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Brackets in essays

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1. The term brackets in essays is used to describe both square brackets [these] and round brackets (these) – whose technical name is ‘parentheses’.

2. The difference between the two is that a parenthesis represents an aside, an associated remark, or an additional piece of information which is closely related to the main subject of the sentence in which it is placed.

Goodwin argues that Thompson’s policies (of which he clearly disapproves) would only increase the national debt.

3. Square brackets on the other hand are used to indicate that something has been added to the original text for editorial purposes of clarification or comment.

The reporter added that this woman [Mrs Wood] had suffered severe injuries.

A mother wrote to the headmaster that her son was ‘fritened [sic] to go to school’

4. A common use for the parenthesis in academic writing is to indicate a bibliographic reference within the text of an essay – particularly when using the Harvard (or the short title) system of referencing.

Sartre’s account of ‘bad faith’ (Sartre 1938) differs slightly from that offered by Simone de Beauvoir (de Beauvoir 1949).

5. Notice that when a parenthesis occurs at the end of a sentence, the full stop falls outside the bracket (as this one does).

6. Any statement within brackets should be grammatically independent of the sentence in which it occurs. That is, the sentence should be gramatically complete, even if the contents of the brackets were to be removed.

The republican senator (who was visiting London for a minor operation) also attended the degree ceremony.

7. If a quotation contains a mistake in the original you might wish to indicate that the error is not your own. This too is indicated by the use of square brackets.

The senior government minister who was recently acquitted of kerb-crawling claimed that at long last his ‘trails [sic] and tribulations’ were at an end.

8. The expressions within brackets should be kept as brief as possible, so as not to interrupt the flow of the sentence in which they are placed.

9. The use of brackets should be kept to a minimum. If used too frequently, they create a choppy, unsettling effect.

© Roy Johnson 2003

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Capital letters in essays

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1. Capital letters in essays are always placed at the beginning of a sentence, and they are used for all proper nouns:

He slowly entered the room, accompanied by his friend James Bowman.

2. They are used when a particular thing is being named. For instance

days Wednesday, Friday
places East Anglia
rivers the river Mersey
buildings the Tate Gallery
institutions the Catholic Church
firms British Aerospace
organisations the National Trust
months April, September

3. However, when such terms are used as adjectives or in a general sense, no capital is required:

the King James Bible   BUT   a biblical reference

Manchester University   BUT   a university education

4. Capitals are used when describing intellectual movements or periods of history:

Freudian      Platonism      Cartesian

The Middle Ages      the Reformation

5. They are also used in the titles of books, plays, films, newspapers, magazines, songs, and works of art in general. The normal convention is to capitalise the first word and any nouns or important terms. Smaller words such as and, of, and the are left uncapitalised:

A View from the Bridge
The Mayor of Casterbridge
North by Northwest
The Marriage of Figaro

6. The convention for presenting titles in French is to capitalise only the first or the first main word of a title:

A la recherche du temps perdu
La Force des choses

7. However, there are many exceptions to this convention:

Le Rouge et le Noir
Entre la Vie et la Mort

8. In German, all nouns are given capitals:

Reallexikon zur deutschen Kunstgeschichte

9. Works written in English which have foreign titles are normally
capitalised according to the English convention:

Fors Clavigera       Religio Medici

10. Interesting exception! Capitals are not used for the seasons of the year:

autumn      winter      spring      summer

© Roy Johnson 2003

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Case agreement in essays

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1. Case agreement in essays requires correct grammar. It means that if the subject of a sentence is singular, then the verb form must be singular as well.

Similarly, if the subject of the statement is plural, the verb form must be expressed in the plural as well.

  • The shop [singular] opens at nine o’clock.
  • On Thursdays the shops [plural] open late.

2. Sometimes confusion occurs because a statement begins in the
singular but then drifts into the plural:

wrong
It can be argued that a person has the right to know when they are dying.

3.The easiest solution to this problem is to make the subject plural and its verb plural as well:

correct
It can be argued that people have the right to know when they are dying.

4. Sometimes a singular noun is used to denote a plural or a collective thing – such as the government or parliament. Either the singular or the plural verb form may be used – but the important thing is to be consistent.

wrong
The government prefers to let matters rest, but events may make them change their minds.

correct
The government prefers to let matters rest, but events may make it change its mind.

correct
The government prefer to let matters rest, but events may make them change their minds.

5. Indefinite pronouns such as everybody and anyone can make writing with correct subject-verb agreement tricky.

6. You should treat indefinite pronouns as singular nouns that take singular verbs. Keep in mind that every and any are singular concepts.

Every human being is responsible for his actions.

7. If you wish to avoid using the masculine pronoun his or the very clumsy construction his or her – there is a simple solution to the problem. Put the expression into the plural form:

All human beings are responsible for their own actions.

© Roy Johnson 2003

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Categorizing essay topics

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1. Categorizing takes place when you have completed a brainstorming exercise. You will need to produce a logical arrangement of the ideas and items you have written down.

2. Remember that you are doing this in order to generate a coherent plan for your arguments in response to the essay question. You are trying to put the ideas into some persuasive order.

3. Do this on a separate piece of paper so that you free yourself from the randomness of the brainstorming. It should also help you to see more clearly any shape or structure which might begin to emerge.

4. As a first step you should eliminate anything which is completely unrelated to the question topic(s). Be prepared to delete even the most attractive item if it is not relevant. It is no use trying to incorporate material just because you have written it down during the brainstorming stage.

5. When you have eliminated anything which is not relevant, your next task is to look for connections between the individual items. Try to do this as you transfer them from the brainstorming onto your second page. The process should help you analyse the ideas you have produced on the subject and begin to create some form of organisation.

6. The connections between topics might exist because the items are of the same type. For instance cars, trains, and aeroplanes are all forms of TRANSPORT. Alternatively, they might belong in the same category. Banking, taxation, and public expenditure are all FINANCIAL or FISCAL matters.

7. Your task at this point is to identify these general categories. You should then assign to them the individual items from your brainstorming.

8. There may be some items which do not fit easily into any category. Put these to one side. Be prepared to incorporate them at a later stage. Alternatively, if they will not fit logically into the essay plan you are creating, leave them out.

© Roy Johnson 2003

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Checking drafts of essays

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1. Checking drafts takes place when you have produced the first version of an essay. You should be prepared to check through it carefully. Make any changes necessary to improve the clarity and effectiveness of what you have written.

2. Do not be tempted to hand in the essay just because you have written the last word.

3. You should eliminate any weaknesses. Check your punctuation and grammar.

4. Correct any mistakes, and even rearrange the order of your paragraphs if it will improve the quality and coherence of your argument.

5. Eliminate anything which is not strictly relevant to the question topic(s) you have been asked to deal with.

6. Use the list of suggestions which follow to check that you have covered what is required.

7. Try to avoid thinking of the first draft as the finished essay, no matter how much effort you have put into its production.

8. Regard it instead as the raw material from which a more considered and well-crafted second draft will be produced. You should be prepared for extensive re-writing.

9. When word-processing your work, edit the final draft on screen.

10. Eliminate all errors and add all your corrections before printing out the final draft.

Checklist

  • Write out the question accurately and fully at the head of your draft
  • Answer its specific directions and follow any instructions in the rubric
  • Cover all the main aspects of the question topic(s) concerned
  • Answer in a concise, clear, and logical manner
  • Remain strictly relevant to the question throughout
  • Stay within any given word limit required
  • Move smoothly from one point of argument to the next
  • Provide good illustrative examples and evidence to support your claims
  • Acknowledge your sources and supply either endnotes or footnotes
  • Provide a bibliography

© Roy Johnson 2003

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Colons in essays

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1. Colons in essays are marks of punctuation used to introduce a strong pause within a sentence. They separates two clauses which could stand alone as separate sentences but which are linked by some relationship in their meaning.

2. A colon is used to introduce a list:

The car has a number of optional extras: sun roof, tinted windows, rear seat belts, and electrically operated wing mirrors.

3. It normally precedes a long quotation or a speech:

Speaking at Caesar’s funeral, Anthony addresses the crowd: “Friends, Romans, countrymen …”

4. It is used before a clause which explains (often by way of illustration) the previous statement. It suggests the sense of ‘That is to say’ or ‘Namely’:

The school is highly regarded: academic standards are high, the staff are pleasant, and the students enjoy going there.

5. It is used to indicate a sharp contrast:

My brother likes oranges: my sister hates them.

6. Note that the colon followed by a dash (:—) is never necessary. Some people put these before a list, but the colon alone is sufficient.

7. The colon is also used between the title and the sub-title of a book:

Magical Realism: Latin-American fiction today.

8. Notice that the items which follow a list are punctuated with commas if they are a succession of individual words.

You will need four ingredients: flour, butter, milk, and sugar.

9. If the items in the list contain clauses or phrases these may be punctuated with semicolons:

You will need the following materials: some scrap paper; a pen, preferably blue or black; some envelopes; and some good, white, unlined writing paper.

10. The colon requires careful handling. If you are in any doubt, use separate sentences.

© Roy Johnson 2003

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Commas in essays

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1. Commas in essays are the least emphatic pause in normal punctuation. They mark a light hesitation or interruption in the sentence. The comma is used in a number of different grammatical instances.

2. To separate two clauses when the first is not closely associated with the second:

Cars should turn left here, whilst foot passengers should continue towards the exit.

3. To introduce a pause where the eye might otherwise continue and momentarily mistake the sense of what was written:

In the beautiful valley below, the villages looked very small.

4. To separate a sequence of adjectives which qualify a noun in the same manner:

He was an arrogant, loquacious man.

5. However, when the adjectives are of a different order or type, no comma is necessary:

He was a distinguished foreign visitor.

6. To separate items in a long list:

The box contained an old leather-bound book, a bottle, some pencils, and a gun.

7. Opinions vary on the necessity of the final comma in such examples. If the items are all of the same kind, there is probably little chance of ambiguity. If they are not, it is usually safer to retain the comma.

8. To mark the beginning and end of a parenthetical phrase within a sentence:

I am quite sure, despite all my reservations on the matter, that he is doing the right thing.

9. Confusion is sometimes sown by the insertion of commas where they are not really necessary. This is an example of bad usage:

The strangest of all these new sensations, was the onset of profound happiness.

10. Commas should not be used to connect separate sentences as a casual substitute for the full stop:

A party has been arranged, it will not take place until next week.

11. This is weak writing. The statement should be made either as two separate sentences, or if they are brought together because of their natural connection, a conjunction is required:

A party has been arranged, but it will not take place until next week.

12. Even though in some cases a comma may not be absolutely necessary for retaining grammatical coherence (as in the previous example), it may still be useful in order to clarify the meaning for a reader. Here’s another bad example.

Each night you stay at a Roberts-Plaza Moat Houses UK hotel at the fully published or corporate rate you are entitled to a special discount voucher.

13. This poorly phrased statement would be improved by the insertion of a comma after the word ‘rate’.

14. What follows is an example of an entire paragraph which has been punctuated using only the comma and the full stop. [It also illustrates, rather deftly, the function of the ‘topic sentence’.]

The central thought or main controlling idea of a paragraph is usually conveyed in what is called a topic sentence. This important sentence which states, summarises or clearly expresses the main theme, is the keystone of a well-built paragraph. The topic sentence may come anywhere in the paragraph, though most logically and in most cases it is the first sentence. This immediately tells readers what is coming, and leaves them in no doubt about the overall controlling idea. In a very long paragraph, the initial topic sentence may even be restated or given a more significant emphasis in its conclusion.

© Roy Johnson 2003

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Common essay problems

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Essay problems – Relevance

1. Straying off the subject in question is a common problem. There are several simple solutions.

2. Always write out the question accurately and in full on both your notes and your essay script.

3. Plan your essays carefully, consult the wording, and relate each part of your argument to the topic(s) in question.

4. At each stage of the argument, you should keep asking yourself ‘Is this relevant?’, ‘Am I answering the question?’, ‘Does this relate directly to the subject I have been asked to discuss?’

5. Each paragraph should contain just one idea or topic which is announced in its first sentence. This idea or topic should be directly related to the question or the subject you have been asked to discuss.

6. If you introduce a separate issue in order to illustrate some part of your argument, make sure that you return to the original subject as soon as possible. Part of your discussion should explain why and how this secondary issue is relevant.

Essay problems – Signposting

1. Unless you have been asked to do so, there is no need to signpost your argument.

2. That is, you do not need to use expressions such as:

‘Later in this essay I will be discussing…’
‘Let us now go on to consider…’
‘As I demonstrated earlier…’
‘We will now turn to evaluate another example…’

3. Just state clearly the point of your arguments and leave them to speak for themselves.

4. In a well-planned essay, this progression should be self-evident from the arrangement of your work.

5. A sound essay plan and a coherent structure will reveal the logic of your argument and the relationship of its parts.

6. Each new topic should be clearly identified or defined as soon as you begin dealing with it. This statement will provide all the indication needed of your intentions.

7. If you wish to some light indication of structure, it is perfectly acceptable to use formulations such as:

‘The first reason … The second…’
‘On one hand … on the other…’
‘However, the main argument against this is…’

8. The conventions on signposting may vary slightly from one subject to another. In some of the sciences it is necessary to announce in advance what you will be writing about.

Essay problems – Commenting on the process

1. Your essay represents the results of your efforts. There is no need to comment on the manner in which you have worked.

2. Your tutor doesn’t need to know in what order you assembled your evidence, or what difficulties you encountered during its composition.

3. You might wish to argue that the question raises a certain number of difficulties or crucial issues. This is acceptable – so long as you say what they are.

4. You should then go on to discuss their relevance to the subject in question, and maybe even suggest some answers to them.

Essay problems – Posing questions

1. Do not present your argument in the form of questions.

2. Remember – you are supposed to be answering a question.

3. Avoid formulations such as:

Was she so overwhelmed at the thought of a ‘new brave’ husband that she shot him? In considering his cowardice, had Macomber removed his weapon – his weakness?

Essay problems – Your own argument

1. Do not use quotation from the text as a substitute for your own argument.

2. That is, don’t present your answer to the question as a mixture of your own remarks, woven together with quotations.

3. Here is an example:

The poem describes a journey ‘from rich industrial shadows’ through crowded urban environments to a place of ‘loneliness’ where ‘silence stands/like heat’.

Referencing

1. Quotations from a text should be followed by page references – as in the following example:

These literary devices include simile, such as the description of the lion as ‘like some super-rhino’ (p.94) and the…

2. You should not include the reference as part of your text, as in the following example:

These literary devices include simile, such as the description of the lion on page ninety-four when it is described as ‘like some super-rhino’ and the other instance on page fifty-six when it is…

Essay problems – Creating structure

1. Essays should have a clear structure. This should be created in a firm essay plan.

2. Good structure is a persuasive or logical sequence of the parts in an essay.

3. The order of parts is often determined by the nature of the subject. This order might be created by:

  • logical progression
  • increasing significance
  • equal significance
  • chronological order
  • narrative sequence
  • category groupings

4. You can generate the parts of your essay by deciding which topics you will cover in your answer.

5. Each of these topics should be discussed separately – usually in at least one paragraph on its own.

6. If there is no natural order for your topics, you could deal with the smaller, less important items first. This leaves the larger, more important issues until the end of the essay.

© Roy Johnson 2004

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Conclusions in essays

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1. The conclusions of essays should draw together all the previous points of your argument into one general statement which is then directly related to the essay topic or the question you have been answering.

2. Do not end an essay abruptly. This creates the impression that you have suddenly run out of things to say, or that you are unable to produce a complete and reasoned argument.

3. The conclusion should not normally occupy more than five to ten per cent of the total length of the essay (rather like the introduction).

4. Try to avoid repeating any of the statements you have already made in your introduction. To do so creates the impression that you have not developed your argument or made any progress from the point at which you started.

5. Do not just re-state the original question, and if possible try to avoid using the same terms as those in which it is posed. This too creates the impression that you are not trying to produce an argument of your own.

6. Try to end the essay on a crisp note. This can sometimes be done with an appropriate phrase or a quotation. It should illustrate your argument and be directly related to the topic(s) in question. Many people save their most clinching quotation for last.

7. The following example illustrates the concluding paragraph of a second year undergraduate essay on George Orwell. You will notice that it is clearly ‘summing up’ its earlier arguments and offering a final judgement.

So in conclusion it seems reasonable to say of Orwell that he contradicted himself, that he did not recognise his own class bias, that he misunderstood political theory, and that he was not really aware of his own prejudices. Yet for all this, he was a courageous writer who made a serious attempt to understand a particularly difficult and confusing period of history.

© Roy Johnson 2003

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Dates in essays

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1. Dates are usually represented by a combination of numbered day, named month, and numbered year. Note that punctuation is not required when using this system.

the events of 17 October 1956 proved fateful

2. Note – there’s no need to add abbreviations such as th or rd:

12 October 1993  not  12th October 1993

23 January 1897  not  23rd January 1897

3. The following example contains four references to dates:

In January 1948 the New Statesman and Nation called for an end to this ‘Russia complex’; within the body of the party it had already effectively passed away. Indeed, by 1949 the distinction between British social democracy and communism, Soviet or British, was infinitely clearer than during the thirties. Clement Atlee made the point explicitly in The Times on 11 April 1949.

4. References to centuries are spelled out, not capitalised, and hyphenated only when they serve as adjectives:

during the eighteenth century

a study of seventeenth-century literature

5. Decades may be referred to by name or number, according to the context. Note that the numbered form is not followed by an apostrophe (because it is a plural):

The 1890s saw an enormous decrease…

during the thirties, political tensions increased

6. Dates represented purely by numbers (15.9.93) may be shown in two different ways. The convention in Britain and most of Europe is as follows:

DAY – MONTH – YEAR

15.9.93 = 15 September 1993

7. The American convention (often seen in their publications and computer software) is to use

MONTH – DAY – YEAR

9.24.93 = 24 September 1993

8. Take care! This system can lead to potential confusion when both the first numbers are below twelve. The date 7.9.93 can easily be mistaken for 7 September 1993, when in American notation it is in fact 9 July 1993.

9. Similarly, an American seeing 4.3.97 in an English publication might mistake the date for 3 April 1997, when in fact it represents 4 March 1997.

10. In references to pre- and post-Christian eras, the number of the
year(s) precedes BC, and follows AD:

Solomon’s temple was rebuilt in 515 BC, but then destroyed by the Romans in AD 70.

11. You might also come across the politically correct system of referring to BCE and ACE – as in the following examples:

500 BCE = 500 Before the Common Era
ACE 500 = 500 After the Common Era

© Roy Johnson 2003

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