A Quick Guide to the "Traditional" Academic Essay Assigned in U.S. Academic SettingsElizabeth Coughlin, Assistant Director for the DePaul University Writing Center Please keep in mind that these are only general guidelines; always defer to your professor's specifications for a given assignment. If you have any questions about the content represented here, please contact the Writing Centers so that we can address them for you. Writing in undergraduate and graduate programs in the United States takes many forms, of course, but one of the most common is the essay assignment. The requirements, constraints, and opportunities for exploration presented by an assignment will depend on its context, so this handout offers a general overview of the main features of and expectations for essays assigned in many U.S. academic settings. Often described simply as a “piece of writing on a subject,” the essay has a particularly elastic definition in comparison to other kinds of documents, such as incident or lab reports or business plans. A distinctive feature is that readers generally do not rely on essays to determine a practical course of action; instead, they read for other purposes. Essays are an especially useful type of writing because they enable writers to:
Essays also provide a forum for students to demonstrate their understanding of concepts and principles and their mastery of a subject covered in class. Writers draw on an array of sources for their essays, from personal feelings or studies, to popular or “common” knowledge, to information, questions, and ideas drawn from other writers and sources. The source material for college essays is determined by the requirements of the assignment, the nature of the essay, and the needs of its readers. The Introduction In general, “academic” essays in the U.S. are characterized by a level of explicitness and detail that are not necessarily expected in other cultures or in other genres, and their U.S. readers will look to the Introduction to orient them to the essay’s essential elements. Those readers might be identified in a writing assignment (for example, people with opposing viewpoints), or they might be easy to imagine based on its context (such as fellow scholars). Although there are as many ways of orienting readers as there are types of essays, many college faculty expect the opening paragraph(s) of their students’ essays to accomplish the following tasks:
Even when your essay responds to a very concrete and specific assignment, remember that your introduction is your readers’ first “contact moment” with your ideas. Even if they know something about your subject, they won’t necessarily know what you have to say about it, so your Introduction should prepare them for what you will say, and ideally it should encourage them to read on. The Thesis Statement In U.S. academic settings, readers generally look for an essay’s overall point or main messages, and they expect those messages to be fully explained and connected in a clear sequence. The thesis statement articulates an essay’s overall point or message. A thesis might address the central “problem,” issue, or question posed in an assignment, or it might be generated by the writer. Whatever its source, the thesis does more than simply identify the essay’s subject or topic: it asserts the essay’s main point and includes the major supporting points. In most short to moderate-length essays, the thesis will be a single sentence. When the thesis articulates a long or complex argument, the statement might be conveyed in more than one sentence. No matter its length, the thesis should be organized in the same way as the discussion that follows. The thesis functions as the “to-do” list for the body of the paper. Readers who read only your thesis statement should be able to understand your essay’s central point, its scope, and its overall structure. The thesis statement’s style and tone also will signal to readers the style and tone of the rest of the essay. The Body of the Essay The body of the paper provides the discussion, descriptions, definitions, explanations, and connections for the readers. The body of the essay can serve many different purposes. It can narrate, describe, summarize, explain, define, argue, comment, reflect, compare, classify, examine causes and/or effects–or take on some or all of those tasks. The main points should be explained in the body in the same order that they are stated in the thesis. The first part of your essay might provide your readers with background information on the subject before you move into the details of your thesis; or you might open with a summary or a definition of the topic or provide other “preliminary” material. Be careful when drafting those “preliminary” narratives, to make sure that they do not become too long and thus overshadow your central paragraphs and points. In your central paragraphs, you will address your main points, from most to least important, least to most, or according to another necessary sequence. To advance your meaning as fully as possible make sure that the subjects and verbs in your sentences, as well as the your supporting details, are clear, unambiguous, and informative. Remember that your readers will have only the words that you give them, no more, no less. Thus, do not just list details–instead, connect and explain them, even if you think the connection is obvious. The Conclusion The Conclusion wraps everything up for your readers and reinforces all the messages you set up for them in the Introduction. Conclusions often answer the question “So what does all this mean?” Conclusions should not introduce new points into the essay–in fact, writers frequently return to something from their Introduction to help them bring their essay to a close for their readers. The essay’s Conclusion often is about the same length as the Introduction. A Word About Style In general, essay assignments are considered fairly formal documents written for readers who expect to think about what has been said. In contrast to many documents prepared in U.S. businesses, which often are prepared for readers who want quick, practical information, essays usually are written for readers who want to find out what the writer has to say, and who will need (as well as expect) sentences that fully connect and explain points. As a result, you are free to vary the length and complexity of your sentences in order to accommodate your points and to create a “flow” that will help carry your readers from one point to the next. You should tailor your choice of language to your writing situation and your readers’ knowledge level. For example, if an assignment requires you to write for “an informed audience,” you usually can assume that your readers know enough about your subject area so that you won’t need to include basic introductory information or elementary definitions of technical or specialized terms–although if there is any chance that your readers might misunderstand you, you should provide the necessary details. In terms of your approach and language, use the third-person (omit “I think,” for example) and use “indirect address” (avoid “you should know”). Also, avoid slang, colloquial phrases and terms, nonessential or potentially confusing humor or overly-stylized language, contractions (such as “can’t” or “don’t”), and unnecessary abbreviations such as “etc.” (whose meaning can be conveyed by phrases such as “and others” or “and so forth”). Consult a standard grammar handbook or the discipline’s style guide for guidelines on capitalization and spelling. Format Essays written in academic settings should follow the format that is considered standard in the discipline. Most fields have a preferred style guide or manual, such as the Modern Language Association Handbook or the Chicago Manual of Style. Those guides will provide directions for setting up an essay’s cover page (if required), title, margins, and other features. Students writing Research Essays in academic settings in the U.S. are expected to document ALL research sources fully, and in accordance with the standard style guide followed in the discipline. |
