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How to write a great essay plan

by University of Liverpool Library on 2021-02-15T14:30:00+00:00 | 0 Comments

Woman sitting at a desk in front of a PC screen

Before you start writing an essay, you should always write a plan. Essays that are well planned are more likely to be focused and well written.

Planning your essay can help you to:

  • Structure your essay logically
  • Develop a clear argument throughout
  • Answer the question and not go off track
  1. Focus on the question

A common mistake that students make is not spending enough time considering the essay question before they start planning or writing their essay. Essay questions provide valuable information about the aspects of a topic you should consider and the skills you are expected to use when writing your essay.

Command words, such as ‘analyse’, ‘describe’ and ‘discuss’, will let you know how you should answer the question. It is important to keep these in mind throughout the whole essay writing process.

  1. Read around the topic

Before you start your reading, you need to identify the sources you will use to gather academic perspectives on the topic. Things to consider before you start your reading:

  • What do you already know about the topic?
  • What do you want to find out?
  • What is your initial response to the question?

To ensure that you are reading actively and making the most of the time that you spend reading around the topic of your essay, watch this KnowHow tutorial about Critical Reading Strategies.

  1. Organise your notes

After you have completed your reading for your essay, you are likely to end up with a lot of notes from a variety of sources.

The following are some examples of ways that you can organise your notes:

  • Identify the key themes that are discussed in each source
  • Group connected ideas on the chosen themes together and think about how different sources relate to each other
  • Try colour coding your notes, typing them up into categories or cutting them up and rearranging them into groups
  • Remove irrelevant information that will not help you to answer the question

For more tips to help you plan your essay, watch KnowHow’s Planning Your Essay tutorial.

Check the KnowHow events calendar to join online sessions to help you develop your academic skills.


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