I was talking to my friend about my essay planning process and surprised them with my method - I thought this was the most common way to plan essays and it’s something I find really useful so I decided to share it in case it’s helpful, even though it’s probably not new knowledge!
What kind of essays can I use this for?
I use this for all my essays, though they tend to range from 1000-3000 words
I have yet to use it for a dissertation length essay but I’ll probably use the same structure, just much more detailed
This method is one that really helps me for essays I’m dreading writing or don’t know where to begin, because it breaks it down and makes it more manageable
May be different for different subjects - I use this predominantly for philosophy essays, which it works really well for
Where to start? (At the beginning and the end!)
Start with your word count. For example, let’s say your word count was 2000 words
Your introduction and conclusion should be no more than 10% of your essay
In our example, 10% of 2000 is 200 words, so:
100 words introduction
100 words conclusion
We’ve started to break it down! Subtract that from your desired word count and that’s your writing room for the main points of your essay
In our example that leaves you with 1800 words
Now you need to work out roughly how many words you make a point in - which really isn’t an exact science
For me I make a point in about 150-350 words, it really depends on how much detail you have to include
If you’re unsure write a rough draft of a point or analyse some of your previous essays - this word count usually includes referencing and quotations
For the sake of our example let’s say each point is about 250 words
250 goes into 1800 7 times, with 50 words for some leeway.
That means roughly you will need 7 points to make up your essay.
You can play around with what works for you - if 7 is too many, or perhaps you want an even number of points you can tailor it for that particular essay
Maybe one point will be 500 words instead because you have the most to say about them - whatever works for you is fine.
The emphasis here is on approximation, don’t get too hung up on meeting exact word counts, write what you have first and if you need more, find some detail to add to your points
Here’s the part about this way of planning essays that soothes me - looking at a blank pages and knowing you have to write 2000 words is very daunting. Instead, once I’ve broken it down like this I know I’ll need 5-7 points on a subject I’ve been studying, which is something I know I’m capable of -
“But Ceri?” I hear you ask. “What if I can’t think of enough points?”
This is part two of my essay plan - done with the statistics, you need the content
Analyse your question or title, this is the most important bit.
What is the question asking of you? Does it want an argument? An explanation? What things do you need to include?
Once you have a clear idea of what they want, whether you have an idea or not of what to write, look over your notes
Every essay needs evidence, something to support what you’re saying, be it data or critics or theorists - my advice is to find the evidence that is there and build your points around it
When you need to argue to your conclusion look for evidence that opposes each other, and that’s two points already done
Start by writing your essay in bullet points, then in longer sentences while you shift things around and then finally go full essay format
As you write other points or things to include might come to you - be sure you make a note of them!
One final tip - reference as you go along. It’s such a pain but getting to the end of an essay is a marathon, and then having to go through and sort out your referencing is like a sprint for the end
Anyway that’s most of my help for now! You might read this and think that none of it will work for you, and that’s fine too, there isn’t one set way to write an essay and this is by no means the best way - just my way.
It’s probably nothing new to most of you but I’m happy to share just in case, feel free to drop by and ask anything!
