How To Write High-Scoring University Essays

The new student's guide to academic writing

What you'll learn

Learn how to write well-organised essays with a logical structure that meets the expectations of teachers in Western universities

Discover the key features of academic writing and how to display an academic style in your work

Find out how to plan essays successfully so that you can save time later in the writing process

Learn how to proofread and edit your essays so they make a good impression on the reader

Understand how to write effective paragraphs

Requirements

For non-native speakers of English, English language proficiency of IELTS 5 or above

Despite the course title ('The *new* student's guide to academic writing'), you do NOT need to literally be a new student to benefit from this course - this course can benefit 1st year as well as postgraduate students who want to learn the fundamental principles of good essay writing.

No previous knowledge of essay writing is required - you just need a desire to learn!

Description

Learn how to write top quality essays at university, and discover the keys to successful academic writing that achieves high marks.

  University writing can be confusing when you don’t know what your teachers expect, but in this course I will use my experience of gaining top grades as a student, and of teaching in universities, to share key principles that you can apply to produce excellent essays.

  Master the skills you need to write excellent university essays

  Discover the 5 essential features which will make your writing appropriately academic

  Find out how to develop strong claims in your essays

  Learn how to write an introduction that is well-structured and impresses your reader

  Find out how to write well-organised paragraphs and avoid paragraph-level mistakes common among new students

  Learn what goes into an excellent conclusion (and what not to put in)

  Gain skills in proofreading and editing so you can avoid embarrassing grammatical errorsLearn how to write essays that satisfy and impress your teachers

  A university education is a significant investment for your future, but there are some things you must do in your writing in order for it to be successful. Having read numerous student assignments over the years, I made this course to share with you what teachers are looking for, so you can satisfy those expectations in your essays.

  Content and overview

  The course contains over 20 video lectures, plus practice activities and quizzes.

  We will start by looking at the main differences between academic and non-academic writing. This will prepare you to write in an effective academic style. You’ll learn what to do, and what not to do, so you’re writing is sufficiently formal, and possesses features such as precision and a basis in evidence.

  Then we’ll cover the keys to effective essay planning – you’ll get practical, step-by-step guidance on how to develop your essay’s argument and structure. After understanding this, you will gain clarity about what to do when preparing to write your next essay.

  We will cover the main components of the essay itself – the introduction, the body of the essay, and the conclusion. You will understand specifically what to put in each of these sections and how to structure them in an effective way.

  You’ll learn how to write paragraphs that teachers regard as well-focused and logical.

  You will also discover practical strategies you can use so that your work contains fewer language errors.  

  After completing this course, you will have gained a step-by-step understanding of how to write a well-structured essay.

  The keys to successful academic writing are simple enough for anybody to use – but MANY students fail to achieve good grades because they don’t apply the principles of essay structure and academic writing taught on this course. These principles of writing are in many cases not explicitly taught on university programmes, so in this course I want to make the underlying expectations clear.

 

Overview

Section 1: What is academic writing?

Lecture 1 Course introduction

Lecture 2 Types of academic writing

Lecture 3 Features of academic writing

Section 2: Preparing to write: how to plan an essay

Lecture 4 Essay planning: an overview

Lecture 5 Steps to formulating your thesis statement

Lecture 6 Writing an essay outline

Section 3: How to write the introduction

Lecture 7 The introduction

Lecture 8 Thesis statements

Lecture 9 Grammar for introductions

Section 4: Body paragraphs

Lecture 10 Body paragraphs

Lecture 11 Body paragraph structure

Lecture 12 Topic sentences

Lecture 13 Second sentences

Lecture 14 Common problems with paragraphs

Lecture 15 Cohesion between paragraphs

Section 5: How to write the conclusion

Lecture 16 The conclusion (part 1)

Lecture 17 The Conclusion (part 2)

Section 6: Revising and editing your work

Lecture 18 Preparing for submission: revising, editing, proofreading and formatting

Lecture 19 Revising your work

Lecture 20 Editing your work

Lecture 21 10 tips for proofreading your work

Lecture 22 Formatting your work

Section 7: Course conclusion

Lecture 23 Conclusion of the course

International students wishing to study at university in English speaking countries,Anyone preparing to start a university course who wants to know more about what academic writing is, and how to write successful academic essays,Those who want a refresher of the key components of successful academic writing,Students who have started a university course but want to develop their understanding of the basic principles of good writing,NOT students who feel that they already understand what to include in the sections of an essay, and are already confident about writing well-structured paragraphs