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Editing essays

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1. Editing essays or any piece of writing before you submit it for assessment is a sure way of improving its quality. Only very skilled writers can produce work without making mistakes. The elimination of small errors will improve the appearance and effectiveness of what you write.

2. The difference between a first and second rate piece of work may rest on just a little extra time spent checking what you have written. Read through your work carefully and correct any errors.

3. If necessary, read the essay out loud to check its grammar and correctness, but keep in mind that a conversational tone is not appropriate in essays.

4. Eliminate any sloppy or muddled writing. If something strikes you as weak or unclear, take the trouble to put it right. If this is not possible, be prepared to eliminate it from the essay.

5. Check for sentences which are grammatically incomplete. Look out for those which might lack any part of the Subject-Verb-Object minimum for grammatical coherence.

6. Check for missing words. Insert them into even the neatest completed typescript or manuscript. If you are using a word-processor, a grammar-checker might help you here.

7. Check that you have spelled correctly any proper names, technical terms, or lesser-known words. If in doubt, look them up in a good dictionary. Use the spell-checker if your word-processor has one.

8. Check that your punctuation is consistent, accurate, and legible.

9. Check for consistency in the layout of your pages.

10. If your final draft contains a lot of mistakes and corrections, be prepared to re-write it, even if this will take quite some time. This will give you the opportunity to improve your presentation, and you will probably discover that you can introduce further improvements to the arguments.

Checklist

  • Eliminate any awkward turns of phrase
  • Split up any sentences which are too long
  • Re-arrange the order of your paragraphs
  • Eliminate any repetitions
  • Correct errors of spelling or punctuation
  • Create smooth links between paragraphs
  • Add anything important you have missed
  • Delete anything which is not relevant
  • Check for weak syntax and grammar
  • Run the grammar-checker and spell-checker

© Roy Johnson 2003

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Encyclopedia Britannica on CD-ROM

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the world’s largest print encyclopedia – on one DVD

Just imagine – people used to take out long-term loans to buy the multi-volume printed edition of Encyclopedia Britannica. Now it’s available on CD for the price of a single book. That’s the revolution in digital technology for you — and a lesson in eCommerce. Britannica started in the mid-18th century and went on to become the world’s most famous encyclopaedia. The latest CD version includes all the material from the 32-volume print edition, and there’s more too. They have also added the Merriam-Webster Dictionary and a world atlas packed with statistics and facts.

Encyclopedia Britannica on CD-ROMOther outstanding features are audio and video clips, natural language searching, and a series of topic tours – showing you superb multimedia presentations of chosen topics — from Aviation to Wildlife. There are 100,000 articles and entries on practically everything you could imagine — all of them authoritative, and some written by distinguished scientists and authors, such as Albert Einstein and Robert Louis Stevenson. On top of this impressive library of data, there are 12,000 photos and maps, timelines on science, ecology, medicine, music and literature; plus 125,000 active hyperlinks to resources on the Internet you can trust.

The materials add up to a hefty 2 GB over three CDs, and there are two options for using them. You can install the whole thing onto your hard disk. Alternatively, you can run a partial install, which is much lighter on resources, but requires disk-swapping during use. You can also update the materials – which is a big bonus.

Britannica is designed like a Web site, with a homepage which is always within reach. There are three ways of accessing information. You can Search, or use an A-to-Z feature, or Knowledge Navigator. You can also search once, then click between the results on all three of these interfaces.

It also has a facility that allows you to compare data between nations and create instant reports, graphs and tables for research or homework. As well as bookmarks, you can take notes on a particular item, or collate and lay out your collections in an attractive, publishable format.

The latest 2010 de lux edition is actually three encyclopaedias in one: Encyclopaedia Britannica Library, Britannica Student Library and Britannica Children’s Library. Our parents and grandparents would hardly have believed it. In terms of the sheer volume of information, this really is a stunning bargain.

© Roy Johnson 2005

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Encyclopedia Britannica on CD-ROM, updated annualy.

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Endnotes in essays

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1. When you use quotations or mention someone else’s work in an essay, the source of the information is most conveniently given in endnotes – a system of bibliographic references which appears at the end of the essay.

2. A bracketed number is placed in your text, as A.B. Smith suggests, ‘at the end of the statement or the sentence in which the reference is made’ (1), and successive references to this or other works are given the next higher number.

3. These endnotes are then listed ‘with bibliographic exactness’ (2) at the end of the essay as follows:

NOTES

1. A.B. Smith, How to Use Endnotes Correctly, Manchester: Imaginary Press: 1999, p.345.

2. Judith Butcher, Copy Editing: the Cambridge Handbook for Editors, Authors, and Publishers, 3rd edn, Cambridge University Press, 1992, p.234.

4. If you are using the Harvard system of referencing, the date of publication follows the author’s name.

5. If a direct quotation is being used, the information in the endnote should allow a reader (including you, at a later date) to trace the source of the quotation if necessary. That is, you should give details of author, title, publisher, and date of publication, then page number – as indicated here in the first endnote.

6. Successive quotations from the same source may be indicated by using the op. cit. and ibid. system. However, the short reference system which gives author and title is preferable as this makes the information easier to trace for the reader.

7. In a short essay which only refers to three or four different sources, successive references might be given as follows:

3. Butcher, op. cit., p.123.

8. In a longer essay, which might be drawing on a large number of sources, some of which may include different works by the same author, the short title system is to be preferred:

4. Smith, Endnotes, p.321.

9. The traditional referencing system using op. cit. and ibid. is gradually disappearing in favour of the much clearer short title and Harvard systems. However, it is worth knowing how it works, because so much academic writing has been produced using this system. You need to know how to trace other people’s references in older publications.

10. If you are quoting repeatedly from one particular work, give
full bibliographic details in your first endnote. Then add the statement All subsequent page references to this edition. After that, just give page references in the text of your essay.

© Roy Johnson 2003

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Essay plans

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creating firm structure and clear argument

1. Essay plans
You can approach the composition of an essay using a number of different writing strategies. Some people like to start writing and wait to see what develops. Others work up scraps of ideas until they perceive a shape emerging. However, if you are in any doubt at all, it’s a good idea to create essay plans for your work. The task of writing is usually much easier if you create a set of notes which outline the points you are going to make. Using this approach, you will create a basic structure on which your ideas can be built.

2. Planning techniques
This is a part of the essay-writing process which is best carried out using plenty of scrap paper. Get used to the idea of shaping and re-shaping your ideas before you start writing, editing and rearranging your arguments as you give them more thought. Planning on-screen using a word-processor is possible, but it’s a fairly advanced technique.

3. Analyse the question
Make sure you understand what the question is asking for. What is it giving you the chance to write about? What is its central issue? Analyse any of its key terms and any instructions. If you are in any doubt, ask your tutor to explain what is required.

4. Generate ideas
You need to assemble ideas for the essay. On a first sheet of paper, make a note of anything which might be relevant to your answer. These might be topics, ideas, observations, or instances from your study materials. Put down anything you think of at this stage.

5. Choosing topics
On a second sheet of paper, extract from your brainstorm listings those topics and points of argument which are of greatest relevance to the question and its central issue. Throw out anything which cannot be directly related to the essay question.

6. Put topics in order
On a third sheet of paper, put these chosen topics in some logical sequence. At this stage you should be formulating a basic response to the question, even if it is provisional and may later be changed. Try to arrange the points so that they form a persuasive and coherent argument.

7. Arrange your evidence
All the major points in your argument need to be supported by some sort of evidence. On any further sheets of paper, compile a list of brief quotations from other sources (together with page references) which will be offered as your evidence.

8. Make necessary changes
Whilst you have been engaged in the first stages of planning, new ideas may have come to mind. Alternate evidence may have occurred to you, or the line of your argument may have shifted somewhat. Be prepared at this stage to rearrange your plan so that it incorporates any of these new materials or ideas. Try out different arrangements of your essay topics until you are sure they form the most convincing and logical sequence.

9. Finalise essay plan
The structure of most essay plans can be summarised as follows:

Introduction
Arguments
Conclusion

State your case as briefly and rapidly as possible, present the evidence for this case in the body of your essay, then sum up and try to ‘lift’ the argument to a higher level in your conclusion. Your final plan should be something like a list of half a dozen to ten major points of argument. Each one of these points will be expanded to a paragraph of something around 100-200 words minimum in length.

10. Relevance
At all stages of essay planning, and even when writing the essay, you should keep the question in mind. Keep asking yourself ‘Is this evidence directly relevant to the topic I have been asked to discuss?‘ If in doubt, be prepared to scrap plans and formulate new ones – which is much easier than scrapping finished essays. At all times aim for clarity and logic in your argument.

11.Example
What follows is an example of an outline plan drawn up in note form. It is in response to the question ‘Do you think that depictions of sex and violence in the media should or should not be more heavily censored?‘. [It is worth studying the plan in its entirety. Take note of its internal structure.]

Sample essay plan

Question

‘Do you think that depictions of sex and violence in the media should or should not be more heavily censored?‘

Introduction

Sex, violence, and censorship all emotive subjects

Case against censorship

1. Aesthetic: inhibits artistic talent, distorts art and truth.

2. Individual judgement: individuals have the right to decide for
themselves what they watch or read. Similarly, nobody has the right to make up someone else’s mind.

3. Violence and sex as catharsis (release from tension): portrayal of these subjects can release tension through this kind of experience at ‘second hand’.

4. Violence can deter: certain films can show violence which
reinforces opposition to it, e.g. – A Clockwork Orange, All Quiet on the Western Front.

5. Censorship makes sex dirty: we are too repressed about this
subject, and censorship sustains the harmful mystery which has surrounded us for so long.

6. Politically dangerous: Censorship in one area can lead to it
being extended to others – e.g., political ideas.

7. Impractical: Who decides? How is it to be done? Is it not
impossible to be ‘correct’? Any decision has to be arbitrary

Case for censorship

1. Sex is private and precious: it should not be demeaned by
representations of it in public.

2. Sex can be offensive: some people may find it so and should not have to risk being exposed to what they would find pornographic.

3. Corruption can be progressive: can begin with sex and continue until all ‘decent values’ are eventually destroyed.

4. Participants might be corrupted: especially true of young
children.

5. Violence can encourage imitation: by displaying violence – even while condemning it -it can be legitimised and can also encourage
imitation amongst a dangerous minority.

6. Violence is often glorified: encourages callous attitudes.

Conclusion

Case against censorship much stronger. No necessary connection between the two topics.

© Roy Johnson 2004

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Evaluating online sources for essays

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1. The Internet is the biggest library in the world, and tens of thousands of documents are added to it – every day. Evaluating the online sources of any information you download is a vital part of making sure it is relevant to your needs.

2. You also need to be sure about the accuracy, reliability, and value of any information you use. For instance, there is a big difference between a web site run by an amateur enthusiast and the official site of a big organisation.

3. Even the world’s largest encyclopedia — WIKIPEDIA — has its limitations. It is written by amateur volunteers and then edited by self-appointed experts, but it might contain mistakes or information which contains personal bias.

4. The following articles are designed to help you in the task of evaluating the information your retrieve from online sources.

5. You can print out this page for reference, or if you are connected to the Internet, just click the URL to go straight to the site named.

6. Documents are sometimes moved from one location to another on the Internet. If you receive a ‘Document not found’ message, try progressively removing the last section of the URL [ / this-bit] in your browser. Re-submit your search each time.

7. If you are reading this whilst connected to the Internet, click any of the addresses below and you will be taken directly to the document.

© Roy Johnson 2003

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Evidence in essays

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1. Evidence in essays is the information you put forward to support your argument(s). This might be items of data or the illustrative examples which demonstrate the validity of your claims.

2. This evidence might be statistical data [51% of the population is female] illustrative examples [Milton’s ‘On his Blindness’ and Wordsworth’s ‘On Westminster Bridge’ are both written in sonnet form] or experimental results [Four out of the five control groups failed to meet these targets].

3. Many academic essays are normally concerned with the detailed inspection of evidence. A proposition is asserted, but then it must be substantiated by examples which are analysed and discussed.

4. Evidence might sometimes be a detailed selection of points from a body of data under consideration. For instance, in making a historical analysis of a subject, your particular selection of its chronological details might form the evidence supporting your argument.

5. In other essays, the evidence might have to be assembled or discovered as part of the examination of the subject. A project on urban traffic density or on public opinion regarding divorce for instance might require practical research to compile statistics.

6. Many subjects require the study of what are called ‘set texts’. That is, books which have come to be regarded as standard works on their subject:

  • Richard G. Lipsey, Positive Economics
  • Jean Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract
  • Charles Dickens, Bleak House
  • Ernst Gombricht, The Story of Art
  • Donald Norman, The Design of Everyday Things

7. Essays, term papers, and assignments set in these subject require a close examination of these set texts, and the evidence used in your arguments will be drawn from the texts to show your understanding of them.

© Roy Johnson 2003

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Exam tips and shortcuts

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guidance notes for success

These exam tips and shortcuts are techniques that anybody can use, without any special preparation or knowledge. They are practical, common-sense approaches to any kind of written exam. Even if you only adopt some of them, you will improve your chances of success.

An extract from our eBook — Revision and Examinations

Before you start

1. Take a selection of differently shaped pens.

2. These can ease the pressure on your fingers and thumbs when writing.

3. Take spares, a ruler, rubber, and any instruments you might need.

4. Settle in as quickly as possible, and avoid distractions.

5. Check the instructions and questions on the exam paper.

6. Confirm that the structure is what you expect [number of questions to be answered, time allocated].

7. Remember that the time allowed includes the time for reading the paper and preparing answers.

The paper

1. Make your choices and get started as quickly as possible.

2. Begin with an overview of the paper.

3. Identify those questions you can answer or prefer to attempt.

4. Eliminate any you can’t answer or prefer to avoid.

5. When you have eliminated questions, you have less material to deal with.

6. Analyse the questions as you would for course work – but do it quickly.

7. Some choices can be made [almost unconsciously] whilst you are writing.

8. Stick to those topics you have revised: don’t try something new.

9. Leave room for making changes as you go along.

Making choices

1. The easiest strategy is to start with your favourite topic.

2. This will give you a sense of confidence, and get your creatives juices flowing.

3. You can also gain marks easily this way.

4. However, you might start with a more difficult question, and save your favourite as a ‘reward’ for later.

5. This strategy has the advantage that you are tackling the more difficult question in a fresher state.

6. Remember that you might have ideas about one topic whilst writing about another.

Making plans

1. Make an outline plan or brief notes for your answer(s) in the exam booklet.

2. This provides guidance and a reminder you can refer to whilst writing.

3. Exam markers might give you credit for a plan if your answer is unfinished.

4. If possible, prepare brief plans for all your answers.

5. You can then add notes or examples as you are going along.

Rules and regulations

1. Some exam booklets might specify that notes should only be written on the outside and inside covers – as in the following example.

“For rough work unruled pages are provided on the cover of the book. If you require more than these, use a ruled page but cross the rough work through before handing the book in.”

2. If regulations permit, write your answers only on right-hand pages.

3. Leave left-hand pages blank for notes, corrections, or later additions.

Under way

1. Write as much as possible on each question.

2. If you finish a question early, either think up more to say or go on to the next question.

3. If you go on to the next question, leave blank space on the page for possible later additions.

4. Firm and concise answers are better than those that wander aimlessly just to fill up the page.

5. Keep an eye on the time allocated for each question.

General

1. Write as clearly as possible: examiners are easily annoyed by untidy writing.

2. It is easier to score the first half of the marks for any question than the second half.

3. A firm structure will help to clarify your arguments.

4. If you finish the paper early, use the time left to check and edit your work.

Answer the question

1. The examiner wants you to answer the question in a clear and simple manner.

2. A plain, direct answer with no frills is easier to mark than one which is ornate or flowery.

3. Getting straight to the point creates a favourable impression.

4. The more concise your answer, the easier it is to mark.

Misconceptions

1. There will not be any ‘hidden traps’ in the questions to catch you out.

2. There isn’t some magical key to unlock the secret of exam success.

3. You don’t have to ‘please’ the examiner – except by answering the question!

4. There isn’t a ‘knack’ to exam success. It’s a combination of hard work, preparation, and clear thinking.

Examiners are human too

1. Marking exam scripts is a very boring task.

2. Judging grades is a subjective and difficult matter.

3. Yes – some exam questions are occasionally hard to understand.

4. [But that means that they are hard for everybody.]

5. Poor writing makes scripts difficult to read.

What examiners DON’T want

1. Untidy work which is difficult to read.

2. Longwinded answers which drift on and off the subject.

3. Answers which have been written to ‘impress’, filled with lots of ill-digested jargon.

4. Too much personal opinion, name-dropping, and generalisation.

How to gain extra credit

1. Get straight to the point. No lengthy introductions.

2. Stay on the subject. No digressions, waffling, or ‘packing’.

3. Relate all parts of your answer to the original question.

4. Show evidence of your knowledge of the subject.

5. Wherever possible, give concrete examples as evidence.

Check your answers

1. Spend the last few moments glancing over what you have written.

2. Check for possible mistakes of fact, grammar, and punctuation.

3. Correct mistakes as neatly as possible. Don’t scribble.

4. Write any additions on the left-hand page, and show insertion points clearly.

5. Make sure your name, ID, and other details are on the cover sheet.

An extract from our eBook — Revision and Examinations

© Roy Johnson 2009

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Examination essays

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1. Examination essays are a very common form of writing exercise in further and higher education. During most examinations you will have to produce written responses to a number of questions in a very limited time. This might mean writing as many as three complete essays in rapid succession, each one in as little as forty-five minutes or an hour.

2. Because of this time limitation in exams, you don’t need to write out the essay question in full on your examination script, (otherwise you will be using up valuable time). But you must indicate clearly which question you have chosen to answer.

3. Read each of your chosen questions in very close detail, paying attention to their principal topic(s). You should check the rubric for any key terms, and such instruction terms as either-or options. Pay particularly close attention to the number of examples it requires you to consider in your answer.

4. Write a brief plan or a list of topics you will cover on the left-hand page of the examination booklet. This will show the examiner what you are setting out to consider. Such a layout has the advantage that you can change it or make additions whilst you are writing the essay. If you do not complete your answer, you might be given some credit for your plan.

5. Write your answers to the questions on the right-hand pages of the booklet only (unless you are instructed to do otherwise). Leave the left-hand pages blank. These blank pages can be used for making any later additions or alterations to your answer if necessary, giving some indication of where the extra material should be inserted.

6. You will not be expected to produce work of the depth or quality required in a normal coursework essay. However, you should make every effort to write clearly and concisely. Try to give your answer a firm structure.

7. You will not be expected to quote from memory extensive details of the texts and materials you have been studying. However, you should be as precise as possible. Avoid any impression of sloppiness or uncertainty.

8. If you make any mistakes of fact or grammar, do not be afraid to correct them. Do this as neatly and clearly as possible. If you find that you have wandered from the point of the argument for instance, it is quite acceptable to cross out a whole paragraph.

9. If you discover that you have missed out a vital earlier part of your argument, it is possible to go back, write out the missing part on a left-hand page, and indicate with an arrow where it belongs.

10. In ‘open book’ examinations you are allowed to take texts or course materials with you into the examination room. Do not spend too much time searching for information or suitable quotations. Quite apart from the valuable time this may consume, it is far more important that you construct your own argument. The secondary material is only used as supportive evidence or illustration.

11. If you do locate suitable quotations, you should avoid quoting them at too great a length. They might seem very relevant as a support for your case, but remember that the general requirement of most examinations is that you should produce your own argument in response to a question.

12. When you have finished answering the questions, even if there is time to spare, avoid the temptation to hand in your work and leave the examination room. Such time is much better used in checking through your work. Correct any factual errors and slips in punctuation or grammar.

© Roy Johnson 2003

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Footnotes in essays

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sample from HTML program and PDF book

1. When you offer quotations from other people’s work in an essay, the sources of the information may sometimes be given in footnotes printed at the bottom of the page. In modern word-processors footnotes can be added automatically. However, you should use this facility with care and restraint.

2. A bracketed number should be placed, as A.B. Smith suggests, ‘normally at the end of the sentence in which the reference is made’, and successive references are then given the next higher number. (1)

3. The number may be placed after a specific word if necessary, or at a break in the sense of the sentence.

4. Sometimes the footnote may be used to add an aside or to offer a comment on something which is only obliquely related to the topic in question. (2)

5. If a direct quotation is being used, the reference in the footnote should allow a reader to trace the source of the information if necessary. That is, you should give details of author, title, publisher, and date of publication, then page number. (If you are using the Harvard system of notation, remember that the date follows the author’s name.)

6. Successive quotations from the same source may be indicated by using the op. cit. and ibid. system of abbreviations. Alternatively, use the short-title system.

7. This system of footnoting can become extremely complicated and difficult to use – particularly if you wish to make changes. The addition of one new quotation in the middle of the essay can throw the whole system out of order. [If you are writing or typing it is difficult to know how much room to allow for the footnotes, and once the page is full you cannot add more.]

Footnotes

8. There are other reasonable arguments against using footnotes. The most important is that by their very nature they interrupt the flow of your argument. It is very difficult for a reader to resist the inducement to glance to the bottom of the page – no matter how lightweight the remarks which are placed there.

9. The easiest solution to these problems is to present this information as endnotes. These are given on a separate sheet at the end of your essay. This system is much easier to use, and additions or corrections can be more easily made when producing the final draft.

10. The general tendency in academic writing has recently been to offer endnotes rather than footnotes. This is because the printing of footnotes in academic publications is very costly. However, the automatic footnoting facility on modern word-processors might reverse this trend.

Footnotes

1. A.B. Smith, How to Use Footnotes Correctly, Manchester: Imaginary Press, 1999, p.368.

2. This system can easily become very unwieldy, even though it is obviously convenient for the reader. If the notes are no more than bibliographical information on your sources, the effect will be slightly irritating.

© Roy Johnson 2003

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Full Marks punctuation for scientists

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advice on punctuation for scientific and technical writing

Do scientists and technical writers need special advice on punctuation? Well, in one sense – who doesn’t? John Kirkman sets out here to answer what he describes as ‘the queries raised most frequently by practitioners in computing, engineering, medicine, and science as they grapple with day-to-day tasks in writing and editing’. So, it’s a guide based on practical experience, and probably the better for it. Punctuation for Scientists is a specialist style guide aimed at practicioners in these disciplines.

Punctuation for scientistsThere is an introduction explaining why good punctuation is necessary. This is slightly more complex than it needs to be, and might more usefully been placed at the end of the book. But after that he gets down to a simple explanation of the basics – apostrophes, capitals, colons, commas, full stops, hyphens, and quotation marks. The advice might be aimed at technical authors, but there’s no reason why other writers shouldn’t profit from it.

One of the strengths of the book is that it has plenty of practical examples. Another is that John Kirkman has spent quite some time teaching in the USA, and he offers UK/US equivalents wherever appropriate, which gives the guide some added value for those who need to keep such matters in mind.

On the whole, he wisely avoids the jargon of grammar in his explanations, but there’s rather a lot of intrusive first person singular (which doesn’t always inspire confidence) and some of the advice is expressed in terms which are likely to confuse the very people it is written for:

English teachers may have told you that you should always signal restrictive intention by starting your relative clause with that…

Of course one might quibble with some of his recommendations (are continuous capitals ever necessary?) but he offers very sensible and non-dogmatic advice on issues such as the use of the hyphen in terms like ‘re-activate’, ‘de-energise’, and ‘re-adjust’, and he quite rightly alerts his readers to the different names used for brackets, parentheses, and braces in the UK, the US, and non-scientific writing. To a beginner this might seem like pedantry, but ultimately it’s the stuff of which accuracy and scholarship is made.

There are three appendices – one on paragraphing, one on word division (hyphenation at line ending) and one on differences between UK and US English. There’s a brief bibliography, a full index, and by current book price standards, it’s dirt cheap.

© Roy Johnson 2000

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John Kirkman, Full Marks: Advice on punctuation for scientific and technical writing, (3rd edn) Wiltshire: Ramsbury, 1999, pp.115, ISBN: 0952176246

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