Guidelines for Essay Writing

SYLLABUS REQUIREMENTS:

In Essay writing marks will be awarded for logical flow of ideas, scientific content, and adequate structuring of the essay, to include introduction and conclusion.

The Synopsis• Write a brief summary (called synopsis) of the main points to be

discussed. ‘Brief’ means a few sentences and not a whole page. • Example of a synopsis for the essay: ‘The functions of proteins in living organisms.’Role as: • Enzymes• Hormones• Structural proteins as in cytoskeleton, bone, in cell membranes• Protective function – antibodies, fibrinogen and prothrombin in

clotting• Contractile proteins – actin and myosin

• Write the synopsis just after the title and NOT at the end of your essay. You will be awarded one mark for synopsis writing.

• In your synopsis DO NOT WRITE as follows:

‘In this essay I will explain……….’ ONLY POINTS are expected.

• You can start to jot down your ideas in the form of a spider diagram (Fig. 1, 2) to help you remain focused, using the minimum of words. However, DO NOT present such a diagram, but rather a LIST.

Fig. 1 A spider diagram.

Fig. 2 A spider diagram for a ‘compare and contrast’ style.

Getting the material for your essay• Do not tackle an essay before having studied the topic well.

Before writing, you must first understand the content.

• DO NOT COPY OUT MY NOTES FOR YOUR ESSAY. Use other sources and your own words.

• Do not copy blindly from books. The sequence of explaining

a topic in a book is different from that expected in an essay.

• Do not give more detail than that covered in class – you must keep in mind what the syllabus requires.

The actual set-up of the essay

• Length expected is about THREE faces of a foolscap hand-written text, excluding tables, figures and graphs.

• Essays MUST BE hand-written using alternate lines [thus six faces of a foolscap]. Draw a margin on the left hand side.

• Use continuous prose. Point form is not an accepted format for essay-writing.

The actual set-up of the essay• The essay should have THREE sections:1. In the introduction section, include definitions

and some background information on the topic to be dealt with. Introduction must be about 2-3 sentences.

2. The middle of the essay is where you develop your answer and provide relevant examples.

3. A very short conclusion. You should use this part to summarise and draw together the components of the essay, without merely repeating previous phrases.

• Use paragraphs to make the structure of the essay obvious.

• Emphasise them with headings. E.g. if essay is dealing with types of transport across cells, headings could include:

OsmosisDiffusionActive TransportBulk Transport.

To write a good essay follow these points:

• Use technical terms learned in the topic, making sure you can spell them correctly.

• If you will be writing e.g. ‘oxygen’ many times and want to

use the symbol, make sure you write out the full name the first time you mention it . So write ‘… oxygen (O2) …’. The same applies to ATP, NAD, DNA and other biological terms.

• You must remain focused in answering the title of the

essay.

• Read the title, from time to time, to check whether you have been side-tracked. Ask yourself, ‘Am I answering the question or am I writing all I know?’

Examiners’ Comments MAY 2013 examThere was the general feeling that the candidates should spend some more time reading and understating the questions, as there were several instances where the candidates gave very detailed answers, indicating that they have very good concepts, but at the same time ignoring the specificity of the question, leading to large portions of the answer to be out of point.

To write a good essay follow these points:

• Read the title, from time to time, to check whether you have been side-tracked. Ask yourself, ‘Am I answering the question or am I writing all I know?’

• DO NOT use asterisks – this indicates a lack of

thought!! • DO NOT write long sentences.

To write a good essay follow these points:

• DO NOT use: ‘etc.’ but write for example ‘….amongst others’.

• Write DO NOT and not don’t ; IS NOT and not isn’t

• DO NOT WRITE: ‘In this essay I will be explaining…….’ - BUT say ‘………..will be outlined.’‘I conclude that…………….’ – BUT say ‘The conclusion drawn is that ……………’ • DO NOT repeat yourself by saying: ‘As has already been said…….’

A note about Figures in essaysIf you include figures keep in following in mind:1. use a sharpened pencil;2. give a number to each figure and write a legend.3. refer to the figures in your text (e.g. as shown in

Fig. 1….)Fig. 1 The structure of the plasma membrane.

4. give figures importance by drawing large, clear figures;

5. do not surround figures by text as shown below:

Water is a small molecule made up of an oxygen atom covalently bound to two hydrogen atoms (H2O) as shown in Fig. 1. The hydrogen and oxygen atoms share electrons to form a covalent bond.The shape of the water molecule, its polar nature and its ability to form hydrogen bonds give water its unusual properties.

Fig. 1. A water is molecule.

Oxygen

HydrogenHydrogen

6. label your diagrams;7. do not draw 3D figures.8. draw the figure as soon as you refer to it and

not at the end of the essay.

The following is an introduction to an essay written by a student

Let us comment about it.

Is water really necessary for life? Discuss.

When comparing a jellyfish’s body to our own, at first glance, there seems to be no similarity whatsoever. Jellyfish will die if they are removed from their water environment, while humans can live in the driest parts of the Earth. Although the two seem to be utterly different, they both share one vital similarity; the bodies of both these organisms are made of cells filled with water. The chemical reactions of all living things take place in an aqueous environment and water’s several unique properties make it one of the most important compounds found in living things. By reviewing the properties of water, one might be able to decide whether or not water really is necessary for life.

You already are showing that you think essay is about ANIMALS, specifically HUMANS. WHICH IS NOT.

Finally:

• Be critical of your own work.

• Read your essay some time later (a day or two) and while reading it, go back to the title to check if what you wrote is relevant and make the necessary arrangements.