When it comes to the time to start the essay or assignment, many students suddenly feel the need to catch up on their ironing/gardening/housework etc., etc., but in fact the worst part is often just getting started. There are however, ways of making life a little easier, and with a little practice these methods and strategies will soon become second nature. Think positively, essay writing helps to bring the course material together and often deepens the understanding of a subject, essays are very useful when it comes to revision time and are good practice for writing during the exam itself.

Strangely, it is often helpful to start at the beginning by actually looking at the title or question, to really understand what you are being asked to produce, many an essay has been written which was not exactly what was asked for, and those marking essays are sadly required to not give marks for irrelevant material. So think about the title, analyse it, you could highlight the key words to focus your mind on what is being requested of you. Below are some terms frequently used:

Analyse show understanding through consideration of the components of the topic

Assess appraisal of the topic through judgement of strengths and limitations of the information presented

Compare look for similarities and differences between

Consider show knowledge and understanding of the topic

Contrast set in opposition in order to show differences

Criticise evaluate in terms of strengths and weaknesses

Define explain the meaning of

Describe give a detailed account of, to show knowledge of the topic

Discuss investigate, examine, give reasons for and against
Evaluate make an informed judgement of the worth of something, based on its truth or usefulness

Explain show understanding by making plain, interpreting with reasons

Illustrate using examples to clarify

Justify show grounds for reasons, decisions

Outline give the main points, general principles

State present in brief, clear form

Summarise concise account of key points

Finally, be clear about the possible number of parts to the question, and what weight you will need to give each part. This may be stated or indicated by the possible marks or the percentage of marks for each section. You can now begin to have an idea about the number of words for each section, provided you have been given an overall number of words for the whole essay.