2. INDEX
3- GENERAL
4- PLANNING AND ORGANIZING
8- READING AND RESEARCHING
11- USING SOURCES
13- SPECIFIC TYPES OF WRITING
16- REVISING
21- ENGLISH LANGUAGE
24- BIBLIOGRAPHY
WRITING ADVICE – UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
3. SOME GENERAL ADVICE ON
ACADEMIC ESSAY-WRITING
An essay should have an argument
An essay's organization (how it begins, develops, and ends)
should be designed to present your argument clearly and persuasively.
ESSAY STRUCTURE FROMHIGHSCHOOL TO UNIVERSITY
To meet the expectations of university writing, you will need
to unlearn rules you may have learned in high school. For example:
Discourages formulas.
Provides freedom for your own way of structuring your argument.
Offers discipline-specific guidelines for approaching written work.
Discourages repetition.
Encourages critical thinking.
Rewards you for engaging in analysis.
University…
4. UNDERSTANDING ESSAY TOPICS
Steps for beginning the reasoning early in the process. _____
WRITER’S BLOCK
Writing is never a smooth process and
some blockages may occurr due to anxiety,
stress or simply lack of understanding.
Discovering the cause will help you find a solution.
An essay is excellent
when it has strong evidence
of original thinking; good
organization; capacity to
analyze, evidence of
extensive knowledge base.
And it is inadequate
when it has little evidence
of even superficial
understanding of subject
matter; weakness in critical
and analytic skills; limited
or irrelevant use of literature.
1. Note the key terms.
2. Note which concepts and ways of thinking or
methodology the topic asks you to use.
3. Ask yourself questions to generate ideas from
which you can choose the direction of your research
or preliminary analysis and looking for controversies.
4. Formulate a tentative thesis statement at a fairly
early stage that will help focus your investigation.
5. The best time to think about how to organize your paper is during the pre-writing stage.
What type of essay am I going to be writing? Does it belong to a specific genre?
ORGANIZING AN ESSAY
TECHNIQUES FOR INTEGRATING
NOTE-TAKING AND PLANNING
- When you are researching, write down every
idea, fact or quotation on a separate index card.
- You can collect your points consecutively, just
as you would on paper but in the computer.
- Using a mindmap to connect ideas.
OUTLINES are meant to serve only you, the
point is to ensure that you are on the right track.
As a potential argument begins to take shape
in your mind, you may start to formalize your
thoughts in the form of a tentative plan.
ADVANTAGES OF PLANNING
- a logical and orderly argument
- economical paper by avoiding repetition
- a thorough paper by making it easier for
you to notice any omission
- to draft the paper is easier because you
are able to concentrate on writing issues:
grammar, word choice, and clarity
RISKS OF OVERPLANNING
- not enough time to write and revise
- papers that try to cover too much ground
at the expense of analytic depth
- a writing style that lacks spontaneity
- not enough opportunity to discover
new ideas in the process of writing
6. USING THESIS STATEMENTS
Your reader will probably expect
a clear statement of your position
INTRIGUING - It makes a definite and limited
assertion that needs to be explained and
supported by further discussion.
WORTH ATTENTION - It shows the emphasis
and indicates the methodology of the argument.
SUITABLE COMPLEX - It shows awareness
of difficulties and disagreements.
SOME MYTHS
- Every paper requires a thesis statement.
- It must come at the end of the first paragraph.
- It must be one sentence in length.
- You can’t start writing an essay
until you have a perfect one.
- A thesis statement must give
three points of support.
A GOOD INTRODUCTION A STRONG CONCLUSION
will provide a sense of closure
to the essay while again
placing your concepts in a
somewhat wider context.
It will also add a stimulus
to further thought.
should identify your topic,
provide essential context,
and indicate your particular
focus in the essay.
It needs to engage
your readers’ interest.
- Warn of the
seriousness of the issue
- Quote an expert
- Give a startling statistic
- Use a brief narrative or anecdote
How to make them interesting?
7. A paragraph is a series of related sentences developing a central idea,
called the topic. Usually, they are between one-third and two-thirds of a page double spaced
The body paragraph
demonstrates and develops
your topic sentence through an
ordered, logical progression of
ideas. There are a number of
useful techniques: examples,
details, or relevant quotations.
There are some different paragraphs,
which can also be combined
in one paragraph:
- definition paragraph,
- analysis or classification paragraph,
- comparison or a contrast paragraph,
- qualification paragraph,
- process paragraph.
Techniques to make the
ideas flow in a paragraph:
-Show connections
-Deliberate repetition
-Strategic use
of pronouns
-Specialized linking words
Topic sentences
They are similar to mini thesis statements.
They usually appear at the very beginning of paragraphs.
Use a topic sentence to show how your paragraph contributes to
the development of your argument by moving it that one extra step forward.
Relating your topic sentences to your thesis can help strengthen the coherence of your essay.
Note: Not all paragraphs need topic sentences. In particular, opening and closing paragraphs.
But if you are in doubt, it’s best to use one
8. CRITICAL WRITING
DEPENDS ON CRITICAL READING
To read critically is to make judgements about how a text is argued.
- DON’T read looking only or primarily for information
- DO read looking for ways of thinking about the subject matter PRACTICAL TIPS
-Skim research materials
-Highlight a text or take notes from it
-Pay attention to the context that
surrounds a portion of the text
-Use the quotation critically
-Critical listening skills in your
lectures to analyse ways of thinking
To I Read Looking for Ways of Thinking
- Determine the central claims or purpose of the text.
- Make some judgements about context.
Audience? Historical context?
- Distinguish the kinds of reasoning the text employs.
Concepts? Theory? Methodology?
- Examine the evidence the text employs.
Is it statistical? literary? historical? From what sources?
- Critical reading may involve evaluation. If the argument
is strong, why? Could it be better or differently supported?
Are there gaps, leaps, or inconsistencies in the argument?
Is the method of analysis problematic?
There’s no point reading and
not understanding or remembering
what you’ve seen.
A more important skill is to read
with comprehension and memory.
9. TAKING NOTES FROM RESEARCH READING
1. Know what kind of ideas you need to record
Focus your approach to the topic before you start detailed
research. Read with a purpose in mind, and sort out relevant ideas.
2. Don’t write down too much
Your essay must be an expression of your own thinking, not a
patchwork of borrowed ideas. Compress ideas in your own words.
3. Label your notes intelligently a way that allows for later use.
DEALING WITH NEW WORDS
You don’t need to interrupt your reading to look up
every hard word right away in the dictionary.
Experts say it’s actually better to make an “educated guess”
1- Sound it out
2- Examine the structure
3- Look at the contexts
4- Check the dictionary
5- Write a usable brief definition
The best way to
increase and deepen
your general vocabulary
is to spend time reading.
If new words are established
through a true understanding,
THEY BELONG TO YOU.
10. RESEARCH USING THE INTERNET
The Net is a tremendous resource, but
it must be used carefully and critically.
Here are a few basic guidelines to remember:
- Don’t rely exclusively on Net resources.
- Narrow your research topic before logging on.
- Know your subject directories and search
engines.
- Keep a detailed record of sites you visit and use.
- Double-check all URLs that you put in your paper.
Guidelines for evaluating
resources on the Net.
- Authority
- Affiliation
- Audience level
- Currency
- Content reliability/Accuracy
If you can answer
all these questions
positively when looking
at a particular site, then
you can be pretty sure
it’s a good one.
Previewing a text before
starting to read is essential.
What is important for you in this reading?
Title and chapter tiles? Subject matter?
Who wrote this text? Where and when?
By first skimming a text, you can get a
sense of its overall logical progression.
Scanning is basically skimming
to locate a particular fact or figure,
or a subject you’re researching.
Summarizing a text is
a useful study tool as well as
good writing practice.
It has two aims:
(1) to reproduce the general concepts
(2) to express them
using precise language.
11. TO PLAGIARIZE SHALL BE AN OFFENCE
So mentioning what others have said doesn’t
lessen the credit you get for your own thinking.
In fact, it adds to your credibility.
- Give the reference as soon as you’ve mentioned
the idea you’re using, not at the end of the paragraph.
- Identify the source then and there whether you quote
a passage directly in quotation marks, paraphrase it
closely in your own words, or summarize it rapidly.
- It is not necessary to ackowledge for some
ideas are “common knowledge” in the field.
It is important to document:
Quotations, paraphrases, or summaries
Specific facts used as evidence for your argument
Distinctive or authoritative ideas
STANDARDDOCUMENTATIONFORMATS
Different disciplines use their own systems
to set out information about sources.
-Traditional Endnotes or Footnotes with
Superscript Numbers (humanities)
-MLA System: Parenthetical Author-Page
References (humanities)
-APA System: Parenthetical Author-Date
References (social sciences)
-Numbered Note Systems (sciences)
-To refer to electronic sources follow your
chosen system as far as possible in
giving author, title, and date.
For further advice,
check the manuals for each system.
12. USING QUOTATIONS
The focus of your essay should be
on your understanding of the topic.
If you include too much quotation in your
essay, you will crowd out your own ideas.
Consider quoting a passage from one of your
sources if any of the following conditions holds:
- The language of the passage is particularly
elegant or powerful or memorable.
- You wish to confirm the credibility of your
argument by the support of an authority.
- The passage is worthy of further analysis.
- You wish to argue with someone
else’s position in considerable detail.
TO AVOID QUOTING, CONSIDER:
Paraphrasing the passage if you wish
to convey the points at the same level
of detail as in the original
- You must provide a reference.
- The paraphrase must be in your own words.
- You must do more than merely substitute
phrases here and there. You must also
create your own sentence structures.
Summarizing the relevant passage to capture
in your own words the most important elements
from the original passage. A summary is
necessarily shorter than a paraphrase.
Pay attention to the forms of punctuation when you quote!
And also serch for the differences between introducing short and long quotations.
13. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SPECIFICTYPES OF WRITING
An analytic or critical review of a book
or article is not primarily a summary;
rather, it comments on and evaluates
the work in the light of specific issues
and theoretical concerns in a course.
An annotated bibliography gives an
account of the research that has been
done on a given topic. It is an alphabetical
list of research sources and provides a
concise summary of each source and
some assessment of its value or relevance.
A literature review is an account of that has been
published by accredited scholars and researchers.
Comparative essays ask that you compare
and contrast at least two (possibly more) items,
which will differ depending on the assignment.
You might be asked to compare positions
on an issue, theories, figures, texts.
Abstracts are important because they give a first
impression of the document, letting readers decide
whether to continue reading and showing them
what to look for if they do. It should represent
the quantitative and qualitative information
in the document. About 100-250 words.
The goal of lab reports is to document your
findings and communicate their significance
The English paper requires critical thought and strong argumentation,
but its focus on language and close textual analysis makes it unique.
14. Writing about History. Pay attention to Primary
Sources (a document that was created at the time
of the event or subject) and Secondary Sources
(what other scholars have written about your topic).
Writing about Literature requires to avoide plot
summary, master the art of the analytical thesis,
let the structure of your argument determine the
structure of your paper, opt for analysis instead of
evaluative judgments, don’t confuse the author with the
speaker, integrate quotations fully into your argument.
Writing about Philosophy requires to organize and
argument the thesis, show your understanding, evaluate
theory, develop your own answers to philosophical questions.
Writing in the Sciences should be written in a clear
and concise style. Consider: audience, titles, headings,
jargon, passive vs. active voice, tense and references.
Oral presentations become easier
with preparation and practice.
Some advices are to sing up early,
know what is expected of you,
choose, define and organize
your topic and the talk carefully,
make use of supplementary
media, feel comfortable
and be relaxed, etc.
Writing for the Public it is
necessary to know your audience,
provide context and be concrete,
mind you language, preferably
focus on the present, and
many of the conventions you
have learned about academic
essays must be set aside.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF SPECIFICTYPES OF WRITING
15. When you write and Admission Letter,
here are some of the qualities to aim for:
-Be focused -Be coherent -Be specific
-Be interpretive -Be personal
ADVICE! Writing Style: Don’t give your
readers any excuses to eliminate your
application. Proofread carefully for
missing details as well as errors in
grammar or punctuation.
An academic proposal is the first step
in producing a thesis or major project.
Its intent is to convince a supervisor that
your topic and approach are sound, as
well as indicating your plan of action, an
academic proposal should show your
theoretical positioning and your
relationship to past work in the area.
Your application letter and résumé may be
the most important documents you write
during your time at university and also
important during your working life.
Points about the Application Letter
Write a letter for each application.
Use standard letter format. Start strong and clear.
Use paragraph structure to lead your reader
from one interpretive point to another.
End strongly by requesting an interview.
Specific Points about the Résumé
(usually, curriculum vitae or c.v.)
Have more than one on hand.
Make them easy to read by using
headings,and lots of white space.
List facts in reverse chronological order,
with the most recent ones first. aside.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF SPECIFICTYPES OF WRITING
16. REVISING AND EDITING
Good revision and editing can transform a mediocre first draft
into an excellent final paper. It involves some checking of details.
Check whether you have fulfilled the intention of
the assignment. Look again at the instruction sheet.
1- Look at overall organization.
2- Polish and edit your style: word choice, sentence
structure, grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
3- Looks and appearance do count.
Using the Computer
to Improve Your Writing
The computer lets you easily
type in text, shift it around, and edit
it. Make the most of the capacities of
the computer and word processing
and know its limitations of
composing, revising and editing.
Avoid the most common errors In Grammar, Punctuation, and Style
- Faulty agreement - Wordiness - Sentences Fragments
- Overuse of Passive Voice - Comma Splices - Incorrect Comparison
- Mixed or Dead Metaphores - Misuse of Comma - Double Constructions
- Run-on [fused] sentence Semicolon and Colon - Etc.
17. WORDINESS:
DANGER SIGNALS
ANDWAYS TO REACT
To edit your writing for conciseness, AVOID:
- Doubling of Words (choose one)
- Intensifiers, Qualifiers (omit or give details)
- Catch-all Terms (can sometimes omit)
- Padded Verbs (use a one-word form)
- Unnecessary “to be” and “being” (omit)
- Passive Verbs (change to active voice)
- Formulaic Phrases
(use a one-word form or omit)
- Overuse of Relative Structures
(Who, Which, That)
ALSO CONSIDER…
Unbiased Language
When language tends to downgrade certain
groups, common sense and some specific
strategies can help you avoid suggesting
putdowns where you don’t intend them.
The “Man” Trap:
Many standard wordings seem to
assume that every individual is male.
Repeating he and she at every reference
is clumsy. Finding alternatives can be as
simple as using plural rather than singular,
or avoiding a pronoun altogether.
Confusing the Group and the Individual:
Don’t get stuck in the habit of referring to
people only as representatives of categories.
Terms that label people simply on the basis of
their sex have gathered negative overtones.
Poetess poet Chairwoman Chair
18. PUNCTUATION Avoid comma splices
in your essays
It occurs when you use a comma to join
two complete sentences without placing an
appropriate joining word between them.
The comma just isn’t strong
enough to do the job of making one
grammatical sentence out of two.
Learn to recognize what comma look like.
Dashes (like commas and dashes) are
used to set off interrupting clauses or
phrases, but a pair of dashes will tend to
call more attention to what lies in between.
Parentheses offer a third way of
introducing interrupting material. If dashes
provide a more forceful alternative to
commas, parentheses offer a tentative
and modest one.
Try to experiment with all forms of
punctuation in order to expand
your expressive range as a writer.
Using commas well is a science and an art:
though there are well-defined rules, there is
plenty of room to manouevre as well.
The semicolon has two main uses.
- The first is to combine two closely related
independent clauses into one sentence.
- The other valid use of semicolons is to
separate list elements that are long or complex.
Colons offer a way of urging your reader
forward. The words preceding the colon
create an expectation; the words following
the colon fulfill it: they can expand on
an idea or answer an implied question.
19. FAULTY PARALLELISM
The clauses or phrases joined by the
conjunctions should have similar
grammatical structures to ensure that your
reader can follow the logic of your sentence
and to avoid awkwardness.
Look out for faulty parallelism whenever
you use one of the following constructions:
a and b a, b, and c
a or b a, b, or c
not only a but also b
TOO MANY PASSIVE SENTENCES
CAN CREATE CONFUSION
Passive sentences can get you into trouble in
academic writing because they can be vague
about who is responsible for the action.
Some Tools and Rules to ImproveYour Spelling
Use a (good) dictionary and always check certain “troublesome” suffixes in it.
Be consistent about using British or American spellings in your writing.
Create your own “difficult-to-spell” lists.
Learn the standard pronunciations for frequently misspelled words.
Watch out for homophones, near-homophones, and other easily confusable words.
Use your computer spellchecker, but with caution.
Become familiar with English spelling rules.
FIXING DANGLING MODIFIERS
They refer to a word or phrase, usually at the
start of a sentence, that does not connect
properly to the rest of the sentence.
20. FIX SENTENCE FRAGMENTS
a sentence fragment doesn’t make a
statement that can stand on its own, it
lacks a main—or independent—clause.
1- It is all subject, no predicate.
2- It has a subject and a predicate, but still
can’t stand on its own. that is because it
begins with a word (a subordinating
conjunction) like although/because/when.
PLURALS
REGULAR: The plural form of most nouns is
formed by adding s to the end of the word.
IRREGULAR: Many nouns referring to
animals have the same form in the singular
and in the plural. Eg.: deer, moose, sheep.
SPECIAL CASES: 1990s, As, Bs, Cs, Jacks.
Collective nouns (of people, animals, or
things) are usually treated as singular.
SUBJECT-VERBAGREEMENT
Making sure your verbs agree with your
subjects is not just a question of grammatical
correctness; it is a question of clarity.
POSSESSIVES
A noun can be made possessive when it
could also have of a or of the preceding it.
the bag of a student = a student’s bag
SINGULAR: A singular noun is usually made
possessive by adding ’s to the end of the word.
The woman’s coat is red
PLURAL: A plural noun that ends in s can be
made possessive either by adding only ’ to
the end of the word (the preferred method),
or by adding ’s to the end of the word.
All the soldiers’ / soldiers’s uniforms
ONLY SOME possessive pronouns use ’s.
Be to everyone’s taste
21. SPECIALCASESOF
SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT
Check any handbook for the general rules.
And pay attention to fractions, percentages
and indefinite quantifiers, the words
majority and minority, expressions of time,
money and distance, expressions using the
phrase number of.
SPECIAL CASES IN THE USE
OF THE DEFINITE ARTICLE
To decide if you should use the word the,
ask yourself these three questions:
- Is the noun indefinite (unspecified)
or definite (specific)?
- Is the noun modified?
- Is the noun generic?
ARTICLES
Articles are special modifiers that appear before nouns or noun
phrases. Like other adjectives, they help clarify the meaning
of the noun in your sentence. There are only two articles in the
English language: the and a (and its variant an, used before
a word that starts with a vowel sound).
The noun countable or uncountable?
Is it singular or plural?
Is it definite or indefinite?
22. USING GERUNDS AND INFINITIVES
Some common verbs followed by a gerund
admitThey admitted falsifying the data.
adviseThe author advises undertaking further study.
considerThey will consider granting you money.
delayWe delayed reporting the results
tolerateShe can’t tolerate waiting for results.
Some verbs followed by an infinitive:
Afford - We cannot afford to hesitate.
Beg - beg to differ with you.
Care - Would you care to respond?
Swear - He swears to tell the truth.
Want - She did not want to go first.
Wish - Do you wish to participate?
Gerunds and infinitives are verb forms that can take the place of a noun in a sentence. The
following guidelines
Following a preposition (gerund only)
He was fined for driving over the speed limit.
She got the money by selling the car.
Note: Take care not to confuse the preposition
“to” with an infinitive form, or with an auxiliary
form such as have to, used to, going to
Following an indirect object (infinitive only)
Invite - We invite you to attend the ceremony.
Need - They need her to show the slides.
Tell - Did she tell him to make three copies?
Want - do not want you to have an accident.
23. VERBS FOR REFERRING TO SOURCES
Don’t just keep repeating “Smith says.”
There is a wide choice of such verbs in English.
Pattern 2: reporting verb +
somebody/something + for + noun/gerund
Applaud blame censure criticize
disparage fault praise ridicule
single out thank
Pattern 3: reporting verb +
somebody/something +as+ noun/gerund/adjecti
ve
Appraise assess class classify
characterize define depict describe
evaluate identify portray
present interpret referview
Pattern 1:
reporting verb + that + subject + verb
Acknowledge admit agree
conclude assume assert
consider allege argue
demonstrate believe claim
determine discover doubt
emphasize decide deny
explain find explain
hypothesize imply indicate
infernote object observe
reveal prove pointout
suggest show say
state think
24. • University of Toronto. Writing Advice. Advice on Academic
Writing. Last visited: May 27th, 2020. Available at
https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/
BIBLIOGRAPHY
