Essay Writing: The Basics

Researching Your Topic

One of the first steps in essay writing is researching. You must research your essay by reading and finding relevant information. Reading on the topic enables you to develop a thesis and answer the essay question.

Where to Start?

Your starting point for your essay is your personal response to the essay topic or question. Your response is based on what you already know. But this is only the starting point. You then need to research, question your response, and find some answers.

Reading for Your Essay

Start Reading Early

Begin reading for the essay as early as possible. This will give you plenty of time to familiarise yourself with the topic and begin to develop your ideas.

When you begin to look at your readings more closely, remember to read with a purpose. Ask yourself:

• What do I already know about the topic? Start with what you know. If a topic is unfamiliar, do some introductory reading. Look at your lecture notes and course readings for help.
• What do I need to read to be able to answer the essay question?
• Is this material useful to my topic/argument?

Reading Lists

In some subjects, students are given a list of suggested readings to help them with their research. If you are given a reading list, obtain as many suggested readings as possible. If not, locate relevant material in the library. Use the catalogue to perform topic and subject searches.

Once you have your readings:

• use the table of contents and the index to locate the information you need
• skim through the text to locate specific information
• when you find something you need to read closely, flag the pages with a post-it note so you can return to them for a more in-depth reading
• photocopy useful sections of texts so you can underline and make notes

Taking Notes From Your Readings

When you find information relevant to your essay, note it down. Your notes will be the basis of your essay.

Don't take notes during your first reading
If you are using photocopies, you might want to underline or highlight relevant information. This will help you when you reread more carefully in order to take notes.

Always make notes with the question you're answering clearly in mind
You need to use evidence from texts and other sources to support your argument, so look carefully for useful information. This can include summaries or direct quotes from texts.

Make a note of any sources of information you use
To avoid confusion later, keep track of all the sources of information; copy down all the bibliographic details of what you read. Include:

• author
• date
• title
• publisher
• place of publication. For journal articles, include volume and issue numbers.

This will help with your referencing. See 'Effective Note-making from Written Text'