you return as a reader rather than as the writer.
• Answering a topic you were not set.
• Quoting from memory.
• Paraphrasing a critic without citation.
• Editing sentences before the structure is
settled.
• Submitting a first draft, which is the most reliable way to lose marks
on an essay whose ideas were sound.
Practice
Work each fully before opening the answer. These are process questions and apply to every essay you will write.
Why underline the topic's verb?
Answer
Fix: The imagery is violent. "the sky broke open"
Answer
Do you cite a paraphrase?
Answer
What is wrong with rearranging a source's sentence and citing it?
Answer
Why revise structure before sentences?
Answer
You read your first sentences in sequence and they form a list. What does that show?
Solution
Rewrite: "It could be argued that the ending is perhaps somewhat ambiguous."
Answer
Why finish a draft several days early?
Answer
Expanded topic checklist
Course coverage. This unit closes the ENG140Y1 topic map. It should cover the following:
- Topics. Reading the verb and the constraints.
- Quotation. Integration, brackets, ellipses, accuracy.
- Citation. What requires it, and the accidental failures.
- Revision. Structure first, sentences second, with time between.
Citation style, essay length and the marking rubric are all set by the course. Check Quercus, and treat the syllabus as authoritative wherever it differs from this guide. The Writing Centres offer free appointments and are the most underused resource at the university.
Units 1 to 8 produce readings. Unit 9 turns them into an argument. This unit turns the argument into a submitted essay, which is a separate skill and the one most often left to the last night.
Deep practice extensions
Use these after the main practice set. They test whether the distinctions have actually landed.
What is the first thing to do with an essay topic?
Guide
What must be cited besides quotations?
Guide
Which pass comes first?
Guide
What does hedged phrasing usually indicate?