Welcome to Stage 1, Part 1 of the Academic Writing Guide
Analysing Your Essay Title
Time to read and complete activities in both parts of Stage 1 = 2 hours
In this stage of the Academic Writing Guide you will be working towards the following aims and objectives:
AIMS
1. To learn about and practice different ways to de-code an academic essay title to help you plan the research you will do.
2. To learn about and practice using different search tools to help you find relevant and reliable sources that you can use to help inform your essay development.
3. To reflect on your learning to support the continued development of your academic skills.
OBJECTIVES
-
Learn about and practice how to use the PQRS strategy to analyse your essay title.
-
Learn about and practice how to write and use definitions of key terms in an essay.
-
Learn about and practice how to use a mind-map as part of the essay planning process.
-
Learn how to use university library-based search tools.
-
Learn how to assess the relevancy of sources and find suitable ones for your essay question.
-
Learn how to write bibliographic entries for different sources you find, using the appropriate referencing system used in your discipline.
-
Reflect on what you have learned from this stage of the AWG about academic writing.
Sample essay
An essay on the topic of phobias features throughout the AWG to exemplify the process of researching and writing a discursive essay. You will be able to see the steps that the writer takes to create it and use them as a model when researching and writing your own discursive essay. The example essay will give you a model of the research and writing process, providing you with ideas and techniques for ways to develop an essay of your own.
The title of the example essay is: 'Critically consider psychological explanations for the acquisition of phobias. Justify your answer with reference to theoretical and empirical evidence from relevant literature.'
De-coding your Essay Title
You begin the essay writing process by thinking about your purpose in writing and considering all of the things the title demands that you write about. No matter how well you have written and how solid your supporting evidence is, even a fascinating essay will always be marked down if it doesn’t answer the question. Discursive essay titles include key words that signal how you should respond: for example, discuss, outline, compare. It is essential to follow this instruction.
TASK
Watch this five-minute video from the University of Leicester about analysing titles and take notes while you listen. The notes will help you complete the quiz below.
Hello, and welcome to this tutorial on analysing essay titles. By analysing essay titles more fully, you stand a better chance of producing higher quality writing. The importance of analysing essay titles might sound like rather an obvious point to make but one of the most common pieces of feedback for students’ work is that their essay has not adequately addressed the essay title. Before starting work on an essay then, it’s really important that you spend time clarifying what exactly it is that you are being asked to do. This will help you focus your reading and note-making on the most relevant material. Here is an example of an essay title that could feature in the field of medicine, or in health sciences, or perhaps sociology, psychology, or social work. "Discuss the possible effects on a person of receiving a diagnosis of bipolar disorder." Bipolar disorder is a mental health condition in which a person can swing between moods of extra high energy and activity, and moods of low depression. This essay title is asking the student to consider the experience of receiving a formal diagnosis of bipolar disorder. One individual may feel that they are just having normal changes of mood and may resent being given a medical diagnosis. Another individual may have been desperate to get a diagnosis to help explain what’s been happening to them. So, it asks an interesting question but the student notices only the main topic: bipolar disorder. This may seem reasonable enough. After all, in your essay you will need to demonstrate your knowledge of the topic and there is a huge amount to learn about that subject age of onset, range of experiences, drugs available to treat severe cases, drugs available to maintain health, all the symptoms. This collection of information would be very useful if you were preparing for a quiz. Give me another name for bipolar disorder? [Bell ring] LEICESTER, SMITH! Manic depression Name the drug most commonly used to prevent relapses? Lithium Give me three symptoms of mania? Reckless behaviour, racing thoughts, little need to sleep. But essays are not quizzes. If you just focus only on the main topic rather than the actual essay question, you are in danger of missing the point of the essay entirely. So what IS this essay title asking you to do? This student has picked up the words ‘bipolar disorder’, and will probably tell us many things about what this condition is. But the students will probably fail to identify and discuss the possible effects on an individual of receiving that diagnosis for example: worrying about whether or not to tell family and friends; thoughts about becoming labelled as someone who is mentally ill; possible relief of receiving a diagnosis after a long period of wondering what was going on; concern about it possibly affecting future employment if it has to be disclosed; gaining easier access to medication; fear of being medicalised and not seen as a person, and so on. Let’s examine another essay title. To what extent does the melting of its glacier present a threat or an opportunity for the inhabitants of the Swiss alpine village of Saas Fee? This student has identified two important aspects of the title, and may write an essay on melting glaciers, the student has missed the requirement: a) to focus on the inhabitants rather than the glacial process itself b) to consider the threats that the melting might bring for these inhabitants, such as: loss of a major aspect of their scenery; lowering of the water levels in their local reservoir; reduction of trade from skiing holidays. c) to consider what possible opportunities it might bring, such as: extending the farmland and woodland; increasing the network of high-altitude walking tracks; reduced fuel bills. d) to discuss these and come to a considered judgement as to the extent to which glacial retreat represents mainly a threat or an opportunity for these inhabitants. As you work on your essay your opinion may shift from your first reaction, and settle somewhere different, after considering the evidence. In this case a student may assume initially 0:04:48.080,0:04:48.040 that the melting of the glacier would be wholly negative. But, through the research and writing process, some opportunities may be identified. The student may therefore settle with a judgement that is negative, 0:04:59.170,0:04:59.150 but not as extreme as the initial reaction. So, when you look at your next essay title, and get your first impression of what it’s asking you to do: Tell yourself ‘There must be more!!’ and squeeze as much guidance as possible out of the title. Ask yourself. ’What’s the instruction?' and ‘What are the different elements of the title?’ And ask yourself. ’What judgements am I being asked to make?' Remember, the tutor assumes that you are capable of collecting information about the topic. That’s not the problem!! 0:05:33.080,0:05:33.000 What is important is what you are being asked to do with that information.
QUIZ
Use your notes to test your learning with this Quiz.
Establishing the Purpose of The Essay Title
The following strategy will help you to decode any essay title you need to answer:
​
The PQRS strategy - drag your Mouse over the cards to reveal the definitions:
P IS FOR PARTS
P is for Parts
How many PARTS are there to the question?
You must check the question carefully to make
sure you address every part.
Q IS FOR QUESTION WORDS
Q is for Question words:
Essay questions use KEY WORDS that signal the essay type: for example, discuss, outline, compare. You must follow this instruction.
R IS FOR RELEVANT
R is for Relevant:
Your answer must be relevant to the question. A fascinating essay that doesn’t answer the question will always be marked down.
S IS FOR STRUCRTURE
S is for Structure:
Essays should be well-structured. This helps the reader follow your argument, and shows you think clearly, and can organise information.
We can analyse the essay title in the above video – ‘Discuss the possible effects on a person of receiving a diagnosis of bipolar disorder’ like this:
Parts:
Question word:
Relevant words:
Structure
(possible answer):
One
Discuss
General Topic
-
bipolar disorder
Limiting words/Focus words
-
effects, receiving a diagnosis
Brief definition of bipolar disorder.
Positive effects of receiving a diagnosis (with examples & evidence).
Negative effects of receiving a diagnosis (with examples & evidence).
Summary of key argument & its implications.
QUIZ
Do this quiz which tests your understanding of how the PQRS strategy can be applied to the sample essay 'Critically consider psychological explanations for the acquisition of phobias. Justify your answer with reference to theoretical and empirical evidence from relevant literature.'
REFLECTION
Feedback from tutors often focuses on students not answering the question. It may be that you know plenty of information about the topic and are keen to show off everything that you have read, but if you do not focus on responding to the question, you will lose marks. Take time to make sure that you have understood exactly what the question means.
​
Stop and reflect on what you have learned so far in this stage. How will what you have learned support your continued essay writing development? Are there any skills you have identified at this stage that you can do well or need to improve on?
Recognising and Understanding Instruction Words in Essay Titles
This exercise links to the PQRS strategy that you have just looked at - specifically providing more detail to the 'Q' (question words) part. The key words in essay titles often divide into these three areas:
​
-
Directive words – words which tell you to do something; e.g. analyse, discuss, evaluate.
-
Topic area – the main subject areas or themes outlined by the question.
-
Limiting words – words which provide boundaries or constraints for your essay.
​
In the sample essay: 'Critically consider psychological explanations for the acquisition of phobias. Justify your answer with reference to theoretical and empirical evidence from relevant literature' the following could apply:
​
-
Directive words: Critically consider; justify.
-
Topic areas: explanations; phobias.
-
Limiting words: psychological; acquisition.
​
Defining Your Terms
Before you begin writing an essay it can be useful to define your key terms. Read the information below in the drop-down (click the + sign) and make notes about why it is important to define your terms.
DEFINING YOUR TERMS It is quite common in the introduction to an essay or a presentation for a writer to define their terms. But why would a writer do this? Is it really necessary? Won’t the reader/listener be knowledgeable enough about the subject matter to already have an understanding of the key terms? Establishing clear, precise, effective definitions of your key terms is an important part of establishing your argument. It is important that you and your reader agree from the start exactly what is being discussed. If, for example, a student sets out to build an argument that we must urgently reduce the growing number of children living in poverty in the UK, she would need to define the term poverty. If she simply lets the reader rely on their own definition there is room for much confusion. The strength of her argument will depend very much on the adequacy of the definition. She may use the Children’s Society definition that ‘a child is said to be living in poverty when they are living in a family with an income below 60% of the UK's average after adjusting for family size’ (Royston, 2019), and then go on to argue that by this definition almost a third of children in the UK live in poverty, and that this level is unacceptably high for a developed country. A different writer may choose a different definition of poverty to support an argument that the rate is much lower than that suggested by the Children’s Society, and that the situation is less urgent than others claim, for example. Rather than thinking of a definition as ‘true’, therefore, it is useful to think about who is proposing it. Royston, S. (2019) ‘Measuring Poverty 2019’. The Social Metrics Commission. Available at: https://socialmetricscommission.org.uk/social-metrics-commission-2019-report/
It is important to consider who will be reading your essay when deciding which terms you will define. You need to think about whether some terms may be obvious and uncontested, while others may be less well-known and contestable and may therefore require a definition.
Being clear on which terms need defining at this stage may help you brainstorm key ideas to inform your research process. For the example essay the writer could choose to define the terms race and genetics in order to support the consequent generation of ideas.
Analysing The Topic and Ways to Approach the Question
click to open as a PDF
Look at the mind map which the writer has produced to help them analyse the sample essay title: 'Critically consider psychological explanations for the acquisition of phobias. Justify your answer with reference to theoretical and empirical evidence from relevant literature.'
​
The mind map was produced using a tool called Bubbl.us. The site describes a mind map as 'a graphical representation of ideas and concepts. It's a visual thinking tool for structuring information, helping you to better understand, remember and generate new ideas.'
​
Think about the ways the writer has used their PQRS decoding to help them create this mind-map. This way of brainstorming is useful as it helps the writer to see the connections between ideas and enables them to make decisions about which ideas to research and which search terms to use. As the writer's research progresses they are likely to come back to this version and adapt it accordingly.
Over to you
If you are using the AWG to help you write a discursive essay of your own, take time to create a mind map. Open this link to Bubbl.us. There’s no need to sign in, just click the ‘Mind map now’ button at the bottom of the page, and create a mind map with ideas about your essay. When you have finished, click the download icon in the top right-hand corner of the screen and choose the 'save as jpg image' to save a copy to your own device.